Mistreated?

For Wednesday, January 21, 2026:

Hebrews 13:3b NLT: “Remember those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”

Perhaps TV and the internet have numbed us to what we used to look away from. We can turn on the tube and see people beaten to a pulp, shot and killed every night. Sometimes it’s fictitious as in a movie or TV series. Ironically, law enforcement shows may be the worst. And other times, we may see truth, as in a newscast. We can watch Russia drop bombs on Ukrainian schools, leaving innocent student civilians with no possible escape. People can be shot right here in downtown Minneapolis. It happens almost every day. Drugs and gangs can lead to a lot of violence!

Sorry to start out with the most extreme examples. Mistreating someone can be amazingly simple. Husbands and wives can mistreat one another while living under the same roof. Parents can mistreat their children, and vice versa. We can feud with our neighbors over petty little things! People can be really nice in church, and unruly once they get back in traffic. Are we sometimes our own worst enemy?

Jesus would advise us to never be the source of the mistreatment. And should we witness mistreatment, know that it is bad. We should go to bat for the one being unjustly mistreated, and do what we can to reverse the situation. People should be nicer to one another. Jesus taught us to love God and love our neighbors. That’s what we should do! Pray for those being mistreated, as if their pain were in your own body. Use Jesus’a name!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Life and Death!

April 29, 2024 Monday Message:

Philippians 2:30 NLT: “Epaphroditus risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.”

Life was different 2k years ago. Nowadays, if there’s a problem with someone, you call 911 or the police department. Back then, there were no police. People who disagreed would pull out a sword or knife and go after whomever offended them. Violent retribution was the custom of the day.

I mention this because if someone was involved in politics, religion or philosophy, there was a good chance that they might not come home tonight! Paul was writing this message from a prison cell, detained for preaching the Good News. Paul talked about a God, and Jesus, the Son of God. Rome, who policed the world at the time, claimed deity for the current Caesar. They considered Paul’s testimony sacrilege. So even though we know Paul was right, he was jailed for being wrong!

If you’re doing the work of Jesus, it may cost you popularity. That’s OK. I’d rather please God than please pagans. Friends, we can’t be all things to all people. There’s right, and there’s wrong, and we need to choose. God is not wishy-washy about separating the sheep from the goats. Our value system should line up with God’s value system. Those who disagree with God’s value system are on the other side, the wrong side.

We can still love our neighbors, being kind and helpful, even when we disagree. They will know we are Christians by our love!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Prince of Peace!

For Friday, March 15, 2024:

Isaiah 9:6 NLT, speaking as a prophet of the Lord: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor (or Wonderful, Counselor), Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah isn’t all gloom and doom. He speaks of the Lord enlarging the nation of Israel, and its people celebrating, full of joy, like at harvest time. God will bring the Israelites out of slavery and lift burdens from them. The Lord will cause other nation’s aggression to cease.

Verse 5 is one of my favorites: “The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.” In other words, wars will end; violence will cease. People will no longer have to live in perpetual fear.

I pray that wars could end. If Russia would just go home, Ukraine could start rebuilding! If Hamas would release the hostages, Israel would lose motivation to continue the fighting. Israel wants to eliminate Hamas, who attacked Israel, killed over 1,100, wounded another 3,400, and captured about 240 hostages, with 130 individuals still being held prisoner. Most Palestinians don’t like Hamas either. Hamas is the reason Israel attacked Gaza resulting in the death of over 31,000, mostly innocent civilians. The rest of the world has condemned all the fighting and killing.

Jesus arrived to shine a light into a dark world. The Bible says that in the end, governments will bow down to Jesus, not the other way around! “Everlasting Father” describes Jesus. The Good News is that he is eternal! He’s also the “Prince of Peace,” Prince of a joyful world!

We should all put our faith, hope and trust in the Prince of Peace!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship