Daily message of hope...
For Friday, August 7, 2026:

Luke 6:25b NLT: “What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.”

Picture this: Jesus on the earth, healing many, casting out demons and performing miracles. Sounds like worship would be called for, but throwing a party and carousing would be more your style. Bad choice!

In keeping with his theme of the first being last and the last being first, Jesus says that in the end, the revelers will know only sorrow. Jesus’ ministry lasted only about three years, a relatively short time. That’s the time he could have been worshiped in person, and anyone who missed it may never get another chance.

Reversing the situation, Psalm 30:11 begins, “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.” Those who worship on earth will find themselves dancing in God’s forever Kingdom. If you have no time for God in this life, he won’t have time for you in the next. But if you love the Lord, he will adopt you into the Holy Family!

How we live in this life determines our eternal destination. God needs to be #1 both in this life and the next!

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

Prosperous vs Sorrow!

Daily message of hope...
For Thursday, August 6, 2026:

Luke 6:25a NLT: “What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you.

Jesus is laying out a paradox, a contradiction in terms. We don’t expect to see a word like ‘sorrow’ describing someone who is fat and prosperous! But Jesus is describing ‘now’ vs ‘sometime in the future.’ He’s describing this life vs our next life.

As time progresses, things will change. What surprises me is how quickly things change. Those living a prosperous life tend to have no sense of need. They can’t identify with those who have little. They have had luxury here on earth, but will join the needy in the next life. Then they’ll know. Remember, Jesus said, “Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

In the next reality, all people will appear in Jesus’ proper order.

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

Beatitudes!

For Sunday, July 26, 2026:

Luke 6:20 NLT: Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.”

Thus begin the Beatitudes, Jesus’ declarations of blessedness from his Sermon on the Mount message. Let’s have a look.

If someone was struggling through their earthly life, was poor or sick and turned to the Lord for assistance, they would be included in the Kingdom, since they already knew the Lord, having cried out to him for help. They value God’s assistance both in this life and the next.

On the other hand, many people living rich, abundant lives think they have it all together. A lot of them have no need for a God since they believe the world revolves around them! Not so! They will not see the Kingdom as they never knew the Lord.

This is what Jesus meant when he said that the first will be last and the last will be first. Those having a rough time and seek the Lord will continue to know him. Those who don’t know the Lord on this earth also won’t know him in the life after this life. So be intentional about cementing your relationship with the Almighty. If life has been good to you, become a leader in loving your neighbors. Do what Jesus would have you do here on earth. Then he’ll smile on you in the next life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Path Least Traveled!

For Friday, June 20, 2025:

Luke 13:24 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.”

The question put to Jesus was, “How many will be saved?” Is it a lot, or perhaps just a few? I don’t need an exact number. Perhaps we could get the answer as a percentage? Are 10% saved while 90% perish? Or is it the other way around? Since the gate is narrow, I surmise that not everyone who calls out, “Lord, Lord,” will be rescued.

God is patient. He’s giving us a lot of time to firm up our decision. God wants more and more of the faithful to cement their decisions for Jesus. But friends, time is running out! There will come a day when God says, “No more time!” Our grace period has ended. It’s a real line in the sand. Those who have committed themselves to Jesus will be “IN!” Those who reject Christ will be “OUT!” Unfortunately, fence-sitters will also be out. If you’re not perceived as being “with” Jesus, you may find yourself on the outside. “I never knew you!”

Those who humble themselves before Jesus go to the front of the line. Those who think too highly of themselves will bring up the rear. The first will be last, and the last will be first. It’s exciting to watch your pecking order shift as judgment day draws closer!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Last Become First!

August 12, 2024 Monday Message:

Matthew 5:11-12 NLT, Jesus speaking: “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”

Unfortunately, people tend to take sides. Believers do their best to live in the shadow of the Father and his Son, while those who do not believe poke fun at those who do, even persecuting them in matters far removed from religion.

Jesus promises to straighten things out in the next reality. He taught, “Those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” This juxtaposition of pecking order is putting things back the way our Father intended. Heaven rewards loyalty, and Jesus will prepare a special place for believers in his Father’s Kingdom. There believers are blessed with eternal life alongside Jesus. By then we will have been adopted into the Holy Family. Churches that refer to members as “brother” and “sister” have the right idea.

It’ll be a huge family reunion!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Servants First!

For Thursday, February 1, 2024:

Mark 9:35b NLT, Jesus speaking: “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

In spite of traveling with Jesus and hearing everything he taught, even the disciples still didn’t get it. Love, kindness and serving others were central to Jesus’ teaching. But when left to themselves, the disciples’ discussion quickly turned to who among them was the greatest.

It’s natural to want a secure position in the pecking order of life. So we need to align our goals with our Savior’s. He says that the greatest will be the one serving others. The greatest will welcome little children. “Anyone who welcomes a little child on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

Therefore love, kindness and serving others is the path to honoring our Lord. We’d best try to do what Jesus taught!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Pecking Order!

June 19, 2023 Monday Message:

Matthew 19:30 NLT: “Many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

Jesus is pointing out groups of people judged by different standards. When judged by the world, popular people with recognizable names rise to the top: politicians and media people; actors and beauty queens; musicians. Their lives and their activities make daily headlines, even when they’re flaunting God’s rules.

The children of God remain humble and loyal. They’re helpful. They always try to do what is right. They care for their neighbors even when there is no apparent reward. But they are loyal to Father God and his commands.

Their reward comes later. When we transition from this life to the next, Jesus says that the first will be last and the last will be first, a complete reversal of the world’s pecking order. We are then being judged by the Lord’s standards. What the ‘world’ thinks no longer matters!

The most popular people on earth may not even get to see heaven from the inside!

In the next life, everything will be in the proper order!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Last are now First!

For Friday, June 24, 2022:

Mark 10:31 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

People who seem important to us now may not be important in the next life, if they make it there at all! We look up to actors, musicians and politicians. They make headlines, but oftentimes are poor examples of God’s values.

Jesus said that the first will be last, and the last will be first. He explains it like this: “I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.”

And that’s what we all want – Eternal life with Our Father!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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