Ancestry!

Daily message of hope...
For Wednesday, August 26, 2026:

Romans 9:25 NLT, Paul testifying to the church in Rome: “Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.’”

Early Christians were all Jews. But following Paul’s efforts, the ancestry ratio shifted so that most modern-day Christians originated in the Gentile population. As a group, we were not Jews, “God’s chosen people.” Friends, it matters not. God is God, and he can choose anyone he wants to. He has now chosen us, the faithful believers who love Jesus. (And yes, some believers were Jews!)

Scripture tells us that whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. And that scripture is speaking of eternal life, having a home in God’s heavenly Kingdom, living in the place Jesus prepared for you.

As it turns out, our ancestry isn’t the deciding factor. It’s our love for the Son and the Father’s love for us that cement the bidirectional relationship. It’s good to have friends in high places!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
The Father’s House
Jesus In the City Fellowship
Truth & Freedom Church

Assurance!

For Saturday, June 27, 2026:

Colossians 1:27b NLT, Paul speaking: “This is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”

It might have been a secret back then, but it’s not nowadays! Christians everywhere know that Christ lives in them, forgiving all sins and preparing them to meet the Father.

People used to believe they needed some kind of priest as a go-between to communicate with God. But with Jesus living in us, we can directly approach the Father. It’s like Jesus, his Son, coming home, and we’re best friends with the Son.

Remember, Paul was converting the Gentile world, who had no knowledge of the real God, only pretend made-up gods. But that tells us that mankind was made to worship. The Gentiles just needed to be guided in the right direction!

Nowadays, many people in our communities need a gentle push in the right direction. Jesus’ desire is that everyone hears the Good News. Have you told anyone lately?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Son of God!

For Wednesday, June 24, 2026:

Colossians 1:27a NLT, Paul speaking: “God wanted us all to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too.”

After the resurrection, the original apostles sans Judas continued their ministry in Jerusalem. Most didn’t travel far, although God called (Simon) Peter to Caesarea and Ethiopia.

Paul, trained by Pharisees, had been nothing but trouble for the believers. But he too was converted. It happened on the road to Damascus. So now on the right side of history, Paul started preaching in Asia Minor, nowadays known as Turkey. In a way, this was a more difficult ministry. Jerusalem was filled with Jews who already knew a God. Change ‘God’ to ‘Son of God,’ and a lot of what they already knew made sense.

One of Paul’s greatest challenges was convincing Jews that his pagan candidates should be granted membership in the ‘Jesus club!’ Another was convincing the pagan that they should become ‘like Jews.’ Here, Paul sums up what he had been shown by the Holy Spirit: “God wanted us all to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too.”

Jesus and his earthly parents were Jews, so I don’t want to give the impression that honoring Jewish traditions and practices is wrong. But I don’t regard it as necessary either. Paul later determines that Circumcision is unnecessary for new believers. Not wrong, just unnecessary. Not a deal-breaker.

The Good News brought by Jesus – love for all of mankind, forgiveness of sins and having a reservation in eternity – is not just for converted Jews. It’s for everyone, both Jew and Gentile! Love God and love your neighbor!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Christians First!

For Tuesday, April 30, 2024:

Philippians 3:3 NLV: “The act of becoming a Jew has nothing to do with us becoming Christians. We worship God through His Spirit and are proud of Jesus Christ. We have no faith in what we ourselves can do.”

At the time the resurrected Jesus ascended back to the Father, there was no New Testament. It hadn’t been written yet. Those who ministered with Jesus eventually documented what He said and what we should do. But that comes much later.

At that time, those who ministered with Jesus were all Jews who became followers of Christ, hence “Christians.” When they shared the Good News with their friends, those friends were converted Jews as well. So the mistaken notion developed that one needed to first become a Jew to eventually become a Christian. Not so fast!

It was Jesus himself who personally called Paul to itinerant ministry all over Asia Minor. Paul was put in charge of sharing the Good News with Gentiles, the non-Jews. Paul told everyone he met about Jesus – right away! There was no middle step of becoming a Jew first. After considerable prayer and consulting with the Jerusalem elders, the matter was settled. You did NOT have to first become a Jew in order to become a Christian!

God wants people who worship in truth and in spirit. The truth part is obvious, but our spirit needs to also connect with the Lord’s spirit. Each of us needs to accept the free gift offered by Jesus, eternal salvation in the presence of the Father.

By ourselves, no salvation is accomplished; but with God and his Son, everything is possible!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus Said So!

For Tuesday, January 23, 2024:

Mark 7:28 NLT: “Even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”

This Gentile Syrian woman was petitioning Jesus to cast out the demon from her daughter. Jesus makes the case: “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

But her rebuttal is right on the money: “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”

“Good answer! Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” And it was so.

Another healing, another miracle without ceremony, showmanship or a magic incantation. The daughter was restored just because Jesus said so. Jesus willed it to be that way.

You and I have assurance of salvation just because Jesus said so!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Family of God!

For Thursday, September 28, 2023:

Romans 9:25 NLT: “Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.’”

Most of us came to Christianity as Gentiles, in other words not from Judaism. But we believers have been adopted into God’s Holy Family, and our Father calls us his children. Gentile believers have all the rights, privileges and benefits given to any other child of God.

And we have responsibilities too. We should lead our Christian communities according to God’s value system, stressing kindness, a helpful nature and loving our neighbors. Outsiders see that behavior, are attracted to it, and the church grows. People want what we have. We’re to share the Good News with all nations, giving as many as possible the opportunity to accept Jesus as their savior.

He is our God, and we are his family!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Teach Yourselves!

For Saturday, July 22, 2023:

Romans 2:21a NLT: “Well then, if you Jews teach others, why don’t you teach yourselves?”

God sent his Law through the Jews. Although they knew the Law, many were not obeying it. Possessing the Law and obeying it are two different things. Paul, somewhat sarcastically, called them on their behavior. Some converted Gentiles had become better at obeying God’s Laws than those who were raised in the tradition.

James later writes that faith without action is dead. The point is that we not only need to know God’s principles, we need to personally practice them as a way of life. Jesus solved our sin-problem if we get something wrong. But the goal isn’t to count up how many Laws we obeyed. Jesus’ goal for us is to be nice, to be helpful, to do the next right thing. Life should be pleasant and full of love. Jesus said to love God and love our neighbors.

If you’re happy and you know it tell your face!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Faith!

For Tuesday, February 21, 2023:

Matthew 8:8 NLT: “But the Roman officer said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.’”

We are saved by grace through faith, and this story is about faith. As Jesus traveled about teaching and healing, word spread quickly. Many people already believed in God, and having seen and heard Jesus, believed he was heaven-sent. The unlikely believer in today’s story was a Roman centurion, an officer working for the bad guys. But through faith, he appeals to Jesus: “Lord, my servant is at home in such terrible pain that he can't even move.” He considers himself unworthy, but is asking Jesus to show compassion.

Jesus did just that: “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” For Jesus, the healing was easy. But a Roman soldier having that kind of faith – that was amazing! That was hard to believe! Jesus later commented that even though the Son of man came to earth through the Jews, he is for ALL people including Gentiles. In the Kingdom of Heaven, there will be many Gentiles, while some Israelites will be condemned to outer darkness. It comes down to who is a believer, who has faith in the Son.

So Jesus’ message is that no matter where you’re from or no matter how you were raised, you can cultivate and grow your faith in Jesus – the more, the better! Let Jesus say about you, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”

The Kingdom is prepared for all who believe!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Everyone's Included!

For Friday, October 28, 2022:

Ephesians 2:18 NLT: “Now all of us – both Jew and Gentile – can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.”

Christianity got its start with Jews in Jerusalem. But the itinerant evangelist Paul brought Jesus to the Gentiles in Asia Minor. Here, Paul is counseling the Gentile Christians in Ephesus, saying that they should not regard themselves as “second-class citizens” in God’s kingdom in any regard. They are not only full citizens, but also full and equal members of God’s household.

So race doesn’t matter, and your country of origin doesn’t matter either. Even your past doesn’t matter if you have now decided to follow Jesus. We are given a fresh start with a clean slate! Everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” is a “Child of God,” fully accepted as a member of the Holy Family.

Everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” is included in the forever Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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