Dark and the Ultimatum!

For Friday, January 31, 2025:

Exodus 10:21 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.”

Living in the city, we never experience total darkness. There are street lights, porch lights and lights on vehicles. But in Egypt 3k years ago, it was totally dark for three days. No one could see each other. No one dared move.

Pharaoh called for Moses: “Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here.”

That wasn’t going to work. Part of worship back then involved animal sacrifices, so Moses needed to bring the livestock too.

On the one hand, Pharaoh had been challenged by the plagues Moses and his God had brought on the Egyptians. But on the other, he was just plain sick and tired of the whole thing. After all, there weren’t any problems like these until Moses showed up! So Pharaoh issued an ultimatum: “Get out of here! I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!”

Even after darkness, the ninth plague, Pharaoh still didn’t understand God’s power, so he’s leaving himself vulnerable to God’s final effort on behalf of the Israelites. As believers, we understand and believe what Pharaoh did not, that God is all-powerful and totally in control of everything. We love our God; Pharaoh resented God, thinking that he, Pharaoh, should have had the last word. But we know that the one true God is the final word on everything!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Locusts!

For Thursday, January 30, 2025:

Exodus 10:3-4 NLT: Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country.’”

There was little left in Egypt, but the locusts would take down anything that remained. Locusts are grasshoppers that arrive in swarms, destroying everything in their path. They would eat any crops the hail hadn’t destroyed. They would eat the leaves off the trees. Locusts would cover the ground, invade homes and crunch underfoot.

Pharaoh’s advisors had had enough. “How long will you let Moses hold us hostage? Let the Hebrews go to worship the Lord their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”

Pharaoh put forth another question. “How many of you need to go?”

Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.”

Pharaoh wasn’t stupid. If he let the Hebrews pack up their wives, babies and livestock, it was obvious they’d be leaving for good. He threw Moses out of the palace.

Pharaoh was quick at promising to change, but also quick on going back on his word, a trap we should all avoid. An oath before God should be a forever promise. Just as God’s word to us is always good, our word before God should also be good. It’s both respect and love. Don’t disappoint your Father!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Glory of the Lord!

For Wednesday, January 29, 2025:

Exodus 9:13-14 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.’”

When reading Exodus, it’s easy to focus on Pharaoh letting the Hebrew people go. But there’s another lesson in all of this. God wants to let everyone know ‘that there is no one like me in all the earth.’ No one! Father God, his Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit are King of all kings and Lord of all lords over everything in the universe! All powerful supreme beings!

Now, if we had a problem in life, such as being a captive in Egypt, how long could that possibly last? 70, 80, 90 years? Probably less if you lived 3k years ago. God wants loyalists in his Kingdom for eternity, which is such a great number of years that it cannot be compared with a lifetime – the two are so different!

As God had commanded, Moses warned everyone to get inside a shelter and put your livestock in a barn, because hail like you’ve never seen is on the way! Then God directed Moses to lift his hand to the sky, and hail would fall destroying all the people, livestock and plants that were not sheltered. It all happened just the way God said. The entire country was devastated. People should not disregard God; they should highly-regard him!

We too should highly regard our God and his word. He chose believers to be a part of his Kingdom forever. We are blessed to look forward to an eternity in the presence of our Father! Thank you Jesus for making it all possible!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Boils!

For Tuesday, January 28, 2025:

Exodus 9:8-9 NLT: “Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches. The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land.””

Following the first five plagues, the Egyptians were miserable. First, no water, and then frogs. What was God thinking? Next came pesky insects, and then all their livestock died. What else could go wrong?

Boils! In case you don’t know, a boil is a painful infection of a hair follicle or an oil gland. It grows into a sizable lump as white blood cells gather, attempting to fight the infection. ‘Festering’ means that fluid fills the boil, perhaps even leaking. It was a painful, messy time in Egypt as both the people and their animals suffered.

This is a time when people turn to their governments and say, “Do something!” But Pharaoh could do nothing, and his advisors and magicians could do nothing. The plague of boils would have to run its course. Pharaoh’s ego prevented his hardened heart from admitting defeat, from acknowledging that Moses’ God was the supreme being over everything!

The Egyptians and God seem to have reached a stalemate. God sent a significant plague and the Egyptians did not respond. But as Christians, we’re listening for the voice of God and following his instructions. Hopefully God will not have to cast plagues on our nation to change the rampant disbelief. Regardless, believers stand with the winning team. We’re like the Hebrew people in Egypt. Believers in our land are now God’s chosen people!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Bad Choice!

January 27, 2025, Monday Message:

Exodus 9:1b-3 NLT: “Say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go, the hand of the Lord will strike all your livestock—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a deadly plague.’”

Gnats and flies are a pesky inconvenience. But this time, God is going to hit the Egyptians right in the pocketbook! Like most places 2k years ago, the economy of Egypt was largely agricultural-based. Their animals – their livestock were the net worth of their lives. A plague striking all the animals of the Egyptians would slam the brakes on their entire economy.

Surprisingly, the Lord made a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal! God did just as he had said. His word is true!

Pharaoh investigated, but his heart remained hardened and he would not let Moses and his people go. Plague #5, the plague on livestock, wasn’t enough to convince him.

God is not through yet. God has given mankind freedom of choice, so God won’t change Pharaoh’s mind for him. Pharaoh must decide on his own to accept Moses’ God as his God. He will have more chances to make up his mind – or not! Like I said, God has given us the freedom to choose, and Pharaoh may ultimately choose incorrectly. We’ll see.

You and I, claiming to be Christians, should already have our minds made up. We love our God not because of a threat or an obligation, but because he also loves us, so much that he sent his Son to be the sacrifice for the world’s sins. We no longer have to pay a sin-penalty. God took care of everything for those who love him, including preparing our place in the hereafter. The love is mutual!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Flies!

For Sunday, January 26, 2025:

Exodus 8:20b-21 NLT: “Say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them.”

Looks like the gnats grew up! Big, nasty, obnoxious flies, everywhere – except the region of Goshen, where the Hebrews lived! Yes, the Jews were exempted from plague #4, the flies.

The Lord did just as he had said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos by the flies!

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. That seems logical. Since Moses was the one who prophesied flies everywhere, it makes sense that he could also remove them. To accomplish this, Pharaoh agreed to let God’s people go into the wilderness to worship their God. Moses warned, “Pharaoh, don’t lie to us again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” So Moses prayed for plague #4 to end the next day, and sure enough, the flies disappeared.

But once again Pharaoh changed his mind, reneged on his promise to let God’s people go. His hardened heart took precedence over doing the right thing, over honoring his word.

I’ve heard a pastor challenge his congregation: “Think this through to its logical conclusion.” Pharaoh perhaps doesn’t know who he’s up against – the Creator of the Universe! He will learn soon enough! And logically, Pharaoh, as mighty as he is, will never succeed in a battle against the Lord God Almighty. Pharaoh will soon understand that it’s God’s way or the highway!

When faced with decisions in our lives, we too should understand that it’s God’s way or the highway – and that’s the highway to hell! God’s way is always the right way, and if we’re stubborn and choose to disagree, we won’t win! Think it through to its logical conclusion. God Almighty always wins, and God Almighty is always right! Believers choose to play on God’s team!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Gnats? Gnuts!

For Saturday, January 25, 2025:

Exodus 8:17 NLT: “Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals. All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats.”

Gnats? Gnuts! Gnats would have given the frogs something to eat, but that’s not how it worked. The frogs were gone, but Pharaoh’s heart was hard. He was determined to not believe in the God of Moses.

Gnats are those tiny, miniature flies, biting and blood-sucking, thereby making everyone’s life miserable. You see them in the air and try to swat them, but always seem to miss. Gnats swarm by the thousands, and Pharaoh’s magicians could not duplicate what was happening. In fact, they encouraged Pharaoh to go ahead and believe in Moses’ God. This plague of gnats was beyond anything they could duplicate.

The one with the hardened heart was too proud to admit defeat, and that’s what hardened heart means – never acknowledging that you’re wrong even when you know that you are. Stubborn! Our takeaway is to always confess our sins and humble ourselves before the Lord. Don’t be obstinate and stubborn like Pharaoh. Our God is patient, loving and forgiving and will gladly welcome you back home! Today is the accepted day to commit or recommit yourself to the Creator God of the Universe!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Frogs!

For Friday, January 24, 2025:

Exodus 8:1-2 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses: “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land.’”

A plague of frogs? This lets me know that God has a sense of humor! Picture Pharaoh’s wife in her kitchen standing high up on a chair for safety, and all around her the floor is covered with frogs! She screeches, “Pharaoh! Get these frogs out of here! I’m afraid to get down! There’s no place I can put my foot!” High-jumping frogs keep bouncing off her legs. She screams even louder! Frogs are everywhere. They’re on the chair in which you’d like to sit. They’re on the dining room table where you’d like to eat. They’re in your bed! Frogs, frogs, frogs!

Pharaoh’s magicians concocted a trick whereby they too could make frogs appear, but no one knew how to get rid of the frogs! Pharaoh relents: “Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go, so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

Here’s where it gets interesting. Moses accepts Pharaoh’s contrition, and tells him, “You set the time!”

To which Pharaoh responds, “Do it tomorrow.” Tomorrow. Pharaoh doesn’t want to lose his servants, the Hebrew brick-makers. So no matter how depressing it is living with frogs everywhere, he willingly puts up with one more night of misery. One more night with the frogs.

In a similar vein, there’s a book published by the Johnson Institute dealing with alcoholism and addiction called, “I’ll Quit Tomorrow.” No matter how much misery alcohol and/or drugs have inflicted into someone’s life, they derive a certain amount of pleasure from getting high. So the normal intervention answer is, “I’ll quit tomorrow.” One more night with the frogs!

Ultimately Pharaoh reneges on his promise to let God’s people go. He’ll soon regret his decision. God has things far worse than frogs on Pharaoh’s agenda.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Blood!

For Thursday, January 23, 2025:

Exodus 7:19 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’”

Pharaoh was unimpressed with Moses’ shepherd’s-staff changing into a serpent. He had court magicians who could perform a similar illusion. Their staffs didn’t really change, but the perception would have been the same.

It was time to get serious. Turning all of Egypt’s water into blood should get everyone’s attention! Water in little bowls and pots changed. Water in little streams and lakes changed. But the biggest impact was that the Nile River changed into blood. A major water supply was gone, all the fish died so a source of food disappeared and river transportation came to a standstill.

Remarkably, Pharaoh’s magicians concocted a trick yielding similar results. So Pharaoh remained unconvinced. His heart remained hard just as God foretold. More would be required to convince Pharaoh to not only release the Hebrew people but for him to beg them to leave! And don’t forget God’s other purpose, to let all of Egypt witness the glory of the one true God!

More would be required to showcase God’s omnipotence. We serve an omnipotent all-powerful God. What could possibly be next? Frogs? Really?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Omni-present!

For Wednesday, January 22, 2025:

Exodus 7:3 NLT, God speaking: “I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.”

It’s important for us to understand what was going on in Egypt at that time. God had been telling Pharaoh – through Moses and Aaron – to “Let my people go!” But now God says he will harden the heart of Pharaoh. Therefore Pharaoh won’t comply. On the surface, this action seems contrary to the stated goal. Seems like this could forestall the project’s completion.

But let us not forget that God can multitask, do more than one thing at the same time. The primary goal was to liberate the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery. But while God’s doing that, wouldn’t it be great to let all of Egypt know that there is indeed a God, and to let them know who it is – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – Yahweh – the creator of all things! The same miracles (plagues) God would use to change Pharaoh’s heart would also convince all of Egypt that there is indeed a God Almighty, since the only explanation for the events about to occur would be divine intervention.

So friends, sit back and relax as God does his thing. We can relax more than Moses since we already know the conclusion. Sit with the faithful, the believers. Be patient. We know that eventually we’ll see the Hebrews leave Egypt!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Covenant!

January 20, 2025, Monday Message:

Exodus 6:7 NLT, God’s words: “I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.”

By all rights, Pharaoh should have had the upper hand. The Hebrews were slaves, doing as the Egyptians ordered. And yet Pharaoh feared the foreigners living in his land. His anxiety turned into targeted vengeance, making the Israelite’s existence as miserable as possible.

An intervention was required, so God himself took control. We call this deliverance. Yahweh would deliver the Jews from their misery of living under Pharaoh’s rule.

Deliverance is still available nowadays. God can liberate you from oppression, prejudice, slavery to sin and earthly temptations. He can solve work disputes, financial difficulties and marital quarrels. He is, after all, God over everything! Post-deliverance life is far better than pre-deliverance life. Think about it like this: You have made a covenant with God, and He has made a covenant with you. It’s a good partnership. And by the way, never enter into a covenant with the devil!

The Lord said that you will be my people, and I will be your God. Sign on to the winning team, God’s team!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Bricks, Schmicks!

For Sunday, January 19, 2025:

Exodus 5:9 NLT, Pharaoh speaking: “Load the Hebrews down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”

How do you define evil? It was bad enough that Hebrew lives had been reduced to brick-making. Now they were no longer given straw for the bricks. They had to supply it themselves. But the daily brick quota remained unchanged. In other words, assign significantly more work without extending the deadline. That’s evil, cracking the whip while overseeing an impossible task.

Furthermore, the Jews had not been listening to lies. They were hearing the words and commands of God Almighty, our Creator. Our God is incapable of lying. His words are to be highly regarded and respected. Moses and Aaron were doing the right thing, following God’s instructions!

Pharaoh’s anger resulted from the first confrontation with Moses and Aaron, but he retaliated with rage against ALL the Hebrew people, who now blamed Moses for their predicament. “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

 "Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, ‘Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!’”

Moses speaks as if this was the end of the story, but we’re not done yet, and God’s not done yet! In fact, this is just the beginning of a scenario leading to the liberation of God’s people. By the end, the Egyptians will beg them to leave, and we’ll all be cheering! We’re on God’s side!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship