Compassion!

Monday Message for August 31, 2020. 

Mark 8:2 ESV, Jesus speaking: “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.”

Jesus wrote the book on compassion. When he perceives a need, he steps in to fill it. This feeding of 4,000 is similar to his previous feeding of 5,000. Perhaps Jesus was hoping that the disciples might reason, “You’ve done this before - you can do the same kind of work again!” Hopefully Jesus’ past faithfulness would point to him meeting present needs. For Jesus, it’s also a teaching moment. 

Sensing a hungry multitude, Jesus presented the dilemma to the disciples. “What should we do? These people have followed for three days. If I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint along the way. Some of them have come from afar. So what should we do?”

If you were present that day among the disciples, what would YOU have him do? The obvious answer is to solve the problem, provide the food, feed the people. That’s what Jesus did once before; that’s what needs to be done again. And Jesus makes it so. 

What is your greatest need nowadays? Most of us have food, but we need protection from the coronavirus. Is ending the civil unrest in our communities or reconciling racial injustice high on your list of needs? Whatever your greatest need, Jesus can meet that need. Remember, compassion is a trend with Jesus! And that gives us hope!

Blessings and safety to all today! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Shine!

For Sunday, August 30, 2020. 

Matthew 5:16 NIV: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Followers of Jesus are adopted into the Holy Family and filled with the joy of the Lord! As a group, they tend to be much happier than those whose eternal destination is uncertain. In the Bible, light shines from goodness and evil lurks in darkness. Jesus is using that analogy, encouraging believers to let their light, their newfound joy, shine into the world! 

We wouldn’t light a lamp and then hide it under a basket! That wouldn’t make any sense! We can’t force people to be Christians; it’s a decision each of us must make for ourselves. Christianity grows by attracting others. They see our light shining, our joy, and want what we have! As friends of Jesus, we gladly share the Good News!

By the way, we don’t do our “good deeds” to get into heaven. Jesus has already reserved our place in the hereafter. We do good deeds out of gratitude for what Jesus did for us. 

So don’t be a ‘closet believer.’ Rather, let your light shine into the world and see what God will do with it! Many may find hope in seeing your shining light!

Blessings to all on this Sunday! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

God's Mercy!

For Saturday, August 29, 2020. 

Matthew 5:7 ESV: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

This verse is part of Jesus’ greatest message, the Sermon on the Mount, which includes ‘The Beatitudes,’ lessons of extreme joy, blessedness and happiness. 

This seems to be a recurring theme with Jesus, that what goes around comes around - you reap what you sow!

The principle is common to all religions encouraging people to treat each other with kindness. The Buddhists and Hindus call it ‘karma,’ and we’ve adopted their word into our jargon. 

Jesus taught, “Forgive us our trespasses an we forgive those who trespass against us,” promising that God will offer us the same measure of mercy that we show others.

So love your neighbor, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. God has promised to return that love to you, and that’s a good reason to have hope! 

Blessings and safety to all today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Healing Hope!

For Friday, August 28, 2020. 

Mark 8:25 ESV: “Jesus laid his hands on the man’s eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”

I love Jesus’ miracles of healing! This man was totally blind to begin with. Jesus first rubbed spit on the man’s eyes (Is that “Holy spit?) and laid hands on him. Checking on their progress, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 

The man replied, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”

Jesus then laid his hands right on the man’s eyes, and now he could see clearly. The principle here is that Jesus can restore, Jesus can rescue and Jesus can heal, and he won’t quit until the job is 100% finished and he has done his best! 

With the coronavirus and the civil unrest in our country, we’re facing some uphill battles. We’re looking for hope, and friends, Jesus is the only answer. Jesus can heal individuals and heal our cities and our nation. He can heal, rescue and restore us. Jesus has the original blueprints, and can put people and situations back to the way they were originally designed. 

Jesus won’t quit until the job is 100% finished and he has done his best! 

Blessings and safety today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

The Gift!

For Thursday, August 27, 2020. 

Ephesians 2:8 CJB: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

God has a gift for you! And that’s cause for a celebration! Grace (of God) is unmerited divine assistance given to mankind, in this case to assure our presence with God in eternity. 

We receive that gift because of our faith, first believing that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the creator of all things, and believing that God can do what he says he can do. In this case, God says he will rescue us from our sin-problem. Do you believe he can do that?

The Bible says that God will sanctify us, make us holy, so that we can live with God in eternity. You can’t earn it – it’s a free gift, but we need to be willing to accept what is given to us. 

So friends, believe in God and his Son and prepare to receive a gift from above! Don’t forget to say, “Thanks!”

Blessings and safety to all this day! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Hope in Jesus!

For Wednesday, August 26, 2020. 

Acts 1:9 NKJV: “Now when Jesus had spoken these things, while the people watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

It’s important that the believers actually saw Jesus ascend into heaven. I mean, he could have just disappeared into heaven – he could have transported himself into another dimension, he could have just gotten lost! 

But NO, Jesus was going to the place of eternal life, and he wanted everybody to see this – Why? – So that they would have hope! Jesus had said, “It’s a big house with many rooms – I’ll go on ahead and prepare a place for you.” And he wanted everyone to know that it was SO, that he was purposefully going to do exactly what he said he would do.

“Then two angels appeared and said, ‘Why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!’” 

Yes, Jesus WILL return, and that gives us even more hope!

Blessings and safety this day! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Seek Righteousness!

For Tuesday, August 25, 2020. 

Matthew 5:6 NIV: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

This is part of Jesus’ greatest message, the Sermon on the Mount, which includes ‘The Beatitudes,’ lessons of extreme joy, blessedness and happiness. 

We all have basic essential needs, such as food, shelter and clothing. Without thinking about it, almost like an involuntary action, we make sure those provisions are in place. These are non-negotiable items for most of us.

I believe that each day God gives every one of us a yellow pad. Write at the top, “Agenda,” or, “Things To Do Today.” Number down the left side. Now we can fill up the lines, putting our day in order. 

I’m guessing that “food” would be #1 on a lot of lists. Actually “Loving the Lord” SHOULD be #1! Be sure to insert things benefiting OTHERS – mercy, kindness and love.

Somewhere on your list, Jesus wants you to include “righteousness” and “justice” - living in harmony with the Lord. We hunger and thirst after food and water, but do we hunger and thirst to be right with God? Do we long for a world actively seeking right standing with the Lord? On YOUR list, what number is “Standing Up for God’s Value-System?” Should it be a little higher? 

This scripture says that if we’re on God’s team, speaking out for His values, we’ll be blessed; we’ll be fed, filled and satisfied, both physically and spiritually. That what the Bible says, and that gives us a lot of hope!

Blessings and safety this day! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

No Worries!

Monday Message – August 24, 2020. 

Matthew 6:25 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?”

He’s not talking about working vs being lazy! But Jesus is plainly telling us to not worry! He’s teaching about faith and trusting in the Lord, Yahweh Yireh, the God-of-provision. 

When Jesus said, “The Son of Man has no place even to lay his head,” it didn’t mean he was poor or destitute. It’s just that he was so busy traveling from place to place doing the Lord’s work that he hadn’t yet lined up his bunk for the night. But there was never any doubt that he would find a place. God would provide.

Prior to the crucifixion, the soldiers found Jesus wearing an expensive 1-piece woven garment with no seams. They cast lots for it rather than cut it up, because of its value. Our God-of-provision did very well providing for his Son! 

Want God to provide for you too? Become a follower of Jesus! As believers, we are adopted into the Holy Family and become children of God too. We’re family now, and God will do well providing for ALL of his children. So stop worrying!

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matt. 6:33) 

Blessings as we begin this new week!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Lift Up the Lord!

For Sunday, August 23, 2020. 

Matthew 5:5 CEV: “God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them!”

Jesus taught his greatest message, the Sermon on the Mount, which included ‘The Beatitudes,’ defining great joy, extreme blessedness and happiness. 

“God blesses the ‘humble;’” other translations use the word ‘meek.’ Don’t get the wrong idea – this does NOT imply weakness. Rather it is strength under control, knowing when to stand up for principle and when to let the little stuff slide. It’s a finely-tuned balance between anger and indifference, both in your relationships with other people and with the Lord.

Jesus said that the first will be last, and the last will be first, implying that if you think you have it all together, you probably don’t, and if you know you need the helping hand of God, you’re on the right track! 

While we’re on the subject, let’s clear up the difference between ‘humility’ and ‘humbleness.’ Humility is like the word ‘humiliate,’ where someone is putting you down. But ‘humble’ is where you’re honoring someone else, lifting them up, as in “humbling yourself before God.” You don’t need to put yourself down in order to lift the Lord up!

So today, lift up the Lord! Exalt him! Know that He is God and you are not! Then expect more happiness and joy to fall into your life! 

Blessings and joy on this Sabbath day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Pervasive Positive Attitude

For Saturday, August 22, 2020. 

Matthew 5:4 CEV: “God blesses those people who grieve. They will find comfort!”

This scripture is from Jesus’ teaching known as ‘The Beatitudes,’ which means extreme blessedness or happiness. As we read yesterday, ‘joy’ or ‘happiness’ is oftentimes what is implied by the word ‘blessed.’ In other words, to those who are feeling down, God will bring joy and happiness. God will lift your spirits. Just give Him a try! 

The “Joy of the Lord” is a lot more than a few minutes of peace.  It’s a pervasive positive attitude that covers your entire existence. You can grieve something that went awry, a one-time incident, while still living in the Joy of the Lord, your overall trend.

A lot of people dealing with “Covid stay-at-home” are experiencing “quarantine fatigue,” which is a fancy way of saying they’re a little depressed. But if we all seek the Lord, he will bless us with his joy and peace, so we can trend in a more positive direction!

Blessings and joy to all!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Happiness!

For Friday, August 21, 2020. 

Matthew 5:3 CEV: “God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven!”

This scripture is the beginning of Jesus’ teaching known as ‘The Beatitudes,’ extreme blessedness or happiness. The concept here is somewhat lost in translation from the original language. ‘Joy’ or ‘happiness’ is oftentimes what is implied by the word ‘blessed.’ Happiness is NOT the opposite of reverence – they should both go together! I’ve always believed that worshiping the Lord should be fun, enjoyable, something we look forward to. God is good, and our association with Him always proves to be a good thing – Enjoy! 

The other concept here is belonging or inclusion. Everybody WANTS to be included; everybody LIKES being included! Example: “Three of us are going to the event, and we’d like to include you! There’s room in the car – we could pick you up…” That’s how you include someone.

But in today’s scripture, it’s bigger and more important than that. Because you’re a believer, God wants to bless you with happiness and include you in His Kingdom. Friends, it doesn’t get any better than that! 

Blessings to all!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Restored!

For Thursday, August 20, 2020. 

John 5:11 JBP: “The man who made me well (Jesus) was the one who told me, ‘Pick up your bed and walk.’”

Jesus is the healing expert, and I encourage you to not put limits on him. When we hear of a healing, we tend to focus on that one particular affliction – the blind see, the lame walk, etc. But Jesus is capable of so much more! 

Jesus isn’t just in the healing business; he’s in the restoration business, returning the injured man to his original design specifications! So this Jesus-healing isn’t just for those with physical impairments – it’s for everyone! We all need healing, in that our relationship with our heavenly Father is skewed. Jesus is the Great Restorer, putting our relationship with heaven back the way God originally intended. Knowing that my relationship with my Creator is restored gives me a great deal of hope and peace.

“It is true that I am going ahead to prepare a place for you!” 

Blessings to all!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

"Follow Me!"

For Wednesday, August 19, 2020. 

Mark 1:17 NLT: “Jesus called out to Simon and Andrew, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’”

Curfews, quarantines and social distancing et al. may have kept us safe from the Covid-19, but have resulted in severe depression for many. Humans are not wired to live in social isolation. We can do a better job and be much happier as part of a team. 

Even Jesus wanted to surround himself with friends, building a team that could accomplish more and be in more places at the same time. While Jesus had many followers or disciples, he intentionally chose only 12 to be close personal friends, the Apostles we associate with his ministry on earth.

It’s a good model. Nowadays we’d call it a ‘pod’ or a ‘bubble,’ maybe even a ‘small group’ or ‘Bible study’ - not the entire big crowd, but a smaller circle of close friends, people you can trust. Today would be a good day to identify and connect with your own circle of friends. Continue to stay safe, but be victorious over isolation! 

“They left their nets at once and followed him!” Tonight’s FB Live Stream will discuss Jesus’ “Come, follow me” ministry call.

Blessings & safety to all! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

New Earth!

For Tuesday, August 18, 2020. 

Mark 1:11 NIV: “A voice came from heaven: ‘Jesus, you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”

This was the crowning conclusion to Jesus’ baptism! The heavens opened, the Spirit descended on him like a dove and the voice of God boomed over the Jordan! God, the Creator, was putting his seal of approval on his Son! 

And the point today is that if God is good with Jesus, so should WE be good with Jesus. Seek Him. If God is moving in a certain way or in a certain place, we should get onboard with that. That’s what Jesus did – he fulfilled God’s mission, the task for which he had been sent.

God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - who had the power to create the world, also have the power to fix the world, and that gives us hope! The Bible says that there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth, which means that the earth will be fully restored to what it was like at creation, just the way God intended. Paradise will actually come to us! Believers will get to live in the presence of the Lord, forever! 

Blessings & safety to all!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Clean & Heal!

Monday Message – August 17, 2020.

Matthew 21:14 NLT: “The blind and the lame came to Jesus in the Temple, and he healed them.”

What’s so wrong in your life that you need to call upon Jesus for healing? Most of us aren’t blind, and we haven’t been lame since birth! But if Jesus can solve those BIG problems, surely he can also solve our problems! Everything goes better with a little Jesus in it! 

But like Paul Harvey used to say, here’s “the rest of the story!” Before Jesus could start healing in the Temple, he cleaned the place. Out went the money-changers, out went the merchants, and out went anyone who had made a for-profit business out of what should have been worship! The Temple had reached a place where those who desperately needed the Lord couldn’t afford to come to him – the needy were excluded, and Jesus would have none of it. 

For Jesus, cleaning the Temple was simply putting things back the way they should have been all along. Now he could get back to fulfilling the Messiah’s mission – a significant part of which was showing the power of God through compassion, mercy and healing.

That same divine power is available to assist each of us as we walk through this life. With Jesus, we have hope! He’s waiting to hear from you! 

Blessings as we begin this new week!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Healing Today!

 For Sunday, August 16, 2020.

Mark 1:32 NLT: “That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus.” 

Do you see what was happening here? They were waiting until sundown when the Sabbath ended to approach Jesus for healing. But they needn’t have waited so long.

A Jewish principle, Pikuach nefesh, saving a life or literally restoring a soul, overrides virtually any other religious command. Also we are to prevent any living thing from suffering, even on the Sabbath. Therefore today is the perfect day to pray for friends and family who need healing. 

While we’re praying, let’s ask God for relief from the coronavirus pandemic. Together let’s ask that His hand be on our cities, our states and our nation. Pray for justice for ALL God’s people, and an end to civil unrest. Pray to a God who loves mankind, a God of second-chances, a God in the restoration business! He is our God and we are his people!

David wrote, “He (the Lord) restores my soul!” 

Blessings & safety on this Sabbath day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406