God's Goal!

For Thursday, January 16, 2025:

Exodus 4:20 NLT: “Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God.”

Moses was a believer, a man of God. Setting his personal fears aside, obedience rose to the top. God had commanded, “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

And so off they went, the whole Moses entourage. His wife and sons on a donkey – (Wouldn’t you hate to have been that donkey!) – his brother Aaron and all their helpers and servants.

God allowed Moses to perform a series of miracles, intended to convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people leave Egypt. But he also warned Moses that Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened and that this initial confrontation would fail. But don’t worry, Moses. Don’t be discouraged. God is in this 100%!

We shouldn’t ever think that God failed or that God has no power. He’s just not finished yet. When our God sets a goal, he always achieves it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Call!

For Wednesday, January 15, 2025:

Exodus 3:4b NLT: “God called to him from the middle of the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ ‘Here I am!’ Moses replied.”

Few of us will ever be called by the Lord in such a direct manner, but Isaiah is a close second. When God asked him, “Whom should I send?”, Isaiah volunteered, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah’s response was obedience. Moses’ response was fear, trepidation and hesitation.

Moses turns his anxiety into questions: Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?

God: I will be with you.

Moses: The people will ask, ‘Who sent you?’

God: Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’

Moses: O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.

God: What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.

Eventually, Moses ran out of excuses. It was time to put God’s call in motion. Turning down God’s call never works out anyway!

So what has the Lord called you to do? Are you listening for his voice? About a year ago I resolved to say yes more often. There’s a saying in the military: Never volunteer for anything, but I think our Christian attitude should be the opposite of that. If help is needed at church, at a youth program, at a hospital or treatment facility – anywhere our help would benefit our brothers and sisters – it’s time to say yes. That’s what Jesus would have us do.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Voice of God!

For Tuesday, January 14, 2025:

Exodus 3:6 NLT: “’I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.”

Imagine yourself tending sheep near Mt. Sinai, when suddenly the voice of God speaks to you from within a burning bush. Curiously, though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up! That’s just one clue that this entire incident was orchestrated by God himself. It was a supernatural event!

The voice from inside the bush called out his name: “Moses, Moses!” So God already knew to whom he was speaking, who he was calling. Moses was cautioned to not come any closer. The area around this presence of God is Holy ground! “Take off your sandals!”

The Lord acknowledged the plight of the Jewish people, oppressed by the Egyptians. He details his plan to give them a land of milk and honey, a land currently occupied by Canaanites and others. To this day, Jews claim Israel as their homeland, explaining, “God gave it to us!”

God has never called me from inside a burning bush. Usually, it happens like this: An opportunity unfolds that I couldn’t have predicted, something I didn’t expect. The only explanation is that it’s a God thingI How does God call you?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Time To Act!

January 13, 2025, Monday Message:

Exodus 2:24-25 NLT: “God heard the Israelites groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on them and knew it was time to act.”

God hears prayer. He’s always listening. The Israelites had been living as slaves in Egypt, and they cried out to their God for help. That’s exactly what they should do. And God knew it was time for him to act. That’s what we expect him to do.

The time was now right to rescue the Jews. God would give the new Pharaoh and his Egyptian cohorts several more chances to do the right thing. They would not. But God would stop at nothing to achieve his overall goal of liberating the Jews from Egyptian tyranny. A lot would happen before this story wraps up, but remember that God always gets his way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Perfect Timing!

For Sunday, January 12, 2025:

Exodus 2:12 NLT: “Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews.”

God will never abandon his people, and neither should we. Moses saw one of his fellow Hebrews being abused and rose to his defense, ultimately killing the Egyptian. For killing an Egyptian, Pharaoh put a price on Moses’ head, forcing him to seek refuge in Midian.

The priest of Midian had seven daughters who needed to draw water for their household and flocks, but they were run off by other shepherds. Moses roes to their defense, and the girls told their father who invited Moses to dine with the family. He had done the next right thing!

Moses settled in with the family, eventually taking Zipporah as his wife. God kept him safe until Pharaoh died. God was saving Moses for a greater mission, becoming the leader of God’s chosen people as they escape Egyptian tyranny.

The Lord may have a greater mission in store for you. You’ll be called in God’s perfect time!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Moses!

For Saturday, January 11, 2025:

Exodus 2:1 NLT: “About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.”

God is always thinking ahead, planning ahead. God’s ways are not like our ways. He’s not just a step ahead of us – He’s thousands of steps ahead of us!

While in Egypt, a man and a woman were born into families from the tribe of Levi. Eventually, they would meet and be married. Next comes a baby, a boy. But Pharaoh had ordered that male Hebrew babies were to be killed. So what to do?

When mom could no longer hide the infant, she waterproofed a basket, placed the baby in it, and floated it among the reeds in the Nile, the same place Pharaoh’s daughter and her maids came to bathe. They spotted the basket and took possession of the baby, who was crying. Hungry!

The baby’s older sister had watched the whole scene unfold, and she offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. So unbeknownst to the royal family, sister brought the baby’s actual mother to care for him, and she was paid for her help! Baby thrived and was eventually returned to Pharaoh’s daughter, who named him Moses and raised him in the palace as her own son.

God knew that the Hebrews would need to be liberated from the cruel Egyptians, and God had a plan. Far in advance, he knew just how this would all play out. The surprising thing is that God’s prep for the Hebrew rescue was put in motion three generations before it actually came to fruition.

God has a plan, and only God knows the timing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Believe?

For Friday, January 10, 2025:

John 9:35b NLT: “Do you believe in the Son of Man, the Son of God?”

Jesus asks this question of the man who had been born blind, but it’s a good question for all of us. Of course that man, whose sight had just been restored, was eager to learn the source of his miracle. He says he believes, but is still unclear about the source.

Jesus fills in the blanks, telling the man, “You have seen him, and he is speaking to you!” Right here, right now, standing right in front of you, and speaking to you! It’s me – I’m the Son of God!

This is one of several scriptures where Jesus clearly states who he is. We are saved by faith, faith that Jesus is who he claims to be, and that he can do what he says he can do.

God shows us who Jesus is. After all, our eyewitness, the blind man, can now see!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Blind!

For Thursday, January 9, 2025:

John 9:25b NLT: “I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

This man, born blind, had been given sight by Jesus. He’s being questioned by Pharisees about the miracle. They want all the details. They’re trying to determine Jesus’ source of power. That Jesus healed on the Sabbath just complicates matters.

But they’re all missing the big point, and the man who was healed tries to simplify things. “I was blind, and now I can see!” Get it? If you couldn’t see before, but now you CAN see, little else matters. It’s time to say thanks, praise God and get on with life.

But the Pharisees already had their minds made up. No testimony was going to convince them that Jesus was heaven-sent. They were predisposed to reject eyewitness testimony.

Turns out it was the Pharisees who were blind!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Whose Fault?

For Wednesday, January 8, 2025:

John 9:2 NLT, Disciples questioning Jesus: “Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

Jesus answered that neither the man nor his parents caused this infirmity. In fact, the man would be healed, his sight restored, thereby showcasing the glory of God! God would do the right thing for the right reason.

Q: Does it really matter who or what caused the man to be blind? We all ask these questions, and waste time trying to figure out things that don’t really matter. The man is blind – he needs to be healed – end of story. Git ‘er done!

Jesus said we are to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases and cast out demons. Those are all solutions to problems. Those are things that need doing, regardless of who or what caused the problem. The important thing is that we make things better.

Christians leave a situation better than when they discovered it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Inclusion!

For Tuesday, January 7, 2025:

John 8:7b NLT, Jesus speaking: “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

The Pharisees taught the law of Moses but did not abide by it themselves. Jesus said we should listen to them, but not imitate them! Pharisees had assumed the role of religious police, searching for someone doing something wrong, and then punishing them for the offense.

Jesus had another idea, that we should actually do what the Lord commanded, and loving one another topped his agenda. This was forward thinking in his day.

Since we’ve all sinned – no one of us is better than the other – the question becomes, “What should we do NOW? Given our current set of circumstances, what’s the best way to proceed?”

Jesus counsels us to be kind, to be helpful and to do the next right thing. Be forgiving. and make reconciliation your goal: IN-clusion, not EX-clusion!

Pharisees aren’t worthless – they can always serve as a bad example!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Forgiveness!

January 6, 2025 Monday Message:

John 8:7b NLT, Jesus speaking: “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

An adulterous woman had been chased down by the Pharisees, and a crowd gathered. The law of Moses says that she should be stoned. Retribution and revenge topped the Pharisee’s agenda that day.

But Jesus had other plans. This was a teachable moment. Repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation always topped Jesus’ lists!

Loving the Lord and loving his neighbors were always #1 and #2 on Jesus’ agenda.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Asylum!

For Sunday, January 5, 2025:

Matthew 2:13 NLT: “After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,’ the angel said. ‘Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’”

As an infant, our Savior/Son-of-God became a nonresident alien in a foreign land seeking political and religious asylum! Wow! That’s a big bunch of words to describe such a little child!

But it’s a good thing the family left. Herod had gone berserk! Jesus, born King of the Jews, was such a perceived threat that Herod ordered every Hebrew child under the age of two to be killed! There was heartbreak throughout the land.

Herod eventually died and the Holy family returned to Israel. It all worked out according to God’s plan, leaving us with a little more compassion for those seeking political and religious asylum!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus Saves!

For Saturday, January 4, 2025:

Matthew 1:21 NLT, Angel speaking to Joseph: “Mary will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Have you ever heard a Christian ask someone, “Are you saved?” The name “Jesus” means, “The Lord saves.” So what we’re really asking is if Jesus is YOUR Lord, and if you’re counting on him for salvation.

Knowing what “Jesus” means in the original language simplifies things. Nothing and no one else found on earth fit that definition. The only thing that God promises will save us from eternal suffering is this one guy, His Son, Jesus the Christ. So we are to put our faith, hope and trust in him. He IS the way; there is no other way!

As mankind transitions to the next reality, God will separate the sheep from the goats. The good sheep will be taken care of by the Good Shepherd, and I want to be in that group!

So stop, and tell your neighbors to stop looking for another way. Jesus is the only way, sent from heaven to earth with a specific purpose: the rescue of mankind! Let him help you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Designed to be Included!

For Friday, January 3, 2025:

Genesis 1:27 NLT: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Things created alike tend to stick together. For example, most birds fly south for the winter, but we don’t find mallards in the same flying V with geese. A herd of sheep is just that – sheep! Don’t look for horses among the sheep. (Sheep chew grass right down to the roots! There’d be nothing left to sustain the horses!) Creepy-crawly things stay closer to the ground, and no one wants to live alongside bears and alligators! They keep to themselves. Fish live in schools and dolphins travel in pods, each sticking with their own kind.

God created mankind in His image, after His own kind. So friends, we were designed from the ground up to be members of God’s family, included in God’s community. I remember singing: “Come join the family, the family of God.” That’s a good idea, but we don’t have to JOIN – we’ve already been designed that way! Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven,” and he wasn’t wrong! Our heavenly Father loves us, cares for us and wants nothing but the best for us! He wants to include us in all that he is doing.

We are blessed to be included in the family of God. God, in His wisdom, intentionally designed us that way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship