Psalm 41 - People of Integrity

April 25, 2016 Monday Message:

“Anyone who is kind to the poor will be very happy. The LORD will help him when life is difficult.” Psalms 41:1

Psalm 41 finds David ill and not feeling good about life in general. Many people came to visit, but they were just looking for bad things to say, to slander him. Some wanted him to die, so there could be a new king, David’s evil son Absalom.

The parallel here is that Jesus also had an evil friend, who betrayed him at the worst possible time, Judas Iscariot. Jesus lamented using the words of verse 9, “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.”

But there was a good visitor, the LORD God, who made David well again. God is still on his throne; he looked after David, he looked after Jesus, and he’ll look after you and me. As Christians, we’ve been adopted into the Holy Family, and God has blessed us with all the rights and privileges given to a son or daughter.

God always wins; David was restored, and his enemies could not triumph over him. David’s integrity kept him in God’s presence forever. (Psalm 41:12) No matter our trouble, we too can be restored. People of integrity will remain in the LORD’S presence forvever.

“The LORD protects and preserves those who help the weak. God counts them blessed in their time of trouble.” (from Psalm 41:1-2 NIV)

Norton Lawellin

Come worship with us! Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday at 10 am in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, May 1, 2016, we’ll open up Romans 8, living by the power of the Holy Spirit. See you at church!

Psalm 40

April 18, 2016 Monday Message:

“The LORD lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a solid rock.” Psalms 40:2 NIV

As Christians, we’ve learned to live our lives a better way. When God first came into our lives, he found some of us up to our knees in the slimy pit, and others bobbing in the deep end of the mud and mire.

But our past doesn’t matter with God. He reassembled our lives, and we have all been given firm footing on the solid rock foundation provided by the LORD.

God is in the rescue business. His desire is that no one would be lost, so he will do everything in his power to salvage each one of us, if that’s what we want.

But God will not remove our free thought, our freedom to choose. When God opens a door for us, we can choose to enter or not. But his desire is that we would choose to enter.

David lived life both ways – he stepped in the mire, and then repented and returned to the LORD – and decided that life was much better on the solid rock.

“On Christ the Solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” (from #370, the Lutheran Hymnal)

Norton Lawellin

Come worship with us! Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday at 10 am in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, April 24, 2016, we’ll look into Romans 7, living under the law vs redeemed by Jesus. See you at church!

Psalm 39

April 11, 2016 Monday Message:

“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days.” Psalms 39:4a NIV

David has been sick, and his thinks he might soon die. As the end of life draws nearer, we all seem to increase our focus on the next reality.

David laments that his life is short; and like David, ALL of our lives are relatively short. He compares his lifespan to the width of his hand. A hand is not very wide, so life seems short, like a burst of wind.

But what David really wants in Psalm 39, as he prepares to transition from this reality to the next reality, is for God to protect him from the bad things that he did. And isn’t that what we all want – someone to blot out our record of sin, someone to ensure a way for us to spend eternity with the Father?

Indeed, God eventually did just as David hoped. Jesus, God’s own son, was sent to be the sacrifice for the sin of the world, and now we ALL have a path to spend the next reality in the presence of God, rather than eternally separated from God.

We are saved by grace through faith, and Hebrews 11:6 teaches that, “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” So stir up your faith and tag along with Jesus, who has already completed all the hard work in advance!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday at 10 am in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, April 17, 2016, Pastor Michael Pilla brings a message from Romans 6. We welcome New Hope Tour day!

Psalm 38

April 04, 2016 Monday Message:

“LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.” Psalms 38:15 NIV

Our lives are a lot like David’s – too many pitfalls, snares and trials. Too many evil people out to “get” us. And eventually, discouragement invades our minds.

Jesus never promised that our lives would be trouble-free. In fact, quite the opposite. “In this world, you will have trouble (tribulation.) But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33b So anything bad, evil, out-to-get-us is “darkness,” trying to take our focus off the light.

We know that Jesus is the light of the world, so our problems didn’t come from him. Rather, Jesus is the solution for what the evil one has tossed into this world.

Right after a few things go wrong in our lives, Satan oftentimes puts one of his best tools into high gear – discouragement. We’re human, so we fret, we worry, we “coulda-woulda-shoulda,” when what we ought to do is pray for God to intervene, and then patiently wait for his help. No one ever said, “When my life was a mess, the worry got me through the whole thing.” No – it turns out that worry is unproductive at best, and Jesus is always the best answer.

“Do not be far from me, My God.” Psalms 38:21b

Norton Lawellin

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