Abba, Father!

For Friday, May 8, 2026:

Romans 8:15 NLT: “You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’”

A spirit occupying a human body is more common than you think. The bad ones are demons, sent by Satan to get us off track. Most people don’t talk about it nowadays, but Jesus would repeatedly cast out demons, so we need to take notice of this.

In a way, becoming a believer, a Christian, is trading a bad spirit for a good one. Evil thoughts and deeds depart, replaced by the Holy Spirit of God himself. When filled with the Holy Spirit, we become children of God, adopted into the holy family. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven...”

Believers are no longer tied to the evil one. When tempted, we can tell that spirit, “Don’t waste your time. I’m a child of God!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Children of God!

For Friday, June 9, 2023:

1 John 5:1 NLT: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, (the Messiah,) has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.”

We are saved through faith, believing that Jesus is God’s own Son and that he can and will do what he promised. Saved, we become children of God, loving both our heavenly Father and our fellow brothers and sisters. It’s not optional!

Believers are all slated to take up residence in heaven. It seems that God is assembling a “perfect” family to spend eternity with him. But while we’re on earth, mankind will make mistakes, do things wrong and come up short. We must constantly be aware that Satan will try anything to preempt our heavenly destination.

Sin is a problem, but so is our reaction to sin. Rather than anger, bitterness and resentment, we are to offer forgiveness and reconciliation. We pray for our enemies, that God would change their direction and point them back to truth. Loving God’s children means loving ALL of them, no exceptions!

If we say we are Christians, we should act like it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Forgive Others!

For Sunday, January 29, 2023:

Matthew 6:12 NIV, Jesus continues teaching The Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Your Bible may read, “Forgive us our trespasses...,” “Forgive our sins...,” or “Forgive us for the wrong things we have done…” Sin is pictured as a debt owed, and we need to square things up!

God arranged to forgive mankind when we sinned. In fact, he was quite intentional about it. He sent his Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. Those who put their faith, hope and trust in God’s Son can confess their sin and be adopted as a chid of God, a resident of God’s forever heavenly Kingdom. God gave us a second chance at hope!

There is a condition to God’s benevolence. It’s kind of like the Golden Rule. God stands ready to forgive us after the same manner in which we forgive others. “Do unto others as you would have God do unto you,” is the message. It sounds simple, but this is quite serious. If you insist on harboring resentment against a fellow, God may harbor resentment against you, and that can have eternal ramifications.

We’re praying for God to treat us as we have treated others, so treat them well!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Teach Your Children!

For Tuesday, September 27, 2022:

Deuteronomy 11:2 NLT: “Keep in mind that I am not talking now to your children, who have never experienced the discipline of the Lord your God or seen his greatness and his strong hand and powerful arm.”

The Lord had called Moses to lead the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt. They had all seen the plagues, the miracles and the defeat of the mighty Egyptian army. They understood the greatness of God. But by this time, the rescued have had children of their own, children who were not alive during God’s rescue, and they need to be taught everything about God – his miracles, his provision, his love and caring for those who worship him.

We teach our children to read and write. We enroll them in schools to learn mathematics and science. We must also get our children up to speed on everything about God. Your Bible is your textbook.

Teach your children about creation. Teach them God’s repeated rescue of his people. Teach them about love, forgiveness and redemption through the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. Watch with delight as they become “Children of God!”

Guide your children into the Holy Family!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Believer Benefits!

For Friday, August 5, 2022:

Psalm103:2-5 NLT, words of David: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Being a believer comes with benefits. No one should ever associate with Christians just to ‘get stuff,’ but indeed there are benefits once you’re a member of the flock.

The biggest benefit is God’s gift of a life after this life in his presence. We call it heaven. Our time on earth is short, but the presence of the Lord is eternal. Jesus is willing to redeem your life from the pit of despair and crown you as a child of God!

So it’s OK to focus on the benefits of being a believer. Like Paul said, “Keep your eye on the prize!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Church!

For Sunday, November 7, 2021

Matthew 12:9 TLB: “Then Jesus went over to the synagogue.”

A synagogue is a meeting place, a place of assembly for observant Jews. It’s a lot like our ‘church’ nowadays. It was the Sabbath, so of course Jesus went there. Taking time to worship the Lord on the Sabbath wasn’t optional! God ordained the practice in #4 of the 10 Commandments given through Moses on Mt. Sinai.

Therefore each of us needs to make a decision to associate with a community of Christians! If a church is working right, people should share bi-directional unconditional love, the same kind of love that Jesus has for us. The church is home-base for your Holy family – it becomes your 2nd home, and home is where when you go there, they have to let you in. Everyone is welcome – everyone is accepted – everyone fits in, because – once you’re a believer, you’re a child of God – so we’re all family!

It’s Sunday – see you at church!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Child of God!

For Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Psalm 135:14 MEV: “The Lord will defend His people, and He will have compassion on His servants.”

Mankind tends to be concerned only with the present. But God is concerned with eternity. If you’re on God’s side, a part of God’s team, He will love you, show you compassion and defend you. He will protect you and sustain you, knowing you’re headed for his eternal Kingdom! When you’re a Christian, you become a child of God, and God looks after his children. It’s family business.

Knowing God is on our side fills us with hope!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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