Plot to kill!

For Tuesday, March 31, 2026:

Mark 11:18 NLT: “When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, (driving the corrupt from the Temple and overturning the money-changer’s tables,) they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.”

Palm Sunday saw the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, with people waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna, save us, save us now!”

Monday was the breaking point for Jesus. He’d had enough of the corruption and scams taking place in the Temple. He said, “My Father’s house should be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves,” as he overturned the money-changer’s tables.

So the next day, Tuesday, the leading priests and teachers of religious law started plotting how to kill Jesus. To them, he was nothing but trouble. Left a big mess in the Temple for someone else to clean up! But what complicated matters was that a lot of people thought Jesus was the best Bible teacher they’d ever seen! He seemed to have an inside track on explaining the Bible and God’s intentions. Of course, we now know that Jesus was God’s son, one-third of our Trinity God. The bad guys were trying to nail the Bible teacher with the most knowledge to a cross. Seems illogical, incongruous to me.

Nonetheless, the plot continued to develop. Those planning Jesus’ demise had no idea that they were fulfilling God’s agenda. Jesus had to die to take the sins of the world to the place of the dead. That way mankind’s sins could be forgiven, and the repentant could report to the Father. Everlasting life in God’s heavenly Kingdom could be the new reality for the faithful! Do your utmost to be among them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Cleaning Out the Temple!

March 30, 2026, Monday Message:

Mark 11:15a NLT: “Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices.”

Yesterday, we celebrated Palm Sunday, when Jesus made his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. People waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna, save us, save us now!” Both the Pharisees and the Roman army ordered Jesus to silence his people, but Jesus told them that even rocks would cry out, celebrating the return of God’s Son to Jerusalem, celebrating sins being forgiven!

So today became the day to clean house at the Temple. It seems to me like Jesus had a list titled “Things to do before the crucifixion,” and this topped the list.

The Temple had three general areas. The innermost was the “Holy of Holies,” reserved for God. The Temple Sanctuary was for worship, sacrifices and Jewish traditions and rituals. The outer court was where all hell broke loose, and I mean that literally. Lies were uttered, scams took place and merchants took advantage of visitors.

Let me explain. Devout Jews would travel hundreds of miles, bringing their best animal to sacrifice to the Lord at the Temple. Upon arrival, they were told that their animal wasn’t suitable, and they would have to purchase a different animal, which was conveniently available right up the street at an inflated price. Of course, the visitors only had their native currency, so money-changers saw an opportunity to make another unfair shekel. This was the scam taking place in God’s house, and Jesus would have none of it. He drove the animals out of the Temple, and overturned the money-changer’s tables! Jesus stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He concluded: “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

Jesus’ opinion on this hasn’t changed. There will be times when we need to collect money at a church, but honesty should be the key: no scams and no over-inflated prices. You don’t want Jesus to have to overturn your money tables!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Palm Sunday!

For Sunday, March 29, 2026:

John 12:12b-13 NLT: “A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet Jesus. They shouted, ‘Praise God! [Hosanna!] Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!’”

Today is Palm Sunday, when Christians everywhere celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Jesus had recently healed Lazarus and brought him back to life. A large crowd had been present for that event, and there was much anticipation when word got out that Jesus was coming back into town. They lined the streets as if a parade were about to take place.

Meanwhile, Jesus sent two disciples to borrow a donkey, who were told to say, “The Lord has need of it.” The donkey had never been ridden, and I look at this like asking to borrow a new Buick off the showroom floor. It fulfills the prophecy, “Look, your king is coming to you,... riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.”

As Jesus entered the city, the crowd waved palm branches in the air and lined the streets with brightly colored cloth, shouting, “Hosanna,” which means, “Save us; save us now!” I suspect that the crowd knew mankind had a sin problem, and the only solution was an alliance with the man who could raise someone from the dead. They wouldn’t have asked Jesus to save them, to rescue them, unless they believed it to be possible.

Shouts rang out, “Hail to the King of Israel!” Recall John (the baptist) saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” as he introduced Jesus to the world. Only a King has a Kingdom, and Jesus is the one King! This upset the Roman Government, which thought Herod was their king. It also upset the Pharisees. “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

So this is all about money and power. Pharisees didn’t like worshipers leaving to follow Jesus, and they didn’t like tithes going to the Jesus team rather than the Temple. Furthermore, the Roman government already had a king and didn’t want another, and certainly not a Jew! Jesus’ demise seemed certain, and he predicted his own death.

People are fickle. In just a few days, they went from “Save us now!” to “Crucify him!” No one understood that Jesus would take the sins of the world to the place of the dead, and that mankind could be forgiven and have a shot at eternity! Those railing against Jesus were actually fulfilling God’s vast eternal plan!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Holy Spirit!

For Saturday, March 28, 2026:

John 14:15-17a NLT, Jesus speaking: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”

This expands on the original Old Covenant, wherein God-the-Father explained, “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” In the New Covenant, Jesus, being the Son of God, will be our Savior, and we will be his loyal followers. Then, as Jesus is leaving us, returning to the Father, he leaves another to fill the God-space in our lives. The Holy Spirit – Comforter, Encourager, or Counselor – the final one-third of the Trinity, will walk alongside us on our spiritual journey. The Holy Spirit (like Father and Son) can only give us truth, and truth is God’s opinion on everything!

We love Jesus because he died to pay the penalty for our sins so we could be forgiven. Note that Jesus didn’t send the Holy Spirit himself. He asked the Father to care for those who love the Son, so the Father sent our Counselor and Advocate, and we’re better off because of it.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for watching over all the believers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

For Friday, March 27, 2026:

Luke 3:19-20 NLT: “John (the baptist) also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs Herod had done. So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.”

Notice the focus of John’s criticism. Not the governmental system, not the Roman army, not the prisons. In John’s eyes, what Herod had done wrong was marrying his brother’s wife. John is critical of Herod’s moral failure.

God’s plan is for one man and one woman to come together, and they become a family. This law is written on our hearts, so everybody already knows. Even hardened criminals whose personal mission is to live outside the law know not to take someone else’s wife.

John’s boldness landed him in prison and ultimately led to his demise. Interestingly, Herod liked John and sometimes listened to him proclaim the Good News. “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” The Messiah has arrived; turns out to be God’s Son! Herod was almost a Christian, but not quite. In the end, it was Herodias, the adulteress, who objected to John’s criticism and ordered his death.

Jesus says, “Don’t begin until you consider the cost.” There may be a cost for joining the Jesus team. John chose to stand up for God’s principles, and it eventually cost him his life. On the other hand, Peter lied, denying Jesus three times to save his own skin. He was destined to be the point person for the new Christian church, the Way. God wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer.

Count on God to guide you on your spiritual journey and give you the right answers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

David's Anointing!

For Tuesday, March 24, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:11c NLT: “At once, send for the youngest, the shepherd,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

God had told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons was to be anointed as Israel’s next king. Samuel thought he had interviewed all the young men, but God had yet to pull the trigger. So Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” Voilà: David, anointed to be the next king of Israel! Not because his father Jesse decreed it, not because Samuel said so, but because he was God’s choice! Because God said so!

Frankly, there was no way David could have turned down the assignment. Think back to Jonah, called to deliver the “repent and return” message to the people of Nineveh. Fearing for his life, Jonah took off in the opposite direction, went overboard during the voyage, was swallowed up by a giant sea creature who spit him out. Where? On the beach of Nineveh, right where God had called him to be. God always gets his way! It would take a few more years, but David would ultimately assume the position for which he had been earmarked by God.

Have you ever been called by the Lord? First, identify your God-given gifts and talents. God will not call you to a task for which you have no skill, no knowledge. He will not send you on a mission without supplying the tools needed for success. If you’re volunteering to join the “God team,” something He needs will jump out at you, will fall right into your lap. You’ll be better at it than others. It wouldn’t be the same without you! God knows what he’s doing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

New Covenant!

For Wednesday, March 25, 2026:

Romans 8:1 NLT: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

If this announcement had been on TV, we’d hear, “Beep-pa-da-beep-beep! Breaking news!” That’s what this was, friends, breaking news! Things had been one way under the Old Covenant. Mankind was living condemned because of sin. But now, after Jesus, everything changed! Under the New Covenant, those who put their faith, hope and trust in Christ Jesus will be forgiven, given a clean start, have their sin-slate wiped clean. Jesus introduces us to a God of second chances and do-overs. I like the golf analogy. “That last sin I did – I’d like to take a mulligan on that!”

Notice that forgiveness isn’t universal. It’s reserved for the repentant who desire to restore God and his Son back to the place in our lives they should have had all along. It’s an apology and an amend to our higher power. There’s an implied, “I’m really gonna try to do better. I intend to change my ways.”

Those whose heart lines up with their words will get to see heaven from the inside. This is our “Assurance of Salvation.” If you belong to Christ Jesus, it’s a done deal. God’s heavenly Kingdom awaits you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

David!

For Tuesday, March 24, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:11c NLT: “At once, send for the youngest, the shepherd,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

God had told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons was to be anointed as Israel’s next king. Samuel thought he had interviewed all the young men, but God had yet to pull the trigger. So Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” Voilà: David, anointed to be the next king of Israel! Not because his father Jesse decreed it, not because Samuel said so, but because he was God’s choice! Because God said so!

Frankly, there was no way David could have turned down the assignment. Think back to Jonah, called to deliver the “repent and return” message to the people of Nineveh. Fearing for his life, Jonah took off in the opposite direction, went overboard during the voyage, was swallowed up by a giant sea creature who spit him out. Where? On the beach of Nineveh, right where God had called him to be. God always gets his way! It would take a few more years, but David would ultimately assume the position for which he had been earmarked by God.

Have you ever been called by the Lord? First, identify your God-given gifts and talents. God will not call you to a task for which you have no skill, no knowledge. He will not send you on a mission without supplying the tools needed for success. If you’re volunteering to join the “God team,” something He needs will jump out at you, will fall right into your lap. You’ll be better at it than others. It wouldn’t be the same without you! God knows what he’s doing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Second Chance!

March 23, 2026, Monday Message:

Luke 3:17 NLT, John the Baptist speaking: “The one coming soon (Jesus) is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

Before you can make bread from wheat, the protective outside part of each kernel, the chaff, must be removed. Nowadays, we just buy flour at a store, but in Jesus’ day, people had to do their own milling, so this was common knowledge, and a good analogy about mankind and the life after this life.

The good portion is preserved, gathered and kept in God’s storehouse. We call that God’s heavenly Kingdom. The remaining worthless chaff is permanently disposed of in a fire. In Revelation, John writes about a lake of fire for the unrepentant.

Friends, we are living in our second chance. We can choose Jesus as our Savior, or we’re allowed to make a bad choice. But there are no more do-overs! The right or wrong choice has eternal consequences.

Choose wisely!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Humble!

For Sunday, March 22, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:6 NLT: Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

Playing a guessing game with God is not fun. God, as you know, already has all the answers! Put yourself in Samuel’s shoes. You meet one of Jesse’s sons, Eliab, and ask, “Is this the one?”

The Bible doesn’t tell us what made Eliab attractive. Was he the tallest? The oldest? The best-looking? Hair most like John, Paul, George and Ringo? “No,” said God. “He’s not the one,” with no further explanation given.

What about the next sons, Abinadab and Shimea, and four more, as all of Jesse’s sons were presented. “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

So Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” Logic would expect God’s choice to be the eldest, the one who has lived long enough to have gained the wisdom of the world. Last place would go to the kid looking after a few sheep.

God explains: “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God doesn’t desire words from your mouth or actions only designed to impress others. God wants to know what’s truly in your heart. Do you honestly love the Lord and love your neighbor? Are you willing to go where God sends you, and willing to do what he sends you to do? How is your heart, really?

God says that we must come to him like little children, innocent, with open minds. Humble is the word of the day. If you think you have it all together, you probably don’t. If you think you’re the pièce de résistance, your mind is already made up and God probably can’t help you. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”

Selecting the next leader for the Promised Land requires a great deal of discernment. God knows what he’s doing. Remember, the first will be last, and the last will be first.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

God Intervenes!

For Saturday, March 21, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:1 NLT: Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

God no longer favored Saul as Israel’s king (a problem of Saul’s own making.) It was time for a change of regime. God wanted to anoint a new king, and he had someone specific in mind. He sent Samuel, a Holy man and Prophet, to do the anointing.

Samuel hesitates. “If Saul finds out, he’ll kill me!”

As you might expect, God has a plan to keep everyone safe. “Bring a heifer, and tell everyone you’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and go home with him. One of his sons is to be the next king! I’ll show you which son to anoint.” God’s not against deception and a little white lie if it keeps everyone safe and furthers his cause!

Our God, omniscient and omnipresent, always knows what’s going on. He knew all of Saul’s deceptions and schemes. He knew when it was time to set things right.

God still has those same perceptive powers nowadays. He knows what Russia is doing to Ukraine. He knows what China is doing to Taiwan. He knows what Iran is doing to its neighbors, a false god retaliating against our Creator God. I pray that God would step up and settle these matters, but only He knows the best time.

We’d be better off having God anoint leaders for our world!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Creation, Condensed Version!

For Friday, March 20, 2026:

Genesis 1:31 NLT: “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”

God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – created the planet Earth, made light and darkness, separated land and water, grew vegetation, put the stars, moon and sun in the sky, gave us fish and birds, next land animals, and finally male and female human beings. That all took six days, and God rested on the seventh, designating it as Holy. After each day, God declared his creation “good,” but in its entirety, following the sixth day, God declared everything to be “VERY good!”

We have been given the privilege of living in that well-designed world. At one time, it was all very good. Unfortunately, mankind has done a lot to make that not so. Sin, lust and corruption have tarnished God’s creation. Satan and his demons have done all they can to derail the project. Right now, the world we live in is a big mess!

The Good News is that God promised to fix everything! He sent his Son, our Savior Jesus to take away the sins of the world. He’ll restore the earth to be the New Earth, just the way it was originally designed. He’ll splash total forgiveness on loyal believers so they can join him in the hereafter. God’s desire is for all to repent and return. You and I can sign up for that program!

Let’s all join God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom, where there’s no sin, no sickness or disease, where people love God and love their neighbors. What God wants turns out to be a very good way for us to live! Hallelujah!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Gender Confusion!

For Thursday, March 19, 2026:

Genesis 1:27b NLT: “Male and female He created them.”

Mankind was never androgynous. God created both men and women. They are distinctly different, separate. Male and female didn’t evolve from some non-sexual being. Think about it – how could they have reproduced? Besides, that philosophy would contradict the Bible. “Male and female He created them.”

Gender confusion – there’s a lot of it in today’s society. We never used to see it, but today, it’s prevalent. In our effort to love the sinner but hate the sin, gender confusion has made its way into the mainstream. As I was growing up, we never heard about same sex relationships. Nowadays, many gays and lesbians are “out,” accepted by many as an alternate lifestyle. A few years ago, I heard a news story about people transitioning from one sex to the other. Now there are thousands! Surgeons can alter the body, but not the DNA. So even fully transitioned individuals will continue to test as their sex at birth. This is a worst-case scenario of our culture’s depravity, the amount and the degree of gender confusion today.

In God’s creative mind, the differences between men and women are not accidents. The differences are good and meaningful; different functions, different job descriptions. Ever wonder which is superior, the man or the woman? According to God, a man is absolutely superior at being a man. A woman is absolutely superior at being a woman. But when a man tries to be a woman or a woman tries to be a man, you have something inferior.

God commanded, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Every living thing that He created obeyed. Blades of grass, plants and trees dropped seeds to multiply. Animals, both cold and warm-blooded, multiplied. Mankind was told to multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion. Believers go with God’s plan. Non-believers muck it up.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Image of God!

For Wednesday, March 18, 2026:

Genesis 1:27 NLT: “God created human beings [adam] in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’”

In this context, adam refers to mankind or human beings, not Adam the man. We have temporary bodies because we live on earth. God, a spirit being, doesn’t need a body, so don’t start telling people that you look a lot like God!

When we leave this earth, believer’s bodies will remain. We won’t need them. Our soul and our spirit, our eternal essence, will meet Jesus in the hereafter, in heaven. Temporarily. God will remodel our planet to be the New Earth, removing sin and putting things back to his original intent. Then, forgiven and thereby sinless, mankind can move back in. God and his Son will walk alongside us!

Right now, we should think of our planet as a “fixer-upper!” Needs a lot of work! So trust in the Lord. He has a plan; He knows what he’s doing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Trinity Explained!

For Tuesday, March 17, 2026:

Genesis 1:26 NLT: “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings [mankind] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.’”

Notice the intentional use of plurals in this scripture: “Let US make humans in OUR image, to be like US.” Is there more than one God? No. Can God be revealed to us in more than one form? Yes. Is God omnipresent, able to be in more than one place at the same time? Yes!

  Saint Patrick, traditionally credited with evangelizing Ireland, used the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity. A shamrock looks like a 3-leaf clover, only larger. The three leaves represent Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But there’s only one plant, only one root system. The three leaves are anchored together: shared value system, same love for mankind, same desire that everyone would repent and return.

Patrick could have held resentment for Ireland. After all, as a young man, he was captured and forced to work there as a slave. But he escaped, became a priest, and returned to work where he knew people sorely needed Jesus. Forgiveness is always best. He’s now known as the patron saint of Ireland.

Today is March 17, St. Patrick’s Day (feast), the supposed day of his death. Much more than just another Irish holiday, let us celebrate the Good News, convincingly taught to a pagan population. Well done, Patrick!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Name of Jesus!

 March 16, 2026, Monday Message: 

John 14:13-14 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”

 When something in the Bible needs extra emphasis, it’s often repeated, written twice. Today’s scripture is a good example. It’s two verses that literally say the same thing. Anything we ask in Jesus’ name is possible. As an extreme example, you could order a mountain into the sea in Jesus’ name, and it would happen. (Mark 11:23)

 Certain rules come into play here, and this is not an exhaustive list. No showing off using Jesus’ powers, and nothing frivolous. His promise is for locked-in believers as they go about the Lord’s work. If we encounter someone who needs healing, we should take care of it. Note that our cry for healing won’t override God’s previous decision to call someone home.

 Satan, the “prince of this world,” is still free to inflict his brand of misery. Don’t take this to mean that he is equal to God, but it does symbolize the influence Satan has over human affairs and sinful choices. Did you ever notice that when Jesus healed someone, he would oftentimes cast out demons, perhaps the root cause of their misery?

 In the same way as Satan is inferior to God Almighty, he is also inferior to Jesus (Godly part of the Trinity). Therefore, Satan’s little demons are inferior to believers when we use the name of Jesus! We can cast them out, send them away using the name of Jesus.

 Luke Ch. 8 describes a group of women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. They now traveled with Jesus and his other disciples. One woman was Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. That’s a lot of baggage! Those women put their personal resources behind Jesus’ ministry, demons be damned!

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

Serve like Jesus!

For Sunday, March 15, 2026:

John 14:12 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”

There’s only one Jesus. He wanted to multiply his efforts. So he sent disciples, believers, to spread the Good News. “God loves you, repentant sinners can be forgiven, there is life after this life and you can be included.” Think of this like McDonald’s franchising new locations. Sending teams of disciples to other towns would open up entirely new markets, convincing more people to repent and return! Good plan, Jesus!

In the same way, as Jesus returns to the Father, he wants to empower the faithful to continue his work. “Go and make disciples of all nations,” he tells them. “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and preach the Good News!” In 2K years, the job description for a believer hasn’t changed!

A non-serving Christian is a contradiction!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church