Miracle of Faith!

For Friday, September 5, 2025:

Luke 18:35 NLT: “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.”

I love this story! I could preach on it all day. But I won’t!

As usual, a crowd was following Jesus as he made his way toward Jerusalem. A blind beggar heard the commotion and asked what was happening. He was told, “Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.”

It turns out that the blind man knew some theology and had heard about Jesus being the Messiah. It turns out that our blind man was a believer! So he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Some told him to quiet down, but he shouted the same thing over and over, louder and louder!

Jesus asked that the man be brought to him, and then asked, “What do you want me to do for you?“ Duh! Everyone knew the man was blind. What do you think he wants? But I believe Jesus also had a little sense of humor, asking the man to state the obvious!

It also teaches us that when we need help in this life, we need to ask. Who? God! We need to pray about our problems and our predicaments. We sometimes need to restate the obvious, what God already knows. God wants to be involved in our lives, and communicating our needs shows that we consider God our friend and helper. “Lord,” said the blind man, “I want to see!”

Jesus’ response was positive. “Receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” It’s always our faith in God’s grace that saves us. Faith in Jesus can restore sight, heal other infirmities, and give us the best gift of all, access , Praisingto the Kingdom of Heaven!

This miracle didn’t take a long time. Instantly the man could see, and he joined the others following Jesus, praising God all the way! And everyone who saw it praised God, as should we all when we receive God’s blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Snakes and Scorpions?

For Friday, May 16, 2025:

Luke 11:11-12 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!”

In your mind’s eye, picture Jesus saying these words. I see him smiling. Jesus has already made his point about Yahweh being a God of supply and provision. He’d already taught ask, seek and knock. Now he’s giving over-the-top examples that should elicit at least a chuckle from those present! Nowadays, we might refer to his words as a “Dad joke!” The human side of Jesus was just a regular guy with a sense of humor! If you met him, you’d like him and want to hang out with him!

Snakes and scorpions? No one would really do such a thing. Other manuscripts include children asking for bread, and the dad giving them a stone. That’s a little more down-to-earth – no scary animals – but no parent would would actually do that either.

And speaking of parents, Jesus said that God should be thought of as “Our Father in heaven!” This isn’t meant to sideline our earthly parents. We’re still to honor our Mothers and Fathers. (Commandment #5)

Jesus came to earth to be a friend of mankind. He came to take the sins of the world to the place of the dead. He came to rescue us, to redeem our souls, to personally usher us into the hereafter. Jesus (God) wants to no longer be unreachable. After all, the curtain separating God from mankind was torn, top to bottom. We can now interact directly with God Almighty!

Worship should be fun, enjoyable. Spending time with God should be something we all anticipate with gladness. I want to be a friend of Jesus. If he talks about giving children a scorpion, I’m gonna laugh like crazy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship