Kingdom Assurance!

For Friday, July 17, 2026:

Romans 8:35 NLT: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?”

The Bible says that God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And it says the same thing about Jesus. God declared everything he created to be “good.” But at the end, after the creation of mankind, he called it “very good.” God has been cheering for mankind since the beginning. That’s the trend, and it continues to this day.

Knowing God doesn’t insulate us from bumps in the road of life. Knowing the Lord is more about finishing strong, about our lives after this life. Jesus walked away from his tomb, proving with certainty that our lives don’t end with human death. So the real question is, in the next life, where will you be spending your time?

If you’re aligned with Jesus, he’ll make a place for you in the Father’s Kingdom. It’s a wonderful place where we’ll know a peace that exceeds our understanding. Like Father, like Son, we are loved. Forever! So, can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? The answer is clearly, “No.”

Have a blessed day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Paid In Advance!

For Thursday, July 16, 2026:

Colossians 1:29 NLT, Paul speaking: “That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”

After meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul was thoroughly convinced. He threw himself into evangelism, telling everyone the Good News and planting new churches wherever God sent him.

But Paul doesn’t think he can do it all by himself. He knows that Christ is working through him to complete heaven’s mission. We also have a divine helper, the Holy Spirit, to be our advocate as we share with others the truth about God, his Son, sin, forgiveness and redemption. Since the Holy Spirit is working alongside us, we’re responsible for the effort, not the outcome. God’s in charge of that!

Paul is working hard to hold up his end of the partnership, as should we. We’ve all been assigned the task of making disciples of all nations. Half-measures won’t get us 50% of the way to the Kingdom! In fact, all-out effort only works when combined with an unshakable belief that Jesus is God’s Son and that his words are the truth. It’s our faith in the Risen Savior that lets us see heaven from the inside!

When I worked in sales, the letters ‘PIA’ on an invoice stood for ‘Paid in Advance!’ There is an invoice due for your sins and my sins, but it’s marked ‘PIA.” Jesus, through his death on the cross, paid the price to redeem mankind from our sin problem. He took those sins to the place of the dead and left them there, never to haunt us again.

Make a decision today to accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness. Yes, it’s undeserved, but God sometimes does us a solid. Accept the gift with gratitude and a smile!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

God's Purpose!

For Wednesday, July 15, 2026:

John 16:2 NLT, Jesus speaking to believers: “You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.”

In religion, things can get twisted around in unbelievable ways. In this case, those who know the Lord and exalt Jesus are thrown out of the worship center by others who think they know better. They do not! Those on the Jesus team will be killed (martyred) by the misled, who think they’re doing the Lord’s work. They are not!

Let’s use Paul as an example. He was loyal to the law of Moses, trained as a Rabbi, and sought to quash these renegade Jesus worshipers. He asked for a letter from the high priest to capture these Jesus-subversives and deliver them to Jerusalem in chains, or even kill them if chains didn’t work out. But Jesus personally tapped Paul on the shoulder on the road to Damascus. Paul was struck blind until he yielded to Christian baptism! He did a 180º, and became one of Christianity’s biggest supporters!

At the time, Pharisees were the religious elite. But they plotted the killing of Jesus by repeatedly lying. Lying is wrong, but plotting murder is even worse! Power and money kept them from accepting Jesus as the Son of God. They arranged Jesus’ crucifixion, and in a turn of events, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving mankind forgiven and able to reconcile with the Father. God used their evil ways for a holy purpose!

I’ve said before that God always wins! He can flip a hopeless situation and use it for his purpose. Jesus, who the Pharisees wanted to kill, is now seated at the right hand of the Father. It seems to be working out for him! And everything is also working out for Jesus’ followers, true believers and disciples like you and me!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

P.S. It’s National Hot Dog Day, in case you’re a little short on nitrites and sodium!