Mission Trip!

For Tuesday, November 5, 2024:

Nehemiah 6:8 CJB: “I, Nehemiah, sent Sanballat this answer; ‘Nothing like what you are saying is true. You’re making it all up in your head.’”

Nehemiah was the cup-bearer for king Artaxerxes I. In spite of Nehemiah being his servant, the two had become friends. Nehemiah was sad, having received news that the town of his ancestors, Jerusalem, laid in ruins. The king, sensing the importance of this issue to his friend, offered to help.

In fact, it seems the king was all-in! Nehemiah requested to return to his homeland to rebuild the wall around the city, a small army as a protective escort, timbers and other building supplies from the forests, and letters to foreign governments explaining his mission and requesting safe passage. Every request from Nehemiah was granted by the king, and he was off!

The lesson here is that when God puts a mission on your heart, you need to get going. That’s what Nehemiah did! He could have ignored the whole thing, explaining that he was only a servant in an occupied land, but he did not ignore God’s call. Our lesson is to get going and let God overcome the roadblocks.

Nehemiah not only restored the city; he restored the Law of Moses in Israel. Hearing the scripture, all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Mission accomplished!

May each of us have the heart of Nehemiah when the Lord calls us to a mission!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Prioritize God!

 For Friday, August 14, 2020.

Psalm 43:5 TLB: “O my soul, why be so gloomy and discouraged? Trust in God! I shall again praise him for his wondrous help; he will make me smile again, for he is my God!” 

As our nation recovers from a World Health crisis and social unrest, it’s far too easy to get caught up in all the problems. But if we want to feel better about life, the solution is simple: Put God at the top of your agenda!

That’s right – prioritize God! Cover everything you do with your hope in the Lord. Don’t wander out on your own until a crisis develops, and then call God. Instead, walk with the Lord every minute of every day. You’ll find yourself smiling more, and problems won’t find you so easily. Your good attitude will attract more friends! You’ll experience fellowship and a sense of community! Life will be better! 

If you’ve lived life with God and lived life without God, you already know that it’s way better WITH God! Don’t going back!

Blessings & safety to you all today! 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

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

Psalm 31

February 01, 2016 Monday Message:

“Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.” Psalm 31:5

If you attend a church where hymnals are used, that book doesn’t contain only the 5 songs you’re singing today. Most hymnals contain hundreds of songs. A lot of those share the same theme: God is mighty, God is powerful, God’s character is unchanging, God is eternal, God loves us. Now a poet could phrase those thoughts hundreds of different ways, and a musician could sing those words of praise to a thousand different melodies.

Psalms is often called the hymnal of the Bible, so it’s not surprising that those same God-themes keep recurring. And since David penned the majority of Psalms, they’re a mirror of his life-experiences with God, not unlike our own walk with the LORD.

If you could graph David’s life, it would look like a roller-coaster – up and down, up and down. David, like most of us, would sin and then repent, sin and repent, up and down. David’s enemies and later Israel’s enemies would come after him, but then God would rescue him and deliver him, up and down.

David had learned that he was powerless over most of these situations. The solution was to ‘let go and let God.’ “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 David NEEDED God. It was time for David to get out of the driver’s seat, and trust God to direct his path. Experience had taught him that life worked better when God was in charge.

“The LORD preserves those who are true to Him.” Psalms 31:23b

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at 10 am every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, Feb. 07, 2016, Pastor Michael Pilla begins teaching from Romans.

Monday Message is also available at:

http://www.mondaymessage-norton.blogspot.com/