Tall, Tall Trees!

For Wednesday, February 11, 2026:

Luke 3:9 NLT, John the Baptist speaking: “Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

John’s audience is Hebrew people, Jewish people, people who think they are planted in God’s orchard because they were born into it. Not necessarily! John is about to set the record straight!

Listen to this: God will not import worthless trees into his Kingdom! Every tree expecting to be with the Lord must bear good fruit. It must be furthering God’s agenda, not standing idly by. By now you probably know that this analogy is about people, not trees.

Here’s another one. If you’re hot, you’re with the Lord. Let’s get to work! If you’re cold, you’re the enemy. At least I know where we stand, and I can fight for what’s right! But lukewarm??? Wishy-washy? God says lukewarm is worthless to both of us.

God is not going to just stand around waiting. There will come a day of decision, a day of judgment when he will pick up his ax, chop down the worthless trees and cast them into the fire, to be absent from his presence forever.

Friends, this is serious. Believers all need to have Jesus in their hearts, a Bible in their hands and the Gospel on their lips. Let the world know that you’re playing for the Lord’s team. Let the world know that you’re not wishy-washy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

God vs Calf?

For Wednesday, February 26, 2025:

Exodus 32:1 NLT: When the Israelites saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”

Impatient and fickle. Ungrateful and totally wrong! “Please, Aaron, make a god for us.” Dumbest request ever! I can’t believe Aaron fell for it. Moses’ brother should have known better, but it’s hard to oppose mob mentality.

The throng thought God was taking too long. They thought Moses was taking too long. They decided that if the real God wasn’t getting it done, they would make a god of their own. A golden calf. Bad decision. No one can make a God anything like our Creator God!

The Israelites must have short memories, forgetting all God did to get them out of Egypt. They must have forgotten the 10 plagues, culminating with the firstborn of everything in Egypt dying – everything except what was in the Hebrew camp! Had they forgotten the Passover? God said to never forget that and to celebrate it annually!

The behavior of these people disgusts me. If I were God, I’d feel like wiping them off the face of the earth, and he almost did until Moses intervened on their behalf.

Nowadays, “golden calf” is a synonym for anything that may look good but is fake and actually worthless. Idol, graven image, false god, pagan symbol and even the almighty dollar are listed. (Dollars are only valuable here on earth; they have no eternal value!)

So friends, don’t fall for any golden calf stuff. Focus on God Almighty, and as Paul said, “Keep your eye on the prize!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship