Peace with God!

For Wednesday, May 27, 2026:

Colossians 1:20b NLT: “God made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”

Sin and God’s goodness cannot coexist. But God’s desire is that everyone would repent and return. He wants us all to join him in the hereafter. Therefore, sin needs to be removed, blotted out from Heaven’s Book of Life registry. What could possibly pay the penalty for the sin of the world?

God, who has all resources at his command, knew that the earthly sacrifice of his Son was the only thing that could satisfy the debt. So Jesus went to the work of substitutionary atonement, paying for the trespasses of mankind through the ages. Past sins, present sins, and even future sins were paid for. Believers in Jesus have been granted special grace. When heaven looks up our name in the Book of Life, the column marked “sin” will be blank. No scratch-outs; no erasure marks; simply blank white space, as if we had never sinned. That’s how thorough Jesus’ forgiveness is!

As believers, we’ll be a part of the heavenly group only present because of the Son. “I’m with that guy sitting just to the right of the Father. He said he’d prepare a place for me in his Father’s Kingdom.”

And heaven will reply, “We’ve been expecting you!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Eternity Reservation!

For Friday, February 13, 2026:

Romans 6:23 NLT: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Eternal life or eternal death – pick one. The human death rate is hovering right around 100%, so you and I WILL transition to the next reality. We get to choose our destination. Unrepentant sin will grant us a dip in the lake of fire, whereas children of God inherit the gift of eternal life in his heavenly Kingdom. Wouldn’t it be better to spend eternity in God’s presence?

This scripture was our “go-to” verse when counseling seekers or those who came forward at crusades. It simplifies a lot of theology. For as thick as the printed Bible is, it really boils down to only two choices – God’s way or the wrong way. (Although you may have to spend some time on the inerrancy of the Bible.)

Have you made your own personal decision to go with God’s plan? Is Jesus the Lord of your life? Is your name irrevocably written in the Book of Life? Are you awaiting God’s eternal gift? 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Book of Life!

For Thursday, May 8, 2025:

Luke 10:20 NLT, Jesus, speaking to the 72: “Don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

None of the 72 had ever cast out a demon on their own. But now, using the name of Jesus, it worked every time! They were amazed!

Of course that’s all good, but Jesus had something much more important to share. Because their sins are now forgiven, their names are written in the Book of Life. That’s a registry of all who will spend eternity in the presence of God Almighty. And that means that they’ve all been rescued from Satan’s eternity, the lake of fire. That’s a gift worthy of celebration!

More people knowing Jesus as God’s Son, the Messiah, means that they too will be rescued. That’s why we’re all on an evangelical mission, so we can read their names in the Book of Life alongside ours!

Having more believers pleases God. His desire is that all would repent and return. Let’s put a smile on his face!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Assurance of Salvation!

For Friday, October 18, 2024:

1 John 5:13 NLT: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”

Many of the world’s religions teach about a life after this life. Let’s call it Paradise. People live their lives trying to be good and to follow the teachings of their religion, hoping to gain more Paradise Points. But anger, violence and disobedience can subtract Paradise Points. Your qualification for the hereafter can increase or decrease, but their Higher Power never allows anyone to see the scoreboard. A person could live their entire life not knowing if they “made it” or not.

Christianity is different. We have a Savior, Jesus. He took the sin of the world to the place of the dead, leaving forgiven believers forever qualified to take up residence in God’s heaven. Christians have “Assurance of Salvation,” not from anything we did but from what Jesus did in removing the record of our sin from the Book of life. We then try to do good out of gratitude for what Jesus did for us, not to earn Heaven Points.

By the way, heaven isn’t our final destination. In God’s time, he will restore the New Heaven and the New Earth, put back to original specifications the way it was all designed before sin entered the world. Yes, believers will find themselves living in a perfect world! That’s what the Bible says!

Now as a reminder, go sing a chorus of “Blessed Assurance!” (This is my story...)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Bright Shining Light!

For Saturday, April 27, 2024:

Philippians 2:15b NLT: “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”

In case you haven’t noticed, the world is a mess. There are wars, fighting, and innocent people dying internationally. Locally, each day’s headlines tell of more shootings and more deaths. Two or three every day; sometimes more. There’s also an abundance of crimes that don’t involve killing, but still affect our quality of life.

Lest we become discouraged, let’s all turn to the back of the book to find out (or to remember) who wins. It’s really no contest! Our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the creator of everything. Let me state that another way: No one else ever created anything! No one! The creator who initiated the world holds all the cards for how it all will end. What happens in our life-after-this-life is determined solely by the creator of it all.

Those who repent and return, who acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, will find their names in the Book of Life. That’s Jesus’ free gift to those who believe. And out of gratitude for that gift of understanding the Good News, we become God’s bright lights shining into an otherwise corrupt world. God want’s Christians to be the bright light that others want to get close to. When people look at Christians, they should like what they see and want to become a part of the action! Christianity grows through attraction.

So shine your light into the dark world. As time marches on, there will be fewer of us on the winning team, but don’t give up. Jesus has your reward waiting for you on the other side!

Blessings as you go about the Lord’s work today!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Sinless!

April 8, 2024 Monday Message:

Colossians 1:22 NLT: “Now God has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

Through Jesus, God is doing for us what we could not accomplish by ourselves. Remember that God’s desire is that all would repent and return to him, both here and in the hereafter, and Jesus makes it all possible.

When we die and then seek entrance to heaven, we may be questioned. What kind of life did you live? Were you generous and kind? Did you remember the widows and orphans? Those questioning you may ask where you lived. On planet Earth amongst the sinners. But when they check the book of life – surprise – your name will be right there! And the column marked “sin” will be vacant, filled with white space, as if you had never sinned. You won’t see any erasure marks, and no scratch-outs – just blank white space. Jesus will have arranged that for you because of your faith in him! And that’s a fulfillment of the Father’s plan for believers – for eternity!

As humans, it’s difficult for us to understand eternity. It’s forever! It’s like you look in the mirror every morning, but you don’t seem to age – for centuries, for millenniums! Or pretend your refrigerator is filled with food, and you eat three meals every day for a week, but when you check your refrigerator is still full! It will sustain you forever because God is in charge!

We need to praise God for all the good things he is giving us, but it can never be enough. Just do your best!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Book of Life!

For Wednesday, August 23, 2023:

Romans 6:8 NLT: “Since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.”

As a young student, when someone in our class misbehaved, the teacher would threaten, “This is going on your permanent record!” We were scared to death! We weren’t told who got to see our permanent record or where it was kept. But the mere thought of our misdeed being recorded for perpetuity was enough to restore order for quite some time!

For believers, the Book of Life is our permanent record. When someone dies, heaven searches the Book of Life for our name and the record of everything we did while we were visiting earth. But when they look under the column marked “sin,” it will be blank white space as if we had never sinned. No corrections, no scratch-outs, no erasure marks – just white space! Any record of our sin was paid for and removed as if it never happened. That’s grace, Jesus’ free gift to us!

Believers are saved by faith in God’s Son Jesus. When we enter heaven’s pearly gates, explain that you’re with that one guy just off God’s right hand. Stick with Jesus and everything will work out!

That’s what Jesus promised; that’s what the Bible says!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Day of the Lord!

For Saturday, November 26, 2022:

2 Peter 3:9 NLT: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise (to return), as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

Scoffers mock the Lord, saying he won’t keep his promise of returning. Nothing could be further from the truth! Right now, the Day of the Lord is on hold until God puts everything in motion. God’s timing will be perfect! Remember God’s desire is that none would perish, and he’s giving everyone on earth a little extra time to repent and return.

Like sheep, mankind has gone astray. Some are further away than others. God wants ALL to return, or at least have that opportunity. Here we read that God isn’t slow; he’s being patient. God’s way is the path to eternal life in his presence. We call it ‘heaven!’

With Jesus in our hearts, heaven will find our names in the Book of Life. The space to record ‘sin’ will be blank. On the cross, Jesus took away our sins. They’re now as far from us as the East is from the West. Believer’s sins are at the bottom of the deepest ocean. Jesus purified the believers, leaving them acceptable to take up residence in the presence of our eternal God.

Thankfully, our God is a God of second chances! (and third chances...)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

God and the Lamb!

For Wednesday, November 16, 2022:

Revelation 22:3 NLT: “No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.”

Currently Satan is working his evil on earth. But when God re-makes the New Earth, Satan and his minions will be retired to the lake of fire. God and Jesus will live here with the believers, and evil cannot exist in the presence of the Lord! Those who worship the Lord will also serve him! All curses will also be retired. There is no room for any bad will on the New Earth!

On the New Earth, everything fill be pure. Everything will be fixed, repaired or remade to God’s specifications, and those who put their faith, hope and trust in Jesus get to live in that Holy City – forever! Make a decision today to add your name to the Book of Life. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

Believers can look forward to a magnificent eternity!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Connections!

For Friday, June 10, 2022:

Romans 3:22 NLT: “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.”

God is perfect and sinless, mankind is struggling with sin, and only Jesus can connect the two.

When we come to the pearly gates and they look in the book of life, heaven is not expecting to find your name. After all, you came from planet earth where scripture says that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

But if you’re a believer, a follower of Jesus, your name will be there. And under the column labeled ‘sin,’ it will be blank – no erasure marks, no scratch-outs – just blank white space, as if you’d never sinned! That’s what Jesus does for those who follow him!

Jesus paid the price to redeem us from our sin! If we tried to pay it ourselves, we’d be lost forever!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Book of Life

For Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Luke 10:20 TLB, Jesus speaking: “The important thing is not that demons obey you, but that your names are registered as citizens of heaven.”

Christians often say, “The earth is not my home.” That’s because their belief is that they were created by God in heaven, and in the next reality they will return to Him. Heaven has a ‘Book of Life,’ and believers names are recorded in that book. Talk about a living hope!

My dream of entering heaven goes like this: I’m questioned at the gate.

"What are you doing here? You lived on earth, so you must be a sinner.”

Me: “I’m with that guy over there, just to the right of God. I’m with Jesus!”

"We’ll see about that. Let’s have a look in the Book of Life.”

They then find my name, and the column marked ‘sin’ is blank – completely empty! That’s what Jesus can do for all believers. It’s as if we never sinned – no record of it. So I’m ‘in!’

There will be a celebratory wedding feast in heaven as Jesus unites with his bride, the church!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406