Risen!

     For Tuesday, February 3, 2026:

Mark 16:9, 11 NLT: “After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. But when she told the disciples that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.”

Thus begins the longer ending of this Gospel. I suspect some writers assumed that once the tomb was empty, the story was complete. Not quite! There will be another 40 days to document. As Paul Harvey used to say, “the r-r-r-rest of the story.” Yes, the tomb was empty, but even more important is the fact that Jesus was alive! People could see him, hear him and follow him around. He proved that there is life after this life.

Before Jesus, Mary Magdalene was a tough case. After all, she was occupied by seven demons. But once freed from Satan’s influence, she quickly assumed the role of “most loyal to Jesus,” sort of a female equivalent of Simon Peter. It actually makes sense that she would be the first to see the risen Christ.

Notice the order in which Jesus did things. Before healing, teaching or including her in the group, he cast out her demons, all seven of them. Wow! She must have been a mess! But Satan’s minions have no power over the name of Jesus. We should learn from what Jesus did. He said believers should use his name!

Humans tend to believe what we expect to see. Our minds fulfill our expectations. In this case, the disciples had watched as Jesus died on the cross, was pierced with a spear, and then laid in a grave. So when Magdalene said she saw Jesus alive, she was doubted.

But it turned out that she was right. When Jesus called out, “Mary,” she knew his voice. Are you familiar enough with Jesus that if he called out your name, you’d recognize His voice?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Sinless!

For Thursday, January 15, 2026:

Romans 6:10b-11 NLT: “Now that Christ lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”

Jesus was crucified, died, and buried with the sins of the world. He was resurrected, leaving the sins behind. Believers stick with Jesus throughout all that happened, now following a Savior who has totally overcome sin. We want to look straight ahead, focusing on the sinless one, rather than wandering eyes searching for possible sin opportunities. Sin can’t get close to us if we’re close to Jesus!

Conflict in my home city of Minneapolis has been the lead story in the news recently, so I ask you to pray with me for peace. Thank you!!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Prodigal Son - 2

For Tuesday, July 15, 2025:

Luke 15:13 NLT: “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.”

Today we’re continuing with Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son, the one who demanded his share of the inheritance while dear old dad was still alive. Moving to the big city, he quickly squandered all his money on wine, women and song. And in a perfect Murphy’s Law scenario, when his money ran out, the region’s food also ran out. Our prodigal was forced to accept employment from a farmer who raised pigs! To Jewish people, pigs were unclean, non-kosher animals. And here he was tending to their needs like a slave. Pigs were fed pods after the desirable beans had been removed, and our prodigal was so hungry that he would sneak some for himself. Wow – taking a meal with pigs! He had hit his bottom.

The younger son thought about his situation and applied some logic. “Back home, even the hired hands have enough to eat, and here I am starving.” There was only one solution. “I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.” And he did just that.

The surprise comes from the father, who was watching and waiting for the wayward son to return. The father ran out and met his son on the road. The kid confessed his inappropriate actions as he said he would, but the father’s response was quite unexpected. “Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.” So the lost son was fully forgiven and restored, and the celebration began. The lost son could be any of us. His father is our Father in heaven!

In relating this story, Jesus taught the value of repent and return. When our lives get off track, repent and return is the only solution. He also let us know that our Father has a boatload of forgiveness, more than you might expect. God is good, even when we’re not!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Eyewitnesses!

For Tuesday, April 29, 2025:

Mark 16:9 longer ending, NLT: “After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.”

Did you ever notice that Jesus often casts out demons as he restores a person? Their healing will proceed better and faster if demons aren’t standing in the way. Demons are the devil’s workers, sent to disrupt our lives and divert our attention from the Lord. Indwelt by seven demons, Mary Magdalene must have been a mess! But with the demons out of the way, she became a loyal disciple of Jesus.

So after the crucifixion, it makes perfect sense that Mary Magdalene would be among the first group visiting the tomb, to prepare the body for long-term burial. We know how the story unfolds. When the women arrived, they found the stone rolled away and Jesus’ body missing. In fact, he had been resurrected, risen from the dead. Jesus had told everyone that things would play out this way, but never having seen this before, the disciples didn’t understand.

Mary lingered behind in the garden outside Jesus’ tomb. She assumed the man there was the gardener until he spoke, “Mary.” She answered, “Rabboni,” which means teacher. Mary ran straightaway back to where they had all been staying, and told the men what had happened, that Jesus was alive. As a group they didn’t believe her, but the ever-curious Simon Peter had to see for himself. John joined in and eventually won the footrace to the tomb. They saw for themselves what the women had experienced – stone rolled away and body missing! The risen Jesus would later visit the disciples who would come to believe.

What happened that day was so unusual that at first even the disciples didn’t believe the eyewitnesses. They eventually believed, especially after Jesus visited them! As the disciples evangelized, it was a difficult story for unbelievers to swallow, but it’s a major plank in our theology platform. It must be taught convincingly. Our eyewitnesses are from 2,000 years ago!

The world thinks death is the end. Believers know it’s the beginning of eternal life in God’s Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Alive!

April 21, 2025, Monday Message:

John 20:21 NLT: “Jesus said, “Peace be with you. (Shalom!) As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

Jesus had been crucified, died and was buried. His part of the mission was accomplished, but all the work was not completed. He would leave behind his believers to finish up. The resurrected Jesus commissions his followers: “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” This commission is as much for today’s faithful as it was for his disciples back then.

Our assignment is to tell the world to repent and return to the Lord, for the Kingdom is at hand. This is our opportunity to love our neighbors while honoring the Lord. Put a smile on your face and become a joyful optimist. And as we go, we are to heal the sick, raise the dead when appropriate, cast out demons and share the Good News. Sounds like a big job, but Jesus will equip us for the mission, just as he always does!

Jesus came out of the grave and was seen by hundreds of people, proving that there is life after this life. We have a bright future since he took our sins to the place of the dead. After ministering for 40 days, Jesus would ascend into heaven, returning to the Father. Through all this, we can clearly see that he is alive. People had never seen anything like this before. They had to get used to the idea and believe. We too need to get used to the idea and believe!

He is alive!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Eternity Promised!

For Tuesday, April 1, 2025:

John 14:19 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live.”

Jesus knows he will be returning to the Father in heaven. His disciples have trouble understanding this, so Jesus wants to set the record straight. His words are a great explanation of eternal salvation.

Jesus-the-human will die, and those on earth will no longer see him. But forgiven believers will get to see heaven from the inside, where Jesus now resides alongside the Father. It’s like he’s saying, “You believers will see me, because I’m preparing a place for you. But it’s a place non-believers cannot enter.”

The Son of God sums up what will take place with the best words ever: “Since I live, you also will live.” He’s promising the best life-after-this-life we could possibly imagine!

Claim today what Jesus promised!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Cleanliness!

For Wednesday, March 12, 2025:

Leviticus 15:1, 2b NLT: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Any person who has a bodily discharge is ceremonially unclean.”

Cleanliness is next to Godliness. We know way more about communicable diseases nowadays than they did in Moses’ day. God wants to keep his people safe, alive and well, so we are told to stay clear of bodily discharges. That includes clothing the unclean person may have worn, their bedding and places where they may have sat.

If someone has been exposed to a disease, they are told to wash themselves and their clothes in water. Nowadays the instruction would probably include anti-bacterial soap!

Remember when Covid-19 was a big issue in our country? We experienced a shortage of N-95 surgical masks. Many chose to protect themselves from the disease. But surgical masks were designed not to protect the wearer, but rather to protect the patient. We don’t want a doctor or nurse accidentally sneezing into invasive surgery, so mask up! In other countries, masks were the law. No one was allowed outside their residence without protection. We have since learned that those masks have a 2-way benefit. Also, if you entered a business or restaurant, someone at the door squirted you with hand sanitizer! (I never liked that gooey stuff!)

God says that the way to avoid disease is to limit exposure and keep everything clean. Nowadays this is just common sense, but it was news back then, God caring for His people!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Faith, Lots of It!

For Thursday, July 18, 2024:

Ephesians 2:1 AMPC: “And you [Jesus made you alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, in which you once walked.”

When mankind was living in sin, the Bible describes us as “spiritually dead.” Jesus brought forgiveness of those sins, leaving us “spiritually alive.” Thankfully, the “dead or alive” analogy also applies to the life after this life.

There are really only two destinations: #1. The place Jesus prepares for you in the presence of the Father, or #2. With Satan in the lake of fire. As Christians, we have something no other religion can offer: Assurance of Salvation! If we place our faith, hope and trust in Jesus, the Son of God, we can count on him taking our hand and ushering us into the next reality.

 Our eternal destination depends on our faith. We need to truly believe the testimony of the eyewitnesses who walked alongside Jesus. There are both sacred and secular witnesses who attest to the miracles, the healings and Jesus’ divine connections. Investigate everything, and draw your own conclusion.

You’ll find that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; there is no other way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship