"God Trends"

For Saturday, March 15, 2025:

Leviticus 19:1, 2b NLT: The Lord said to Moses, “You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

If we expect to live alongside God in heaven or on the New Earth, we need to meet his standards. We need to live in such a way that our Father in heaven can be proud of us.

Leviticus ch. 19 reads like someone expositing the 10 Commandments. We are being taught the best ways to please God and to get along with all our neighbors. God lays out these same principles in several places in the Bible. God (obviously) knows right from wrong, and he doesn’t change his mind. If worshiping idols was wrong 3,000 years ago, it’s still wrong today. Jesus stressed loving our neighbors, honesty and fairness. These things still apply nowadays. I call these principles, “God Trends.”

If a situation arises and we can’t find that exact thing in the Bible, look for a parallel. Look for the “God Trend.” Jesus’ command to love our neighbors still applies nowadays, and his Father would be pleased if we supported the Son’s “God Trends.”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Justice!

For Tuesday, August 15, 2023:

Psalm 99:4 TLB: “Our mighty King is determined to give justice. Fairness is the touchstone of everything God does. He gives justice throughout Israel.”

We can always count on God for fairness and justice. Furthermore he cannot lie and he loves us unconditionally. If you think about it, God treats us with what we call the “Golden Rule.” He will treat us as we treat him. Those who love God and his Son will be rewarded with an eternal place in God’s Kingdom. Those who have no respect for the Lord will find themselves in a lake of fire. And as bad as that seems, it’s fair and honest.

Fairness, justice and honesty are some of the character traits of God Almighty. They’re not going to change! We can always count on these “God Trends!” If something seems ‘off,’ it’s mankind that needs to change, not God!

Nowadays God dispenses justice throughout the entire world, not just Israel!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Persistent Prayer!

May 1, 2023 Monday Message:

Luke 18:5 NLT, Jesus teaching: “The judge ignored the persistent widow for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

In Jesus’ parable, the persistent widow’s goal was fairness and justice. She was asking the judge for the right thing for the right reason, so she kept on asking, kept seeking justice. In the end, her request was granted, albeit for the wrong reason. The unfair judge did not become a better person, and deep down he was uninterested in justice. But the woman’s persistence wore him down. In the end, justice was served, not because of, but in spite of the unfair judge.

The point of the story is that we too should be persistent. Never give up on prayer. God, as our supreme judge, is fair and honest, unlike the judge in this story. Jesus explains: “Don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!”

Jesus concludes with a rhetorical question: “When the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Persistent faith?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Psalm 7

July 13, 2015 Monday Message:

“I come to you for protection, O Lord, my God. Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!” Psalm 7:1 NLT

Psalm 7 finds David pursued by Cush of the tribe of Benjamin. Many days of David’s life were spent trying to stay alive, and David regards each successful day as a gift from above.

David uses the logic that if the other person is basically evil but he is basically good, then God will protect him. If he has come up short, repentance is in order, but all in all, he is the better person and God should be on his side.

The premise is that God is honest, fair and just. Those who plot evil should receive evil in return. Those who live for the Lord will receive his protection.

And when God is good to you, protects you, remember to thank him. “I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.” Psalm 7:17

How curious that when his enemies are pursuing him, David would take time to compose a new song to the Lord.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, July 19, Pastor Van Dickerson presents Psalm 51.