Baptized!

For Tuesday, April 14, 2026:

Luke 3:21-22 NLT: One day, when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

This happened over 2k years ago. I’m amazed that with no telephones or texts, no radio or TV, no internet or Twitter, that somehow a crowd of people would hear that John the Baptist was once again in the Jordan River, advising people to repent and return. The crowd assembled, and John shouted, “The kingdom of God is at hand!” Oh, to have been in the crowd that day!

Jesus was present, and he stepped forward to be baptized. In a semi-private conversation, John said that Jesus should be baptizing him! After all, God’s Son didn’t need his sins washed away! He was sinless! But this was a lesson in obedience, honoring God the Father as Lord of your life. Jesus is said to be fully God and fully human, and the human side of him submitted to the Father as he walked on this Earth.

I wish I could have seen the dove descending upon Jesus and heard the voice of the Father. I imagine God’s voice to be big, booming and bold, but that’s just conjecture, not in the Bible.

Christians are to be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It matters little who leads the ceremony. This is a case where Jesus said, “Use my name!” That’s what’s important. Baptism is part of making disciples of all nations, Jesus’ final instructions before ascending into heaven.

He went on ahead to prepare a place for believers! Is your name on his “Things to do” list?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Forgive First!

April 13, 2026, Monday Message:

Mark 11:24-25 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

That’s verses 24 & 25. Your Bible may not have verse 26. It’s only in some of the original manuscripts, but not all. It reads as follows: “But if you refuse to forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.” That fits with the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Forgiveness is key to normal Christianity. Forgiveness is what makes everything else work, which makes it #1 on my list. Forgive everyone who has offended you, and hold no grudges. That person who dissed you last year isn’t even in the picture today, so let it go. Don’t dwell on it any longer. Take ‘getting even’ off your agenda, and move on. With a clean slate, you can now approach the Lord!

#2 Be 100% committed and devoted to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Romantically, we say, “I love you with all my heart.” Paul counsels us to open the eyes of our hearts, our innermost self, not the eyes that see the world, but eyes perpetually focused on God. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” (Eph. 1:18)

#3 Jesus told believers to use his name. It commands respect and authority in the spiritual realm. Demons are afraid of Jesus. When preaching, evangelizing or healing, Jesus said we should use his name. When I die and show up at the pearly gates, I’m going to use Jesus’ name. He said he was going ahead to prepare a place for me!

How about you?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Name of Jesus!

For Sunday, December 21, 2025:

Luke 2:21 NLT: “Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.”

Translated into the English language as “Jesus,” the name was originally “Yeshua” which means "Yahweh is salvation" or “God is salvation.” Angels are obedient, messengers sent by God himself. (Any who aren’t obedient don’t last long!) So Gabriel was just repeating the Lord’s instructions. God is sending His Son, confirming His intention to rescue mankind, to grant us salvation. God loves us, and his intention is that all would repent and return. God, who is omniscient, knew that Jesus would be persecuted and eventually crucified. The sins of the world would be placed on an otherwise sinless Jesus, who would leave our sins in the place of the dead. Forgiveness would be an important part of mankind’s restoration and our reconciliation with Heaven. So it appears that God, with his infinite wisdom, had this all planned out well in advance of its implementation.

Our Holy Family, Mary, Joseph and now their baby, consisted of loyal, obedient Jews. So eight days after Jesus’ birth, they found themselves in a Synagogue, in front of a Rabbi, to offer thank-you sacrifices for a successful childbirth and a healthy baby boy. Firstborn males were always dedicated to the Lord. While I’m not sure they understood the significance of all these events, I’m pretty sure they knew this baby was special. Mary was mentally piecing this puzzle together and kept these godly things in her heart.

As believers nowadays, we get more than glimpses of a scenario in motion. With our Bibles, we can read the “Jesus story” all the way to its conclusion. We know that, in the end, God wins, and we are the beneficiaries of His grace. Believers will be adopted into Jesus’ Holy Family, and have the right to call God, “Our Father!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Authorized Believers!

For Saturday, May 3, 2025:

Mark 16:20 NLT: “The disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.”

Following Jesus’ ascension back to the Father, his disciples didn’t just sit around. They got right to work. Where did they go? This scripture says, “Everywhere!” They went all over Jerusalem, all over the countryside, and eventually all over Israel. What did they do? They preached the Good News, the Gospel, the story of Jesus coming to earth to rescue mankind, to personally pay the price for the sins of the world. They were doing exactly what Jesus told them to do. They were evangelizing! (See Matthew 28.)

How did Jesus respond to the believer’s efforts? Jesus (and God) fully supported their mission with healings and other miraculous signs. (I will never leave you or forsake you.) These lent credibility to their testimonies. If the believers intended to heal a sick person and that person actually got well, non-believers would be convinced. Also the person healed would most certainly be convinced, and would tell others!

Jesus oftentimes authorized believers to perform the same seemingly impossible miracles he did. He made it look easy. He told his followers, “Just use my name!” Jesus sent out 72 in Luke 10, and the 12 disciples in Matthew 10, authorizing them to: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons.”

Right now, the evil Satan has the run of this world. But Satan is a created being who eventually will have to answer to God. God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit–can bring Satan down faster than the Timberwolves took down the Lakers! In the meantime, we no longer have to suffer abuse from Satan. Jesus gave all believers (how many? ALL believers!) authority over the devil by using Jesus’ name. Say it with me: “In the name of Jesus!”

The name of Jesus instills fear in the heart of the evil one!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship