Repent and Return!

For Saturday, October 19, 2024:

1 John 5:19 NLT: “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.”

Realize that in general, the world is not a good place. There’s evil around every corner! Near the very beginning of time, Satan, the serpent, tempted Adam and Eve, and they fell for it. Sin was introduced to the world, Satan had his foothold, and the world was no longer functioning the way its designer intended.

Know that the Father’s love for his “very good” creation, mankind, never died. While Adam and Eve were lost in sin, God was making clothes for them, caring for them, loving them, but their relationship had changed. Mankind could now discern good from evil, and in that respect, they had become like God. And now that mankind can tell good from evil, God expects us to be good, to do the right things – AS HE TAUGHT!

When created, there was no need for Adam and Eve to repent, for they didn’t know evil. They had never sinned. But after sinning, the mantra became, “Repent and return to the Lord.” In fact, we were now offered a choice, and a choice requires a decision. We could continue in the evil world, or we could make a conscious decision to return to the Lord, reclaiming our position in the Holy Family. That’s what God wants us to do.

Satan will give us a thousand reasons to put off committing to God Almighty. Don’t fall for his temptations! Deep down, we all know the right thing to do. Choose to join the family of God. In the end, God will win and Satan will fall, because God is the creator of all things and Satan is a created being. Today is the best day to commit or recommit to the winning team!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Assurance of Salvation!

For Friday, October 18, 2024:

1 John 5:13 NLT: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”

Many of the world’s religions teach about a life after this life. Let’s call it Paradise. People live their lives trying to be good and to follow the teachings of their religion, hoping to gain more Paradise Points. But anger, violence and disobedience can subtract Paradise Points. Your qualification for the hereafter can increase or decrease, but their Higher Power never allows anyone to see the scoreboard. A person could live their entire life not knowing if they “made it” or not.

Christianity is different. We have a Savior, Jesus. He took the sin of the world to the place of the dead, leaving forgiven believers forever qualified to take up residence in God’s heaven. Christians have “Assurance of Salvation,” not from anything we did but from what Jesus did in removing the record of our sin from the Book of life. We then try to do good out of gratitude for what Jesus did for us, not to earn Heaven Points.

By the way, heaven isn’t our final destination. In God’s time, he will restore the New Heaven and the New Earth, put back to original specifications the way it was all designed before sin entered the world. Yes, believers will find themselves living in a perfect world! That’s what the Bible says!

Now as a reminder, go sing a chorus of “Blessed Assurance!” (This is my story...)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Son of God!

For Thursday, October 17, 2024:

Matthew 16:15-16 NLT: “Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Who do you say I am?’

Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one; the Son of the living God.’”

Believers are adopted into the Holy Family, children of God, and therefore, modern-day disciples. If you had been in that group and Jesus called upon you to answer his question, would you have the correct answer on the tip of your tongue, just like Simon Peter?

Messiah is a Hebrew word; Christ is a Greek word; both mean anointed one, the one chosen by God himself. Peter is testifying that Jesus is more than just another human being. Jesus is “heaven-sent,” sent by God Almighty to offer forgiveness of sins to believers, and to course-correct religion on earth.

Even those who knew God and loved the Lord got the details of religion wrong. Even those who worshiped at the Temple and taught at the Temple didn’t get religion right. I believe the most egregious error was the lack of compassion and caring for others. To say that people at that time were self-centered would be an understatement. The people needed to be taught about being nice, kind, helpful and loving their neighbors. That’s what the Bible said long before Jesus came to earth. It’s time everyone got it right!

Jesus knows exactly what we need to do. After all, he’s the Son of the Living God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship