Jesus Direct!

For Friday, February 20, 2026:

Hebrews 13:15 NLT: “Let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”

The key words in this scripture are, “through Jesus.” Jesus is our heaven connection. Before Jesus, Jewish priests fulfilled that function. The priests could present our petitions, good or bad, to the Lord. Mankind would seldom hear God’s response.

After Jesus, the process changed. Jesus is part of our Holy Trinity God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So if we offer prayers through Jesus, we’re already praying directly to God. No middle-man needed! God desires a direct relationship with each of us. (Note: This scripture was written to Hebrews, who would need adjust their beliefs post-Jesus.)

Interestingly, when Jesus died on the cross and took mankind’s sins to the place of the dead, the thick, heavy curtain isolating the Holy of Holies from public areas was torn in half, top to bottom, so God had to do the tearing himself, and mankind was no longer separated from God. Again, this was God’s doing. He decreed that it should be this way.

So we can praise God directly for his goodness, exalt his omniscience and offer confessions and repentance. In return, God can offer us forgiveness and a “mulligan,” a do-over, a second chance. With Jesus, we don’t just have a religion; we have a relationship!

What a friend we have in Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Turn Around - Face God!

For Thursday, February 12, 2026:

Romans 6:19b NLT: “Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.”

In the Hebrew language, a person caught up in sin is said to be far from God, whereas a righteous person is said to be close to God. That’s a good way to look at it.

If someone appears to have drifted from religion, they haven’t necessarily placed Satan in charge. But they have wandered farther and farther from God. It’s then time to turn, do a 180 and get back closer to God. Teshuva(h) means return, in this case, return to the Lord. Repentance requires acknowledging the sin, regretting it, and vowing to take a better path as the person changes directions and returns to be closer to God.

Who is Lord of your life? (Jesus.) Are you close to God, or far from God? (Closer is better.) If your eyes can’t focus on God, you may be facing the wrong direction. Time to flip around and head back the right way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Tall, Tall Trees!

For Wednesday, February 11, 2026:

Luke 3:9 NLT, John the Baptist speaking: “Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

John’s audience is Hebrew people, Jewish people, people who think they are planted in God’s orchard because they were born into it. Not necessarily! John is about to set the record straight!

Listen to this: God will not import worthless trees into his Kingdom! Every tree expecting to be with the Lord must bear good fruit. It must be furthering God’s agenda, not standing idly by. By now you probably know that this analogy is about people, not trees.

Here’s another one. If you’re hot, you’re with the Lord. Let’s get to work! If you’re cold, you’re the enemy. At least I know where we stand, and I can fight for what’s right! But lukewarm??? Wishy-washy? God says lukewarm is worthless to both of us.

God is not going to just stand around waiting. There will come a day of decision, a day of judgment when he will pick up his ax, chop down the worthless trees and cast them into the fire, to be absent from his presence forever.

Friends, this is serious. Believers all need to have Jesus in their hearts, a Bible in their hands and the Gospel on their lips. Let the world know that you’re playing for the Lord’s team. Let the world know that you’re not wishy-washy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

1-on-1 with Jesus!

 For Friday, February 6, 2026:

Luke 3:8 NLT, John the Baptist speaking: Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.”

 How you live and what you do will be signs that you have discarded your sinful ways and repented and returned to the Lord. God has stretched out the hand of forgiveness. All we have to do is grab on and decide that God’s way is the better way.

 People tend to make excuses for not doing the right things. In those days before Jesus, the excuses ranged from, “I was born Hebrew,” to “I’m in the Synagogue every Sabbath.” Those are good things, but they won’t open heaven’s gates. Salvation is a contract between you and God. It’s dependent on your heartfelt belief, your faith in the Father and his Son. We are saved by grace through faith.

 When evangelizing, people tell me, “When I was young, I went to Sunday School; My mom was a Baptist; My wife attends a church; and We’re pledging members.” All good things, but they won’t get you into heaven. Assurance of Salvation is a 1-on-1 deal with Jesus, putting your faith, hope and trust in God’s Son.

 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” The way to heavenly eternity, and everything he speaks is truth about the life after this life. “No one can come to the Father except through me.”

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

Messiah Prophesy!

For Wednesday, November 12, 2025:

Hebrews 11:26 NLT: “Moses thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.”

A few people had questions about yesterday’s message, so let’s take another look. The question was, “How could Moses suffer for the sake of Christ since Jesus was born about 1,400 years later.” The scripture (above) was taken straight from the New Living Translation of the Bible’s New Testament.

The Message (Bible) tells the story like this: “By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king’s blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going.”

The Classic Amplified Bible explains it this way: “[Aroused] by faith, Moses, when he had grown to maturity and become great, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Because he preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life. He considered the contempt and abuse and shame [borne for] the Christ (the Messiah Who was to come) to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked forward and away to the reward (recompense).”

On the Gregorian Calendar, Jesus was born about year 4-6 BC. The birth of Jesus should be the dividing line between BC and AD, but Pope Gregory was off by a few years. Moses was born 1,400-1,600 years earlier, or counting from Creation, year 2,439.

Adam and Eve knew God. He walked with them in the Garden of Eden, along the stream. God sewed clothes for them after they sinned and realized they were naked. So mankind had known about God since their beginning. God gave them a list of “thou shalts,” and “thou shalt nots,” and filled their minds with many prophesies, including the fact that a messiah would soon be arriving. So God’s people watched and waited. They had faith. They trusted that God would do what he promised. Remember the Christmas Carol, “Come Thou long-expected Jesus?” Even though they hadn’t yet met the savior, their faith that he would be arriving soon was all that was needed.

The Hebrew people believed in a heretofore unseen Messiah! Again, the necessity of faith rears its head!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Money Trap!

For Thursday, October 9, 2025:

Luke 20:21-22 NLT, question asked of Jesus: “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

This whole incident was a trap. The religious leaders were upset that people were leaving the Temple to follow Jesus. Their tithes went with them! So now we know the real reason! This was about power and money. If you want to get to the bottom of a situation, just follow the money! Those religious leaders hoped to trick Jesus into dissing Caesar. Then the Romans would kill him, and they wouldn’t need to do the nasty deed themselves.

God and Jesus had for years taught that killing was wrong, was a sin. And arranging for someone’s death was as bad as killing them yourself. The Messiah came to earth through the Hebrew people, who should have loved him. But now their religious leaders felt a need to eliminate Jesus. The love of money can cause people to do strange things. The bad guys’ actions violated their own value system.

As you might expect, Jesus came up with the perfect answer. There’s plenty of money to go around. It takes money to set up governments and maintain cities and protect them, so Caesar needs some money. God already has thousands of cattle on thousands of hills, so he’s OK, but he wants us to be a part of things. He wants us to have some skin in the game. Jesus simply answered, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

That’s what we all should do, remembering that the first portion already belongs to God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Traitor!

For Sunday, September 28, 2025:

Mark 14:43 NLT: “Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders.”

So much is wrong in this scene that it’s hard to know where to start! Judas, the betrayer, was one of the trusted 12 who traveled with Jesus and ate their meals alongside him. They had all witnessed the lame walk again and the blind seeing following Jesus’ intervention. They had watched Jesus feed thousands with seemingly few resources. Most of all, he taught love and forgiveness, which was not the norm at that time!

Pharisees and religious teachers should have had no part in a murder plot (see commandment #6.) They were doing what they would counsel others to NOT do! They were going against their own value system. I’ve said many times that Jesus should have represented ‘Judaism, the next chapter,’ not a separate religion. After all, Jesus was teaching in the Temple! He was sent to earth by the Hebrew’s God. But this betrayal was not about God; it was about money and power. If worshipers were supporting Jesus, their tithes were not going to the Pharisees. (To get to the bottom of a conspiracy, just follow the money!)

Swords and clubs would not be needed to take Jesus into custody. If he were here today, he’d be labeled a Peace Activist. But the vast eternal plan was to have God’s Son be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. This conspiracy, resulting in Jesus’ demise, gave legs to God’s plan. Eventually Jesus died and mankind’s sins were forgiven for all time. One and done! No further sacrifice needed!

The bad guys played an important role in believers getting to experience life after this life. When it’s your turn, Jesus will welcome loyal believers with open arms!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Tax Collectors and Sinners!

For Friday, July 11, 2025:

Luke 15:1 NLT: “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.”

Tax collectors were considered the worst of the sinners, so much so that the Bible often speaks of “tax collectors and sinners,” giving them their own distinct category. Sinners had simply done something wrong, but tax collectors were working for the opposition, the bad guys! They were working FOR Rome, against the Hebrew people. Tax collectors were also known for taxing a little bit extra to line their own pockets. They were skimming, taking more from their Hebrew brothers than Rome required. Needless to say, tax collectors had abandoned their heritage in favor of the almighty dollar. (OK, denarius.)

Tax collectors knew they weren’t welcome in Synagogues, but many were still interested in God and religion, the way they had been raised. So when Jesus taught, they would stop and listen. Their presence angered the Pharisees. Even though Jesus wasn’t “their guy,” they wanted to maintain a certain majesty at religious gatherings, and including tax collectors wasn’t on the Pharisee agenda.

Jesus had previously stated, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Therefore, tax collectors and sinners needed to hear what the Pharisees should have already known! (Mark 2:17)

This raises some tough questions. Does your Sunday church cater to those who already believe, or to the notorious sinners in your community? Look around; see who’s there. Hopefully you’ll see some from each group! Those hosting the meeting need to be welcoming to those just checking things out. We can gently make a case that following Jesus is the better way to live. Let everyone know that being a Christian can be exciting and fun. Tell your face! Love your neighbor, even if they don’t yet have Christian ethics. That’s what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Escape from Egypt!

For Wednesday, February 5, 2025:

Exodus 13:18 NLT: “God led the Israelites in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.”

God is providing visionary leadership. He knows human nature better than anyone. He knew that Pharaoh would have second thoughts about letting the Israelites go. He knew that Pharaoh would send his army to retrieve the Jews. That army would have expected to find the Hebrews on the most direct path to Israel. So to buy them a little extra time, God aimed the Israelites toward the Red Sea, the Sea of Reeds.

Coming up against this body of water may at first look like a problem, but it was actually a solution. God had more in mind. He allowed Moses to part the water, allowing the Hebrews to escape to the other side. Then, as the Egyptian army pursued them, Moses closed up the sea, drowning the Egyptian army.

(Sidebar: This incident is dramatized in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille classic, ‘The Ten Commandments.’ Just remember that Moses was probably a short, ruddy-looking Jew, not tall and handsome like Charlton Heston!)

The goal in all of this was to return the Hebrew people to Israel. All the plagues, all the meetings with Pharaoh and the colossal exodus march were stepping stones toward that goal. God will be with them all the way as the trek continues. The job won’t be finished until the Israelites are back home.

Both God and his Son Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Count on it! If God is “in” your mission, he’s “in” for the entire duration until your goal is achieved! God is good – very good!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Passover – A Celebration!

For Sunday, February 2, 2025:

Exodus 12:11 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses, “These are your instructions for eating this (Passover) meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover.”

God wants his people prepared. We’re going somewhere. Today! Be ready! Get dressed and be ready to go. Wear shoes and have your walking stick nearby. Don’t dawdle. Get right to it! God has an agenda for you today. Today is the day we’re all leaving Egypt!

By now you should have asked your Egyptian hosts for silver and gold. Surprisingly, they will be glad to finance your exit. Pharaoh is your foe, but the general Egyptian population was glad to host the Hebrew people for a time, and they will comply with your request.

This Passover miracle is so important, it is to be remembered and celebrated annually. God said so. Let us never forget all the good things He has done for us. The Passover lamb was for the Hebrew people. God’s Son served as the Passover lamb for Christian believers. He took our sin away so that we could reside in God’s forever Kingdom.

There is just one God in the entire universe, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the Hebrew God, and He is the Christian God. He is a loving and forgiving God. He is our God! Hallelujah!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Goal!

For Thursday, January 16, 2025:

Exodus 4:20 NLT: “Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God.”

Moses was a believer, a man of God. Setting his personal fears aside, obedience rose to the top. God had commanded, “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

And so off they went, the whole Moses entourage. His wife and sons on a donkey – (Wouldn’t you hate to have been that donkey!) – his brother Aaron and all their helpers and servants.

God allowed Moses to perform a series of miracles, intended to convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people leave Egypt. But he also warned Moses that Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened and that this initial confrontation would fail. But don’t worry, Moses. Don’t be discouraged. God is in this 100%!

We shouldn’t ever think that God failed or that God has no power. He’s just not finished yet. When our God sets a goal, he always achieves it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Moses!

For Saturday, January 11, 2025:

Exodus 2:1 NLT: “About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.”

God is always thinking ahead, planning ahead. God’s ways are not like our ways. He’s not just a step ahead of us – He’s thousands of steps ahead of us!

While in Egypt, a man and a woman were born into families from the tribe of Levi. Eventually, they would meet and be married. Next comes a baby, a boy. But Pharaoh had ordered that male Hebrew babies were to be killed. So what to do?

When mom could no longer hide the infant, she waterproofed a basket, placed the baby in it, and floated it among the reeds in the Nile, the same place Pharaoh’s daughter and her maids came to bathe. They spotted the basket and took possession of the baby, who was crying. Hungry!

The baby’s older sister had watched the whole scene unfold, and she offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. So unbeknownst to the royal family, sister brought the baby’s actual mother to care for him, and she was paid for her help! Baby thrived and was eventually returned to Pharaoh’s daughter, who named him Moses and raised him in the palace as her own son.

God knew that the Hebrews would need to be liberated from the cruel Egyptians, and God had a plan. Far in advance, he knew just how this would all play out. The surprising thing is that God’s prep for the Hebrew rescue was put in motion three generations before it actually came to fruition.

God has a plan, and only God knows the timing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Prophesy Fulfilled!

For Wednesday, April 12, 2023:

Luke 24:46-48 NLT: Jesus said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ You are witnesses of all these things.”

Jesus was reassuring the crowd that what had happened should have been expected. Scripture was being fulfilled right before their eyes! The Messiah, Jesus, had suffered, died and risen on the third day. And those who know Jesus and repent will have their sins forgiven, which is Good News since it assures us of eternity in the presence of the Father. These people were eyewitnesses!

Jesus came to the world through the Hebrew people and the Jewish religion, but his forgiveness and redemption is for all people of all nations. Therefore we are all eligible to receive salvation, the eternal life offered by God’s Son.

The people present that day were told by their Savior what to preach, where to preach it, how to preach it, and even where to begin to preach it. Think of this scripture as a precursor to the Great Commission!

Finally Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, giving the faithful supernatural power to accomplish what he has tasked!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship