Holy!

For Saturday, September 21, 2024:

Ezekiel 43:12a NLT: “This is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness!”

God and Satan are diehard enemies, one good and one evil. God is the Creator of everything and Satan is a created being, so in the end, God will always win. My advice is to play for the winning team! Make a lifelong commitment to the good guys!

The presence of the Lord would reside in the innermost room of the Temple, IF it was kept Holy, free from sin and corruption. Nowadays we don’t have a temple. We worship God, his Son and the Holy Spirit in our churches, and just like in the Temple, God will be there IF we keep that place Holy. It goes without saying that we absolutely want God in our churches!

Regrettably, mankind doesn’t seem to be very good at keeping a place Holy. I’m always saddened and a little ‘let down’ whenever a national-level pastor fails the holiness test. Oftentimes something in their past comes back to haunt them. Of course the solution would be to be like Paul – confess the sin, repent and let the world know that you’ve made a 180º turn-around in your value system, a change for the better!

Seek the presence of the Lord in the place you worship! If he’s not there, find a different place!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Shine!

May 15, 2023 Monday Message:

John 8:12 NLT: “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

God is the light of heaven, and Jesus is the light of the world. It’s the light of life, of eternal life. In biblical analogies, light is always good and darkness always points to evil. Honorable people do business in the light where everything can be seen; everything is out in the open. Evil, on the other had, is clandestine, sneakily hidden to conceal its true purpose.

Curiosity makes me listen to the accounts of those who have had near-death experiences; those who medically died, but were somehow revived. As they died, they recall being drawn to the brightest of light at the end of a tunnel. Those who recover have remarkably similar stories. They didn’t want to leave the light, but it was not yet their time. They want to go back again when it IS their time.

It’s said that there is no sun in heaven, and no sun is needed. If we’re in heaven, we’ll be in the presence of the Lord, and that will be more than enough light!

I remember singing, “Shine, Jesus, Shine!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Your Sins are Forgiven!

February 27, 2023 Monday Message:

Matthew 9:2 ESV: “Some people brought to Jesus a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.’”

Jesus never put on a show. He ministered to the humble needs of humble people. Other Gospels report that this man and his mat were lowered through the roof, landing right in front of Jesus! Those who carried the man had abundant faith in the healing power of Jesus, but they had not yet identified him as the Son of God.

We know that only God can forgive sins, so Jesus saying, “Your sins are forgiven,” allows us only two choices. 1–Jesus is pretending to be God and should be prosecuted for blasphemy. Or 2–Jesus actually IS God, the Son of God. Jesus’ ability to heal and forgive sins was heaven-sent!

As he ministered, Jesus would address a person’s greatest need. As bad as it would be to be paralyzed, it is infinitely worse to be lost in sin. The most important thing Jesus came to do was to deal with mankind’s sin.

What started out as a lesson in faith and healing became one of identifying the Son of God. Jesus eventually told the man, “Rise, pick up your mat and go home,” and he did just that! This convinced the gathered crowd that Jesus at least spoke for God, and they praised the Lord for the healing. But now they were afraid. Had they actually been in the presence of the Lord?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Believer Benefits!

For Friday, August 5, 2022:

Psalm103:2-5 NLT, words of David: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Being a believer comes with benefits. No one should ever associate with Christians just to ‘get stuff,’ but indeed there are benefits once you’re a member of the flock.

The biggest benefit is God’s gift of a life after this life in his presence. We call it heaven. Our time on earth is short, but the presence of the Lord is eternal. Jesus is willing to redeem your life from the pit of despair and crown you as a child of God!

So it’s OK to focus on the benefits of being a believer. Like Paul said, “Keep your eye on the prize!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Heaven!

For Saturday, July 30, 2022:

Psalm 84:10a NLT: “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!”

The psalmist is expressing unflinching loyalty to God. After all, if you can be in the presence of the Lord, it doesn’t get any better than that!

By sending his Son to our planet, God made eternity in his courts accessible to everyone. Jesus took away our sins, so that those who believe can access the presence of God for not just a day, but for eternity! We call it ‘heaven!’

The verse concludes, “I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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