God Intervenes!

For Saturday, March 21, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:1 NLT: Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

God no longer favored Saul as Israel’s king (a problem of Saul’s own making.) It was time for a change of regime. God wanted to anoint a new king, and he had someone specific in mind. He sent Samuel, a Holy man and Prophet, to do the anointing.

Samuel hesitates. “If Saul finds out, he’ll kill me!”

As you might expect, God has a plan to keep everyone safe. “Bring a heifer, and tell everyone you’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and go home with him. One of his sons is to be the next king! I’ll show you which son to anoint.” God’s not against deception and a little white lie if it keeps everyone safe and furthers his cause!

Our God, omniscient and omnipresent, always knows what’s going on. He knew all of Saul’s deceptions and schemes. He knew when it was time to set things right.

God still has those same perceptive powers nowadays. He knows what Russia is doing to Ukraine. He knows what China is doing to Taiwan. He knows what Iran is doing to its neighbors, a false god retaliating against our Creator God. I pray that God would step up and settle these matters, but only He knows the best time.

We’d be better off having God anoint leaders for our world!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Jesus Direct!

For Friday, February 20, 2026:

Hebrews 13:15 NLT: “Let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”

The key words in this scripture are, “through Jesus.” Jesus is our heaven connection. Before Jesus, Jewish priests fulfilled that function. The priests could present our petitions, good or bad, to the Lord. Mankind would seldom hear God’s response.

After Jesus, the process changed. Jesus is part of our Holy Trinity God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So if we offer prayers through Jesus, we’re already praying directly to God. No middle-man needed! God desires a direct relationship with each of us. (Note: This scripture was written to Hebrews, who would need adjust their beliefs post-Jesus.)

Interestingly, when Jesus died on the cross and took mankind’s sins to the place of the dead, the thick, heavy curtain isolating the Holy of Holies from public areas was torn in half, top to bottom, so God had to do the tearing himself, and mankind was no longer separated from God. Again, this was God’s doing. He decreed that it should be this way.

So we can praise God directly for his goodness, exalt his omniscience and offer confessions and repentance. In return, God can offer us forgiveness and a “mulligan,” a do-over, a second chance. With Jesus, we don’t just have a religion; we have a relationship!

What a friend we have in Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Same God!

     For Sunday, February 1, 2026:

Hebrews 13:8 NLT: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

This scripture tells us that God and his Son Jesus are consistent. If God gave a command 2K years ago, it’s still in effect nowadays. We can have confidence in the prophecies given to us. Rules are rules, and laws are laws. What God wants us to do doesn’t change. Tell everyone about the Father’s love and forgiveness. Tell them about Jesus, that he paid the penalty for our sins. Tell the people that our Lord has offered us a second chance, a do-over – and a third chance, and a fourth chance… His desire is that everyone would repent and return.

We can put our faith, hope and trust in the God of Abraham. He’s the same God yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our God is powerful enough to create an entire universe, but still quite interested in each of our lives. He wants us to talk to him today. He wants to favor us with his blessings today – right now, so connect with him frequently. Share not only your hurts and sorrows with him, but your good news and blessings as well. Get to the heart of the matter. You can’t just do small talk when conversing with God. Smile when you meet with the Lord!

God and his Son desire a relationship with you. Make a point of including him in your life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Name of Jesus!

For Sunday, December 21, 2025:

Luke 2:21 NLT: “Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.”

Translated into the English language as “Jesus,” the name was originally “Yeshua” which means "Yahweh is salvation" or “God is salvation.” Angels are obedient, messengers sent by God himself. (Any who aren’t obedient don’t last long!) So Gabriel was just repeating the Lord’s instructions. God is sending His Son, confirming His intention to rescue mankind, to grant us salvation. God loves us, and his intention is that all would repent and return. God, who is omniscient, knew that Jesus would be persecuted and eventually crucified. The sins of the world would be placed on an otherwise sinless Jesus, who would leave our sins in the place of the dead. Forgiveness would be an important part of mankind’s restoration and our reconciliation with Heaven. So it appears that God, with his infinite wisdom, had this all planned out well in advance of its implementation.

Our Holy Family, Mary, Joseph and now their baby, consisted of loyal, obedient Jews. So eight days after Jesus’ birth, they found themselves in a Synagogue, in front of a Rabbi, to offer thank-you sacrifices for a successful childbirth and a healthy baby boy. Firstborn males were always dedicated to the Lord. While I’m not sure they understood the significance of all these events, I’m pretty sure they knew this baby was special. Mary was mentally piecing this puzzle together and kept these godly things in her heart.

As believers nowadays, we get more than glimpses of a scenario in motion. With our Bibles, we can read the “Jesus story” all the way to its conclusion. We know that, in the end, God wins, and we are the beneficiaries of His grace. Believers will be adopted into Jesus’ Holy Family, and have the right to call God, “Our Father!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Scripture Fulfilled!

Daily message of hope...
For Sunday, August 31, 2025:

John 13:18b, Jesus speaking: “This fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’”

Jesus is referring to Psalm 34:9. It’s one thing to claim to be the Messiah, but another to fulfill ancient prophesies! Jesus was again proving that he was heaven-sent!

Omniscient Jesus already knew who would betray him. It was one of the twelve, Judas Iscariot. We know their famous meal as the “Last Supper.”

For his last night on earth, Jesus (being God) could have done anything he wanted. But what he chose to do was to take a meal with his best friends, his church friends. Jesus instituted the bread and the cup that night, what we call Holy Communion. And Judas, who thought he was betraying Jesus, was actually fulfilling God’s vast eternal plan. Jesus needed to die to take the sins of the world to the place of the dead, his primary mission in coming to earth. In fact, everything that happened that Good Friday, including the crucifixion, brought God’s plan to fruition.

God’s way is always the right way. God’s way is always the best way! And because, in the grace of God’s plan, we are redeemed!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Plan!

For Thursday, October 24, 2024:

John 7:1 NLT: “Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death.”

Jesus taught that God was good and the world was evil, and for this he was hated. Jesus pointed out the messed up theology of the Pharisees that was taught at the Temple, and even this early in his ministry, Jesus knew his time would be coming to an end.

But now it was time for the Festival of Shelters/Tabernacles/Sukkos/Sukkot. It celebrates creating a place of worship, and a place for God to live amongst his people. Jews were commanded to celebrate this each year, appearing before the Lord in a place he would select. By this time, the place was in Judea, in Jerusalem, at the Temple. Jesus’ companions thought he should attend. He could put his miracles on display and become famous, but Jesus wanted no part of it. “I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” All things in God’s time!

The Pharisees had not a clue that their plotting Jesus’ demise was fulfilling God’s vast eternal plan! As Jesus died on the cross, he would take the sins of the world to the place of the dead, and leave them there. Believers would have their sins not only forgiven, but there would be no record of their ever having sinned. Jesus would prepare loyal believers for eternal residence in the presence of the Almighty. He would go on to prepare their place in the hereafter!

Friends, there was indeed a master plan for the rescue of mankind, and Jesus, being omniscient, knew all the details ahead of time. Therefore he continued his ministry in Galilee. He would later return to Jerusalem for Passover, to complete God’s plan for mankind’s rescue.

Believes are the beneficiaries of God’s rescue plan!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Worship 1

October 7, 2024 Monday Message:

Psalm 96:1 KJV: “O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.”

I’ve been asked to teach about worship repeatedly, so I thought it might be a good idea to include some of that in these daily messages.

Our weekly church service should include 2-way communication. First, we praise God Almighty, our Creator. Exalt him as the source of all things, from the vast universe to how many hairs are on your head! Omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (can be in more than one place at the same time), omniscient (has all knowledge), and is deserving of his place on the throne over everything! This is speaking and singing to the Lord, praising his majesty!

The other aspect of church requires us to listen. God speaks to us through Pastors and Bible teachers, so that each week we can garner a bit more knowledge about God and his inspired Holy Book, the Bible.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to get off track. Many “Christian” songs tell us to be good people, but say nothing to exalt the Lord. We can do better than just agreeing with God’s value system. At the same time, he’s both mighty, loving and forgiving. We owe him our eternal lives! God had the foresight to send Jesus as our rescuer, the one who sacrificed himself to forgive our sins. God has been so good to us. To paraphrase Martin Luther, having examined the eyewitness testimonies, I can do no other than to place my faith in the one true God! True worship means that we shout about it!

The teaching in some churches can also be a problem. Some pastors have a message in mind, have a point to make, and then search for one-liners in the Bible (lifted out of context) to support their position. That’s backwards. The message should start with what the Bible says, and then one can explain and exposit God’s inspired Word as the Holy Spirit moves the speaker. But it starts and ends with the Bible.

David was both Israel’s king and its worship leader. He is said to have played the harp and the lyre, an instrument sort of like a guitar. He was constantly composing new songs to sing to the Lord. Many of them are documented in the book of Psalms. Nowadays many churches sing what we call “contemporary” worship songs. “Contemporary” means that we’ll be adding new songs, that our repertoire will be perpetually changing!

More on worship tomorrow!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Trinity!

For Sunday, May 7, 2023:

John 14:8-9a NLT: “Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”

Christians believe in one God who makes himself known to us in three different persons: God-the-Father on the throne in heaven; Jesus, known as the Son of God, who walked on earth alongside mankind; and the Holy Spirit, our advocate and comforter, with us until Jesus returns. But like I said, really only one God! Let me explain.

God in all his forms is omnipresent, able to be in many places at the same time. So it should come as no surprise that Jesus on earth could pray to his Father in heaven, or that Jesus could return to heaven to sit at the right hand of God while the Holy Spirit continues earthly work.

Our God is omniscient having all knowledge. After all, he designed many universes, knowing just where each planet should go, how far apart they should be and in which direction they should spin! God placed planet earth 93M miles from the sun, assuring mankind a perfect climate in which to thrive.

God is also omnipotent, all-powerful, which means he can accomplish any task to which he sets his divine mind.

I must confess that as I write or speak, I find myself often using the (technically) incorrect term. Usually it’s when Jesus says something, and I’ll write, “God said…” It happens because there’s really only one God, and in my mind, I consider the different forms simply as only one God. If I (or you) get it wrong, I don’t think it’s any big deal, and God is smart enough to figure out what was intended!

Jesus simplified it as he gave us a boat-load of knowledge: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

God's Open Door!

For Thursday, December 8, 2022:

Revelation 3:8 NLT: “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.”

Our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is omniscient, which means he has total knowledge. We could call God a ‘know-it-all,’ but in a kind, respectful way!

Therefore we can not hide anything from God. He knows our hearts. If we truly love the Son, God will know that on judgment day. If we’ve been putting up a false front pretending to be a Christian, God will know that too. God has opened the door to salvation for believers, and no one can close it. God has arranged to have your sins forgiven through the Son, who went ahead to prepare your place in eternity. God is good!

We are saved by grace through faith in the Son. If life has not treated you well but you love Jesus, you can access heaven through God’s open door. If you have great influence in this life and think you can control everything, think again! You cannot control anything with eternal ramifications. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus!

The first will be last, and the last will be first!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

10,000 Years...

For Wednesday, October 20, 2021

2 Peter 3:8b NLT: “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”

Two truths: #1 Jesus is returning! #2 We have no idea when! Jesus said that he’ll come back for us. Everything else he said was true, so this also must be true. He left us with hope!

Early Christians thought Jesus might return this week, this month, or surely sometime this year. Humans only have knowledge of earthly time. (e.g. A day is one rotation of our planet; a year is our planet’s journey around the sun.) Surely our definitions of ‘day’ and ‘year’ aren’t applicable everywhere in God’s universe.

So a thousand years could be like a day in God’s world – we really don’t know! Don’t constrain the God in your mind by shackling him with earthly restraints. After all, he’s omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent! He’ll let us know when it’s time for Jesus’ return!

Live each day as if Jesus’ return was on tomorrow’s agenda!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Hope in the Lord!

For Friday, July 02, 2021

Psalm 43:5b NLT: “I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and my God!”

Why place your hope in random earthly things of circumstance, where you can have no expectation of any positive result? Start at the top; start right with God himself, the Creator! Our omniscient God knows just what you need, and our omnipotent God has the power to make it so!

Start with the One of substance, the one who matters eternally; start with God. Expect results!

Blessings today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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