Compassion!

For Wednesday, February 19, 2025:

Exodus 22:21 NLT: God’s words, telling Moses what he must teach the Israelites: “You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”

We should all remember where we came from. If you were mistreated in Egypt, resolve to do better than the Egyptians did when foreigners enter your land.

Aliens walk a tightrope. They want to follow the traditions and rules from their homeland, but also honor the laws of the country where they now live. If someone does not follow the rules of their new country, they will not be welcomed.

What is your background? If you were ever in jail or prison, you should show compassion toward those who are incarcerated. If you were delivered from addiction, counsel and assist those still fighting the devil. If your life is pretty good, then freely share the Gospel with your fellows. They deserve to know Jesus just like you do!

You do know Jesus, don’t you?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Worthless Garbage!

For Thursday, May 2, 2024:

Philippians 3:8 NLT: “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”

Q: What’s the most valuable gift you’ve ever received?

A: If you’re a Christian, it’s the gift of eternal life in the presence of the Father as the result of the work Jesus did on the cross, freely given to you out of the Father’s love. If you were thinking of any earthly possession, you’re thinking far too small. Jesus went on ahead to prepare your forever residence, and eternity is a lot longer than we can even imagine!

You know that your human limitations don’t apply to God. So don’t you be the one to limit God by assigning him your human attributes.

Paul had been raised up with certain rules, certain traditions, certain values. He had been taught Jewish laws and was schooled as a Pharisee. And here he testifies how worthless it all is! Garbage! The New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant. Instead of penalties, Jesus brokered forgiveness. Paul’s world had been turned upside down, and he loved the new way. On a scale of 1-10, the old ways and traditions would only get a 1. But partnering with Jesus gets a 10!

Believers are the hands and feet of God on earth. According to Paul, there’s no better way to live!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Benevolent Leadership!

For Tuesday, November 14, 2023:

John 4:9 NLT: “The woman (at the well) was surprised (when Jesus spoke to her), for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?’”

Aren’t you tired of all the prejudice in our world, people hating each other for no good reason? In this account, Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along. Jews considered Samaritans “unclean.” Samaritans worshiped a creator God, but on their own mountain, not in Jerusalem. Samaritans held scriptures that sometimes differed slightly from the Jewish version. In fact, these two group are related, probably cousins. So why not get along? Jesus in fact threw out the old prejudices and traditions. He was determined to strike up a friendly relationship with this woman, and so he did!

In 1887, in a letter to his bishop, Lord Acton wrote, “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.” He had good insight into human nature. If someone has enough power, benevolent leadership seems to fall by the wayside. Benevolent Leaders are predisposed to doing good and loving those under their authority. It’s not so bad living in a monarchy if the king loves you unconditionally. God’s Kingdom is like that.

Our capital city recently held an election, and as it turned out, the entire city council is now female! On talk radio, callers suggested a second election, or requiring half the council to step down. Why? There really is no problem. Voters thought that these women were the best candidates. They received the most votes! Do you know what will happen? They’ll serve to the best of their ability, the city will be fine, and there’ll be another election in a couple years.

Male vs female; black vs white; Russia vs Ukraine; Israel vs Nation of Islam; I’m sick of it all. Jesus didn’t live that way, and he didn’t teach us to live that way. I believe the whole world would be better off living as Jesus taught. Let’s all push in that direction!

More tomorrow! Blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Sola Scriptura!

For Friday, October 27, 2023:

Romans 13:4 NLT: “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.”

We are never to sit in the judge’s seat. Each person on earth serves somebody, and we have been given free choice to decide who that is. There are only two answers: You can serve God, Jesus and everything that is good, or you can serve the dark side, Satan and his minions. Choose wisely!

There are a lot of Christian denominations. My favorite ones use the Bible as their handbook. Christianity got back to the truth in the 1500’s when Martin Luther preached, “sola scriptura,” latin for, “only scripture” or “only the Bible.”

Using the Bible as our “owner’s manual” for life, we need to separate in our minds what the Bible teaches from those things that are just religious traditions.

Following traditions doesn’t save us. Following Jesus does!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship