Book of Life!

For Saturday, August 31, 2024:

Daniel 12:1 NLT: “At that time Michael, the archangel, the great prince, who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued.”

"I will never leave you or forsake you,” said Jesus. Yes, there is a Day of the Lord, a day of judgment, a day of reckoning. That will be the worst day ever for non-believers. But those who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives will be rescued and saved from a boat-load of misery. Jesus promised. Everything he ever predicted has come to pass, so we have every reason to expect that the end times will play out just as he predicted.

Securing your eternal destination is a logical reason to make sure your name is written in the book of life. When believers meet their maker, they might be asked if they truly belong in the Kingdom. Check the Book of Life. In spite of living on earth where all have sinned, remarkably, believers will find their names in that book! Rather than perishing in the tribulation, believers will ride with their Savior, victorious!

If you know someone whose name is not in the book, you are the perfect one to help them achieve salvation.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Love Not the World!

For Friday, August 30, 2024:

1 John 2:15 NLT: “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.”

Love is a two-way street. If you love someone or something, you expect to receive reciprocal love in return. And all the world has to offer is sin, short-term pleasure with long-term problems. In “the world,” Satan wants to divert your focus from the Father. This is a battle that believers must win, and the Devil must lose.

As we focus on eternity, the Father’s love becomes evident. Christians speak of agape love, love that cannot be destroyed. It’s love like when a parent welcomes children back home, no matter what they’ve done wrong. They are, after all, our children. And believers are children of God. Jesus said to pray to “Our Father in heaven.”

As a believer, you’re a member of the Holy Family, so act like it. In your heart, join the family of God. Jesus will welcome us with open arms as we transition to the next reality. It’s God’s unconditional lovingkindness!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Winning Team!

For Thursday, August 29, 2024:

Revelation 2:10a NLT: “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.”

Life has its ups and downs, and a lot of the downs are a direct result of the devil. Do not be afraid; do not worry. It’s only a temporary problem. In the end, the devil never wins the battle.

We are blessed to have Bibles wherein every word is God-inspired truth. We can flip to the back of the book and see who ultimately wins. Remember, God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is the creator of everyone and everything, and Satan is one of His created beings. In the end, the Creator always wins.

"If you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.” After all, as believers we’re now sons and daughters of the Most High!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Baby Christians!

For Wednesday, August 28, 2024:

1 John 2:13b NLT: “I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one.”

Here’s the problem: A lot of sin is short-term fun. If it wasn’t fun, nobody would be doing those things. But the reality is that sin is long-term pain, something to be avoided at all costs.

As people become new believers, remember that they’ve been fighting an extreme battle with the evil one. Surviving that encounter is commendable. And winning that battle is cause for celebration! It’s a dividing line in our lives. After Jesus, everything will be different. Everything will be better!

We should celebrate with new believers, and then help them mature. It’s not good for them to remain baby Christians forever. They could become our future leaders who go on to teach truth to many others!

God bless the young in faith and those who mentor them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Forgiven!

For Tuesday, August 27, 2024:

1 John 2:12 NLT: “I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.”

At one time, heaven was compounding an accounting of our transgressions – our sins. Jesus personally redeemed us from that sin-prison. We who had no clue as to how to break the sin-cycle, were suddenly rescued, our accounts wiped clean. We were given an undeserved re-boot, a second chance to live a better way, all because of the work Jesus completed on the cross.

And now we who have said “yes,” who have accepted the free gift of salvation, are adopted into the Holy Family. We are considered “Children of God.”

And God only wants the best for his kids!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Love!

August 26, 2024 Monday Message:

1 John 2:7 NLT: “Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.”

John is endorsing the teaching of Jesus. The command to love the Lord and love our neighbors was included in the Old Testament, but was not being emphasized or being lived out. Temple leaders and Pharisees knew God’s laws, and their role had become that of enforcers. Their aim was to catch somebody doing something wrong, and call them on it.

John is trying to convince people to give the “Jesus plan” a try. Jesus was always honest, kind and helpful. He’d never sidestep someone’s problem. Jesus would always come to the rescue and repair a situation, heal someone or bring a body back to life. Jesus was always looking to do the next right thing. Jesus was always more concerned with others than with his own well being.

The “Jesus plan” certainly became popular. We’re still teaching it two thousand years later!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Prayer!

For Sunday, August 25, 2024:

Matthew 6:5 NLT: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.”

Interestingly, in the original language, hypocrite refers to an actor, someone pretending to be something they are not. In this case, that someone is pretending to be deeply religious, but it’s all just a show, an attempt to appear more pious than they actually are. Jesus teaches that there’s no reward in that.

The truth is that God knows your heart. He knows what you deep-down believe. God already knows your level of sincerity.

Your prayer should be based on your friendship, your relationship with God. He wants nothing but the best for you! Be honest; be straightforward. Keep it simple. It’s just the two of you – you and God. It shouldn’t be a show for anyone else.

By the way, we don’t get extra points for using more words!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Enthusiasm!

For Saturday, August 24, 2024:

Revelation 2:4b NLT, Complaint against the church in Ephesus: “You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”

It seems that a lot of the early churches had gotten a wee bit off track. In this case, the church in Ephesus had lost steam, lost its passion, lost its appreciation for the work Jesus did.

The concept is pretty simple. God doesn’t want an enthusiastic church to fall into complacency. This message isn't just for the church in Ephesus; it’s for all churches and all believers. God doesn’t want an enthusiastic believer to fall into complacency either. Our church graph and our personal graph should continue up and to the right, never peaking out, never falling down.

If we’re not moving forward, we’re falling behind!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Son of Man!

For Friday, August 23, 2024:

Revelation 1:17b-18 NLT, the risen Jesus speaking: “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

John had been found guilty of preaching the word of God and testifying about Jesus. Consequently, the Romans exiled him to the island of Patmos, to separate John from the general population. The Romans expected John to be “over,” done, finished forever. They never expected Jesus to show up!

The Son of Man stood in the middle of seven lampstands, wearing a long robe with a gold sash. His head and hair were white like snow, and his eyes looked like they were on fire! Feet of bronze completed the ensemble. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. His face was bright like the sun, and his voice thundered over the scene: “Write in a book everything you see!” John did just as instructed, so now we have the Book of Revelation.

When a heavenly being appears to a human, his first words always seem to be, “Be not afraid.” Apparently, an encounter with a heavenly resident is awesome-scary! Jesus said he would live forever, and voilà – here he is! Jesus was resurrected first so that believers could follow in his footsteps. He went ahead to prepare our place in eternity.

Jesus conquered sin and death in the same event. The result is a free gift to all of us who believe!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus vs Sin!

For Thursday, August 22, 2024:

1 John 2:6 AMP: “Whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.”

The person who truly knows God will increasingly live a righteous life. None of us is perfect, but sincere believers endeavor to walk the path of Jesus, the one who was without sin. If a person does not do this, if that person is not increasingly dissatisfied with and distressed by sin, that person is not God’s child. While perfection is unattainable, much progress is possible, and those who love the Lord do better with each passing day.

Jesus is without sin while the devil is full of sin, and each of us is allowed to choose one or the other. God gave us free will with the expectation that we would choose wisely. Jesus walking on our planet affords us that prudent choice.

Spurgeon writes, “Sin may enter the heart, and fight for dominion, but it cannot sit upon the throne.” The throne in your heart is reserved for the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

So don’t just avoid sin; detest sin! Hate sin with all your heart. That’s Jesus’ position!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Atonement vs Forgiveness!

For Wednesday, August 21, 2024:

1 John 2:2 NLT: “Jesus himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

The barrier between God and mankind is sin. But sin no longer holds that position if we receive the atonement, the payment of the penalty for sin, that God has provided through his Son Jesus. But atonement, paying the penalty, doesn’t equal forgiveness, so we must take the next step.

Jesus is holding the door to heaven open for us, but we have to walk through on our own. The penalty for our sin has been paid, but each of us needs to ask for personal forgiveness. Repent and acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior. Jesus claimed that a place has been prepared in eternity for believers who repent and are forgiven. Does our faith let us trust that every word from Jesus is truth?

With gratitude, accept the free gift offered to you by the Savior. Lock in your salvation today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Storehouse of Forgiveness!

For Tuesday, August 20, 2024:

1 John 1:9 NLT: “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. If we confess those sins and claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are offered forgiveness. But we don’t then instantly become perfect. Even the Apostle Paul was challenged. He said that in spite of knowing what he should do, he found himself thinking and doing things he shouldn’t do. He constantly fought a kind of tug-of-war between good and evil, between Heaven and the world.

This teaches us that repentance is more than a single event. We don’t just confess once and expect that everything is A-OK, because we know that our sin-problem is ongoing. And if our sins are ongoing, our confession and repentance need to be ongoing as well.

Thankfully, God has a storehouse of forgiveness, enough to cover all who confess, repent, and claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Talk to God today. He’s waiting to hear from you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Substance vs Circumstances!

August 19, 2024 Monday Message:

1 John 1:3-4 NLT: “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that your joy may be complete.”

Happiness may be fleeting, but the Joy of the Lord is permanent!

Earthly happiness is a reaction to circumstances, and circumstances can change, sometimes better, sometimes worse. But the work of Jesus on the cross – the forgiveness of our sins and his promise of salvation – fills us with the Joy of the Lord, a forever solution to mankind’s sin problem.

What really matters? My wife has a label printer, and our grandson loves putting labels on everything. Our living room houses a piano, two guitars and a ukulele, so he labeled it, “Music Room.” I want us all to dig out our mental label makers and separate everything in our lives into one of two categories: substance or circumstances.

The circumstances in which we find ourselves are constantly changing. We’re called upon to interact with other humans. What could possibly go wrong? (Joke! Sarcasm!)

But things of substance have eternal ramifications. Things of substance matter. Their worth is ‘til the end of time! When Jesus set believers up with assurance of salvation, it was both a “now and forever” solution. Gratitude for Jesus’ gift to us – the gift of eternal life in God’s presence – fills believers with joy that can not be taken away.

Laugh off circumstances. Live for things of substance!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Eternal!

For Sunday, August 18, 2024:

Revelation 1:8 NLT: “’I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,’ says the Lord God. ‘I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.’”

When there was no planet earth, no sun and no stars in the sky, God envisioned the universe in which we live. In spite of mankind’s failures, our God believed that creation of the world was deserving of his effort.

Just how big is our God? He created the stars and each of their planets. Their placement and direction keep everything in perfect harmony. He created space in which to display his creations. He placed mankind on one special planet, and equipped it with everything needed for their survival. None of what you see was conceived by any person or any government. Remember that God is eternal. He is responsible for all creation, the beginning, and will reign on the Day of the Lord, the end.

Sunday is a good day to join your fellow believers to worship, praise and thank our Father in Heaven. He has given us so much; it’s challenging to take it all in! Worship is the right thing to do!

See you at church!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship