Health and Wellness!

For Tuesday, March 11, 2025:

Leviticus 13:1-2 NLT: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “If anyone has a swelling or a rash or discolored skin that might develop into a serious skin disease, that person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons.”

Lacking antibiotics, leprosy was a serious problem in Moses’ day. It was not only a possible death sentence for the victim, but was thought to be highly contagious. So the priest was also tasked with having medical knowledge, determining the proper course when a skin disease was discovered.

So God charged spiritual community leaders with protecting their congregants. There is currently a measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico. Apparently, it started in a Mennonite community, a religious group which isolates itself from society in general. We were all told that measles was eradicated in the US, but apparently what we heard was incorrect. Thankfully, so far only two people have died. Covid-19, a relatively new contagious disease about which we knew nothing, resulted in 1.1M deaths, peaking in October 2021. That’s how bad it can sometimes get. Seems like only yesterday!

Disease is Satan trying to throw a monkey wrench into God’s plans. Health and wellness are God’s plans. He’ll call believers home in his own good time, and not a moment sooner!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Baby!

March 10, 2025, Monday Message:

Leviticus 12:7c NLT: “These are the instructions for a woman after the birth of a son or a daughter.”

Birthing can be messy. Moses’ people didn’t have doctors and hospitals like we do nowadays. The Bible doesn’t say, but I’ll bet they had midwives or doulas, people to assist with childbirth. Blood gets everywhere, and blood can carry diseases. Best to isolate the woman and her newborn until everything is cleaned up and healed. Also, the woman who gave birth is somewhat weakened and is susceptible to illness. And the baby is building natural immunity from the mother. Therefore isolation protects the mother and the baby until they have their feet on the ground.

The good news is that God anticipates, even expects childbirth! All God’s creations were told to go forth and multiply, and that never ended. Despite slavery, Egypt, Pharaoh and one heck of a desert trek, God still planned for his people to increase.

Celebrate newborns in your family and in your church community!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Clean vs Unclean!

For Sunday, March 9, 2025:

Leviticus 11:1, 2b NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Of all the land animals, these are the ones you may use for food.”

In this chapter, God defines the land animals, birds and fish suitable for food. God must have known this was coming when he designed the animals. Any animal with completely split hooves and chews the cud is good for food. Jews call this “kosher.’ Other animals were considered unclean. Birds are OK, but not those who clean up dead carcasses, like vultures. Fish are good, but not the bottom-feeders that keep the water clean. Vultures and bottom-feeders eat garbage, so they are garbage!

Back then, no one had refrigerators to keep food fresh or stoves to fully cook the meat. There were no professional meat inspectors. So God instituted these rules to protect his people, to keep them safe and alive. Once again God was watching out for his people, protecting them, even when they didn’t yet understand the need.

In the New Covenant, Jesus declares us clean or unclean not by what goes into our bodies, but by what comes out of our mouths!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Church Etiquette:

For Saturday, March 8, 2025:

Leviticus 10:8-9 NLT: Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle.”

The Tabernacle was a special place. It was where God’s chosen spiritual leaders could meet with him. They would then convey the Lord’s instructions to all the Israelites. When God calls a meeting, you don’t want to miss a thing. The Lord deserves your full attention. So don’t imbibe prior to going before the Lord.

It’s the same way with our churches nowadays. Worshiping God deserves our full attention. Put on your Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, and put a smile on your face. Come with a sober mind, prepared for the day’s teaching. You may be asked to meet with a newcomer or give your testimony to God’s goodness. When we go to church, we should be prepared to serve.

If our churches are to grow, each of us must have the Good News on our lips 24/7. While church is a place we attend, it should also be a place to which we bring people. Forgiveness and redemption are gifts we shouldn’t keep to ourselves. Jesus is handing out tickets to the hereafter, where forgiven souls can spend eternity with their creator. God’s desire is for everyone to meet there!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Offering!

For Friday, March 7, 2025:

Leviticus 7:28-29 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present a peace offering to the Lord, bring part of it as a gift to the Lord.”

3,000 years ago, everyone had to raise their own livestock and harvest their own grain. You couldn’t just stop at Cub on the way home. Here, the Lord is telling Moses to tell the people to bring a little extra for the Priests. Not more fat to burn on the altar, but the breast, good meat, something of sustenance for the religious workers.

Nowadays we give mostly dollars. Cash and checks in the offering. Visa and Mastercard on the web site. Venmo and Paypal for direct deposits. The Old Testament suggested a tithe, 10%, for the Lord’s work. The good news is that we got to keep 90%! The New Testament suggests sacrificial giving. Don’t stop at 10%. Put a little extra towards God’s work.

In Jesus’ day, the mindset was that their Savior would be taking believers to heaven soon, so they really wouldn’t need money or property. Many in the first church, called The Way, sold their homes, their land, their livestock and donated the proceeds to the church. As the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you!”

So prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you do. Talk it out with God. You don’t have to decide this minute. Take this project home, and let the Lord determine your direction, your commitment to growing the church and to making disciples of all nations. What is your piece of God’s project? Then do what the Lord calls you to do.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Reconcile with the Lord!

For Thursday, March 6, 2025:

Exodus chapter 40 ends with the construction of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. The account of the Israelite traveling to the Promised Land continues in Leviticus.

Leviticus 1:1-2a The Lord called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.”

Building the Tabernacle had been quite a project. God had specified dimensions, materials to be used – even colors! The construction must have been satisfactory since the Lord now spoke to Moses from within that Tent of Meeting.

God details procedures and rituals from the Old Covenant, things that seem foreign to us nowadays. Leviticus chapter 1 deals with animal sacrifices. Chapter 2 talks about grain offerings. Chapter 3 asks for peace, and chapter 4 details offerings for those who sin, so they could reconcile with the Lord.

The New Covenant, brought to us by Jesus, does away with those things. Jesus himself, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for the world’s sins. There is no greater sacrifice. In the “Great Exchange,” Jesus took the sins of the world upon himself, and imbued his holiness upon believers, those who would trust their eternal destiny to Jesus, the Son of God. He promised to go ahead and prepare a place for the faithful, and his word is always good.

Thank God for Jesus! Thank God for the New Covenant!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Faith & Patience!

For Wednesday, March 5, 2025:

For many Christians, today is Ash Wednesday, a day of penitence and fasting. It kicks off Lent, humbling us six weeks before we celebrate the Resurrection. It’s a tradition in many denominations, but not found in the Bible. If Ash Wednesday has meaning for you, go for it! If not, that’s OK too. Whatever gets you closer to Jesus is the right thing to do!

Exodus 40:34 NLT: “Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.”

With the Tabernacle completed to the Lord’s specs and double-checked by Moses, the Shekinah or Glory of the Lord descended upon it. If that cloud moved in a certain direction, the Israelites would follow God in that direction. If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle, they would set up camp there. So Moses was not leading the flock; God was leading the flock. They would arrive at the Promised Land in God’s time.

Looking at a road map, Egypt to Israel is only about 320 miles, right up the Mediterranean coastline. Mankind could hike that distance in about a month. But following the pillar cloud of the Lord, they spent 40 years on the desert. Yes friends, this was a test of faith, God testing their stick-to-it-ive-ness. If the people whined, “This is taking too long. I’m not sure God knows what he’s doing,” they lacked faith in God’s knowledge, strength and perseverance. God would have them wait a little longer before proving he was right!

We too need to conform to God’s timing. God will delay a worthy project if the resources or personnel aren’t assembled to bring it to fruition. We need to be patient with God; He’s certainly been patient with us!

God’s timing is always the right timing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Covenant!

March 3, 2025, Monday Message:

Exodus 34:27 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”

A covenant is an agreement or a contract. It’s a 2-way obligation. “You do this thing for me, and I’ll do that thing for you.” Since this covenant was given to Moses, it’s often called the Mosaic Covenant, but it’s really God’s Covenant. We also call it the Old Covenant, since Jesus updated it and gave mankind a much better deal.

The Law given to Moses contains dietary instructions and marks celebrations to honor what the Lord had done for the Hebrew people. The New Covenant, our connection with Jesus, acknowledges that mankind isn’t very good at remembering or observing all those rules and traditions. Instead, we worship Jesus as God’s Son and claim him as Lord and Savior of our lives. In return, Jesus removes our sins, as far as the East is from the West. Our sin lies at the bottom of the deepest ocean. The Book of Life no longer contains any record of our sin. That’s Jesus’ gift to believers!

Mankind is destined to die once and then go before the judgment seat to determine our eternal destination. This will be a terrible time for non-believers. But those walking with Jesus will have him as their advocate, as their defense attorney, so to speak. With our sins forgiven, our destination is predetermined. Jesus has already gone ahead to prepare a place for us in the hereafter!

"But to all who believed him (Jesus) and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” Believers are adopted into God’s Holy family. Enjoy eternity with your brothers and sisters!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jealous God!

For Sunday, March 2, 2025:

Exodus 34:12 NLT: God, speaking to Moses: “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.”

God decided to settle the Hebrew people in Israel. God’s decision. A Rabbi once told me, “It’s our land. God gave it to us!”

Of course the people previously living in the land weren’t happy with God’s decision, and we’ve witnessed conflict in the Middle East for over 3k years. Those people worshiped other gods and made idols. God said, “You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” Remember the covenant: “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” God sees this relationship as a marriage. If some other god is worshiped, our God considers that adultery!

God knows his people, their weaknesses and their trends. If they were to intermarry with the locals, idols could be brought into their homes. If they shared a meal sacrificed to a false god, they would be supporting that god. God’s people were told to, “Break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles.“ Our Creator-God has no patience for other-god stuff.

Nowadays we must tread carefully. If we are called to “make disciples of all nations,” we must have some interaction with nonbelievers. But we need to have our feet firmly planted in a Christian community that then sends us to evangelize, and to which we can safely return. We are not to join with the pagans, but they are welcome to worship our God, the jealous God!

Acknowledging our God as the only God isn’t negotiable; it’s a fact; it’s truth. Through His Son Jesus, he’s willing to forgive our past and include us in his eternal Kingdom. Hope to see you there!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Face of God!

For Saturday, March 1, 2025:

Exodus 33:3 NLT: The Lord said to Moses: “Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.”

God forgave the Israelites for the golden calf incident, but he did not forget. In his mind, he has put these people in the “stubborn and rebellious” category. Their decision to follow the Lord doesn’t seem to be a “forever decision.” Their minds could change as the wind blows! Nonetheless, God will honor his half of the agreement. God’s word can always be trusted.

As they traveled, Moses would set up the Tent of Meeting some distance from the main encampment. There God would meet with Moses and his helper Joshua. At that time, the people would pray in front of their own tents.

Now Moses was a human, just like all of us. He had seen a burning bush, fire on the mountain and a pillar of cloud leading their journey, but he had never actually seen the Lord. Curiosity gets the best of him, so he asks, “Show me your glorious presence.”

God offers Moses a solution. “Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”

Christians still battle this dilemma as we evangelize, asking newcomers to believe in a God they can’t see. Oh, there’s plenty of evidence of intelligent design. Consider the vast universe, our four seasons growing crops to feed us, and the complexity of the human body, to name a few things. Like Moses, we’ll never see God’s face, but it’s easy to know he exists.

We are saved by grace through faith. Grace is the goodness of our merciful God. Faith is belief and trusting in a God that we can not see. He’s there for each of us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Forgiveness!

For Friday, February 28, 2025:

Exodus 32:10a NLT: God speaking: “Leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against the Israelites, and I will destroy them.”

The impatient people of Israel built a golden calf to worship. Had they forgotten that the real God just rescued them from Egyptian slavery? Isn’t agreeing to be one of God’s people a forever decision with eternal ramifications? Had they forgotten that promise?

God is upset and angry. He’s had enough of these fickle Israelites. If they can’t stick by him after all he did for them, God thought he might as well wipe them from the face of the earth!

Moses, in panic mode, intervenes on behalf of the Israelites. He makes his case: “Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth?’” That behavior doesn’t sound typical of God Almighty, and in fact God relented. Forgiveness better fits the God-trend we know!

Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, saw the calf and the people celebrating, and he lost his temper! Rightfully so! He burned their calf and ground it into dust. In his anger, he threw the tablets inscribed with God’s commandments, smashing them. God would later replace the tablets. The faithful Levites were ordained as priests of God. Those who opposed God were eliminated from the group.

Moses was never going to get his group to the Promised Land unless they all shared the same goal. They needed to all be on the same page, pulling in the same direction. If your church and your ministry are going to grow, your group needs to understand the organization’s goal, the overall plan, and be willing to work to implement those goals. Jesus said, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

Working with Jesus is a great plan with long-term benefits!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship