God Always!

For Tuesday, November 30, 2021

1 Chronicles 16:34 ESV: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

At church we shout out: “God is good – all the time!” That’s easy to believe when life is going well. But God is just as good when things aren’t going your way!

I love the story of the footprints in the sand, two sets of footprints walking along. As the story goes, one set of footprints is yours, the other is God’s. All of a sudden there was only one set of footprints, and the question is asked, “What happened?”

God answers, “That’s when I was carrying you!”

Last Sunday, Ken Wilson, a good friend of mine, was asked to share his testimony at Grace Church. It’s near the end of the service on their website. Ken spoke of God’s faithfulness, walking alongside him as he battles cancer. It’s a lot like Psalm 23, walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and not being afraid because God is with you – always!

Stick with God, “who will not leave you or forsake you!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

My Cup Overflows!

For Sunday, July 19, 2020.

Psalm 23:5 ESV: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

Remember when Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden? While Adam was rationalizing his behavior, shifting blame and not taking responsibility for his actions, God was making clothes for the couple.

God made mankind in his image, saw that it was all very good, and he’s not about to change his mind. When God adopts you into the Holy Family – when you become children of God – that’s forever. God won’t change his mind. God won’t renege on his promise. That’s the character of God.

The ‘table’ suggests bounty, abundance. God has thousands of cattle on thousands of hills. ‘Prepare’ points to foresight and care. God is watching out for your interests. ‘Before me’ points out the personal connection God feels for you. Believers are like family!

And even when things are going wrong all around you (enemies,) God still wants to connect with you. When God prepares a table, the Christian can sit down and eat in perfect peace. Shalom!

Anointing is how God commissioned the next king or important prophet. By anointing you, God is claiming you as one of his own for the eternal kingdom. When God cares for you this much, surely your cup is overflowing!

Blessings to all on this Sabbath!

Pastor Norton

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Out of the Valley

For Saturday, July 18, 2020.

Psalm 23:4 ESV: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you (Lord) are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

As we became believers, our problems didn’t magically disappear. Life isn’t all green pastures, still waters and paths of righteousness. Even David asked, “How long, Lord, must I endure?”

Jesus told us, “In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world!” The bad stuff won’t last forever!

Notably, David doesn’t live forever in the valley of the shadow of death, but he does walk through it from time to time. The Shepherd will walk with him. He will come out the other side, and his good life will be restored. So we need not worry. God is still in charge – let Him drive the train!

We no longer fear the ‘shadow of death.’ Jesus, our Savior, conquered sin and death on the same day. Then he went on ahead to prepare a place for us in the next life. When we perceive it’s the end, everything will be OK. Jesus said so.

Blessings to you this week!

Pastor Norton

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

He Restores My Soul

For Thursday, July 16, 2020.

Psalm 23:2a ESV: “He (the Lord) restores my soul.”

Believers oftentimes sing, “The earth is not my home,” and they’re right! We are from somewhere else, and we are on our way to somewhere else, and that’s what we’re concerned with today. We’re looking at ‘life after this life!’

Following life on Earth, we move on to a different reality. Our earthy bodies are temporary, but our soul, our eternal essence, will live forever. So the question to ask is, “Where will I be spending my time?” The simple explanation is that good people go to Heaven to be with God, and bad people wind up with Satan. Trust me – you want to be with the good group!

Unfortunately, we’ve all made mistakes, done things wrong; the Bible calls it ‘sin.’ And to reserve a room in Heaven, we have to be without sin. We can’t get there on our own, but the Lord provides a way. He restores our souls. God sent his Son Jesus to take care of our sin problem, to be substitutionary atonement for us, so that our names could be on Heaven’s guest list.

When you knock on Heaven’s door, tell them to look for your name in the Book of Life. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior – if you’re saved by grace through faith – your name will be there! They’ll check in the column labeled ‘sin,’ and it will be empty. You can point to Jesus and say, “I’m with THAT guy – the guy just to the right of God!” Congratulations - you made it!

On your own you didn’t have a chance. But the Lord restored your soul – as promised!

Blessings and protection to you all this week!

Pastor Norton

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

With the Shepherd

For Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

Psalm 23:1 ESV: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

As we continue looking at Psalm 23, I always find it interesting to check out different Bible translations. People ask, “Which translation is the best?” And of course the answer is, “the one you USE!” We’re still looking for signs of “hope” in the midst of our current circumstances.

“Adonai is my Shepherd; I lack nothing.”

“You, Lord, are my Shepherd. I will never be in need.”

“The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need.”

“Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing!”

The Bible teaches that God will meet our basic needs. We will lack nothing. It seems like I harp on about trusting God and not worrying; that’s what this is scripture about. But remember that it promises to meet your NEEDS, not your WANTS! Some people eat hamburger; others eat steak. Either way you’ll survive. Some people wear a suit to work; others wear jeans and a T-shirt. Either way you have clothes.

At my church, we work with a lot of people in recovery. Their ‘shelter’ is a room in the treatment facility or a halfway house. Their clothes were donated, and meals come from a food shelf. They have everything they need. We tend to WANT a lot more than we NEED!

We used to sing a song, “Jehovah Jireh,” – “The Lord will provide.” Bobby McFerrin sings, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” He advises us to sing our prayers! (Easy for him…) The point is to let God be God, and for us to stop worrying about what He’s already taking care of.

Be filled with the Joy of the Lord. Tell your face!

Blessings to all this week!

Pastor Norton

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Psalm 23

Monday Message for July 13, 2020.

Psalm 23:1 ESV: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Since we’re looking for signs of “hope” in the midst of the pandemic, Psalm 23 is an obvious choice. David, worship leader first and king second, was having a good day, perhaps a good month or a good year! It seem that there was always something going wrong in David’s life, but God always kept him safe, and David was grateful. As a worship leader, David authored hundreds of prayers and songs as tributes to God. Psalm 23 is one of them.

Psalm 23 is the best-known of all the psalms; it’s recited at most funerals. Psalm 23 begins with one bold statement, and then five more verses giving us detail pertaining to that initial statement.

It begins, “The Lord.” In the original language, this is God’s name. We all have names like Bob and Jim and Mary and Martha and Yahweh – get it? Actually all that’s written is an abbreviation of God’s name. Copyists did this out of fear that if they wrote the name incorrectly, they could die, and the tradition continues to this day – Some Jews always write “G-d,” never fully spelling out the name of the Lord.

So who is your leader, your mentor? Who do you respect, look up to? Who rescues you when it looks as if all is lost? David writes, “The LORD is my shepherd!” He’s watched others try a variety of spiritual leaders, and none of them seemed to work out. David has prospered by being perpetually faithful to the one true God.

This Psalm was David’s statement, but he intended it to be for the entire congregation. “Say it with me – The LORD is OUR shepherd!” In the midst of a bunch of false gods, the LORD keeps rising to the top. Jesus taught that we are to love the Lord and love our neighbors; this is loving the Lord.

Time after time the Lord has come through for David, and he wants us all to benefit from what he has learned. “With the LORD as my shepherd, I don’t need any other shepherds!”

I’ll continue with the rest of Psalm 23 this week in the Daily Messages, available on my personal Facebook page, the JesusInTheCityFellowship.org web site, or the Blogspot link, and I’d encourage you to check it out. Psalm 23 is awesome – don’t miss it!

Blessings as we begin this new week!

Pastor Norton

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

The Good Shepherd

Oct. 21, 2019 Monday Message:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalms 23:1 NKJV

This leads to the question, “Want WHAT?”

At the top of our list should be, “I don’t want any other shepherd, any other God.” ‘God is good’ is more than just words in a song. God will see that you have everything you need, but of course NOT everything that you want.

43 times God said that he will be our God and we can be his people! God is like a rock, and he doesn’t change his mind or go back on his word. If God wants us to be ‘his people,’ that’s forever!

Our ministry frequently connects us with people battling addictions. And because of the chemical use, they may have lost their house, their car and their family. But now they’re in a treatment program. They have a room, a warm bed, clean clothes and three meals a day. When it seemed like they had lost everything, God still had his hand on the situation.

Sometimes you have to do your part, hold up your end of the deal. If you want supper, God might get you a job. YOU have to show up, do good work, collect the paycheck and visit a grocery store. And voilà, you have supper!

Many Christians have a ‘before’ story and an ‘after’ story, and pretty much all agree that life is way better when following the Good Shepherd.

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship meets next Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM – YIKES! It’s Daylight Savings time! We’ll look at the Resurrection of Jesus and what that means for us, 1 Cor. 15:12-34. See you at church!