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

Eternity Reservation!

For Friday, February 13, 2026:

Romans 6:23 NLT: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Eternal life or eternal death – pick one. The human death rate is hovering right around 100%, so you and I WILL transition to the next reality. We get to choose our destination. Unrepentant sin will grant us a dip in the lake of fire, whereas children of God inherit the gift of eternal life in his heavenly Kingdom. Wouldn’t it be better to spend eternity in God’s presence?

This scripture was our “go-to” verse when counseling seekers or those who came forward at crusades. It simplifies a lot of theology. For as thick as the printed Bible is, it really boils down to only two choices – God’s way or the wrong way. (Although you may have to spend some time on the inerrancy of the Bible.)

Have you made your own personal decision to go with God’s plan? Is Jesus the Lord of your life? Is your name irrevocably written in the Book of Life? Are you awaiting God’s eternal gift? 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Book of Life!

For Thursday, May 8, 2025:

Luke 10:20 NLT, Jesus, speaking to the 72: “Don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

None of the 72 had ever cast out a demon on their own. But now, using the name of Jesus, it worked every time! They were amazed!

Of course that’s all good, but Jesus had something much more important to share. Because their sins are now forgiven, their names are written in the Book of Life. That’s a registry of all who will spend eternity in the presence of God Almighty. And that means that they’ve all been rescued from Satan’s eternity, the lake of fire. That’s a gift worthy of celebration!

More people knowing Jesus as God’s Son, the Messiah, means that they too will be rescued. That’s why we’re all on an evangelical mission, so we can read their names in the Book of Life alongside ours!

Having more believers pleases God. His desire is that all would repent and return. Let’s put a smile on his face!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Coming Soon!

For Saturday, September 7, 2024:

Revelation 22:7 NLT: “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.”

Jesus will return in the manner in which he left. He will come from the sky on a white horse with a 2-edged sword coming from his mouth. The sword is for judgment, for separating the sheep from the goats. His preferred city is Jerusalem, his address is the Mount of Olives.

Souls of those who sleep will join the army of Jesus in new, glorified, forever bodies, not temporary bodies like we have now. Believers will be caught up into the sky, joining Jesus on the Day of the Lord.

Ultimately God will restore a New Heaven and a New Earth, and the New Heaven will descend upon the New Earth, becoming one. So Heaven as we know it now is a temporary residence for souls until the New Earth is restored. Earth is a believer’s final destination, but it will be a much better earth than we presently know. God will be in charge, and God will have his way with the world.

We are called to make disciples of all nations to reduce the number in the lake of fire! Let’s all do what Jesus said!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

 

 

Faith, Lots of It!

For Thursday, July 18, 2024:

Ephesians 2:1 AMPC: “And you [Jesus made you alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, in which you once walked.”

When mankind was living in sin, the Bible describes us as “spiritually dead.” Jesus brought forgiveness of those sins, leaving us “spiritually alive.” Thankfully, the “dead or alive” analogy also applies to the life after this life.

There are really only two destinations: #1. The place Jesus prepares for you in the presence of the Father, or #2. With Satan in the lake of fire. As Christians, we have something no other religion can offer: Assurance of Salvation! If we place our faith, hope and trust in Jesus, the Son of God, we can count on him taking our hand and ushering us into the next reality.

 Our eternal destination depends on our faith. We need to truly believe the testimony of the eyewitnesses who walked alongside Jesus. There are both sacred and secular witnesses who attest to the miracles, the healings and Jesus’ divine connections. Investigate everything, and draw your own conclusion.

You’ll find that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; there is no other way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Hereafter...

For Sunday, June 30, 2024:

Mark 16:16 NLT: “Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.”

A typical Bible has 66 books and about 900 pages. For all that scriptural writing, it boils down to this one decision: Believe that Jesus was the Son of God who rose from the dead, or not. The results of your conclusion are eternally impactful!

Those who believe will spend their life-after-this-life in the place Jesus prepared. We will live in paradise, in the presence of the Lord. Unbelievers will find themselves in a perpetual lake of fire. Huge contrast!

Examine the facts. Listen to the opinions of eyewitnesses. Read your Bibles! All that is written supports this one verse, this one critical decision.

God’s desire is that none would perish and that all would repent and return. Forgiveness and redemption have already been provided!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Character & Trends!

For Thursday, June 20, 2024:

Luke 16:10 NLT: “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.”

This goes to character, and we would all do well to listen to our Bibles! We all have a picture in our minds of how a person of good character should look and act, and the Bible says that if you’re not honorable concerning small things, you’ll most likely come up short on the larger things as well. Like I said, your behavior is a trend that comes down to character.

If you’re trending toward the lake of fire, there’s still time to repent and return. God and his Son Jesus offer unconditional love and forgiveness to those who return to the Lord. If you’ve been playing for the wrong team, you can undergo that radical transformation I talk about. That’s the amazing grace we sing about!

The Hebrew language has some unique twists you might not expect. For example, the word for ‘repent’ also means to turn or re-turn. If you were going north, you need to about-face and head south! In other words, change the direction of your life. And sinning equates to being ‘far from God,’ while repenting means returning, getting closer to God. Your life is continually critiqued since you are now a member of the Holy Family. Believers are Children of God!

Trend toward being faithful! Blessings as you go about His work today!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Blessed Assurance!

For Thursday, May 30, 2024:

1 Peter 1:3b-4 NLT: “Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”

God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – has adopted believers into the Holy Family and prepared a special gift for each of them. You can’t buy this gift or earn it; it’s simply benevolence in motion. We call it grace, undeserved favor. The prize is eternity in the presence of God Almighty!

There are only two destinations for life after this life; paradise or the lake of fire. By our earthly decisions we are allowed to choose! Choose wisely!

Paul calls it our inheritance. I call it Assurance of Salvation. It’s a guarantee, a promise that if we claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, he will prepare our place in heaven.

That’s why we sing the hymn, “Blessed Assurance!”

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Judgement!

For Thursday, May 16, 2024:

Matthew 23:33 NLT, Jesus speaking to teachers of religion and Pharisees: “Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?”

Hell represents perpetual misery. I’ve heard people about to do something wrong jokingly say: One more thing won’t matter. I’m already headed for hell!

Of course it DOES matter. That would be the perfect time to turn one’s life around and pray for mercy and forgiveness. You can’t do anything so bad that Jesus won’t offer forgiveness, pull you out of the fire and allow you a second-chance reboot!

Jesus poses a good question: “How will you escape the judgment of hell?” Choosing heaven or hell is an irreversible monumental decision. Once you’re committed to an eternal path, there’s no going back, no do-overs. If you’ve been dancing with the devil, you’re no longer welcome in heaven! But if your dance card is filled with Jesus, there won’t be room for Satan!

Choose wisely while there’s still time. Claim Jesus as savior of your soul. That’s the only way to stay out of the lake of fire!

If you have a better plan, I’d like to hear it!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Heaven or Hell?

For Sunday, August 20, 2023:

Romans 5:21 NLT: “So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

That was then, but this is now. In the past, mankind’s sin resulted in eternal separation from God. But now, God’s grace and forgiveness through his Son Jesus is our ticket to a much better eternity.

The Bible contrasts the two destinations as “eternal life” and “eternal death.” We simply know it as heaven and hell, and we get to choose one. Choose wisely. It’s a decision with forever ramifications.

I often explain all mankind living forever in the life after this life. The question is, where will you be spending your time? You can be with God and his Son, a member of the bride of Christ (the church.) Or you can be bobbing in a lake of fire, about to go down for the third time.

Your choice!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Do Not Love the World!

 For Sunday, March 26, 2023:

1 John 2:17 NLT: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

We need to define ‘world’ to fully understand this scripture. It doesn’t refer to the planet earth or the body of people who presently reside here. John is referring to the community of sinful humanity that is united in rebellion against God.

Do you ever have days when it feels like the whole world is against you? If you’re doing your best to live life the right way – God’s way – and those around you persist in sin, life can be challenging.

Paul compared our lives to an athletic contest. We are not to concern ourselves with the difficulty of the contest. Instead we are told to keep our eyes on the prize. In this case, the prize is heaven, spending eternity with the Lord. It’s a good reward, the best news ever!

When you compare paradise to the lake of fire, your choice should be clear!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship