David's Anointing!

For Tuesday, March 24, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:11c NLT: “At once, send for the youngest, the shepherd,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

God had told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons was to be anointed as Israel’s next king. Samuel thought he had interviewed all the young men, but God had yet to pull the trigger. So Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” Voilà: David, anointed to be the next king of Israel! Not because his father Jesse decreed it, not because Samuel said so, but because he was God’s choice! Because God said so!

Frankly, there was no way David could have turned down the assignment. Think back to Jonah, called to deliver the “repent and return” message to the people of Nineveh. Fearing for his life, Jonah took off in the opposite direction, went overboard during the voyage, was swallowed up by a giant sea creature who spit him out. Where? On the beach of Nineveh, right where God had called him to be. God always gets his way! It would take a few more years, but David would ultimately assume the position for which he had been earmarked by God.

Have you ever been called by the Lord? First, identify your God-given gifts and talents. God will not call you to a task for which you have no skill, no knowledge. He will not send you on a mission without supplying the tools needed for success. If you’re volunteering to join the “God team,” something He needs will jump out at you, will fall right into your lap. You’ll be better at it than others. It wouldn’t be the same without you! God knows what he’s doing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Repent!

For Saturday, May 24, 2025:

Luke 11:32 NLT, Jesus speaking: “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.”

Q: Can confessed sins be forgiven and forgotten? A look at the people of Nineveh gives us a clear answer.

Nineveh was well out of God’s favor. They were a sinful and disobedient nation, so much so that God called Jonah to deliver this message: Repent and return or face the consequences! That nation took Jonah’s message seriously, fasted and repented and returned to the Lord! And now Jesus is praising the people of Nineveh, counting them among the faithful who can join in condemning others on judgment day. Jesus moved them from the liability column to the asset column in the Book of Life. He can do the same for each of us, and already has for many!

Christians, those of us who previously repented and returned to the Lord, are Jesus’ army. We can join the people of Nineveh, condemning the unrepentant and proclaiming Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. We can encourage others to get their lives in order, as the Day of the Lord is imminent.

Thank you, Jesus, for including us in your Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

A Sign from God!

For Friday, May 23, 2025:

Luke 11:30 NLT, Jesus speaking: “What happened to Jonah was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man [Jesus] will be a sign to you people that he was sent by God.”

Here’s the short version of the sign of Jonah. God was fed up with the wickedly disobedient people of Nineveh. So God called Jonah to go there and tell the people to repent and return – or else! Jonah, fearing what those citizens would do to him, caught a boat headed in the opposite direction. God wasn’t having any of his rebellion. God made the seas rough and all the sailors feared for their lives. Jonah knew he was the source of their bad luck, and to save the others he was eventually thrown overboard, only to be swallowed up by a big fish. Three days later, the fish spit Jonah up on the beach of – (you guessed it) – Nineveh! Those people fasted and repented and earned their way back into God’s favor. That incredible journey was Jonah’s sign that he was sent by God. Lesson: If God wants you in Nineveh, you’ll soon find yourself in Nineveh, regardless of what you choose to do!

Jesus knew his future was to rise from the grave three days after the crucifixion. The Jews had never seen anything like that before. That would be Jesus’ sign that he truly was heaven-sent. Rising from the dead would be the miraculous sign that changed fence-sitters into believers. It still does today.

If you examine the evidence and listen to the eyewitness testimonies, you too will be convinced that Jesus is the Son of God. And if you believe with all your heart, you can tell others. That’s what Jesus told us to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jonah's Call

For Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Jonah 1:1-2 NLT: “The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.’”

God had a job to do and he’d selected a point person to make it all happen. Unfortunately Jonah was of a different mind. Driven largely by fear, he headed in the opposite direction, trying to hide from God. That never works. We all know the story of Jonah being swallowed by the big fish, and three days later God gave him a second chance. Jonah finally entered the city of Nineveh, which is where he should have gone in the first place!

God will not send us on a mission without suitably equipping us for that task. God offers us care and protection as we go about His work. God wants the loyal believers to be on the bench, ready to go into the game when he issues the call.

Doing what God asks always proves to be the best way to proceed!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

God's Call

Sept. 9, 2019 Monday Message:

Gideon answered God: “Forgive me, Lord, but with what am I to save Israel? Why, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I’m the youngest person in my father’s house!” Judges 6:15 Complete Jewish Bible

It seems that when God taps someone on the shoulder for a task, the standard response is, “You’ve got the wrong guy!” Compared to the God doing the calling, most of us feel inadequate. But God isn’t just assigning us a task. God isn’t expecting us to accomplish His goal with no support. What we need to realize is that God already has a plan, and we are just a part of it.

When God asked Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses said, “You’ve got the wrong guy!” But God had hand-picked Moses for this task since he was a baby. God caused Moses to grow up in Pharaoh’s court so he knew the language and the government systems. God had equipped him for the task. Furthermore, the plagues would finally convince Pharaoh to let the people go free. Moses, you’re not in this by yourself!

When God called Jonah to Nineveh he ran – he went in the opposite direction! But God, through a bizarre series of events, brought Jonah right where he needed to be to warn the people of Nineveh to repent and return to the Lord!

Question: With 135,000 in the Midianite Army, why did God reduce Gideon’s soldiers to 300? How could they possible win the battle?

Answer: It wasn’t just 300 soldiers – it was 300 plus God, and with God they could accomplish anything!

So when God taps us on the shoulder for a task, we should get in the habit of saying ‘yes,’ knowing that God will be in it with us. You might be God’s perfect person for the mission!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship meets next Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. This week is the Men’s Retreat, so Pastor Van Dickerson will wrap up Philippians 4, guest Worship Leader Jerry McCluskey.