House of the Lord!

For Friday, June 12, 2026:

Psalm 23:6 NKJV: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

David showed confidence and trust in the Lord. He was a man after God’s own heart, but he was far from perfect. But despite his missteps, he always trusted God to be loving and forgiving. He would rise out of all the turmoil as a loyal supporter of God Almighty. That’s called faith!

Most believers are a lot like David. We will not live perfect lives, but on the cross Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world – your sins and mine. Believers all need to accept that free gift with open arms and a smile. God doesn’t want a bunch of sullen souls in his Kingdom. The Father’s love should elicit joy from everyone!

God’s goodness and mercy will follow us throughout this life, and follow us into the next as we take our place in his Kingdom. We’re enjoying a better life now that we’re adopted into the Holy Family, and it will be the best life ever when we move into the house of the Lord. Start filling out change-of-address forms today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Jesus, our Mediator!

For Friday, January 2, 2025:

Hebrews 12:24 NLT: “You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.”

God made two sets of rules for mankind, the ‘Old’ and the ‘New’ Covenants. The ‘New’ Covenant, by definition, was an update, a revision to the old rules.

God’s desire is that none would perish and that all would repent and return to the Father. For this to happen, God revised his expectations for mankind. Humans would never achieve perfection, sinlessness, but could be forgiven. Jesus was put in charge of that. From the cross, he took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving believers suitable to take up permanent residence in God’s presence.

We come to the Father, to his heavenly place, through his Son, the source of forgiveness, the author of salvation. Jesus qualifies us under the ‘New’ Covenant, freely sharing it with repentant believers. God has exchanged vengeance and anger for forgiveness and mercy. God decided that things would be better this way. He’s glad to see us again!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Love and Mercy!

For Saturday, October 5, 2024:

Hosea 6:6 NLT: “I want you to show love and mercy, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me, your God, more than I want burnt offerings.”

About 800 years before Jesus, we find the Prophet Hosea, the first of the minor prophets. From the text, it seems as if the Lord is preparing to abandon the Old Covenant and launch the New Covenant under his Son Jesus. According to God’s inspired words through the prophet, our love for God and our neighbors should take precedence over animal sacrifices, and that’s exactly what Jesus taught! Nothing is more important than loving our Creator God, and right after that comes kindness to our fellows. Everything else is secondary.

This has actually been God’s directive from the beginning. It was mankind’s worship style that emphasized ceremony and ritual rather than absolute love for the Most High. It’s high time we get back to the basics. It’s high time we focus on the Lord rather than mankind’s style of worship!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Increase!

For Thursday, August 15, 2024:

2 Peter 3:18a NLT: “You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

If we could graph our Christian lives, the line should continue moving up and to the right. That’s what Peter is advising. Our relationship with Jesus should never stand still. If we’re not moving forward, then we’re probably falling behind, and moving forward is better!

The Holy Spirit directs our progress. As we read scripture daily and study it with others, and as we attend church more often and hear new teaching, increase will come naturally. The more knowledge we take in, the closer we’ll grow to our Savior.

Grace is a 2-way street. The Lord showed us grace, mercy and forgiveness by sending his Son on a rescue mission. We should imitate his ways by showing grace, mercy and forgiveness to others. Remember that we will be forgiven as we forgive!

We can never go wrong modeling our lives after Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

New Covenant!

For Thursday, June 13, 2024:

1 Peter 2:10 NLT: “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

When God makes a move, it’s oftentimes a BIG move! Let’s look at the Old Testament. God had identified his chosen people. God sent them rules and commandments, so that their lives could go better, so they could be spared pain and misery. It didn’t go well. Turns out that mankind wasn’t very good at adhering to God’s commandments. The world diverted their attention, and people lost sight of the ultimate goal, eternity in God’s presence. Far too easily people lost enthusiasm for their Creator God. God had given mankind a pass/fail system, and basically good people were failing!

Jesus came to earth and brought a New Covenant, God’s revised plan for mankind. It was filled with mercy, forgiveness and second chances, totally unlike the Old Covenant!

Believers are the beneficiaries of God’s mercy. His desire is that none would perish, and God always gets his way!

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

Forgive!

For Friday, April 19, 2024:

Colossians 3:13 NLT: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

We all say the Lord’s Prayer from time to time. But rather than just reciting words we have memorized, I would encourage us all to examine those words more closely. Take it apart line by line.

The Lord’s Prayer, from Matthew 6, asks God to: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” So as much as we want God to forgive our sins, we too need to forgive others. Paul is reinforcing God’s command in this letter.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t get mad; I get even!” They think it sounds cool. They think it makes them sound tough. It does neither.

In your mind, flip the script. What if the Lord said to you, “I’m gonna get even!” None of us would stand a chance! God does not judge us vindictively. Thankfully he’s a God of love, mercy and forgiveness. Without God’s grace we wouldn’t stand a chance!

So forgive others as God forgives you. That’s what Jesus did! He even forgave those who put him on a cross!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Restoration!

January 15, 2024 Monday Message:

Psalm 32:5 GNT: “I confessed my sins to you; I did not conceal my wrongdoings. I decided to confess them to you, and you forgave all my sins.”

God’s desire is that each one of us would repent and return; that none would be lost. So when we confess our sins before the Father, his eye isn’t so much on the sin as it is on our restoration. That’s what’s most important to him. God is focusing in on our repentance. God is in turn dispensing forgiveness and restoration. Remember, forgiveness follows repentance!

Q: If God is willing to completely forgive confessed sin, what should we do? The answer is obvious. We should forgive just as God forgives! God sends our record of sin to the bottom of the deepest ocean; separates it from us as far as the east is from the west.

Therefore when a believer returns to our midst asking for forgiveness, our job is to offer complete and total forgiveness and restoration, no exceptions! Welcome the transgressor back into our community with open arms. Restore their pecking order within the Holy family. Treat them with love and kindness. That’s what God would do.

Remember the woman caught in adultery? The religious leaders dragged her in front of the crowd, demanding that she be stoned. “What do you say, Jesus?”

Our Savior showed the woman an abundance of mercy. “Let the one who has never sinned cast the first stone!”

At this point, I believe she was plenty sorry she ever considered adultery! It all ended like this. One by one her accusers dissipated until no one remained except Jesus and the woman. He counseled her, “Go and sin no more!” No anger; no vengeance. Just love and a second chance – a simple, “Make a fresh start and try to do better next time!” That’s what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Chosen!

For Wednesday, September 27, 2023:

Romans 9:16 NLT: “It is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.”

We are saved by grace, by God’s mercy. God designed us, and knew us in our mother’s womb. And way back then, he called many to become children of God, to be adopted into the Holy Family. God gave us free choice, so must say yes to his invitation.

We are not called according to our good and bad works. We can’t “earn” our way into God’s favor, nor can we be disqualified. We have already been chosen.

God explained to Moses that he can show mercy and compassion to anyone he chooses. If you’re reading this, odds are that you were hand-picked by God himself!

Rejoice that you were culled for the Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Redeeming Mercy!

For Sunday, August 13, 2023:

Romans 5:6 NLT: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

When mankind needed rescuing, Jesus came to earth to deal with our sin problem. This is not an example of mankind getting what was deserved. It’s an example of God’s great love for his premier creation, mankind! It’s grace in action, an undeserved gift.

Out of gratitude for redeeming our souls, we worship God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We support our local church. We believe loving our neighbor includes those flooded in recent storms or burned out in Hawaii. It includes the homeless on our streets and single parents barely getting by. Loving our neighbor includes sharing the Good News of salvation through Jesus the Christ.

The whole world would be a better place if everyone would model their lives after Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Forgiveness!

For Saturday, July 15, 2023:

Daniel 9:9 NLT: “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.”

About 600 years before Jesus was Daniel. His name means, “God (El) is my judge.” As Jews were dispersed from Israel, Daniel found himself in Babylon. He is considered a prophet by Christian and Muslims, and Jews consider him to be the most distinguished member of the Babylonian diaspora, unsurpassed in Godliness and good works, unchanging in his adherence to the Law despite being surrounded by enemies who sought his ruin.

Though Daniel lived in that sinful land, he was loyal to the Lord, constantly trying to get others to do right things. And while quick to point out other’s sins, he also focused on God’s mercy and forgiveness. In the midst of his rant about obeying God’s Laws, Daniel inserts this one verse stressing God’s mercy and forgiveness.

God’s mercy and forgiveness isn’t a one-time event; it’s what I call a “God-trend.” When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God made clothes for them, loving them in spite of their sin. Daniel was sentenced to the lion’s den to die, but mercifully God protected him, and Daniel walked away from the whole incident. God gave his Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world, and all who put their faith in Jesus would become children of God, forgiven members of the Kingdom. Believers get to see heaven from the inside!

Forgiveness is a God-trend, and it’s for all who repent and return! It’s for all of us believers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship