Get Back On Track!

For Thursday, March 9, 2023:

Matthew 10:5-6 NLT: “Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: ‘Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep.’”

Jesus was sending the 12 on a mission trip, to spread the Good News that the Kingdom of Heaven was near, and that there was now a New Covenant! At this point, their target market wasn’t to be the entire world. They were to begin by getting God’s chosen people – the people of Israel – back on track. Man-made rules and traditions had clouded their worship, and it was time to return to God’s intent. In Jesus’ words, they were like sheep without a shepherd!

In the 1500’s, man-made ceremony and traditions were again central in the church. Martin Luther compared what they were doing with what the Bible said, and made a list of what was incorrect. For all his trouble, he was thrown out of the church, but nowadays we know he was right. Good works don’t get you into heaven. Neither does paying a certain sum. Salvation is a gift that we can’t buy, and faith in Jesus is the key! We are saved by grace through faith!

Plenty of churches nowadays are not honoring the Bible’s commands, and we need to pray that they get back on track. It always bothers me when churches with “Jesus” in their name aren’t living like he instructed. Pray that those with a high view of the Bible are sustained.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Tradition vs Redemption

For Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Mark 7:9 NLT: “Jesus said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.”

Some Pharisees and religious teachers had come to see Jesus, who carefully separated God’s commands from ritual and tradition. The words of God always take precedence over manmade rituals and traditions.

The Reformers took it a step further, emphasizing “sola scriptura,” or “only scripture,” only God’s Holy words. God-inspired Bible-writings give us redeeming ordinances, words that save us unto eternity. Redemption comes out of knowing who Jesus was and claiming him as our Savior. Jesus gives us hope for our life in the next reality.

Jesus said that we are saved or lost based on what comes from our heart – not by observing some ritual.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Live by Faith!

For Thursday, October 29, 2020 

Habakkuk 2:4 NLT: “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.”

Other Bible translations say, “The righteous will live by faith,” or, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This is the cornerstone of modern Christianity, what we call “Reformed Theology.” Martin Luther had been searching for better answers to achieve salvation. Prior to the 1500’s, people thought “good works” could get you into heaven, or if you gave money to the church, indulgences, the church could grant you access to heaven. Neither of these theories is true. 

Our access to heaven is through the work Jesus did on the cross in the “Great Exchange,” taking the sin of the world to the place of the dead, and clothing believers in garments of white, pure enough to experience heaven from the inside! That’s why believers can look forward to their life after this life! That’s why we have hope!

Blessings and safety to all! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

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

Reformation — Sola Fide

October 24, 2011 Monday Message:

It’s time for holiday celebrations! Halloween is one week from today. Remember that Halloween, “All-Hallow’s-Eve,” came out of Catholic liturgy. It’s the night before another holiday on our church calendars, “All Saint’s Day.” (Nov. 1.) So they’re kind of the same holiday, following the Jewish tradition that a feast begins at sundown the previous day.

On October 31, our church calendars list one additional holiday – Reformation. It gets far less attention than Halloween, which is unfortunate, since Reformed Theology brings clarity in our journey to the place Jesus is preparing for us.

Here’s how it happened: German-born Martin Luther, a Catholic Monk and Priest, embarked on a quest for assurance of salvation. Sure, he believed Jesus was the Son of God who died to redeem the repentant, but how can you know that you and God are “OK?” How can you be certain?

The answer was Habakkuk 2:4b: “The righteous will be justified by faith.” We’re not saved by anything we do. It’s our faith in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that saves us. It’s God’s choice to offer this gift to us; we just need to say, “Yes.”

A similar principle is stated many other places in the Bible. I like Isaiah 55:1 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." You can’t buy salvation — it’s God’s free gift to you.

This is a prime example of God’s everlasting lovingkindness toward us, His khesed, His agape love, how He takes care of us. God offers us a second chance, and our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God won’t change his mind about redeeming those who put their faith in his Son.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Sola fide,

Norton Lawellin