Who's First?

For Saturday, May 23, 2026:

Colossians 1:18 NLT: “Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, firstborn over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.”

The Bible says that the church is the bride of Christ, making Jesus the head of the church. Without Jesus, there would be no reason for any church to exist. Mankind could have just stayed with Synagogues. It’s important that we understand the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

Under the Old Covenant, mankind was expected to conform to God’s commandments, sometimes called the Law of Moses since God sent most of the commandments through his servant Moses. The grading scale was tough: Live life 100% right, pass; miss one, fail. Any sin disqualified a person from accessibility to heaven.

God’s desire, though, is that none would perish, so he gave us a chance to repent and return. We call this the New Covenant. God’s Son Jesus died to atone for the sins of the world. In other words, He gave us a second chance, a do-over! Forgiven believers, those who would put their faith in Jesus, are given an opportunity to see heaven from the inside!

Abbott and Costello asked, “Who’s on first?” The answer should always be, “Jesus!” He’s responsible for creation, the forgiver of mankind’s sins and head of the church! Jesus is first in everything!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Creator!

For Wednesday, May 20, 2026:

Colossians 1:17 NLT: “Christ existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”

The Bible describes Jesus as the firstborn of everything, present before anything else was created. He himself is not a created being. But he was an active participant when our world was created.

We often take much of our world for granted, giving little credit to the creator. Mankind doesn’t generally question commonplace occurrences, but some are actually miracles. We are given air to breathe, with enough oxygen to keep us alive. The Earth’s temperature is perfect for sustaining life, warmed by a sun 93M miles away. We have a seemingly endless supply of water. Rivers carry away pollution, which settles in oceans. Only pure H₂0 evaporates into clouds, wind blows them over our land, raining down fresh water! It’s a genius system!

Gravity holds everything together. Even though the Earth speeds around the sun eight times faster than a speeding bullet, we don’t fly off into space! There are more insects in a square mile than there are humans on the planet! A single human chromosome contains twenty billion bits of information. Won’t fit on my phone, my iPad or my laptop – not even close!

God is very good, even when we don’t fully realize it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

For the Lord!

For Tuesday, December 23, 2025:

Luke 2:23 NLT: “The law of the Lord says, ‘If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.’”

Here’s what the Lord said back in Exodus 13:2: “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.” Notice that when something is really important and God wants you to “get it,” he says it twice. So the example in Luke is actually the third time God emphasized this principle.

Mary and Joseph were obedient. They had seen and heard angels and had first-hand experience with a mysterious pregnancy. There was no doubt that this baby is special, and that God is “in” these events. Of course, they would dedicate the youth to the Lord. That’s what God said to do! Little did they know that their baby was the great I Am! So … dedicating God to God? Seems kind of silly, kind of redundant. It makes sense, though, to dedicate the God on earth to the purposes of the God in Heaven. They worshiped the Lord, and the baby was named Jesus (by the angel) – God is salvation. They had not yet been told of a Holy Spirit.

Notice that God doesn’t get any one of the kids somewhere down the line. He gets the first. God gets the first-fruits of the harvest. Your tithe should be the first 10%, not the last. And who gets trained to execute the Lord’s work here on earth? The firstborn son. God should always be #1 on our distribution lists.

Also realize that loyal, obedient believers are #1 on God’s list. Believers have their sins forgiven and have been handed a ticket to the hereafter. You see, loyalty and obedience are rewarded, but not always in the way we might expect. The Hebrew people are chanting, “Rescue us from Roman domination.”

Jesus is promising, “Your sins are forgiven.” Romans are a short blip on the screen of Hebrew history. Jesus’ offer puts us in a better place for eternity.

Pick one!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church