Delivered from Demons!

Daily message of hope...

For Sunday, July 19, 2026: 

Luke 6:13 NLT: “The large crowd had come to hear Jesus and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed.”

 Jesus and his disciples came down from the mountain after the selection of 12 Apostles. A surprisingly large crowd awaited them. People from all over Israel had gathered both to hear Jesus speak and for healing. Word about Jesus was out!

 Luke, our investigative reporter, took notice that many were healed from diseases and sickness. But many others were delivered from the unclean spirits haunting them. Satan is never on holiday, and constantly sends demons to throw sand into the gears of our lives. Jesus knew this was a first-order problem. People could not be physically healed when evil was side-tracking their lives. We know that divine healing includes the casting out of demons. 

 The crowd tried to get close to Jesus and touch him. Healing power seemed to emanate from him. Jesus isn’t a quitter. The Bible says he healed everyone.

 How many were healed by Jesus? (Say it with me:) “EVERYONE!”

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

Great Healer!

For Saturday, June 20, 2026:

Luke 5:18-19a NLT: “Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd.”

Jesus’ reputation preceded him! He was known for having a unique perspective on Torah, and supernatural healing abilities. Some men wanted to subject that healing ability to a challenging test. Their friend was completely paralyzed and needed supernatural healing. Jesus was the only one who had a chance of success solving their problem. We’re not told what kind of incident or accident put the man in that condition, but I’m guessing that Jesus was their last hope. The men had known their friend before he became paralyzed, and he needed a full restoration. In a way, this would be giving the man his life back. There was no quality of life the way he was now forced to live.

But upon arrival, those gathered to see Jesus had completely filled the room! There was no way to get the man on the stretcher in front of the Master! The men’s faith in Jesus would not let them abandon the project. They needed a plan ‘B’. They were not finished, but they had encountered a bump in the road to healing.

God has a way 

Truth & Freedom Church

of working things out. If he needs you for a project and you hit a bump in the road, don’t quit! Don’t give up! Problems can be resolved; roads can be smoothed. God’s projects will always get finished!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

 

Willing!

For Tuesday, June 16, 2026:

Luke 5:12b NLT: “When the man with leprosy saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’”

Do we expect Jesus to explain how busy he is or how many things are already on his agenda? Of course not! Jesus responds as a helpful person who loves his neighbor. “I am willing!”

Then Jesus reached out and touched the man. This was risky for most people, as leprosy was thought to be contagious. But it was no problem at all for our supernatural healer! “Be clean,” Jesus shouted, and immediately leprosy left the man!

Jesus ordered the man to not tell anyone. Although Jesus could easily heal any malady, that wasn’t his primary mission in coming to Earth. The man should tell his priest and give thanks for deliverance, but otherwise keep quiet about the incident. Nonetheless, others had witnessed the healing, and word quickly spread. Crowds gathered to hear Jesus speak and to be healed. Healing became his trademark supernatural miracle!

There’s not much contagious leprosy nowadays, but what about the measles outbreak in our country? Would you be willing to lay hands on the sick and pray for healing in the name of Jesus? I ask, because that’s what Jesus would have done!

Father God, we pray that each day more and more of us could live like Jesus, healing the sick and rescuing lives from the evil one!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Miracle Source!

For Thursday, April 16, 2026:

John 12:17-18 NLT: “Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were testifying about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.”

Jesus could perform miracles, and miracles impress people. Many were in Jerusalem for Passover, hence the large crowds. They had traveled to experience religious things, and all the buzz was about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Everyone was impressed, but it was kind of like they all had attended a magic show. They worshiped the miracle itself, but not where it came from, who did it, why they did it and who that person is.

Jesus intentionally took his time traveling to Martha and Mary’s house, arriving after Lazarus had died. “O Lord, if only you had been here,” cried the women. They’re thinking in earthly terms. Knowing what we now know about Jesus, he could have healed Lazarus from far away. But to Jesus, this needed to be an event. This was about showcasing the glory of the Lord. He wanted Lazarus clearly dead before calling him out of the tomb – a BIG miracle! Perhaps then people would recognize that this was heaven-sent, and that Jesus was God’s only Son!

Friends, don’t just appreciate the miracle, the event itself. Worship the supernatural entity that brought the miracle to fruition. Worship God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – as they bestow miracle after miracle on believers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Feed Five Thousand?

For Wednesday, March 11, 2026:

Matthew 14:15-16 NLT: That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”

When Jesus heard that his cousin John the Baptist had been executed, he wanted some alone time. So he boarded a boat, seeking peace on the other side of the lake. It didn’t work. The huge crowd followed him up the shoreline and met him on the other side. Full of love and compassion, Jesus healed the sick among them.

That’s when his disciples advised dismissing the crowd, sending them away to obtain food. No one had had supper, let alone lunch, and this was about to become a big problem. Proving he still had a sense of humor, Jesus replied, “YOU feed them!” To understand how ridiculous this was, realize that there were 5K men present, most with their wives and some with a few kids! So the crowd could have numbered close to 20K! The disciples were horribly under-resourced! They had already counted the available food: five barley loaves and a couple of fish! No way this was going to work.

Jesus told his disciples to seat the people in groups, 50-100 people. Then he lifted the bread and fish toward heaven and blessed it. Breaking the bread and fish, he sent a suitable portion to each group and never seemed to run out of food, as if this simple meal had a never-ending supply. Everyone ate their fill, and afterward the disciples gathered up 12 baskets of leftovers!

This miracle is documented in all four Gospels, and typical emphasis seems to be on the “miracle.” That’s not bad, but I also like to remember the love and compassion Jesus showed for his loyal followers. That’s typical Jesus behavior. As we live our lives for Christ, most of us will never get the chance to feed 5K. But we’ll get plenty of chances to lend aid to those seeking the Kingdom.

When in doubt, do what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Colossal Crowds!

For Tuesday, March 10, 2026:

Matthew 4:25 NLT: “Large crowds followed Jesus wherever he went—people from Galilee, Decapolis (10 towns), Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.”

"Hear ye, hear ye! The Great Healer is coming to your town! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! You don’t want to miss this. Jesus Christ, in the flesh! Be there, or be left behind! Tickets available at OneNation.com.”

OK, I wrote a radio commercial for the next Jesus event. Of course they didn’t have radio back then, so this is all the result of my fertile imagination! Word-of-mouth got the job done as well as any radio station might have.

"Large crowds followed Jesus.” Imagine large crowds, much larger than you think. The Apostles were present, but also disciples, hundreds of loyal believers who showed up every time. They just weren’t part of the original 12. They were 100% convinced that Jesus was the heaven-sent Messiah. They didn’t want to miss a single word. Soon, they’d start inviting family and friends to come with them. And before you knew it, the crowd of hundreds had become thousands.

All four Gospels report the miracle of Jesus feeding 5K men, not counting women or children. But most of the men were married, so the number becomes 10K. Let’s assume families had at least two children, so now our number is 20K, quite a significant number of people traveling with Jesus. I’m glad I wasn’t in charge of logistics!

When Jesus heard that John the Baptist was dead, he wanted to be alone, so he got on a boat and headed across the lake. There was no GPS, so nautical navigation was to remain close enough to visualize the shoreline while staying far enough away to be in deep water. The disadvantage was that not only could those on board follow the coastline, but those still on the shore could easily follow the boat. So as Jesus sailed up the coast, the crowd could simply follow on land. There was no escape from the throng, at least not for very long!

Eventually, Jesus fed the 20K with five fish and two barley loaves, but that’s a different message. Today’s lesson speaks of the colossal crowd following Jesus. The key was that core believers shared the Good News with their families and friends. They invited others to join.

A friend of mine was recently voted in as pastor of a hundred-year-old church. They attract only about 60 people each week. I hope he can positively alter their trajectory. Only 60 people in 100 years? Jesus had 20K in attendance, and he preached for only three years!

See you at church! Bring your friends!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church