Jesus – Proophet-Approved!

For Wednesday, December 24, 2025:

Luke 2:38 NLT: “Anna, a prophet, came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem

Today is Christmas Eve. 2,000 years ago, as Joseph and Mary wrapped up her 9^th month of pregnancy, the couple would complete their sojourn to Bethlehem for Caesar’s census, and improvise sleeping quarters in a stable where the Son of God would make his earthly entrance! Eight days later, the prophet Anna confirmed that Jesus was the one for whom they had been waiting! Let’s see what he has up his sleeve.

Some of the people weren’t too confident about this newborn Jesus. They’d been expecting someone to overpower the Romans, to liberate them from slave-like conditions. A tiny baby just wouldn’t do!

But God’s timing is always best, and it would play out in 30-or-so years. Jesus would have thousands of followers by then. Jesus and his Father understood the Hebrew’s predicament better than they did. The Hebrews were concerned with the Romans being in charge. God and Jesus were concerned with removing sins that could block the path to eternal forgiveness. God’s desire is that everyone would repent and return. Of course, God is always right! Sin problem solved, eternity problem solved. God is good beyond measure!

On the cross, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, saying, “Your sins are forgiven.” Only God can forgive sins. Anna was right! Jesus IS the one!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Faith!

For Thursday, October 16, 2025:

Hebrews 10:37-38a NLT: “In just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith.”

The “Coming One” refers to the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. He will arrive at the perfect time to fulfill God’s plans for the rescue of the faithful. The Bible speaks of the first Christians undergoing terrible suffering, public ridicule, beatings, losing all their possessions, and even jail. We have been blessed by living in the USA, where Christianity is the prevalent religion, and we are free to openly speak of Jesus. There’s no penalty for being a believer, but it may not always be that way. People on our planet are persecuted daily for their allegiance to Jesus.

We are saved (redeemed, granted eternal life) by grace through our faith, believing that Jesus is who He said he is, and that He will do what He said He can do. When Martin Luther was searching for Assurance of Salvation in the 1500s, he concluded that Habakkuk 2:4b was our key to eternal life: “The righteous will live by their faithfulness to God,” and that is quoted in today’s scripture. Our faith in Jesus opens the door to eternal life until He comes again to personally welcome us into the hereafter!

And that’s why we worship together, to share our faith with one another and to bolster our belief in the Messiah Jesus and the Father’s Forever Heavenly Kingdom. Remember, God always keeps his promises!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Persistent Prayer!

For Thursday, May 15, 2025:

Luke 11:9 NLT, Jesus speaking: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

Jesus is continuing his teaching about prayer, and in these words, he’s highlighting persistence. Jesus’ words remind me of Curtis Mayfield’s song, “Keep On Keeping On,” as he encourages young people to relentlessly pursue love and peace. That seems like a worthy goal, something with which our Savior would be on board.

Our prayers shouldn’t be solely about our desires. That for which we pray needs to be in line with God’s vast eternal plan. And when our desires are in accord with God’s plans, we need to consider God’s timing. You may think you have a good idea, but God will wait for just the right time to bring it to fruition. After all, it’s not MY will be done, but THY will be done!

Jesus promises that the Father hears all our prayers and that he stands ready to provide what’s best for us. Verse 10 concludes, “Everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Persistent prayer is not wasted time!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Faith & Patience!

For Wednesday, March 5, 2025:

For many Christians, today is Ash Wednesday, a day of penitence and fasting. It kicks off Lent, humbling us six weeks before we celebrate the Resurrection. It’s a tradition in many denominations, but not found in the Bible. If Ash Wednesday has meaning for you, go for it! If not, that’s OK too. Whatever gets you closer to Jesus is the right thing to do!

Exodus 40:34 NLT: “Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.”

With the Tabernacle completed to the Lord’s specs and double-checked by Moses, the Shekinah or Glory of the Lord descended upon it. If that cloud moved in a certain direction, the Israelites would follow God in that direction. If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle, they would set up camp there. So Moses was not leading the flock; God was leading the flock. They would arrive at the Promised Land in God’s time.

Looking at a road map, Egypt to Israel is only about 320 miles, right up the Mediterranean coastline. Mankind could hike that distance in about a month. But following the pillar cloud of the Lord, they spent 40 years on the desert. Yes friends, this was a test of faith, God testing their stick-to-it-ive-ness. If the people whined, “This is taking too long. I’m not sure God knows what he’s doing,” they lacked faith in God’s knowledge, strength and perseverance. God would have them wait a little longer before proving he was right!

We too need to conform to God’s timing. God will delay a worthy project if the resources or personnel aren’t assembled to bring it to fruition. We need to be patient with God; He’s certainly been patient with us!

God’s timing is always the right timing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Perfect Timing!

For Sunday, January 12, 2025:

Exodus 2:12 NLT: “Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews.”

God will never abandon his people, and neither should we. Moses saw one of his fellow Hebrews being abused and rose to his defense, ultimately killing the Egyptian. For killing an Egyptian, Pharaoh put a price on Moses’ head, forcing him to seek refuge in Midian.

The priest of Midian had seven daughters who needed to draw water for their household and flocks, but they were run off by other shepherds. Moses roes to their defense, and the girls told their father who invited Moses to dine with the family. He had done the next right thing!

Moses settled in with the family, eventually taking Zipporah as his wife. God kept him safe until Pharaoh died. God was saving Moses for a greater mission, becoming the leader of God’s chosen people as they escape Egyptian tyranny.

The Lord may have a greater mission in store for you. You’ll be called in God’s perfect time!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Moses!

For Saturday, January 11, 2025:

Exodus 2:1 NLT: “About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.”

God is always thinking ahead, planning ahead. God’s ways are not like our ways. He’s not just a step ahead of us – He’s thousands of steps ahead of us!

While in Egypt, a man and a woman were born into families from the tribe of Levi. Eventually, they would meet and be married. Next comes a baby, a boy. But Pharaoh had ordered that male Hebrew babies were to be killed. So what to do?

When mom could no longer hide the infant, she waterproofed a basket, placed the baby in it, and floated it among the reeds in the Nile, the same place Pharaoh’s daughter and her maids came to bathe. They spotted the basket and took possession of the baby, who was crying. Hungry!

The baby’s older sister had watched the whole scene unfold, and she offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. So unbeknownst to the royal family, sister brought the baby’s actual mother to care for him, and she was paid for her help! Baby thrived and was eventually returned to Pharaoh’s daughter, who named him Moses and raised him in the palace as her own son.

God knew that the Hebrews would need to be liberated from the cruel Egyptians, and God had a plan. Far in advance, he knew just how this would all play out. The surprising thing is that God’s prep for the Hebrew rescue was put in motion three generations before it actually came to fruition.

God has a plan, and only God knows the timing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Heaven!

For Tuesday, August 13, 2024:

2 Peter 3:15a NLT: “Remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.”

Believers are the door-to-door field reps for Jesus & Company. Jesus left us in charge of spreading the Good News, of making disciples of all nations. It takes time to do a thorough job.

Understand that Jesus’ second coming will be the make or break day for redemption. If Jesus had returned right after the crucifixion, there’d be only a few saved. But 50 days later on Pentecost, 3,000 joined the believers! Now, centuries later, there are an estimated 2.2 billion Christians living on earth, all candidates for salvation.

Think of it as a ratio. The longer Jesus delays his return, the more people will ride on life’s railway to heaven.

All aboard!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Move Mountains!

For Tuesday. February 13, 2024:

Mark 11:23 NLT, Jesus speaking: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Don’t worry – it’s a metaphor. We’re not really throwing mountains into the sea. Jesus is telling us to not be afraid to pray for big things. Just because no human can move a mountain doesn’t mean that God can’t. Don’t constrain God with human limitations.

Once again Jesus teaches us about great faith. Consistent and persistent prayers get results, sometimes the impossible!

A mammogram showed a tumor in a woman I know. She and her friends, her women’s group, prayed nonstop 24/7 for healing. Two weeks later she returned to the doctor so they could take a tissue sample for biopsy, and they couldn’t find the tumor. The same doctors who held a picture of the tumor said it had disappeared – vanished! I don’t know how to cure cancer, but God sure does! Put your faith and trust in him!

I know a woman who prayed every day that her rebellious son would become a Christian. She had just turned 89 when he accepted Jesus. Faith. Never stop praying for what is right.

God has three answers to our prayers: yes, no, and not just yet! Yes and no are easy to understand. But anticipating God’s perfect timing challenges me.

God, increase our faith and throw in a dose of patience!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

God's Timing!

For Sunday, May 14, 2023:

John 7:30 NLT: “Then the leaders tried to arrest Jesus; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.”

Jesus was a mystery to the locals. As the harvest concluded, he declined attending the festival of shelters out of concerns for safety, but later changed his mind and was eventually found teaching publicly in the Temple! Most people hadn’t yet settled their minds on Jesus’ origin and identity. Was he a magician with incredible tricks up his sleeve? Was he evil, obtaining his power from Satan? Or, admittedly a long shot, he could be the promised Messiah! Who do you say that he is?

Eyewitnesses saw only a snapshot in Jesus’ life, but we have been blessed with the Gospels, the collection of stories about Jesus’ walk on earth. We’ve been given the big picture with all the details, more than just a single incident!

Remember that Jesus is on a mission trip with the goal of rescuing mankind from the penalty of sin. That goal would be achieved in God’s good time. Jesus walked away from his accusers, because it was not yet his hour, and God is in charge of the clock!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Seasons...

October 25, 2022 Monday Message:

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” (more)

God knows the plans he has for you. You do not know the plans God has for you! (Re-read that!)

God may call you to do one thing for a season, and then that thing ends. Task completed – Good job! I hate to admit it, but at that point I usually feel devastated. The good thing I was doing ended, and God has not yet called me to the next thing. Personally, I don’t like the in-between times.

Of course God’s timing is always perfect, and when everything is right, he will tap you on the shoulder again. We may not recognize the people or the venue, but if it’s God’s call, we need to be prepared to say ‘yes.’

God won’t steer you wrong. He’s watching out for your future. The Lord wants to fill you with hope! Blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Patience!

For Tuesday, July 5, 2022:

2 Peter 3:9 NLT: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, 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.”

Just as Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered in the Terminator movie, Jesus also said, “I’ll be back.” But he didn’t say exactly when. Early believers expected anything from a few weeks to certainly by the end of the year. 2,000 years later, we’re still waiting!

For mankind, it’s impatience. But from God’s point of view, waiting a little bit longer is a gift. God’s desire is that none would be lost; that everyone would repent and return to the Lord. We believers have been commissioned to make disciples of all nations, to take the Good News everywhere, and the Lord is allowing time for that to come to fruition.

Sometimes it’s a challenge to understand that God’s timing is better than our timing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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