Good Heart!

For Sunday, September 27, 2026:

Luke 6:45 NLT, Jesus speaking: “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

Hang out with the wrong people, and trouble will ensue. Jesus explains: “Figs are never gathered from thorn bushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.” We tend to become a likeness of our environment and our associates.

Some people are like brambles and thorns. They’re always rough, unpleasant and walking trouble. If they’re your pals, you’ll likely fall into the same misery that follows them. Avoid them like the plague!

Where do we find good people? Surprisingly, they could be anywhere. We can find bankers who are ethical, giving borrowers a fair deal. We can find honest mechanics and repairmen, but we may have to search for a while! The occupation doesn’t matter as much as that their moral compass is pointed in the right direction. These are people who Christians should seek as long-term friends.

We can also spend a little time with those who fall short of our criteria. We need to share the Good News about forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. We can counsel them into being born again as a new and improved model. God wants everyone to hear the Gospel. God wants everyone to have a chance to play for the Jesus team!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Saved!

For Saturday, September 26, 2026:

Romans 10:1 NLT: “Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.”

Paul is writing to the church in Rome, and the first believers came from the Jewish faith. They already knew God the Father, and a Messiah’s arrival had been predicted. With just a few theological adjustments, Christianity worked for at least some of them.

Paul’s starting point was to lock in those Jews. Once the people of Israel formed a solid base, they could begin evangelizing pagans. People living in Rome, as in Greece, were offered many false gods through their traditions. They had a god for the sun, moon, wind and rain. They had a god for abundant crops and a goddess for sexual satisfaction. You could buy little statuettes of these pretend gods and put them on your mantle. Teaching these people about the real God and his Son would be a monumental task, but Paul was up for it.

God’s desire is for ALL to believe, Jews, Gentiles, pagans and aristocrats alike. Jesus was sent to offer forgiveness and salvation to everyone, no exceptions.

Believers are blessed to have been saved, and we have been commissioned to teach the Gospel truth to everyone on earth. Where is your mission field? Is it where you work or where you work out? Perhaps your children go to school with their children, and you can meet the parents. God wants everyone to have a chance to make the right decision, and that would be to claim Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. Commit or recommit yourself to him today, and then tell others!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Confidence & Loyalty!

For Friday, September 25, 2026:

Acts 4:13 NLT: “The members of the (religious) council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

Peter and John had been arrested in the Temple for preaching salvation through Jesus, and for healing a man who had been lame from birth. That man was present as Peter and John were questioned, so no one could deny the miracle. He was healed in the name of Jesus!

The Apostles didn’t try to save their own skin by lying, by denying what had happened. They showed two traits we should all exhibit: confidence and loyalty.

Having lived and traveled with Jesus, they had been eyewitnesses to thousands of healings and miracles. While spiritual healing was a big deal to the lame man, Peter and John had seen it all before. If the man was healed in the name of Jesus, there was no doubt in their minds that it would be so. Peter’s boldness (one of his character traits) fit because he trusted Jesus. As he laid hands on the man, he had already pictured the man walking. In our mind’s eye, we need to picture a miracle as if it already happened.

We speak of trusting in the Lord and believing in Jesus. What is needed is loyalty, an unflinching devotion to the King of kings. We’re not about to change our minds. No one can alter what we believe. Loyalty lasts forever!

The council knew that Peter and John had been with Jesus, so their position came as no surprise. The council was just trying to reconcile what had happened with their preconceived beliefs, and it wasn’t going well.

As God gave us the New Covenant, some things would change. Some things would be different. If we believe Jesus was sent by the Father, we can be filled with confidence as we share the Gospel with others. We can be loyal to the end!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
The Father’s House
Jesus In the City Fellowship
Truth & Freedom Church