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

Jesus - Shepherd for All

March 28, 2016 Monday Message:

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 NIV

Jesus is reassuring his followers about life after this life, and isn’t that what Easter’s all about? Jesus uses the familiar shepherd/sheep analogy. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

If anyone present that day had any doubt, any confusion, about who Jesus was, he answered in a clear, straightforward fashion: “I and the Father are one.” Once you “get” that – that Father God, Jesus the Son, and for that matter, the Holy Spirit are one, Christian theology starts falling into place.

God’s desire “that no one would perish, but that all would repent,” becomes Jesus’ desire too. Fulfilling God’s plan for our redemption, the Son of God - Jesus himself – became the required sacrifice for ALL the sins of the world - past, present and future sin – all covered by Jesus. He took our sin and then covered us with His holiness, in what theologians call the great exchange. Our sins were forgiven, and we were made holy, sanctified, set-apart as one of God’s children, adopted into the Holy family.

On that first Easter Sunday, the tomb was empty. Jesus was up and out where everyone could see him. Death and sin hold no authority over Jesus. And by covering our sins, he made it possible for you and me to spend eternity in the presence of God. That’s the way the Father wanted everything to go, and the Holy Spirit is here to keep us on track. They are ALL of one mind.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday at 10 am in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, April 3, 2016 – Dedication of the Children – don’t miss it!