Ascension!

For Thursday, July 23, 2026:

John 16:5-6 NLT, Jesus speaking to believers: “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you.”

John documents the life of Jesus, and Jesus knows he is leaving, returning to the Father. He wants all believers to understand that what is happening is not bad news, but good news!

Surprisingly, those listening don’t even ask where he is going, even though he’s told them about the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead of wishing him Godspeed and cheering for the event, the observers retreated into themselves, grieving the loss of their spiritual mentor.

Jesus: “Good news! I’ll be returning to Father God!”

Disciples: “Terrible. I don’t know how we can get along without you. This whole movement will probably die. I might just as well quit and go home!”

Friends, who should be the focus of this story? Jesus! (It’s not about us!) Who should be in the driver’s seat? Jesus! Who should we trust? Jesus, who is always truthful. Jesus, who is God walking alongside us. He’s celebrating being victorious. Jesus is about to conquer sin and death with one unselfish act. Shout ‘Hallelujah’ for the good path God has created!

As we live out the remainder of our earthly lives, let’s remember to keep God in the driver’s seat. He should set our agenda for each day. Do the right things for the right reasons. Do something nice and don’t get caught!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Logic?

For Tuesday, June 30, 2026:

Romans 8:32 NLT: “Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”

Paul is asking the Romans to use logic to project their salvation. It’s a look into the future. It involves following a scenario through to its logical conclusion, though it may not have happened yet. It’s like an ‘if then’ line of computer code. ‘If’ the operator chooses this command, ‘then’ a specific thing happens.

Does our God love us? Yes! Has our God provided for us? Yes! Did God arrange for our sins to be forgiven? Yes! Is God’s desire for believers to join him in his eternal Kingdom? It hasn’t happened yet, but logic tells us that the answer would be a resounding yes!

God gave up the earthly life of his Son to rescue mankind. So it would behove us to be good stewards of his grace, that undeserved gift freely given to us. The love of the Father should be reciprocal!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Assurance!

For Saturday, June 27, 2026:

Colossians 1:27b NLT, Paul speaking: “This is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”

It might have been a secret back then, but it’s not nowadays! Christians everywhere know that Christ lives in them, forgiving all sins and preparing them to meet the Father.

People used to believe they needed some kind of priest as a go-between to communicate with God. But with Jesus living in us, we can directly approach the Father. It’s like Jesus, his Son, coming home, and we’re best friends with the Son.

Remember, Paul was converting the Gentile world, who had no knowledge of the real God, only pretend made-up gods. But that tells us that mankind was made to worship. The Gentiles just needed to be guided in the right direction!

Nowadays, many people in our communities need a gentle push in the right direction. Jesus’ desire is that everyone hears the Good News. Have you told anyone lately?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Creator!

For Thursday, June 25, 2026:

Romans 8:31 NLT: “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Satan isn’t worthless. He can always serve as a bad example!

Our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the Creator of everything and has the final say in any situation. We are created beings, made in the image of God. Satan, on the other hand, is not a creator. He too is a created being who got too big for his britches. He is not bigger than God. He is not better than God. He is far less powerful than God. In the battle to end all battles, he is destined to be the loser!

So the God of everything is cheering us on, pulling for each one of us. Why? Because God is on the side of everyone who’s a fan of his Son. As Christian believers, we have a special connection with the Son. Jesus took the sins of the world upon himself, leaving mankind suitable for residence in God’s eternal Kingdom. We have assurance of salvation! So we gratefully choose the Son, and he looks out for us as adopted members of the Holy Family. Satan is not a member.

If God is for us, who could ever be against us?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Family Biz!

For Thursday, June 11, 2026:

John 15:23 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.”

This spiritual battle with the world is family business. Jesus defends Father God just as God keeps a heavenly hand on his Son. They’re inseparable. They’re family!

Believers are included in that Holy Family. John wrote, “To all who believed Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” And Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven.”

We should not be passive in defending our Holy Family. Active participants get a lot more done! We can testify about the goodness of the Father and his Son. We can advocate for God’s Laws as a better way to live. We can (gently) identify false religions as such, explaining how they’re off track.

All the work required for our eternal salvation was done by Jesus on the cross. Salvation came to mankind as a free gift courtesy of the Most High. This Assurance of Salvation is a major plank in the Christian platform. No other religion has this! Proudly tell others!

Our extended family is incredibly large, and yet there’s always room for a few more. People often arrive at churches when they’re down and out. Our love, kindness and sharing are some of the factors that draw people in. There is therefore agreement that Christians are a good family, a good way to live. People like what they see, and want to become a part of it.

Earthly families can have multiple children, just as our heavenly family always has room for one more. Have you been instrumental in adding anyone to our family? I hope so!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Praying for God's Will!

For Friday, May 22, 2026:

Romans 8:27 NLT: “The Father who knows all hearts knows what the Holy Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers [God’s Holy People] in harmony with God’s own will.”

Do you ever have trouble expressing yourself? Do you ever have a thought in your head, but have difficulty finding the right words to express it? That’s why we should always include the Holy Spirit when we pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit was given to help us. He can convert our good thoughts into heavenly words, and the Father is always listening.

The Holy Spirit can also guide our thoughts to line up with God’s will for us. When we do not know exactly how we should pray, the Holy Spirit can intercede for us. So don’t only pray by yourself. Be sure to include the Holy Spirit, your counselor and advocate!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Choose Me!

For Saturday, May 16, 2026:

John 15:16 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.”

Jesus would only choose people he wants to work with. People who have already chosen Jesus have an edge in this department. If people already love Jesus and want to help increase the number of believers, Jesus will assign them a territory to be their battleground. Your battleground and mine are probably different.

Think of signing on with Jesus like a sports draft. Believers have signed on with the “Jesus” team, doing our best to be forever loyal to his cause. Jesus says that the Father will give us whatever we ask for if we use his name. We are to make disciples of all nations and to do everything Jesus asks. The Father rewards obedience!

Jesus commanded us to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and preach the Good News. We understand the assignment. Now let’s get to work!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Mothers' Day!

For Sunday, May 10, 2026, Mother’s Day:

Luke 1:31 NLT: “You, Mary, will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.”

Jesus’ Father is in his heavenly Kingdom, but he needed a mother on earth. Everyone born here needs someone to love them, care for them, feed them, and change out their nappy! Jesus' mother had been told by the angel Gabriel that baby Jesus would actually be the Son of the Most High, so she wasn’t surprised when miracles happened. She 100% supported her Son, God’s Son.

Mom had faith in Jesus’ abilities even before his ministry began. At the wedding in Cana when the wine supply was exhausted, Mary told the servers, “Do whatever Jesus tells you.”

Jesus protested. “It’s not my time yet,” but Mary persisted. Giant jars of water were available for Jewish ceremonial washing, and were now brought to the sommelier who determined the jars contained the finest wine. In fact, he questioned why it had not been served first! Thank you, Jesus!

Mary knew her Son was special, and Jesus had honored his mother’s request even though it was not yet his time. And on the cross, he arranged for his mother’s perpetual care. Jesus used every day to honor women, even those who aren’t mothers. For our Messiah, every day was Mother’s Day! May God bless the women!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Abba, Father!

For Friday, May 8, 2026:

Romans 8:15 NLT: “You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’”

A spirit occupying a human body is more common than you think. The bad ones are demons, sent by Satan to get us off track. Most people don’t talk about it nowadays, but Jesus would repeatedly cast out demons, so we need to take notice of this.

In a way, becoming a believer, a Christian, is trading a bad spirit for a good one. Evil thoughts and deeds depart, replaced by the Holy Spirit of God himself. When filled with the Holy Spirit, we become children of God, adopted into the holy family. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven...”

Believers are no longer tied to the evil one. When tempted, we can tell that spirit, “Don’t waste your time. I’m a child of God!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Good vs Evil!

For Thursday, May 7, 2026:

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT: “For the Father has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom (with his blood) and forgave our sins.”

The Father rescued us through the Son’s actions, and the Spirit keeps us on the Holy path! We hear about “God’s vast eternal plan,” and this is part of it. The rescue of mankind was no accident. It was well planned out by God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s perhaps easier for us to think of them as three separate entities, but they are of one mind. Mankind was living in the darkness of Satan’s world, but Jesus showed us light. The story of Jesus’ actions is called the Gospel or Good News.

Here’s how the story develops: Humans were floundering like fish without enough water. Our lives had no goal, no purpose. Not surprisingly, very few ever made it to heaven. But the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. All! How’d that happen? I can picture God saying, “What went wrong? What happened here?”

Let me explain. There is good in this world, and there is evil. God is good, and Satan and his demons are evil. Those who have bonded with Jesus belong to God. The rest are subject to constant tempting by Satan. In fact, we’re all subject to the devil’s temptations, and the result is always pain and misery. But Christians have a higher standard, something to live up to. If Christ is our model, we have his reward in our sights, which is eternal life in the Father’s Kingdom. Eternity is a long time!

Paul advised us to focus our eyes on the prize!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Sin's Influence!

For Wednesday, April 22, 2026:

Romans 8:5 NLT: “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.”

Think about it. What dominates your mind? If your mind wanders and you find yourself daydreaming, what was your topic?

Satan wants to plant sinful thoughts in your mind because the result is so predictable. At first, a lot of sin can appear to be fun, releasing dopamine, the feel-good hormone, into our brains. Mankind seems to find excitement in taking a little risk, in doing something just a little bit naughty. But as Christians, that isn’t where we should be.

The lie is in thinking that sin is fun, but the truth is that in the long run, sin is devastating. (Satan is always telling us lies!) Sin destroys homes and families, can separate children from their parents, and is a bad example for the next generation. But even worse, it saddens your Father in heaven.

Let me make a broad theological assumption. I’m guessing that if you’ve prayed and asked Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life, you weren’t intending to exclude Father God or the Holy Spirit. Being a Trinity, you can’t really have one without the others. Being a Christian is family business, the family of God.

So get out of the driver’s seat of your daily life, and let the Holy Spirit call the shots. The Holy Spirit is not influenced by Satan’s temptations, and your life will immediately improve. Tune your ears to only listen to the words of God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and 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

Baptized!

For Tuesday, April 14, 2026:

Luke 3:21-22 NLT: One day, when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

This happened over 2k years ago. I’m amazed that with no telephones or texts, no radio or TV, no internet or Twitter, that somehow a crowd of people would hear that John the Baptist was once again in the Jordan River, advising people to repent and return. The crowd assembled, and John shouted, “The kingdom of God is at hand!” Oh, to have been in the crowd that day!

Jesus was present, and he stepped forward to be baptized. In a semi-private conversation, John said that Jesus should be baptizing him! After all, God’s Son didn’t need his sins washed away! He was sinless! But this was a lesson in obedience, honoring God the Father as Lord of your life. Jesus is said to be fully God and fully human, and the human side of him submitted to the Father as he walked on this Earth.

I wish I could have seen the dove descending upon Jesus and heard the voice of the Father. I imagine God’s voice to be big, booming and bold, but that’s just conjecture, not in the Bible.

Christians are to be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It matters little who leads the ceremony. This is a case where Jesus said, “Use my name!” That’s what’s important. Baptism is part of making disciples of all nations, Jesus’ final instructions before ascending into heaven.

He went on ahead to prepare a place for believers! Is your name on his “Things to do” list?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and 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

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

For Sunday, March 8, 2026:

John 14:8 NLT, Philip speaking: “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus has been telling the disciples about the life after this life. Philip, one of the 12, has questions about the Trinity, the 3-in-1 God. I understand. As I meet with people to answer their Bible questions, this is the #1 topic!

Understanding the awesome power of God Almighty helps us make sense of the Trinity. First, God is omnipotent, meaning all powerful. Mankind can imagine supernatural things, but God can actually do them. God had the power to create planets, our solar system, the whole universe and the space into which it could all be put; plants, animals and human beings, from scratch! He can create anything and do anything, so don’t be surprised when God does something out of the ordinary, something kind of unusual.

Our all-powerful God is also omnipresent. He can be in more than one place at the same time, simultaneously. Being omnipresent, God can decide to walk on planet Earth to rescue mankind, while remaining in Heaven. Sort of like cloning, but still of one mind. God can also do different things at the same time, multi-tasking, if you will. And if you pray to God, He’s never too busy to take the call. God doesn’t have voicemail or call waiting. Omnipresence makes him perpetually available.

Omniscience is another God trait. He possesses all knowledge. God is smart, much smarter than any of us! He knows what’s good for us, and even if it hurts, He’ll give us what’s best for us. Mankind is better off living under God’s plan.

So can Jesus show the Father to Philip? Jesus answered, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” I hope Philip gets it; I hope we ALL get it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church