Truth!

For Saturday, August 1, 2026:

Romans 9:1a NLT, Paul testifying to the church in Rome: “With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness.”

In Paul’s day, a lot of misinformation was preached. Alleged spiritual teachers pushed theories about what a god could do for them, the power of that idol. Even the Pharisees, who had basic knowledge of the real God, resisted the New Covenant. They favored power and money over spiritual accuracy.

Paul had learned from Jesus, the Son of the Most High. Paul’s preaching was accurate and true, since he was put back on track by Jesus himself. If Paul only repeated what Jesus had told him, it would all be true. Truth – that’s the whole point! Your eternal life depends on it!

We believe that our Bibles contain only truth. And the writings are God-inspired. We should share the truth of the Bible with our fellows, and also give them a guarantee: It’s 100% accurate!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Time?

For Thursday, June 18, 2026:

Colossians 1:26 NLT, Paul speaking: “The Good News message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.”

What time is it? We only think we know! Until our planet started spinning, there was no definition of a day. Until the earth began its orbit around the sun, we had no concept of a year. Jews started counting time from Adam. It’s now year 5786, which ends mid-September.

Christians count time from the birth of Jesus, AD = “In the Year of Our Lord.” Pope Gregory standardized this in 1582, authorizing leap years. You see, a year is actually 365.2422 days, so the system is still not perfect, but close enough for my lifetime.

Therefore, the Good News message of God’s love and forgiveness was hidden for 3760 years until Jesus’ birth. Mankind lived under the Old Covenant with rules and laws. With Jesus came mercy, forgiveness and absolution. Jesus not only forgives our sins, but removes them from our permanent record. It’s as if we had never sinned! That’s the free gift for those who call Jesus Savior and Redeemer! Being perceived as sinless (forgiven), we’re eligible for permanent residence in God’s eternal Kingdom. We have assurance of salvation!

That’s why today is the best day to lock in your commitment to Jesus. There are eternal ramifications from this decision, for both you and your friends. Your coworkers and extended family need to know the Good News too. Pray to become the hands and feet of Jesus, telling everyone the Good News of eternal salvation! Blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Jesus Way!

For Tuesday, June 2, 2026:

John 15:21 NLT, Jesus speaking: “The world will persecute you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.”

In my mind, Jesus should have been the unifying piece of the puzzle. When people heard him speak of heaven, watched him heal the sick and broken and raise souls from the dead, they all should have been on board. Jesus could be none other than the heaven-sent Son of the Most High! How anyone could reject him befuddles me!

Nonetheless, Satan wields significant influence on earth, and he was cheering for the status quo, the Old Covenant, whereby citizens weren’t getting into heaven very often. But people were familiar with the rules. They knew the system and didn’t have to change anything.

Jesus, on the other hand, ushered in a New Covenant whereby mankind’s sins could be forgiven and many more people would find their names in the book of life! But this new system required a change in beliefs, a theological reorientation. Jesus is right up front, telling believers that the new way wouldn’t be popular with everyone. In fact, if we do what Jesus said to do, we should expect a certain amount of trouble. Satan will do his best to sideline our efforts!

Our reward for following Jesus is eternity in the Father’s Kingdom. Once we realize the enormity of that reward, it becomes impossible to consider non-compliance. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him, and everyone seeking eternal residence in the Father’s House knows his name!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Who's First?

For Saturday, May 23, 2026:

Colossians 1:18 NLT: “Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, firstborn over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.”

The Bible says that the church is the bride of Christ, making Jesus the head of the church. Without Jesus, there would be no reason for any church to exist. Mankind could have just stayed with Synagogues. It’s important that we understand the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

Under the Old Covenant, mankind was expected to conform to God’s commandments, sometimes called the Law of Moses since God sent most of the commandments through his servant Moses. The grading scale was tough: Live life 100% right, pass; miss one, fail. Any sin disqualified a person from accessibility to heaven.

God’s desire, though, is that none would perish, so he gave us a chance to repent and return. We call this the New Covenant. God’s Son Jesus died to atone for the sins of the world. In other words, He gave us a second chance, a do-over! Forgiven believers, those who would put their faith in Jesus, are given an opportunity to see heaven from the inside!

Abbott and Costello asked, “Who’s on first?” The answer should always be, “Jesus!” He’s responsible for creation, the forgiver of mankind’s sins and head of the church! Jesus is first in everything!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

New Covenant!

For Wednesday, March 25, 2026:

Romans 8:1 NLT: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

If this announcement had been on TV, we’d hear, “Beep-pa-da-beep-beep! Breaking news!” That’s what this was, friends, breaking news! Things had been one way under the Old Covenant. Mankind was living condemned because of sin. But now, after Jesus, everything changed! Under the New Covenant, those who put their faith, hope and trust in Christ Jesus will be forgiven, given a clean start, have their sin-slate wiped clean. Jesus introduces us to a God of second chances and do-overs. I like the golf analogy. “That last sin I did – I’d like to take a mulligan on that!”

Notice that forgiveness isn’t universal. It’s reserved for the repentant who desire to restore God and his Son back to the place in our lives they should have had all along. It’s an apology and an amend to our higher power. There’s an implied, “I’m really gonna try to do better. I intend to change my ways.”

Those whose heart lines up with their words will get to see heaven from the inside. This is our “Assurance of Salvation.” If you belong to Christ Jesus, it’s a done deal. God’s heavenly Kingdom awaits you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

God's Top 10!

For Tuesday, February 17, 2026:

Romans 7:1 NLT: “Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living?”

God gave us laws, sometimes called commandments. They are not optional. God’s laws define sin, and help us get along with God and with one another. Laws are for the living. There may be other laws when we reach the next reality of heaven. We’ll find out on a need-to-know basis.

There are 613 commandments in scripture, things God said we should do. Some are to honor God, while others keep us safe and healthy. Some help us interact with others. A few laws were given from the start, from creation. Others were added along the way. Moses received the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai as the Jews were relocating from Egypt to the Promised Land. Most Christians only know about God’s Top 10! It’s not a bad start!

A lot of what we call commandments are really common sense nowadays. If we’d stop and think a situation through to it’s logical conclusion, we’d already know the best way to proceed. The New Covenant gave mankind a conscience, so that we’d instinctively know right from wrong. God’s laws are written on our hearts so we can’t forget or lose them. We advise people to “do the next right thing.” You should already know what it is!

If you’re alive, you’re living under God’s laws. As we counsel others to follow Jesus, they too need to know about God’s laws. Once everyone understands that the words in the Bible are God-inspired and are the true, obeying His commandments will make a lot of sense!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Jesus' Heavenly Plan!

January 5, 2026, Monday Message:

John 16:1 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.”

The New Covenant gives us God on speed-dial. Direct access! Under the Old Covenant, the general public didn’t know a lot about God. They only knew theology the priests chose to teach. God bless the priests, but some would repeat rumors, theories and traditions. They were no longer speaking for the Lord. They were no longer speaking truth!

Christians have been given Assurance of Salvation. We are saved by grace through faith. Grace means that our salvation is a free, undeserved gift from above. Our faith is in Jesus, believing he is who he said he was, and that he can do what he said he can do. Jesus’ primary mission in coming to earth was the rescue of mankind, reconciling our relationship with the Father, and believers put their faith in Jesus’ promise.

So believers’ assurance comes not from any priest or rabbi. Our assurance is not from any church, denomination, synagogue or temple. Our salvation deal is authored and guaranteed by Jesus, God’s own Son. Bypass any middlemen. Lock in your eternal destination today. At the pearly gates, Jesus said we should use his name!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and 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

New Heaven – New Earth!

 For Saturday, November 8, 2025:

Luke 21:33 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

Jesus is teaching about the eternal nature of God and his commandments. The next reality will be different from anything that we now know. Heaven will be replaced by the New Heaven, which will have more residents than ever before. Those who believe in God’s Son will now be included. Having been adopted into the Holy Family, Heaven is their birthright – temporarily. The New Earth will also be completely rebuilt, put back to God’s original specifications for our planet. It’ll be like the beautiful Garden of Eden everywhere. Evil will be sent into the lake of fire, so, lacking anything evil, the New Earth will be a suitable home for all believers. And God can once again live among his people.

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. Nothing else comes close. As we walk our Christian path, we constantly need the words and advice of Jesus and his Father. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so the Bible’s messages will still be relevant in the next reality. We may no longer need a hard copy, because the New Covenant states that God’s words are written on our hearts! That’s great! Impossible for us to misplace God’s instructions!

If we love the Lord in this life, we shouldn’t have to learn anything new for the next! Believers are good to go!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Knowledge of Good/Evil!

 October 13, 2025,Monday Message:

Hebrews 10:29 NLT: “Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.

Sometimes we’re better off not knowing. Let me explain.

When Adam and Eve were first created, they didn’t know about sin and judgment. They innocently romped through the Garden of Eden, doing whatever they pleased and enjoying life. Sometimes God would walk with them in the evening, along the stream. Understand that Adam and Eve couldn’t sin, because they had no knowledge of right and wrong. God had told them, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

God was right! Predictably, mankind did exactly what they were told to NOT do! Eve saw that this unique fruit (knowledge of good and evil) was good, and offered some to her husband. Knowing they had done wrong, both hid from the Lord. With the transfer of knowledge, the bar had been raised. Now that they could discern good from evil, they were expected to choose “good.” Now that they could separate right from wrong, they were expected to choose “right.” As it was, they surely would have perished without the intervention of Jesus, who took the sins of the world upon himself.

In today’s example, the people knew all about Jesus and the new covenant. So ignoring those things would constitute willful and intentional disobedience, people thinking their way was better than God’s way. It never is.

As we model our lives following the footsteps of Jesus, we should be accustomed to knowing good from evil, and always choosing “good.” We may not be perfect, but our God is a God of second chances. Our shortcomings won’t derail God’s goals for us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

New Covenant!

For Friday, September 12, 2025:

Mark 14:22-24a NLT: “As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take it, for this is my body.’ And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, ‘This is my blood, which confirms the new covenant between God and his people.’”

This scene details the origin of Holy Communion. Jesus said that we should do this in remembrance of him. So, being obedient, we still do it 2,000 years later!

Picture yourself at the table that night. Jesus had been saying some pretty strange things lately, including predicting his own death. It might have been hard to take him seriously! It seems unlikely that the man who could cure any illness and walk on water would be dying! Even if those present understood the words, it seems unlikely that the described scenario would come to pass.

Only Jesus and his Father knew why this was all necessary and exactly what would happen. God had created mankind, loved what he created and blessed us with free will. But that allowed mankind to succumb to Satan’s temptations, and no one carrying a sin burden would find themselves in heaven. The sin had to be forgiven and blotted out. Jesus, who was sinless himself, was to be the sacrificial lamb to redeem mankind.

God’s plan was fulfilled, mankind was redeemed and heaven was populated! Sin was removed from loyal believers! Jesus abandoned the grave three days later, and eventually returned to the Father, preparing a place for all who would join him.

Let obedience and loyalty be your characteristics today. Prepare to join the Son in the hereafter!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship

Perfection!

For Wednesday, September 10, 2025:

Hebrews 10:7 NLT: “Jesus said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”

Obedience is what’s required. King Saul offered sacrifices to God, but failed to obey. His successor, David, also had shortcomings, but he prophesied the perfectly obedient one: Jesus! One way we can identify Jesus as the Messiah is in how he fulfills prophesies.

Some people didn’t do too well on the “Obedience-to-God” test, but Jesus scored 100%! When it’s time for us to enter the life after this life, loyal believers can count Jesus’ score as their own. Although we could never be perfect, Jesus has wiped away the sin-record of the faithful. He’s doing FOR us what we could never do on our own. So when it’s time to enter heaven, thank God we signed up for the Jesus team! He has already prepared a place for us!

Jesus cancelled the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. God’s will is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time! No need for us to do anything further. The work has been done FOR us! Thank you, Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Ultimate Sacrifice!

For Saturday, September 6, 2025:

Hebrews 10:4 NLT: “It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Animal sacrifices were the order of the day. God gave these instructions to Moses, who then told the priests and the people. Many would repent on the Day of Atonement, but sin would creep back into their lives. So these sacrifices were only a temporary fix. They did not solve mankind’s ongoing sin problem.

What would be better is a “once and for all time” permanent solution. Look out – here comes Jesus, the only one suitable to take away the sins of the world for all time. The Jesus-cure is effective as long as it’s needed, which could be forever! His obedience to the Father is never-ending.

Animal sacrifices originated in the Old Covenant, but Jesus as our Savior is from the New Covenant, a better way. You can only bandage a wound for a limited time. At a certain point, it becomes necessary to end the infection or lose the limb. God lets you choose, and He has provided His Son as the “once and for all time” solution. Choose wisely!

Sacrifices under the old system were required year after year, but Jesus is a “one and done” solution. Old Covenant sacrifices were a temporary fix, an imperfect cleansing, whereas Jesus provides the perfect cleansing. God does not want animal sacrifices. He wants our hearts!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Value System!

For Tuesday, August 26, 2025:

Mark 14:1b NLT: “The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.”

It was two days before Pasach, the Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The men behind the conspiracy against Jesus were priests and Jewish teachers of religious law. They should have known better.

On one hand, their religious beliefs taught that murder is wrong. Their parents and schools taught that murder is wrong. They teach others their deep-rooted moral belief that murder is wrong. And here they all are, plotting a murder, in direct conflict with their own value system, their own beliefs. Listen to this: Anyone who is doing what they would counsel others to NOT do is caught up in a big mental mess. In this case, perpetuating their religion had taken precedence over the religion’s fundamental principles, and that’s backwards. The priests believed Jesus was threatening their religion, and suddenly, plotting a murder became acceptable to them. They were wrong.

The priests and religious teachers didn’t want this event to happen on a holy day. The people might rebel! This tells us that, deep down, they knew the whole affair was wrong. If this secret were exposed, people could lose confidence in their religion.

With Jesus, God gave us the New Covenant. Believers have God’s Laws written on their hearts. In other words, God gave us a conscience. We should instinctively know right from wrong. So when a question arises, we should ask ourselves, “Is this good, is this right, is it fair, is it honest – should we be doing this thing?” With our God-inspired internal value system, we already know the right answer!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

New Beginning!

August 18, 2025, Monday Message:

Mark 13:29 CJB: “When you see all these things happening, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door.”

Jesus was taking questions that day. Some asked for clarification of God’s Laws, God’s Commandments. But others wanted more details about the future. Aren’t we all curious about what lies ahead? Since Jesus has all knowledge, let’s ask him!

Jesus said that when it’s time for the End Times, we’ll see signs. Many deceivers, false Christs, will become prominent. We are to look the other way, staying steadfast, paying no attention to any false teaching. There will be wars and rumors of even more wars. Compared to what we now consider normal, the world will seem in disarray, messed up and confused in violent ways.

While we should be ready for Jesus’ return 24/7, God gives us signs to jog our memory into doing the right things prior to Jesus’ arrival. Jesus admits he doesn’t know the exact day or hour when God will press the “restart” button. Only the Father knows.

And “restart” is the keyword in this scenario. We refer to it as the End Times, but it’s actually the beginning of the New Heaven and the New Earth, and believers are included! God is creating a forever world for the faithful!

We’re included because of our faith in God’s Son, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. Thank God for his grace, the free gift of eternal salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Tabernacle!

For Friday, August 15, 2025

Hebrews 9:2a NLT: “There were two rooms in God’s Tabernacle.”

God gave very specific instructions about the Tabernacle, a place to worship and honor the Lord. The outer room, called the Holy Place, contained a lampstand, a table and sacred loaves of bread. Next was a heavy curtain separating the inner and outer portions. The inner space was called the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. This was thought to contain the presence of the Lord. In that room were the gold incense altar and a sizable wooden chest covered in gold known as the Ark of the Covenant. Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. That ark itself housed a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves and the stone tablets of the covenant.

Priests regularly performed their religious duties in the outer chamber. But only once a year could the High Priest enter the inner sanctuary. He would always offer blood sacrifices for his sins and the sins of the people, both intentional sin and sins of ignorance. Of importance to Christians is that the Holy of Holies was not freely accessible while the Old Covenant was in place.

But Jesus brought with him a New Covenant. As he spoke, “It is finished” from the cross, the curtain was torn from top to bottom. Mankind was no longer separated from our Creator. We no longer needed a priest to intervene on our behalf. We can now pray directly to God, because our sins have been forgiven. Jesus himself was the blood offering for the sins of the world.

Try it out! Pray directly to God today. It’s OK because you are forgiven! God is always listening and wants to hear from you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

New Covenant!

August 11, 2025, Monday Message:

Hebrews 8:8 NLT: “When God found fault with the people, he said: ‘The day is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.’”

Let’s be clear about this. The fault wasn’t God’s. Mankind was the problem. If God erred in any way, it would be underestimating the sinful propensity of mankind.

The Old Covenant was like a pass/fail system. Do everything correctly and you advance to the eternal Kingdom. Disobey and it’s the lake of fire. There was no middle ground. This resulted in very few joining the Creator in the hereafter.

But God’s desire is that none would perish. So he decided it was time for a new deal, a New Covenant. With the New Covenant, no one can say they didn’t know the rules, because God will “put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” In other words, we now instinctively know right from wrong. With the New Covenant, God gave everyone a conscience! He added, “I will be their God, and they will be my people. They will no longer need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.”

Our reconciliation with the Lord didn’t happen because mankind became perfect. We’re still flawed sinners. What changed is that God expanded his forgiveness. He sent Jesus to earth as the propitiation for the sins of the world. Those who repent and believe in Jesus, the Son of God, will be forgiven. That’s what the Bible says!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship