Children of God!

For Friday, May 15, 2026:

Romans 8:23b NLT: “We believers wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.”

As believers leave this life to be with the Father, every problem gets solved. Everything that was wrong is made right. Sickness and disease are the result of sin, and there is no sin around the Father. Cancer is only in the past tense. Hearts that were failing are made strong again. Each believer will be restored to better than original specs, the way we were designed from the beginning. A glorified body is part of our reward.

Of course bodies may not be required as our spirits settle in with God, his Son and the angels. After all, God is a spirit-being. But being “God,” he could take on a bodily form if he chose to. He did walk in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and that would have required a body! Either way, we’ll be adopted into the Holy Family with all the rights and privileges of a natural-born son or daughter.

This is all a part of why believers have perpetual hope for a glorious eternity in the presence of the Lord! The future looks bright!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Spirit World!

For Thursday, May 14, 2026:

Colossians 1:16b NLT: “Christ made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.”

There is an entire reality, parallel to our world, that we cannot see. But it affects us greatly. Many Christians dream of going to heaven, a spirit reality, but balk at believing the size and complexity of the spirit realm. It’s truly difficult to believe in what we can’t see, what we can’t verify with our own eyes.

The risen Jesus delayed Paul on the road to Damascus. Christ cleared up who he is and proved that he can do everything he promised. I believe he also gave Paul a glimpse into the life after this life. As Paul describes it to the Colossians, the world we cannot see may be greater than the one we can see. He includes kingdoms with kings on their thrones and battles between them. Just as there is good and evil on the earth, there are spirits on God’s team and demons on Satan’s team. We’d do well to watch out for the latter.

Humans live this life, and then transition to the life after this life. Very few ever return, Lazarus and a few others. Jesus is the only one who existed in the unseen reality, came to earth to forgive mankind’s propensity for sin, and then returned to the spirit realm. These facts may or may not affect our earthly lives. But God doesn’t want to hear us say, “I didn’t see that coming!” Knowing what’s ahead, we can better conform to God’s commandments.

When we approach the pearly gates, they’ll say, “We’ve been expecting you!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Forever and Ever!

For Wednesday, May 13, 2026:

Colossians 1:15b-16a NLT: “The Son existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.”

This scripture lines up perfectly with John’s Gospel account: “Jesus existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”

Therefore, we know that Jesus existed long before our world was created, and long before he came to earth in human form. When he showed up, it was big news to mankind. God’s people had been watching and waiting for the promised Messiah. They were excited to meet Jesus and hear him speak! None of this was news to God, whose Son had been around from the beginning.

What we need to remember is that Jesus is a perpetual spirit, just like Father God. The Son was here before the creation of our world, and he’ll be here long after it’s gone. The place Jesus prepares for us will be in the New Heaven and the New Earth. When Jesus’ forgiveness promises to give us eternal life in the presence of the Father, we can’t even imagine how long that is. The Father and the Son have set us up for a life expectancy similar to their own.

We are only on this earth for a very short time – like a blink of an eye! I believe eternity is somewhat beyond our comprehension. I cannot over-stress the importance of being on the right side of things as we transition from this reality to the next. Decide today to live in harmony with God and mankind, until we get a face-to-face meeting with God’s Son! It may happen sooner than you think!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church