Call to Serve!

 Daily message of hope...
For Thursday, August 27, 2026:

Acts 3:26 NLT, Peter, preaching in the Temple: “When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”

Jesus came to mankind through the Jewish people. It makes sense. They were the ones with the previous relationship with God. But Jesus’ final command was “to make disciples of ALL nations.” Our God is inclusive. His hope is that ALL would repent and return. Because mankind has been given free will, that may not happen, but it’s nonetheless God’s desire.

Where is your mission field? When we speak of a ‘mission trip,’ we think of going to another city, another state or another country. But it doesn’t have to be that complicated. You can minister to coworkers, fellow students and neighbors. There are enough Christians in the US that there’s no excuse for everyone to not have heard about Jesus. The Good News should be common knowledge in our country.

I’ve personally prayed a great deal about this, and the Lord has given me two answers at different times. First, I was elected leader of a church supporting over a dozen overseas missionaries. My piece of the puzzle was to sustain that local church, so that we’d have a strong base from which to send the others. I was also called to preach at a men’s in-patient treatment facility just off Lake Street. I led services for them once a month for over 25 years. My mission field was Lake Street, Minneapolis, where drug use was prevalent, single parents were the norm and poverty was out of control. There was a lot to do, but life was always better with Jesus in it!

Being obedient to Jesus, we all need to identify our piece of the mission puzzle and add action to our conclusions.

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

Ancestry!

Daily message of hope...
For Wednesday, August 26, 2026:

Romans 9:25 NLT, Paul testifying to the church in Rome: “Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.’”

Early Christians were all Jews. But following Paul’s efforts, the ancestry ratio shifted so that most modern-day Christians originated in the Gentile population. As a group, we were not Jews, “God’s chosen people.” Friends, it matters not. God is God, and he can choose anyone he wants to. He has now chosen us, the faithful believers who love Jesus. (And yes, some believers were Jews!)

Scripture tells us that whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. And that scripture is speaking of eternal life, having a home in God’s heavenly Kingdom, living in the place Jesus prepared for you.

As it turns out, our ancestry isn’t the deciding factor. It’s our love for the Son and the Father’s love for us that cement the bidirectional relationship. It’s good to have friends in high places!

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

Seeing God!

For Tuesday, August 25, 2026:

Colossians 2:9 NLT, Paul writing to the church in Colossae: “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.”

We can’t help but be curious about an unseen God. Paul helps pin down the details.

The completeness of God is contained in Christ. Jesus was known for being kind and helpful. When the sick were brought to him, he kept healing until every one had what they needed. He was inclusive, serving the poor as well as the rich, serving Gentiles as well as Jews. Jews never associated with Samaritans, yet Jesus struck up a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, the one with five previous husbands, and shared with her the Good News. When the thief on a cross repented, Jesus said the man could join him in paradise – today! Everyone, yes, everyone is eligible for Jesus’ repent and return offer. Remember, God’s desire is that no one would be lost; that ALL would repent and return.

The beliefs, the commands and the value system of God are all present in his Son. Jesus said that if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. Celebrate our close association with Christ. It’s just like knowing God!

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