Lies!

For Tuesday, April 7, 2026:

Matthew 28:11 NLT: “As the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened.”

The tomb was discovered open, and the body of Jesus was missing. This is exactly what the Jews didn’t want to happen. That’s why guards were placed at the tomb. But what happened next is even more unbelievable.

The leading priests met with the elders and agreed to pay a large bribe, asking the guards to lie. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’’’ Religious leaders without truth have no platform on which to stand. Lying violates every commandment that they teach.

Verse 15 concludes this section: “So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.”

Question: Why would anyone stick with a religion predicated on a lie? This is one more example of religion getting seriously off-track. God rescued his people from Egypt and gave them the Promised Land. Then God’s Son came to Earth to rectify mankind’s sin problem. Forgiven, the people should reconcile with the Lord, not be fighting over the authenticity of the Son. God had everything worked out until mankind lied. It’s like the Garden of Eden all over again!

God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Love all three and love your neighbor, and the Lord will smile on you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Passover!

For Wednesday, April 1, 2026, Passover:

Genesis 17:7 NLT, The Father’s words: “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”

The simplified version is, “I will be your God, and you will be my people!” This was God’s promise, God’s covenant with Abram and his descendants. God’s word is always good; God’s word is always truth. God will never renege on his promises. Hence, His commitment to the Hebrew people suffering under slavery in Egypt. It’s a long story, so I’ll jump right to the end,

God called Moses to approach Pharaoh, telling him to “Let my people go!” Pharaoh refused, so God set 10 disastrous plagues loose upon Egypt, the last being the death of the firstborn of everything. That’s right, the firstborn of all – livestock and people – would be visited by the angel of death. This was Pharaoh’s breaking point. He not only let the Hebrews go; he demanded that they get out of town! Of course, he later changed his mind, and most of the Egyptian army was lost in the Red Sea incident.

As for the Hebrews, God told them to have a lamb dinner the night before, and then mark their doorposts with the lamb’s blood. This would be a sign for the angel of death to bypass that house, hence the name, “Passover.” They were told to eat standing up, with their walking-stick in hand and their togas tucked inside their belts. God wanted everybody prepared for when it was time to go.

The Israelites were told to teach their children about God’s goodness as he rescued them from Egypt. Teach about the oppression, the plagues and about God’s eventual deliverance of them back to the Promised Land.

God’s words to Abram: “I will give the entire land of Canaan to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

Jesus’ words to believers: “I will never leave you or forsake you!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Humble!

For Sunday, March 22, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:6 NLT: Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

Playing a guessing game with God is not fun. God, as you know, already has all the answers! Put yourself in Samuel’s shoes. You meet one of Jesse’s sons, Eliab, and ask, “Is this the one?”

The Bible doesn’t tell us what made Eliab attractive. Was he the tallest? The oldest? The best-looking? Hair most like John, Paul, George and Ringo? “No,” said God. “He’s not the one,” with no further explanation given.

What about the next sons, Abinadab and Shimea, and four more, as all of Jesse’s sons were presented. “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

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.” Logic would expect God’s choice to be the eldest, the one who has lived long enough to have gained the wisdom of the world. Last place would go to the kid looking after a few sheep.

God explains: “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God doesn’t desire words from your mouth or actions only designed to impress others. God wants to know what’s truly in your heart. Do you honestly love the Lord and love your neighbor? Are you willing to go where God sends you, and willing to do what he sends you to do? How is your heart, really?

God says that we must come to him like little children, innocent, with open minds. Humble is the word of the day. If you think you have it all together, you probably don’t. If you think you’re the pièce de résistance, your mind is already made up and God probably can’t help you. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”

Selecting the next leader for the Promised Land requires a great deal of discernment. God knows what he’s doing. Remember, the first will be last, and the last will be first.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Moses - All In!

For Tuesday, November 11, 2025:

Hebrews 11:26 NLT: “Moses thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.”

Moses had been adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and was in line to inherit the wealth of Egypt. But after some investigation and using common sense, he knew he wasn’t an Egyptian. He looked more like those who were servants to the Egyptians. He was Hebrew through and through! Now, he could have kept quiet and continued to enjoy the privileges of Egyptian royalty. But he did not! When Moses saw Egyptians unfairly beating a Hebrew, Moses rose to the man’s defense. They fought, the Egyptian was killed, and Moses knew it was time to get out of town!

At that time, Moses had not met the God of his people. Yet he chose to support this unseen God. Having been raised up in the Royal Palace, Moses didn’t have a religious upbringing. That all changed when God spoke to Moses from a burning bush that did not consume itself.

God said to tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go!”

Moses replied, “You’ve got the wrong guy!”

God didn’t change his mind, “Take your brother Aaron with you. He’s better at speaking.”

God didn’t back down, and Moses found himself standing before Pharaoh. “Let my people go!” Despite Pharaoh’s persistent reluctance to let the Hebrews leave, 10 plagues later, they were crossing the Red Sea, on their way to the promised land.

Moses was “all in” for the Hebrew God. He did not renege on the faith question, even when others around him were faltering. It was God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. He was therefore 100% convinced, and nothing could change his mind. He was “all in!”

Are you “all in” for God? Could anything change your mind? I sure hope not!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Wars and Rumors of War!

For Friday, October 17, 2025:

Luke 21:8 NLT: Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them.”

We have all heard rumors that the world would soon be ending, that Jesus would be returning on a certain date. The predictions are always wrong. Don’t believe anyone who tells you such things. Jesus said that even he doesn’t know the exact date, that only the Father knows. If someone says they know, they’re lying!

Jesus did give us signs that we’re getting closer to the second coming, and a major sign is the proliferation of wars and insurrections. In case you haven’t heard the news lately, our world currently has wars in spades! The one conflict with Biblical overtones started about two years ago when Hamas attacked Israel, killing over 1,000 and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a radical terrorist organization that had taken over Gaza. Hamas would not release the captured Israelis, even as Gaza was reduced to rubble.

Today, two years later, the hostages that were still alive were finally released, and a peace agreement was signed. Israel is still complaining that all the bones of the deceased were not returned. My advice would be just to let it go. When someone has died, their soul no longer occupies a human body. Their eternal essence has (hopefully) gone to be with the Lord. The body is no longer relevant. (That’s the Christian view, not necessarily the Jewish view.)

I said the current conflict started two years ago, but the overall disagreement goes back 3,000 years. After wandering on the desert, God set the Hebrew people down in the Promised Land. A Rabbi once told me, “It’s our land – God gave it to us!” However, those who had previously lived there were displaced. Hence the conflict.

(Just my opinion:) I don’t believe this peace treaty will last, because at its roots, this is a religious war. We can fight over territory, over governments, over countries, but people cannot be forced to change their beliefs. Historically, people will rot in prison while hanging on to their religion.

Jesus is the only one who can straighten out this mess. Our prayer for peace should include, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Millions!

For Tuesday, February 4, 2025:

Exodus 12:17 NLT: “That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, plus all the women and children.”

Why was Pharaoh so reluctant to let the Israelites leave Egypt? Perhaps an understanding of the size of the exodus will help explain Pharaoh’s position.

There were more than just a few bodies leaving the Egyptian work force. Pharaoh would have to replace 600,000 men! And it would be fair to say that most of those men were married, so together that’s 1.2M people. If we estimate that each couple had at least two children, and add in a few stragglers who wanted to leave Egypt along with the Hebrews, we’re in excess of 2.5M, and that’s a lot of people to leave all at once!

As an example, if everyone in Minneapolis and St. Paul and the first inner-ring of suburbs all packed up and left, that would be close to 2.5M people. You’d leave a few semi-rural suburbs dotting the outskirts, with a giant 2.5M person hole in the middle! Rhetorical questions: #1 How could they all get out of town? Wouldn’t 494 and I35 be gridlocked? #2 How long does it take 2.5M people to get out of town? #3 Where could they all go to separate themselves from Egypt’s domination? It needs to be a considerable distance and a pretty big place! The closer we examine this scenario, the bigger God gets. Amateurs wouldn’t be able to pull this off!

Can you imagine one guy, Moses, being the God-appointed leader of 2.5M people? He must have been scared to death! Having his brother Aaron nearby offered some consolation, but not enough. Moses is to lead everyone to the Promised Land, a land of milk and honey, but he hasn’t yet been shown the way. (The dad-joke here is that Moses wandered for 40 years because he wouldn’t ask for directions!)

How big is my God? Big enough to move 2.5M people from Egypt to Canaan in 40 years, and sustain them every step of the way. How big is YOUR God?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Purpose!

For Thursday, September 26, 2024:

Exodus 2:3b NLT: “The mother put her baby in a basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.”

The mother had done all she could for this special baby. The rest was up to God. What followed was a series of synchronized unlikely events that would preserve the child for God’s purpose. We know him as Moses.

Pharaoh's daughter spotted the basket when she came to bathe in the river. The baby’s sister, probably Miriam, offered to locate a Hebrew woman to nurse the wee one. She took Moses to his own mother, and Pharaoh’s daughter, none the wiser, paid the mother for her help, hopefully not in bitcoin! Moses was later adopted into the royal family and given his name. Moses means “to lift out,” as in “to lift the basket out of the water.”

Moses would later be exiled from the royal family for defending his Hebrew brethren, but would return as leader of the Israelites telling Pharaoh to “Let my people go!” Moses was on God’s side, and after a series of plagues, Pharaoh did let the Hebrew people go. In fact, after the plagues, he was glad to see them leave! Moses led God’s chosen people out of Egypt to the edge of the promised land!

This is an example of the value of prophesy. If we can visualize God conclusion, we can be a part of making it happen. Who would have thought that an abandoned baby floating in a basket would lead the Israelites to their homeland?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Faith!

For Sunday, March 10, 2024:

Isaiah 7:7 NLT, God: “Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘It will not take place, it will not happen.’”

Judah is considered the region south of Jerusalem. It’s where the tribe of Judah settled as the Jews entered the Promised land. In time, they became the most powerful and most important tribe. And when you’re at the top of the pecking order, it seems someone always wants to take you down.

Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son joined forces to overtake Judah. Three against one. Word of the plot leaked, and Judah feared another war. The Lord assured them that the evil plan would not take place. After all, these were God’s people, and God told them, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

So once again, out faith is the key. Faith in the Lord protects us, heals us and is the foundation for our Assurance of Salvation. We can never put too much faith in God.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Land of the Free!

July 02, 2012 Monday Message:

“…the land of the free!” Francis Scott Key from the Star Spangled banner, 1814.

When the Lord brought the Hebrew people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, they were delivered from slavery. There was no more enforced compromise on their lives; they were free to practice their religion, free to worship their God, the creator.

But a harsh reality soon reared its ugly head: God’s people were not perfect, and with no leaders, there was no one to adjudicate conflicts. And there was no system in place to provide for their common defense.

So the Jews went to the Lord and begged, “Please, please, please can we have a king?”

In my mind, I picture God saying, “Those crazy Jews! After raising up Moses, demanding ‘Let my people go,’ all the plagues, Passover, parting of the Red Sea, wandering 40 years in the desert, I have finally assured their complete and total freedom. And now, after all that, it’s a king they want!”

Kings are not without their own issues. Saul started well but finished poorly. David started and ended well, but experienced a train wreck in the middle of his reign. Solomon is thought to be wise in some things, but not in his selection of 700 wives, including non-Jews who would tempt him away from God and lead to his downfall.

God knew the pros and cons of living under a king, but ultimately the good must have outweighed the bad, because God granted them a king.

This beings us to the concept of benevolent leadership, whereby the king, president or prime minister uses his political clout only for the benefit of the entire nation. In other words, there are no political agendas – just doing what’s best for the people.

As we celebrate July 4^th, our country’s birthday and the freedoms the U.S.A. represents, remember to include God. Thank him for the freedoms we enjoy, and pray for benevolent leaders here in the “land of the free!”

Norton Lawellin

This Sunday I’ll be teaching Galatians 3:26-4:11 (God sent his Son that we might be adopted…) - at Jesus in the City – the old location – lower level of Trinity First, 1115 E. 19^th St., Mpls., 11am.

We’re looking forward to July 29 – when Jesus in the City Sunday worship moves to the Oliver Ministry Center, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue. Note the new service time: 10:30am. Please pray for this huge new opportunity as God enlarges our territory!