Joy in the Morning!

February 28, 2022 Monday Message

Psalm 30:5 NLT: “For the Lord’s anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Each day we crawl out of bed and begin each day anew. Today we can intentionally set our agenda; we can put anything we choose on our “things-to-do-today” list. Yesterday’s troubles and shortcomings are history. Yesterday is over; let it go! God allows us to take a Mulligan; we get a do-over; we get a fresh start. Today can be better than yesterday if we choose to have it that way.

President Lincoln is reported to have said, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be,” because happiness depends upon the quality of our thoughts. Wake up determined to be joyful! Spend time with your Lord! Do something nice for somebody, and don’t get caught!

Joy comes with the morning – each and every day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Worship the Lord!

For Sunday, February 27, 2022

Genesis 12:8 NLT: “Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.”

Abram acknowledged that our Creator God was in charge of everything. He would frequently stop, build an altar and take time to worship Almighty God. Praising the Lord was high on his things-to-do-today list!

Nowadays we don’t have to build an altar. There are churches nearby, right in our neighborhoods, and we can gather for worship there. It’s amazingly easy to follow Abram’s example and lift up our Creator as the amazing God that He is!

Today is the accepted day to worship the Lord!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Visionary Leadership

For Saturday, February 26, 2022

Proverbs 29:18a KJV: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Visionary leadership is sharing intuition about the future. If the leader of an organization, in this case a church, can visualize and communicate where it should be next year, in 3 years, in 5 years, then the steps to get there will make sense and may even become obvious.

Visionary leadership is peeking into the future and believing it could be so. Steve Jobs of Apple is a great example of just such a visionary. His company already had a successful iPod. He reasoned that if you could combine that with a phone and then make the whole thing go on the internet, a lot of people would want one. So far almost 3 billion iPhones have been sold!

Jesus commissioned us to make disciples of all nations, to take Christianity to the world. Calling and equipping the next generation of visionary leaders will bring us closer to that goal.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Stick-to-it!

For Friday, February 25, 2022

Genesis 6:14a NLT, God speaking to Noah: “Build a large ark from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out.”

We’ve been looking at obedience and answering God’s call. In his day, Noah was all alone in this. There was not one righteous person left on earth, save the house of Noah. God told him to build a big boat where it had not previously rained, and to gather enough food for his family and for the animals God would send. This assignment required great faith!

In spite of the enormity of the task, Noah got right to work. “Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.” Obedience to God’s call is the key, even when you don’t yet understand the project’s final goal.

True to his word, the animals started showing up, it did rain a lot, and Noah and his family were rescued. God is in the rescue business. God gave mankind-on-earth a second chance. Our God is a God of second chances.

In the midst of chaos, God offered hope to Noah. Pray that we would again see hope in the midst of our world’s chaos.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Obedience!

For Thursday, February 24, 2022

Genesis 12:1 NLT, God speaking to Abram: “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”

This was a big ask! Pack all your belongings; same for your family and the people who work with you; pack all your wealth and livestock, and journey to the land that I will show you! That Abram did this shows obedience to the Lord and a lot of faith! God hadn’t even shared with Abram the intended destination! Turns out it was Canaan, a land currently inhabited by the Canaanites. This might not go well!

In return, God promised to bless Abram, to give him hope for the future: “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Churches are now seeking the next generation of leaders who can carry forward the task of sharing the Good News with the world. Each of us can serve when called, and encourage others who have been called.

Remember, God rewards obedience!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Jonah's Call

For Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Jonah 1:1-2 NLT: “The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.’”

God had a job to do and he’d selected a point person to make it all happen. Unfortunately Jonah was of a different mind. Driven largely by fear, he headed in the opposite direction, trying to hide from God. That never works. We all know the story of Jonah being swallowed by the big fish, and three days later God gave him a second chance. Jonah finally entered the city of Nineveh, which is where he should have gone in the first place!

God will not send us on a mission without suitably equipping us for that task. God offers us care and protection as we go about His work. God wants the loyal believers to be on the bench, ready to go into the game when he issues the call.

Doing what God asks always proves to be the best way to proceed!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Called to Serve!

For Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Exodus 3:10 NLT, God speaking to Moses: “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

When God taps you on the shoulder, it’s time to get going! Consider the ridiculousness of disobeying God. It just never works out!

Moses gives the typical human response; we’ve all heard it: “I think you have the wrong guy!” But God’s not about to change his mind. He will equip you and walk alongside you as you fulfill His call.

Believers with keen eyes and ears will be watching for God’s opportunity rather than instinctively saying no.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Greatness of God!

February 21, 2022 Monday Message

Psalm 145:3 NLT: “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.”

This scripture is a psalm, a prayer and a hymn, but from David’s perspective, it’s his testimony! David’s life has been up and down. After being anointed as the next king of the Israelites, many tried to kill him. During his reign he was close to God, then far from God. After repenting and returning, he was again close to God, and from that place comes his testimony: God is great! God is the greatest ever! No one among us can understand just how great God is or measure his greatness!

The Bible says, “Nothing is impossible with God!” Nothing! As humans with scientific knowledge of mankind’s limitations, we tend to wrongly apply those same limitations to our perception of God. It’s wrong because God can do things beyond our wildest dreams! God formed an entire universe where nothing previously existed. God formed mankind out of dust and personally breathed life into our nostrils. When things got off-track, God could cause a great flood, and then rebuild earth’s population! Friends, there is nothing that God cannot do!

No one among us can measure God’s greatness, but we should all appreciate it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Love Lifted Me!

For Sunday, February 20, 2022

Psalm 144:7 NLT: “Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies.”

We tend to think of David as the mighty king of Israel, but a lot of his life was spent trying to claim the throne promised to him by God. David’s enemies were real; his attackers were life-threatening. How did it work out? God protected David, a man after his own heart, and David successfully led the Israelites for many years. God is good!

Each of us has battles in our own lives, which Jesus says is somewhat normal as we live among mankind. That’s when it’s time to pray for God’s everlasting lovingkindness to come to your rescue.

The hymn “Love Lifted Me” sings about God rescuing us from the deep waters and putting us back on solid ground. Life goes better when God’s in it with you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Family of God!

For Saturday, February 19, 2022

Psalm 135:14 NIV: “For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.”

Believers are adopted into the Holy Family. Believers are children of God. And God, like any good father, judges his children with love and mercy. His desire is that no one would be lost; that all would repent and return as one of His own.

When God looks after you, it’s family business!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Prayer!

For Friday, February 18, 2022

Psalm 120:1 NLT: “I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.”

This is a testimony that when you're dealt challenges in this world, you should bring your problems to the Lord. God can and will answer. The CEV translation simplifies it: "When I am in trouble, I pray." Good advice!

Remember that Jesus said we're bound to encounter difficulties as we journey through this life. But he also said, "I have overcome the world." That's why believers put their faith, hope and trust in Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living God. Given a choice of worldly woes or God Almighty, we should pick God every time!

Jesus conquered sin and death on the same day! Surely he can conquer your problems too!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Winning the Battle!

For Thursday, February 17, 2022

1 John 5:5 NLT: “Who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

A lot of people live life in a "re-active" mode. When something in life goes wrong, they react; they try to fix it. But they're always playing catch-up.

True believers live life in a "pro-active" mode. We are pre-equipped with Jesus. He explained that the world is fraught with tribulation, but that we can rejoice because he has overcome the world. Jesus secured our eternal destination. Knowing that heaven awaits fills us with hope!

Keep your eye on the final destination!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406