Thy Will!

For Saturday, September 20, 2025:

Mark 14:36 NLT: “’Abba, Father,’ Jesus cried out, ‘everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.’”

On his journey to the cross, Jesus knew full well the pain and suffering that would be involved. It would not be pretty. The Roman soldiers were good at what they did. So Jesus asked, “Father, is this really necessary? I’d rather skip the ‘whipped and beaten’ part, if it’s all the same to you! But you know me! We’re cut from the same cloth! I’ll be obedient unto death!”

We can learn about prayer by following Jesus’ example. As humans, we don’t always know or understand why something is happening. And we don’t know what is to follow. For example, if Satan is causing an illness, we certainly want to pray for healing. But if someone has lived a good life and God is rewarding them by calling them home, that’s a whole different thing. I would ask Jesus to take charge of the situation.

Two of my children needed a better High School situation. My wife located a suitable private school, but we’d be paying for what had previously been free. I prayed about what to do. About that time, the Billy Graham organization approached me about helping them with a large project. There was no specific deadline, and I could fill all my downtime with their project. It took about five years! By then, my kids were no longer in private school! God is good!

I once lost a church job. The denomination was on shaky theological ground, so while it didn’t break my heart, it never feels good to be out of work. I prayed, “Really, God – is that all there is?” A short time later, another church called me as a pastor and Bible teacher. I was told to teach the truth! Best job ever, but I didn’t know it was coming when I lost the first job. God knew it would all work out.

Obedience and trust in the Lord should be our modus operandi. Pray, “Thy will, not my will!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Worry Not!

For Thursday, June 12, 2025:

Luke 12:31 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.”

My father taught me to only worry about things that I could control. Worrying about things over which you have no control is futile, wasted anxiety!

Jesus is saying to seek God and his Kingdom, and not waste time worrying about anything! God already knows your needs, and God will provide. God knows you need food to eat and clothes to wear. Worrying, fretting or wringing your hands will only make you miserable. Worrying won’t magically make food or clothing appear, and worrying won’t add a single day to your life. Jesus advises us to trust in the Lord who loves us!

Birds don’t plant or harvest food, but they seem to find plenty to eat. Surely mankind is more valuable than birds! Lilies are beautiful and fragrant one day, but are thrown into a fire the next. God has a longer-range plan for mankind. He will certainly care for you!

Unbelievers worry about what to eat and what to wear. Encourage them to better know Jesus and abandon worry. If we seek the Kingdom of God above all else, he will give us everything we need.

Now go sing a chorus of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Beware Greed!

For Tuesday, June 10, 2025:

Luke 12:15 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Our God, Jehovah Jireh, is a God of provision. He gives us all we need for the work he has given us to do. He will not send us on a mission without equipping us for that mission. I thank the Lord that he set me down in the US, a land of abundance. I have everything I need, and most of what I want.

But not everyone is as blessed. One of our African readers sent me a picture of a young boy with what could only be described as a bowl of mush. The boy had a big smile, grinning ear to ear, happy that he had something to eat today. I don’t know if he had anything to eat yesterday.

Mankind’s tendency is to want just a little bit more. OK – show of hands – How many want to keep up with the Joneses? (Nowadays it might be keeping up with the Kardashians!) That’s not a good thing. Here, Jesus is counseling his followers to not be greedy, to be content with what they have been given. On judgment day, it won’t matter if you drove a Kia or a Cadillac. Either way, you can’t take it with you!

Amassing earthly stuff won’t get you any heaven points. Loving the Lord and loving your neighbor will help with that. That’s what Jesus said to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Snakes and Scorpions?

For Friday, May 16, 2025:

Luke 11:11-12 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!”

In your mind’s eye, picture Jesus saying these words. I see him smiling. Jesus has already made his point about Yahweh being a God of supply and provision. He’d already taught ask, seek and knock. Now he’s giving over-the-top examples that should elicit at least a chuckle from those present! Nowadays, we might refer to his words as a “Dad joke!” The human side of Jesus was just a regular guy with a sense of humor! If you met him, you’d like him and want to hang out with him!

Snakes and scorpions? No one would really do such a thing. Other manuscripts include children asking for bread, and the dad giving them a stone. That’s a little more down-to-earth – no scary animals – but no parent would would actually do that either.

And speaking of parents, Jesus said that God should be thought of as “Our Father in heaven!” This isn’t meant to sideline our earthly parents. We’re still to honor our Mothers and Fathers. (Commandment #5)

Jesus came to earth to be a friend of mankind. He came to take the sins of the world to the place of the dead. He came to rescue us, to redeem our souls, to personally usher us into the hereafter. Jesus (God) wants to no longer be unreachable. After all, the curtain separating God from mankind was torn, top to bottom. We can now interact directly with God Almighty!

Worship should be fun, enjoyable. Spending time with God should be something we all anticipate with gladness. I want to be a friend of Jesus. If he talks about giving children a scorpion, I’m gonna laugh like crazy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Fickle Faith!

For Sunday, February 9, 2025:

Exodus 15:26 NLT: God said to Moses and the Israelites, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

People can live a long time without food, but only a short time without water. God had Moses lead the Israelites into the desert for three days, and they finally came to an oasis with bitter water. God purified the water. Once again the God of provision had met the people of Israel’s needs. He then gave them the covenant in the above scripture. If the Israelites would be his people, he would be their God!

That sounds like a good deal, but it’s also a test of faith. Each time a problem arose, would the people trust the Lord completely or complain about God putting them in that situation? Of course the correct answer would be to leave everything in God’s hands. Turns out the people of Israel weren’t very good at that.

If we are growing in our relationship with the Lord as we ought, we should learn from our mistakes and make corrections. We should also take note when things go right, and intentionally repeat those behaviors. The Israelites had fallen victim to what I call, ‘Fickle Faith.’ They’re believers when things are going well. But at the least sign of trouble, faith goes out the window. Fickle Faith.

Trusting God is something of substance, something with eternal ramifications. Trusting the Lord should not depend upon your current circumstances. Pray that God would fill you with unshakable faith!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Thursday, November 28, 2024:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT: “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

In the US, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day to thank the Lord for all his goodness. The exact day moved, but the tradition continued. Many other countries have adopted a similar celebration.

It’s easy to forget some of the things God provides for mankind. We take a lot of things for granted. God gives us air to breathe and sunshine every morning to warm the earth and to warm mankind. Our planet raises enough food to feed everyone. If you hear of people starving, it’s because countries are at war and distribution channels are closed. But God provides enough food and water for everyone.

It’s good to acknowledge God’s goodness on a special day, but we should really thank him daily. After all, God remembers us every day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Creation!

For Tuesday, June 18, 2024:

Genesis 1:11 NLT: “Then God said, 'Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.' And that is what happened.”

I awoke this morning and noticed a bright green, symmetrical tree. There is a shade of green only seen in new-emergent vegetation; I love that color! The tree looked twice the size of the tree in winter, having added all the leaves. I was reminded of the majesty of God, who spoke our world into existence. Each spring he knows exactly how many leaves need to be added to each tree, something of which you and I have no knowledge. To worship God, we sometimes need to read a Bible or attend a church. Other times we just need to critically observe that which has already been provided!

So worshiping God can be as simple as observing with gratitude what God has already provided for us. He is a good God, consistently giving us more than we need and certainly more than we deserve. It’s hard to examine our planet and reach any other conclusion than that God is awesome and all powerful.

His desire is that none would perish!

v12 “The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.”

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Father God!

For Wednesday, May 22, 2024:

Ephesians 5:20 NLT: “Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul is encouraging believers to live in the light where everything is visible. His analogy is also practical. Light is good; darkness might not be so good! Activities of which you can be proud are displayed in the light for everyone to see! Iffy, questionable activities take place in the dark where illicit acts can be easily hidden.

God will give us provision to ensure our survival. We will have everything we need, not everything we want! We are to pray to God the Father in the name of his Son Jesus. I always begin public prayers with “Father God,” and end with “In Jesus’ name we pray.” But if you’re in a hurry or frustrated and mistakenly pray directly to Jesus, God is smart enough to figure it out! It’s hard to pray incorrectly!

Our triune God created everything. Thankfully He shares with us. Our planet stays alive because the sun keeps shining and the earth keeps spinning. God provides us with necessities we don’t even know we need!

God is good!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Include God!

February 5, 2024 Monday Message:

Mark 10:27 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Humanly speaking, salvation is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

Jesus is wrapping up his discussion of a rich man’s odds of seeing heaven. He concludes with lessons for us all.

Jesus wants us to realize that none of us can get to heaven on our own. Mankind is prone to sin, and sinners don’t get to live in God’s kingdom. But if we repent, return and call on Jesus for forgiveness, he can get it done FOR us. He WANTS to help us. After all, that’s his mission in coming to earth.

"Everything” means just that – all things. The power of the Father and his Son isn’t limited to obtaining salvation. With God’s help, diseases can be cured and injuries repaired. Demons can be sent packing. Provision will be found where none existed. In short, life will go better if we include God in our plans!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Resource Multiplied!

For Thursday, January 25, 2024:

Mark 8:2 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat.”

Today Jesus is going to feed 4,000 men and their families, much as he previously fed the crowd of 5,000. This time the disciples gave up seven loaves of their own bread. Jesus multiplied the resource which he could do, and put the disciples in charge of distribution which they could do. When the disciples saw what Jesus did with the bread, they gave up a few fish as well. This wasn’t a “grab-&-go” lunch. Jesus had everyone sit down, and they were served a full meal. The multitude ate as much as they wanted, and the disciples gathered up seven large baskets of leftovers. After feeding 4,000 men and their families, the Jesus team had more food than when they started! Miracle complete.

Our God has thousands of cattle on thousands of hills. Surely he can and will provide the resources we need to be his hands and feet here on earth!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Disciple's Mission Trip!

For Wednesday, March 8, 2023:

Matthew 10:1 NLT: “Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.”

McDonalds could only sell a limited number of hamburgers from one store. But through franchising, authorizing others to use the McDonalds brand, they could sell billions of burgers! Jesus is applying the same principle here. Only one Jesus was walking on this earth, but authorizing 12 others greatly increased his reach. This diverse group had little in common other than their love for the Lord Jesus.

I’m intrigued by the order in which these gifts are listed – first cast out evil spirits, and then heal. This tells me that Satan and his demons are a bigger problem than we acknowledge nowadays, and that healing may not occur while Satan is still at work. Satan’s minions will back off when they hear the name of Jesus! They know who he is!

Jesus is equipping his disciples for their mission trip. When God sends you on a mission, he will always equip you for the task. We need faith! The equipping may not be evident before the mission begins, but it will be evident along the way. So don’t worry about provisions. Just get ready to go when He calls!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship