End of the Age!

For Tuesday, January 27, 2026:

Matthew 24:14 NLT, Jesus speaking: “The Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all people of all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”

Do you ever ruminate on the end of this age, wondering what is the tipping point? When does the next reality come to fruition?

Jesus is pretty clear about that. It’s a fair process. The Earth will change once everyone everywhere gets a chance to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. ALL people from ALL nations deserve that chance. Remember that God’s goal is that ALL would repent and return, so we need to make sure that everyone has that opportunity. In pursuit of that goal, we send missionaries to faraway places and translate the Bible into additional languages. That’s all good, but the US is facing an internal problem as well. I’m willing to bet people are living on your streets, even right on your block, who haven’t heard the Gospel. The Lord’s work may begin closer to home than you were thinking!

Believers are obedient loyalists to our creator. We will not only survive the transition to God’s heavenly Kingdom, we will find a room with our name on the door. Jesus will have prepared our eternal residences as he promised. What a glorious way to spend eternity, in the presence of a loving God and his Son. Enjoy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Love and Forgiveness!

For Wednesday, December 17, 2025:

John 15:17 NLT, Jesus speaking: “This is my command: Love each other.”

Some days, when writing, I can’t top what actually happened. One of our regular readers wrote about a shopping incident that involved caring, compassion, love, and forgiveness. Dana Jo used this incident as an allegory to our relationship with God. It’s a little longer than usual, but I ask you to read to the end. There’s a message in here for all of us.

 "I was at Kohl's today and heard a loud crash and something shattering. Being nosy, I walked towards the sound and saw some people whispering and looking back to the end of the next aisle. When I walked down that aisle, I saw that an older lady had hit a shelf, and many things had fallen to the ground and were broken. She was kneeling on the floor, embarrassed, frantically trying to clean up. I felt so bad for her. Everyone was just standing there staring at her.

So I went and knelt beside her and told her not to worry, and started helping her pick up the broken pieces. After about a minute, the store manager came and knelt beside us and said, ‘Leave it, we will clean this up.’

The lady, totally embarrassed, said, ‘I need to pay for all this.’

The manager smiled, helped her to her feet, and said, ‘No ma’am, we have insurance for this; you do not have to pay anything!”

 If you have read this far, give me another minute. Wherever you are, close your eyes, and imagine God doing the same for you! Imagine the broken pieces of your mistakes, or the pieces of your broken heart from all the blows life has thrown at you, all over the floor, and you’re there trying to collect all of the pieces and fix them yourself. Now imagine God comes and kneels right down beside you, smiles and says to you, ‘Leave it all there, I will clean this up for you.’ He loves you that much and wants to put all of those pieces back together if you will let Him! With Him, we have this insurance, and it’s called GRACE! It’s free! All you have to do is ask Him to forgive you, help you, and to heal you. He’s faithful, I promise! ❤️”

 I vowed a message for each of us in this anecdote, so here we go! God doesn’t order us around like slaves. He presents us with opportunities, and watches how we respond. The woman in this story needed a helper, and we’re all supposed to love one another. So my friend jumped in to help. God is waiting for each of us to do the next right thing. Life will present us with plenty of opportunities. When any of us offers help to someone, God smiles!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

My Vineyard!

For Friday, October 3, 2025:

Luke 20:15b-16 NLT: “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.”

Jesus is sharing the parable of the evil farmers. This is not a well-known story, but it has relevance for all of us, so let’s have a look.

A man planted a vineyard and leased it to others. As the owner, he was to receive a share of the crop. When it was time, he sent three representatives, and eventually his son, to claim his portion. The farmers drove away the reps, and murdered the man’s son, hoping to keep the vineyard for themselves. Jesus asks the listeners, “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?”

You already know Jesus’ answer: “He will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.”

In this parable, the man with the vineyard is God Almighty. The farmers are prospective believers who made the wrong decision. They had a chance at eternal life, but they tried to cut God out of their lives. Didn’t work. As it turns out, God cut them out of His life! They had their chance. God will share eternity with those who are loyal and obedient!

Just like the farmers, each of us has been given an opportunity to play on the Jesus team. Have you said “yes?” I hope so. That’s the answer that points to eternal life in God’s Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Switch Sides!

For Saturday, June 7, 2025:

Acts 2:41 NLT: “Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.”

When good things occur that defy logic and common sense, I credit God. It could be the Holy Spirit or Angels, but ultimately, God is behind the scenario.

50 days ago, a similar crowd of Jews was shouting, “Crucify him!” Maybe they had time to think about what had transpired. Perhaps Peter’s speech, making a case for Christ, touched their hearts. Or did God simply open their minds to see the truth?

HOW it happened doesn’t matter nearly as much as WHAT happened. Remarkably, 3k people decided to switch sides. Previously, they were at odds with Jesus and his disciples. But now they’re friendly, seeking advice: “Brothers, what should we do?”

Repent and return to the Lord is the answer. Be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. Abandon the self-serving Pharisees, and sign on with ‘The Way,’ the group following the teaching of Jesus. People of The Way love their neighbors and will welcome newcomers with open arms!

Friends, this is serious business. Making a decision to follow Jesus is life-changing. Nothing will be the same, and most likely will be better. With Jesus setting your agenda, new doors will open and new opportunities will arise. So get out of the driver’s seat, and give Jesus a turn! I predict that you’ll like the result!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Channel!

For Thursday, May 22, 2025:

Luke 11:28 CJB: “Jesus said, ‘Far more blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’”

As Jesus was teaching the crowd, a woman shouted out blessings to his birth-mother. Yes, Mary was obedient and highly favored by God. But the Father is even more pleased when one of us hears him and follows his instructions. Mary is history, but we are right now! Believers represent the future of the church for our generation. That’s what Jesus was saying.

God’s instructions will be heard by those with whom he has a relationship. If someone chooses to hear nothing from God, he won’t force his message on that person. Listening for God is like adjusting a radio receiver. If someone is not tuned in to the right frequency, they’ll never hear his message! So put God on one of your mind’s “preset” buttons! Let your Bible gather no dust!

Even more important than simply hearing God’s message is giving life to those instructions – obedience. Don’t think of serving God as an obligation. Consider it an opportunity to build an ongoing relationship with your Creator.

Believers have been drafted to play for God’s team. He wants us to win souls for the “good” team, those who, at the end of life’s game, are the winners.

Batter up!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship