August 29, 2011 Monday Message:
Anticipation. Are you filled with anticipation for your life-after-this-life? Do you long to see what God has in store for you?
Are you ready to see the Son of Man in the sky, returning in a great cloud? Then you’ll know your salvation is near. Luke 15:27-28
We say the earth is not our home; heaven is our home. But in the end-times, God will restore the new heaven and the new earth, so the earth may be our home after all.
When we speak of life after death, what’s your vision; what is in your mind’s eye? For believers, the most important thing is that we will be living in the light, in the presence of our Lord. All things will go God’s way, and that will be good. “In the presence of YHWH” is a good place to spend eternity.
The worst thing about hell would be eternal separation from God, and the constant reminder that things are far better with God. Jesus taught us, “There, in torment, he (the rich man) saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side,” perpetually miserable, and constantly reminded that he should have made a different choice. Luke 16:23b
Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for you and me. Our mistakes, our sins and our shortcomings are covered – not just now – but for eternity. Eternal security is a huge undeserved gift, and Jesus chose to rescue us. Each of us should take a moment from time to time to appreciate and give thanks for the value of the place to which we are going.
Blessings,
Norton Lawellin
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Middle Ground - 3
August 22, 2011 Monday Message:
Two weeks ago we posed the question: Why did the Israelites take such a convoluted route out of Egypt? Last week we saw the answer: Because “…they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” God knows best. Exodus 13:17b NLT
But there’s another reason they spent so much time in Middle Ground. God’s people needed to learn to trust God. When they were slaves in Egypt, God came to rescue them. God is in the rescue business. They came up against the Red Sea and once again God came to the rescue. When they needed water, when they needed food, when they needed meat, God was always there for them.
But the Hebrew people weren’t always there for God. Middle Ground was fertile soil for whining and complaining: "Why can't we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic.” Numbers 1:4b-5 The mutiny wasn’t against Moses as much as it was against God. “We were better off in Egypt; we were better off as slaves.” Numbers 11:18b
Even Moses needed reassurance. When they were promised meat, Moses didn’t believe it was possible. So God responded with a question of his own: “Is my arm too short? (Are you questioning my goodness or my competence? Is this a capability issue?) Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Numbers 11:23
God always has the resources to take us from “here” to “there.” He’s Lord over economic hardship, disease and illness, employment disappointments, family systems and relationships, addictions and church splits. God can help, God has what you need, and God is in the rescue business.
If you trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, He will move you out of your middle ground and into your land of milk and honey.
Press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:14
Norton Lawellin
Two weeks ago we posed the question: Why did the Israelites take such a convoluted route out of Egypt? Last week we saw the answer: Because “…they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” God knows best. Exodus 13:17b NLT
But there’s another reason they spent so much time in Middle Ground. God’s people needed to learn to trust God. When they were slaves in Egypt, God came to rescue them. God is in the rescue business. They came up against the Red Sea and once again God came to the rescue. When they needed water, when they needed food, when they needed meat, God was always there for them.
But the Hebrew people weren’t always there for God. Middle Ground was fertile soil for whining and complaining: "Why can't we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic.” Numbers 1:4b-5 The mutiny wasn’t against Moses as much as it was against God. “We were better off in Egypt; we were better off as slaves.” Numbers 11:18b
Even Moses needed reassurance. When they were promised meat, Moses didn’t believe it was possible. So God responded with a question of his own: “Is my arm too short? (Are you questioning my goodness or my competence? Is this a capability issue?) Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Numbers 11:23
God always has the resources to take us from “here” to “there.” He’s Lord over economic hardship, disease and illness, employment disappointments, family systems and relationships, addictions and church splits. God can help, God has what you need, and God is in the rescue business.
If you trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, He will move you out of your middle ground and into your land of milk and honey.
Press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:14
Norton Lawellin
Monday, August 15, 2011
Middle Ground - 2
August 15, 2011 Monday Message:
Most people don’t really welcome change — change in our lives, our personal and family situations, and for our discussion, change in our churches and our ministries. Things may not have always been the way they are now, but that situation changed quite some time ago and we’ve grown accustomed to the new status quo. We’re comfortable with the way things are. We don’t want to step out of our comfort zone and once again endure change.
But life’s journey is a series of God-directed transitions. Bert and Ernie teach a Sesame Street skit where they begin right “here” and need to get over “there.” The problem is that when they get “there,” that place becomes the new “here,” and “there” is a different place, another journey. In a weird Muppet way, you can’t get “there” from “here” — they’re trapped in perpetual transition. When Bert and Ernie think they’ve achieved their destination, they discover that someone has set a new, higher goal.
God is always taking us from “here” to “there.” Sometimes we resist the change, sometimes we drag our feet, but eventually we go in God’s direction. The Israelites didn’t like being slaves to the Egyptians, and constantly complained about the hard work. But after God and Moses told Pharaoh to, “Let My people go,” (quite a project!) the people persistently resisted the once-welcomed change. “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” Exodus 16:3 NLT Manna, schmana.
If our focus is only on the transition, we might never take the first step out of our Egypt. Therefore the first step in our transitional journey is understanding why our present situation is unacceptable, how bad it would be to stay where we are. Equipped with a bleak picture of the present, it becomes unthinkable that we would not begin our journey through the Red Sea, into the new frontier that God has waiting for us.
Last week’s question: Why did the Israelites take such a convoluted route out of Egypt? Because “…they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” God knows best. Exodus 13:17b NLT
We’ll conclude our “Middle Ground” discussion next week.
Keep moving forward!
Norton Lawellin
Most people don’t really welcome change — change in our lives, our personal and family situations, and for our discussion, change in our churches and our ministries. Things may not have always been the way they are now, but that situation changed quite some time ago and we’ve grown accustomed to the new status quo. We’re comfortable with the way things are. We don’t want to step out of our comfort zone and once again endure change.
But life’s journey is a series of God-directed transitions. Bert and Ernie teach a Sesame Street skit where they begin right “here” and need to get over “there.” The problem is that when they get “there,” that place becomes the new “here,” and “there” is a different place, another journey. In a weird Muppet way, you can’t get “there” from “here” — they’re trapped in perpetual transition. When Bert and Ernie think they’ve achieved their destination, they discover that someone has set a new, higher goal.
God is always taking us from “here” to “there.” Sometimes we resist the change, sometimes we drag our feet, but eventually we go in God’s direction. The Israelites didn’t like being slaves to the Egyptians, and constantly complained about the hard work. But after God and Moses told Pharaoh to, “Let My people go,” (quite a project!) the people persistently resisted the once-welcomed change. “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” Exodus 16:3 NLT Manna, schmana.
If our focus is only on the transition, we might never take the first step out of our Egypt. Therefore the first step in our transitional journey is understanding why our present situation is unacceptable, how bad it would be to stay where we are. Equipped with a bleak picture of the present, it becomes unthinkable that we would not begin our journey through the Red Sea, into the new frontier that God has waiting for us.
Last week’s question: Why did the Israelites take such a convoluted route out of Egypt? Because “…they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” God knows best. Exodus 13:17b NLT
We’ll conclude our “Middle Ground” discussion next week.
Keep moving forward!
Norton Lawellin
Monday, August 8, 2011
Middle Ground - 1
August 08, 2011 Monday Message:
It’s a long journey from “Let My people go,” to the land of milk and honey. Our lives are often challenging as God-directed change takes us from point ‘A’ to point ‘B.’
We’re usually fairly certain of our point of origin, the place where our transition begins. But our destination is more vague, not always obvious at first. The Jews kept trying to camp in the desert; God kept telling them, “Not yet, I’ll let you know when to stop.”
Today, flying time between Cairo and Jerusalem is 32 minutes. You can drive it in about 6 hours. How long should their journey have taken walking, or with donkeys? A week? A month? Why was the destination not achieved for 40 years? We don’t know, but God has his reasons.
God has a plan, and He’s never wrong. God may be taking you to a new or different ministry, a new congregation, a new city or a new country. To what is God calling you? That’s your new home, your Israel.
Sometimes the move isn’t geographic – it’s a change in moral character, a change in lifestyle, eliminating a shortcoming or rebuilding a relationship. Maybe God wants you to make a change in how you’re living. Have you left your Egypt yet?
Whatever our life-changing event, oftentimes we’ve left point ’A’ but have not yet arrived at point ‘B.’ Were in transition, somewhere on the road, in the “Middle Ground.” We’ll explore “middle ground” further in the next couple of weeks.
Keep moving forward!
Norton Lawellin
It’s a long journey from “Let My people go,” to the land of milk and honey. Our lives are often challenging as God-directed change takes us from point ‘A’ to point ‘B.’
We’re usually fairly certain of our point of origin, the place where our transition begins. But our destination is more vague, not always obvious at first. The Jews kept trying to camp in the desert; God kept telling them, “Not yet, I’ll let you know when to stop.”
Today, flying time between Cairo and Jerusalem is 32 minutes. You can drive it in about 6 hours. How long should their journey have taken walking, or with donkeys? A week? A month? Why was the destination not achieved for 40 years? We don’t know, but God has his reasons.
God has a plan, and He’s never wrong. God may be taking you to a new or different ministry, a new congregation, a new city or a new country. To what is God calling you? That’s your new home, your Israel.
Sometimes the move isn’t geographic – it’s a change in moral character, a change in lifestyle, eliminating a shortcoming or rebuilding a relationship. Maybe God wants you to make a change in how you’re living. Have you left your Egypt yet?
Whatever our life-changing event, oftentimes we’ve left point ’A’ but have not yet arrived at point ‘B.’ Were in transition, somewhere on the road, in the “Middle Ground.” We’ll explore “middle ground” further in the next couple of weeks.
Keep moving forward!
Norton Lawellin
Monday, August 1, 2011
God Hears Your Prayers
August 01, 2011 Monday Message:
“He (The LORD) will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.” Psalms 102:17 NLT
The NLT title of Psalm 102 says it all: “A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord.”
Do you ever feel so overwhelmed that your perception is that there is no hope? The psalmist clearly felt that way. He pours out his problems to the Lord, praying to God: “Pay attention! This is a cry for help! And hurry—this can't wait!” verse 2 (MSG)
The psalmist is in trouble, and finds solutions not in his own doing, but in the Lord’s doing. God will hear the prayers of the destitute, and do his God-stuff to set things right.
Psalm 102 says that Zion is also in trouble. Real enemies with real weapons who easily out-number God’s people pose a real threat. “Zion” is a metaphor for the Hebrew people, the sanctified worship of God, the Temple and Jerusalem, the Holy City¬ – you know – all that God-stuff.
Interestingly, “Jerusalem” comes from the words “Ir Shalom,” which mean “city of peace.” Not just any peace – but “Shalom,” God’s peace that passes all understanding. It must bother God greatly that His Holy City is continually threatened. And in the end, God will win this battle too. “For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem. Then He will appear in his glory.” verse 16 (NLT)
So remember, no matter how bad things may look right now, God is your light at the end of the tunnel. He is always faithful, and He always knows exactly what is needed. He always wins.
Everything will be all right in the end. That’s what the Bible says.
Norton Lawellin
“He (The LORD) will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.” Psalms 102:17 NLT
The NLT title of Psalm 102 says it all: “A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord.”
Do you ever feel so overwhelmed that your perception is that there is no hope? The psalmist clearly felt that way. He pours out his problems to the Lord, praying to God: “Pay attention! This is a cry for help! And hurry—this can't wait!” verse 2 (MSG)
The psalmist is in trouble, and finds solutions not in his own doing, but in the Lord’s doing. God will hear the prayers of the destitute, and do his God-stuff to set things right.
Psalm 102 says that Zion is also in trouble. Real enemies with real weapons who easily out-number God’s people pose a real threat. “Zion” is a metaphor for the Hebrew people, the sanctified worship of God, the Temple and Jerusalem, the Holy City¬ – you know – all that God-stuff.
Interestingly, “Jerusalem” comes from the words “Ir Shalom,” which mean “city of peace.” Not just any peace – but “Shalom,” God’s peace that passes all understanding. It must bother God greatly that His Holy City is continually threatened. And in the end, God will win this battle too. “For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem. Then He will appear in his glory.” verse 16 (NLT)
So remember, no matter how bad things may look right now, God is your light at the end of the tunnel. He is always faithful, and He always knows exactly what is needed. He always wins.
Everything will be all right in the end. That’s what the Bible says.
Norton Lawellin
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