Psalm 35

February 29, 2016 Monday Message:

“Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!” Psalm 35:1

The Bible says, “To all who would receive him, (Jesus,) to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 In other words, believers have been adopted into the Holy family, with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities afforded all family members.

So God’s family is your family now; you are on God’s side of things. And if you’re on God’s side, then reciprocally, you’d like God to be on your side too. That’s what David was asking in Psalm 35. This could have been over a conflict with Saul, or with David’s son Absalom, or something else – we don’t know. But we hear David’s plea, “I could use a little help here!” Just as God helped and protected David, he can do the same for you and me.

“How long, LORD, will you look on?” Psalm 35:17a This speaks to God’s timing. Personally, I’m perpetually out of sync with God’s timing. I tend to want to put good things into action right away. So why isn’t God working with me on this? Maybe it’s not the right time yet. Maybe I need to get more people on-board. Maybe I shouldn’t start out under-resourced. God will decide when the time is right, and His timing is always perfect.

Because God has been good to David, he writes, “My mouth will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praises all day long.” Psalm 35:28 Join David in his praise, today!

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at 10 am every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, March 6, 2016, we’ll dig deep inside Romans Ch. 3. See you at church!

Psalm 34

February 22, 2016 Monday Message:

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” Psalm 34:8a

David had been through a lot, having to hide from all the people trying to kill him. But the LORD always protected him. David’s had tried living both with and without God, and things always went better when God was involved. So David advises others to do the same: “C’mon, give it a try! Taste and see that the LORD is good!”

Ironically, this solid advice came out of a challenging time for David. He was forced to act like a mad man, a crazy person, before the troublesome king Abimelech, who finally ordered David to get out of town. Turns out that was what David wanted all along, to get out from under that king.

Some people believe that “taste and see” is also a reference to the Eucharist or Holy Communion. We eat bread to remember Jesus’ broken body. We drink from the cup to remember his blood shed to redeem us.

Psalm 34:19 speaks about “the righteous,” which would seem to be all Christian believers, but some translate this as “the righteous ONE,” meaning Jesus, with verse 20 being a reference to the crucifixion. “He keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken.”

So, like David, give God a try; see how well things work out. “Taste and see that the LORD is good!”

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at 10 am every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, Pastor Michael Pilla wraps up Romans Ch. 2.

Psalm 33

February 15, 2016 Monday Message:

“Sing to Him a new song...” Psalm 33:3a

Musicians love Psalm 33: “Sing joyfully to the LORD; Praise the LORD with the harp; Make music to Him on the 10-string lyre. Play skillfully and shout for joy!” The Hebrew word can be translated either “shout” or “sing,” so “Shout to the LORD” could be “Sing to the LORD.” But we shouldn’t stop there; let’s look at WHY we sing and shout all this praise.

#1 God is our creator, creator of the earth, creator of the universe… creator of ALL things, near and far. “For God spoke, and it came to be.” Psalm 33:9a

#2 God is the final authority in all matters. “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever.” Psalm 33:11a

#3 God loves us, cares for us, and provides for us. “Our Hope is in His unfailing love.” Psalm 33:18b

So Psalm 33 gives us at least three good reasons for WHY we should sing a new song to the LORD. It concludes with a prayer: “May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” Psalm 33:22

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at 10 am every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016, Pastor Michael Pilla continues teaching from Romans.

Psalm 32

February 08, 2016 Monday Message:

“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away…” Psalm 32:3a

God gave each of us a conscience. When we’ve done something wrong - said the wrong thing, lied, cheated, stolen, gossiped, hurt someone else – the incident bothers our conscience. It keeps eating at us until, finally, we’re all-consumed with the situation. We need a way out. We need a solution.

David wrote, “I confessed my sins to the LORD, and He forgave me and took away my guilt.” Good answer! from Psalm 32:5

In fact, God already knows what you did. But confessing before God lets HIM know that YOU know you were wrong. You pray for forgiveness and for God’s help in changing your ways.

The Bible word we translate as ‘repent’ implies a change of direction. We were heading the wrong way, now we want to go the right way. We had been facing away from God, getting farther from God. Now we want to turn back towards God, and come closer to God.

Psalm 32 concludes: “The wicked will have to suffer, but those who trust in the LORD are protected by his constant love. Let the righteous celebrate because of what the LORD has done. God’s people shout for joy!”

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at 10 am every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016, Pastor Michael Pilla continues teaching from Romans, and we welcome our guests from New Hope Center. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Psalm 31

February 01, 2016 Monday Message:

“Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.” Psalm 31:5

If you attend a church where hymnals are used, that book doesn’t contain only the 5 songs you’re singing today. Most hymnals contain hundreds of songs. A lot of those share the same theme: God is mighty, God is powerful, God’s character is unchanging, God is eternal, God loves us. Now a poet could phrase those thoughts hundreds of different ways, and a musician could sing those words of praise to a thousand different melodies.

Psalms is often called the hymnal of the Bible, so it’s not surprising that those same God-themes keep recurring. And since David penned the majority of Psalms, they’re a mirror of his life-experiences with God, not unlike our own walk with the LORD.

If you could graph David’s life, it would look like a roller-coaster – up and down, up and down. David, like most of us, would sin and then repent, sin and repent, up and down. David’s enemies and later Israel’s enemies would come after him, but then God would rescue him and deliver him, up and down.

David had learned that he was powerless over most of these situations. The solution was to ‘let go and let God.’ “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 David NEEDED God. It was time for David to get out of the driver’s seat, and trust God to direct his path. Experience had taught him that life worked better when God was in charge.

“The LORD preserves those who are true to Him.” Psalms 31:23b

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at 10 am every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, Feb. 07, 2016, Pastor Michael Pilla begins teaching from Romans.

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