Jesus = Friend of God!

For Thursday, December 11, 2025:

Romans 5:11 NLT: “Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

Christmas is coming! Soon! The time between Christmases seems to grow shorter with each passing year. Jesus’ coming to earth represents a turning point in mankind’s relationship with Father God, so it’s certainly appropriate and worthwhile to celebrate each birthday anniversary.

You may have heard that the date is wrong. Probably. Scholars claim Jesus’ birth was between 6 & 4 BCE, most likely in the springtime if shepherds are staying overnight tending their flocks. I don’t think the exact date matters as much as the fact that we would select an annual date to honor God and celebrate the Heaven-sent Savior’s birth. December 25^th is close to the winter solstice, when there is little to do in an agricultural economy. Great time to celebrate God’s goodness!

Let’s begin by confirming that God and sin cannot coexist. Therefore, if we want to spend eternity in the presence of the Lord, we need to separate ourselves from any manner of sin. Jesus comes to earth with a plan to make it easy for us. When Jesus leaves this world, he will take the sins of the world to the place of the dead. If we believers put our faith, hope and trust in Jesus, our sins stay there, leaving us suitable for residence in God’s forever kingdom, Heaven. Jesus being a Savior for mankind is an undeserved gift from a loving God. Jesus has separated us from sin, making us friends for life with the Almighty!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus! (both then and again...)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Better Life!

 

For Tuesday, December 2, 2025:

Hebrews 12:1a NLT: “Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.”

Just one simple point today. God didn’t accept believers because we suddenly became perfect. God welcomes us because we’re friends of his Son. Jesus opened the door for believers to spend eternity with the Heavenly Father. And out of gratitude for what Jesus did for us, we do our best to live His way, to not sin, to conform to God’s directions for our lives.

There’s a fishing joke about new believers. “You catch ‘em and we’ll clean ‘em!” Devotion to Jesus comes first. Clean-up may be gradual, may take a little more time. We will nonetheless get cleaned. And because of that, our lives will be better.

With Jesus, everything is better!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Snakes and Scorpions?

For Friday, May 16, 2025:

Luke 11:11-12 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!”

In your mind’s eye, picture Jesus saying these words. I see him smiling. Jesus has already made his point about Yahweh being a God of supply and provision. He’d already taught ask, seek and knock. Now he’s giving over-the-top examples that should elicit at least a chuckle from those present! Nowadays, we might refer to his words as a “Dad joke!” The human side of Jesus was just a regular guy with a sense of humor! If you met him, you’d like him and want to hang out with him!

Snakes and scorpions? No one would really do such a thing. Other manuscripts include children asking for bread, and the dad giving them a stone. That’s a little more down-to-earth – no scary animals – but no parent would would actually do that either.

And speaking of parents, Jesus said that God should be thought of as “Our Father in heaven!” This isn’t meant to sideline our earthly parents. We’re still to honor our Mothers and Fathers. (Commandment #5)

Jesus came to earth to be a friend of mankind. He came to take the sins of the world to the place of the dead. He came to rescue us, to redeem our souls, to personally usher us into the hereafter. Jesus (God) wants to no longer be unreachable. After all, the curtain separating God from mankind was torn, top to bottom. We can now interact directly with God Almighty!

Worship should be fun, enjoyable. Spending time with God should be something we all anticipate with gladness. I want to be a friend of Jesus. If he talks about giving children a scorpion, I’m gonna laugh like crazy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Prayer!

For Sunday, August 25, 2024:

Matthew 6:5 NLT: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.”

Interestingly, in the original language, hypocrite refers to an actor, someone pretending to be something they are not. In this case, that someone is pretending to be deeply religious, but it’s all just a show, an attempt to appear more pious than they actually are. Jesus teaches that there’s no reward in that.

The truth is that God knows your heart. He knows what you deep-down believe. God already knows your level of sincerity.

Your prayer should be based on your friendship, your relationship with God. He wants nothing but the best for you! Be honest; be straightforward. Keep it simple. It’s just the two of you – you and God. It shouldn’t be a show for anyone else.

By the way, we don’t get extra points for using more words!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Friend of God!

For Saturday, March 16, 2024:

Isaiah 10:1 NLT, speaking as a prophet of the Lord: “What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws.”

Jesus taught that we should be kind and help widows and orphans. At that time, people were living in a very misogynistic society. Women and children without a patriarch were at a supreme disadvantage. God is on that same page, because his Prophet Isaiah was teaching those things 700 years before Jesus! Isaiah said, “Unjust judges prey on widows and take advantage of orphans.” Woe to them!

Our God is always fair, honest and kind to the downtrodden. God is “just.” When you meet someone as honorable as God, you want to become their friend, to spend time with them. You eagerly look forward to your next encounter, and thoughts of your God fill your heart with joy!

God has thousands of cattle on thousands of hills, and he wants to share that abundance with believers. That way we can help the widows and orphans. We can be benevolent. The problem is that humans tend to be selfish and not share their wealth, which bothers God a lot! That’s why it’s easier to push a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven.

My father taught me to run decisions through his little test: “Is it good? Is it right? Is it fair? Is it honest? Should we be doing this thing?”

If we want to be a friend of God, we need to act like a friend of God!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Choose God!

For Saturday, November 12, 2022:

Psalm 50:15 NLT, God speaking: “Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

Problems come and go in our lives. Conflicts arise and disputes raise their ugly heads. Satan is loose in the world, so some of this is to be expected. Our circumstances in the world are constantly changing, oftentimes not in a good way.

It’s time to trade circumstances for substance. The Bible says that “My God is like a rock,” permanent and unchanging. God says we should always call on him when we need help. God is always available - he’s not going anywhere! If fact he invites us to share our lives with him. God desires a personal relationship with each of us. So take him up on that offer!

Your friendship with the Lord can be the stability in your life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Call on the Lord!

For Wednesday, September 21, 2022::

Psalm 25:17 NLT: David, praying to the Lord: “My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all!”

David wears his religion on the outside. What I mean is, he’s not shy about worshiping God, praying to God and also pouring out all his troubles before the Lord. And he writes it all down for everyone to see!

Psalm 25 shows us a roller-coaster of David’s emotions. Up and down! He begins by expressing total allegiance to the Creator, but his thoughts quickly turn to asking for protection and being kept safe amidst his enemies. David had been anointed to be the next king of Israel, and heads-of-state are always in danger. He concludes saying his hope is in the Lord, and asks protection for Israel. (You might wonder, did David suffer from ADHD?)

The point is, God wants to know all the details of your life, both the good and the bad. Being an omniscient God, he already knows, but he wants you to share your life with him. He wants you to turn to him in times of trouble. God wants to be 100% involved in your life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Friend of God!

For Tuesday, September 20, 2022::

Psalm 25:14 GNT: “The Lord is the friend of those who obey him and he affirms his covenant with them.”

Imagine that God is assembling a neighborhood team to play baseball or soccer or something like that. He’d first choose those with whom he already enjoyed friendship. After all, you’d never ask unknown outsiders to join your team! You’d choose only those you already know and trust.

There may be special plays or secret signals unique to God’s team, and the Lord gladly shares this information with those who love and obey him. When you agreed to join the team, God agreed to equip you for that mission. That agreement to work together is called a Covenant. We had an older Covenant under the Law given through Moses, and a New Covenant given to us by Jesus!

The New Covenant is God’s free gift to us, available to all who believe. We can make new friends and share that Good News with all who have ears to hear! That’s what Jesus said to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Friend of God!

 

For Saturday, September 3, 2022:

​Romans 5:11 NLT: “Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

​Blatant sinners are not friends with God. But thankfully, believers – those whose sins are forgiven – can be friends with God. God’s desire is that none would perish and that everyone could join him in his kingdom.

​God gave mankind free choice, so unfortunately some people will choose incorrectly and never see heaven. But those who have chosen Jesus have made the correct choice. We will get to see heaven from the inside!

​At church we sing, “I am a friend of God; He calls me friend!” Today is the best day to become a friend of God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Friend of God!

For Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Psalm 147:11 CEB: “The Lord treasures the people who honor him, the people who wait for his faithful love.”

I don’t know who first said that Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship, but it’s true! This verse speaks of our relationship with the Lord – We honor God, and consequently he holds us dear.

In a worship song we sing: “I am a friend of God; He calls me friend.” See - it’s a 2-way relationship. We consider God our friend, and He considers us good friends too - such good friends that God adopts believers into the Holy Family, and that comes with rights, responsibilities and special privileges!

Friends of God get to see heaven from the inside!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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