Faith!

For Wednesday, January 31, 2024:

Mark 9:22b NLT, Father of a possessed boy pleading with Jesus: “Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

The evil spirit repeatedly threw the young lad to the ground, often into fire or water, trying to kill him. The boy’s father brought him to the disciples, but they were unable to cast out the demon. When Jesus arrived, he shouted, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” He was going to solve the problem!

When the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy to the ground. It wasn’t giving up without a fight! Jesus commanded the demon to leave the boy and never return, and the spirit screamed and then left. Interestingly, evil spirits always scream as they’re being cast out. Jesus explained: “This kind (of evil spirit) can be cast out only by prayer.” We need to pray for God’s help in difficult situations.

There are many take-aways from this encounter. The obvious one is the healing power of Jesus. Then there’s the lesson that God can easily do what mankind cannot do. But another lesson is the importance of faith – faith in God, faith in Jesus, in who he is and in what he can do. Faith in Jesus resulted in a healing miracle. And faith in Jesus results in our ultimate salvation. That’s why we’re called “believers!”

O Lord, fill us with faith!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Transfiguration!

For Tuesday, January 30, 2024:

Mark 9:7 NLT, During the transfiguration: “A cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.’”

Jesus led Peter, James and John, the Apostles’ “A Team,” up a high mountain for the purpose of being alone. What they were about to witness would have scared most people, and there’s no telling how a crowd might react. But these Apostles had been traveling with Jesus and had witnessed all his miracles. Dare I say that they had grown accustomed to supernatural occuraces?

But even for Jesus, what was about to happen was extraordinary. Jesus was transfigured! His face shown like the sun, and his clothes were dazzling white! He took on the appearance of a heavenly being, which in fact he was! Suddenly Elijah and Moses appeared and started talking with Jesus. Not knowing what else to say, Peter suggested building shelters for their guests, but they wouldn’t be staying that long.

What happened next reminds me of Jesus’ baptism. A cloud overshadowed them all, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.” That event removes all doubt as to Jesus’ identity. He’s the Son of God! God said so!

The trio was not to tell anyone about this event until Jesus rises from the dead, which brings up another question. What’s with this “rise from the dead?” They hadn’t seen that before!

So much to learn, and so little time. The disciples learned about God, Jesus and heaven one event at a time. They were living inside the story. We are blessed to have Bibles, the complete Jesus story, that we can carry in one hand!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Primary Mission!

January 29, 2024 Monday Message:

Mark 8:33 NLT, Jesus reprimanding Peter: “Get away from me, Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Mankind has been hearing the “Jesus story” for over 2,000 years, which is to say that we’re accustomed to hearing about incidents that fit God’s vast eternal plan. But the disciples were living “inside” the story, and many things Jesus spoke made sense to heaven but seemed illogical or counter-productive to the human disciples.

Jesus explained that he must suffer many terrible things, be rejected by the priests and be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. Frankly, that kind of talk seemed like blasphemy. I mean, if Jesus is the Son of God, why would he allow himself to be killed? It didn’t add up, so Peter took Jesus aside, hoping to get him back on track.

But it was Peter who needed correction. It seems he and the others had lost sight of the primary goal, the mission statement. Jesus was to rescue mankind by taking the sins of the world to the place of the dead, and he had to die to do that. Not to worry – He’ll be back in three days! And everything happened just the way Jesus said!

So as we worship Jesus and pray for good things to happen, we need to put aside our personal assessment of the situation and consider God’s vast eternal plan. We don’t want to find ourselves helping Satan with his work!

What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Worthy!

For Sunday, January 28, 2024:

Mark 8:29 NLT: “Then Jesus asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’

Peter replied, ‘You are the Messiah.’”

The disciples traveled with Jesus and ate meals with him. They had witnessed miracle after miracle. They were armed with eyewitness evidence, and Jesus asks if they had learned from what they saw: “Who do you say I am?”

Peter was the spokesman for the group. The correct answer was obvious: “You are the Messiah,” the Christ, HaMoshiach, which all mean “anointed one.” In any language, we acknowledge that Jesus was heaven-sent.

As we worship today, Jesus’ question is now before each of us: “Who do you say I am?” We no longer need Peter to answer on our behalf. All of us can shout out, “You are the Messiah, Son of the living God!”

That’s why we worship. That’s why we praise him – because he is worthy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Love!

For Saturday, January 27, 2024:

2 Thessalonians 3:13 NLT: “As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.”

Q: If you believed Jesus was returning tomorrow, would you continue to evangelize today? Early Christians believed Jesus’ return was imminent. Surely he’ll be back later this week, or possibly this month, and for certain by the end of the year. They never dreamed that 2,000 years later we’d still be watching and waiting.

So some were living as if life as we know it was already over. You could call them overly optimistic or just plain lazy! Either way, Paul doesn’t believe the Lord’s army should accommodate any slackers. If you want to be on the team, act like it! Get busy!

The same is true for us nowadays. There’s still work to do. Many people still need to hear the Good News of salvation, and you could be one of the people carrying this valuable message. Some need food and clothing, and you could help. Many of us simply need love and inclusion. That’s an opportunity for us to show kindness.

Loving our neighbor is a command for all believers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Heaven-sent Miracle!

For Friday, January 26, 2024:

Mark 8:11b NLT: “Testing Jesus, the Pharisees demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.”

Heaven-sent miracles fulfill a Godly purpose. Heaven-sent miracles are God showing his unconditional agape love for mankind.

Miracles are never for show. Jesus never heals someone, and then says, “Look what I can do!” Rather the miracle is low-key, understated. Many times following a miraculous event, Jesus spoke, “Don’t tell anybody!” Jesus did not do what the Pharisees asked.

The Pharisees are a strange lot. Masquerading as the religious elite, they had totally missed the boat. They could quote all the commandments and judge others on their adherence thereof, but had skipped over the part about being kind, being helpful and loving their neighbor.

What do you think Jesus was like? From the Bible, I surmise that if we could have known him personally, we’d say he was a pretty good guy. He wasn’t mean, judgmental or arrogant in spite of being the Son of God. That’s why we’re counseled to imitate Jesus in our own lifestyles.

When in doubt, do what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship