Serve the Lord!

For Friday, January 23, 2026:

Romans 6:12 NLT: “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let sin reign in your body, which is subject to death.”

Bob Dylan sang that each of us winds up serving somebody. We get to carefully choose who we will serve. This is the same declaration that Joshua, Moses’ assistant, made 3300 years earlier. “Choose today who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Your decision is an alliance and an allegiance. Which team do you want to play for, Jesus’ team or the other team? Jesus’ team aligns with our Creator God, while the other team is always battling their wrongdoings. Surprisingly, it’s easier to align with God, although at times we may be outnumbered!

Choosing Jesus’ team doesn’t instantly make us perfect. But deciding in favor of heaven’s ways gives us standards, goals for which we can strive. Believers wisely choose to adopt God’s value system, and the longer we bond with God, the better we get at serving him. We see progress, but our goal is perfection!

Satan’s sinners face death, while Jesus’ team is destined for eternal life in God’s heavenly Kingdom. Jesus made it possible for believers to view that Kingdom from the inside! Choose today who you will serve.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Team Jesus!

For Tuesday, May 20, 2025:

Luke 11:23 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

There are only two teams competing in the game of eternal life – Jesus’ team and the ‘other’ team. Team Jesus is the good guys, while the ‘other’ team is evil. Jesus’ team has declared allegiance to God Almighty, whereas the evil team is playing for Satan.

There is no neutral team. “No opinion” isn’t a valid answer to the question, “Who will you serve?” Jesus takes all believers under his wing. Everyone else is assumed to be in opposition to our creator. If you’re not moving God’s project forward, the dragging of your feet could be holding things back!

If you’re curious, you can flip to the back of the book and see who wins. The created one will never outplay the one who created everything! Today is the accepted day to sign up for the winning team! Your reward will be a glorious eternity in the presence of the Lord!

May God’s blessings cover you as you go about his work today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Teamwork!

For Saturday, February 22, 2025:

Exodus 23:22 NLT: “If you are careful to obey the angel I’ll send before you and follow all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.”

This is God’s offer for you to join his team. Do you accept? God endowed mankind with free choice, so some may choose to reject the offer. That’s a bad decision with eternal ramifications. The Creator of the universe gets my allegiance, and should get yours too!

We know God wants you on his side, so the question becomes, do you desire for God to be on your side? This needs to be a two-way relationship. Say, “He will be my God, and I will be one of his people!”

"If God is for us, who can stand against us?”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

My Shepherd!

For Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Psalm 95:7 GNT: “He is our God; we are the people he cares for, the flock for which he provides. Listen today to what he says.”

As Christians, we believe in one God who has made himself known to us in three different persons: God the Father on the throne of heaven; Jesus, who walked on earth alongside mankind; and the Holy Spirit, sent to be our advocate and comforter until Jesus returns – but really, one God.

When this Psalm was written, many pagan gods pervaded the culture. People would weigh the authenticity and benefits, and then make a decision to follow a god. What the people of God are saying here is that an irrevocable decision has been made: Yahweh is our God! It’s an intentional act of allegiance. “I belong to him, and He belongs to me. I am the sheep of his hand.”

Knowing that the Lord is our Shepherd fills us with hope!

Blessings and safety to all today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406