Son of God!

For Thursday, October 17, 2024:

Matthew 16:15-16 NLT: “Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Who do you say I am?’

Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one; the Son of the living God.’”

Believers are adopted into the Holy Family, children of God, and therefore, modern-day disciples. If you had been in that group and Jesus called upon you to answer his question, would you have the correct answer on the tip of your tongue, just like Simon Peter?

Messiah is a Hebrew word; Christ is a Greek word; both mean anointed one, the one chosen by God himself. Peter is testifying that Jesus is more than just another human being. Jesus is “heaven-sent,” sent by God Almighty to offer forgiveness of sins to believers, and to course-correct religion on earth.

Even those who knew God and loved the Lord got the details of religion wrong. Even those who worshiped at the Temple and taught at the Temple didn’t get religion right. I believe the most egregious error was the lack of compassion and caring for others. To say that people at that time were self-centered would be an understatement. The people needed to be taught about being nice, kind, helpful and loving their neighbors. That’s what the Bible said long before Jesus came to earth. It’s time everyone got it right!

Jesus knows exactly what we need to do. After all, he’s the Son of the Living God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Yeast?

For Wednesday, October 16, 2024:

Matthew 16:6 NLT: “’Watch out!’ Jesus warned them. ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

After the disciples crossed the lake and discovered that no one brought any bread, Jesus made the above statement. And the disciples, God bless them, were a simple lot. They didn’t perceive the higher meaning in his words. They were still looking for bread! Yeast? Are we gonna bake our own bread? What’s for supper? Tunnel vision, for sure!

Friends, you don’t need much yeast to make bread rise. I found a recipe with 10 cups of flour that only needed 4 tiny teaspoons of yeast to make the whole batch plump up! Jesus, it turns out, was warning about the untruths being taught about God and religion by the Pharisees and Sadducees. Lies are like yeast! If a lie gets repeated enough times, people will start believing it. And people tend to accept the teaching of their spiritual mentors, even when they’re wrong. But remember, it only takes 4 teaspoons of false teaching to affect the entire Synagogue or Temple!

Unfortunately, many US churches have abandoned their textbook, the Bible. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that more false churches exist than those who teach the truth. Those false teachers are wrong. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and if something was sin 4,000 years ago, it’s still sin nowadays. Read about it! It’s all in the book!

Truth is God’s opinion on everything! Worship at a church that teaches only truth!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Believers!

For Tuesday, October 15, 2024:

1 John 5:10 NLT: “All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.”

Friends, God doesn’t want anyone to steal, see Commandment #8, so I’m aghast and somewhat confused when someone steals from a church. Frankly, if I was a burglar, I wouldn’t want to take a chance on stealing from God. It seems like he could easily set things right, and that wouldn’t be pretty!

We need to remember that a person like that doesn’t believe. Yet. So they don’t fully fear the consequences of their actions. Before any of us comes to believe, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, our ears and our hearts to the truth, that Jesus is the Son of God and that everything he taught is truth; that Jesus is the way, the truth and the key to life eternal. But when the Holy Spirit taps a person on the shoulder, they can choose to say “no,” to close their eyes and continue down the wrong path. God doesn’t force loyalty upon anyone; it’s our choice to accept the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Those who believe know the truth and are saved. They have become children of God, destined to live with Him forever. Those who don’t yet believe still need to hear our testimonies!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship