God's Purpose!

For Wednesday, July 15, 2026:

John 16:2 NLT, Jesus speaking to believers: “You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.”

In religion, things can get twisted around in unbelievable ways. In this case, those who know the Lord and exalt Jesus are thrown out of the worship center by others who think they know better. They do not! Those on the Jesus team will be killed (martyred) by the misled, who think they’re doing the Lord’s work. They are not!

Let’s use Paul as an example. He was loyal to the law of Moses, trained as a Rabbi, and sought to quash these renegade Jesus worshipers. He asked for a letter from the high priest to capture these Jesus-subversives and deliver them to Jerusalem in chains, or even kill them if chains didn’t work out. But Jesus personally tapped Paul on the shoulder on the road to Damascus. Paul was struck blind until he yielded to Christian baptism! He did a 180º, and became one of Christianity’s biggest supporters!

At the time, Pharisees were the religious elite. But they plotted the killing of Jesus by repeatedly lying. Lying is wrong, but plotting murder is even worse! Power and money kept them from accepting Jesus as the Son of God. They arranged Jesus’ crucifixion, and in a turn of events, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving mankind forgiven and able to reconcile with the Father. God used their evil ways for a holy purpose!

I’ve said before that God always wins! He can flip a hopeless situation and use it for his purpose. Jesus, who the Pharisees wanted to kill, is now seated at the right hand of the Father. It seems to be working out for him! And everything is also working out for Jesus’ followers, true believers and disciples like you and me!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

P.S. It’s National Hot Dog Day, in case you’re a little short on nitrites and sodium!

All Saints' Day!

For Friday, November 1, 2024:

Revelation 7:10 NLT: “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

Yesterday was Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve, so today is All Hallows’ Day. In the US, we call it All Saints’ Day. Many churches celebrate this on the following Sunday. Our Mexican neighbors celebrate Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos,) similar to All Saints’ Day.

Christianity was not always a popular and well-established religion. So this feast-day was originally to honor martyrs, those who had given their lives for their faith. Nowadays we honor believers who have returned to the Lord, and that’s a good thing to celebrate!

When our founding fathers came to the US, they were seeking religious freedom, freedom to follow the beliefs of their chosen denomination, which may have been different from their neighbor’s beliefs. Most came from Europe and Great Britain, where governments had mandated a certain religion. Personally, I believe that government and religion should remain separate. We should have the freedom to worship as we choose, or for that matter, the freedom to not worship at all. Now I believe not worshiping is a bad choice, but to be redeemed, one must intentionally choose to follow Jesus. It’s a conscious decision we all need to make.

Note that this day is not about sadness for having lost loved ones. It’s a feast celebrating those who now live in the presence of God Almighty. May we all join them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship