Opportunity Knocks!

For Friday, August 14, 2026:

Acts 3:16 NLT, Peter, preaching in the Temple: “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.”

The man in question had been crippled from birth. The man was well known, and everyone was aware of his situation. To make ends meet, he begged at the Temple gate. As Peter and John entered, Peter explained that they had no silver or gold, but were willing to share what they had.

Previously, Jesus had sent Peter and John and the rest of the Apostles as well as numerous disciples to other towns in Israel to multiply his evangelistic efforts. They were all told to heal the sick, cure leprosy, raise the dead and cast out demons. These things were to be done in the name of Jesus, the power source for this project.

That day at the Temple, Jesus’ power had not ended. Peter took the man’s right hand and told him to stand up and walk. Everyone was amazed to see the man first walking, then running and finally jumping. They all recognized him as the crippled beggar at the gate. Suddenly, Peter and John were the talk of the town!

Peter allowed his impulsive nature to take over, and he began preaching to the crowd. He exalted Jesus, the one the crowd had handed over to Pilate. Peter called them out on this: “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!”

Peter never missed a chance to tell others about Jesus. This healing miracle was opportunity knocking, and Peter opened the evangelism door! That’s our take-away from this scripture. Recognize when an opportunity has presented itself, and take advantage of it while the iron is hot. It’s what we do as Christians!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Sabbath!

For Wednesday, July 8, 2026:

Luke 6:5 NLT, Jesus, answering the Pharisees: “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Jesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man.” He is the Son of God, but born into this Earth as a man, hence this description. Being God’s Son, one-third of the Holy Trinity, and heaven’s only earthly representative, he has every right to be “Lord of the Sabbath,” God’s designated Holy day of rest.

The Pharisees had memorized God’s Commandments, often called the Law of Moses because God delivered them to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The first four commandments are about our relationship with God, while the next six talk about our interaction with our fellows. (There are actually 613 commandments!) I summarize the Law like this: Love God, and love your neighbor! Simple, right-to-the-point.

Pharisees honored God, but didn’t get the “love your neighbor” part. Instead of teaching their followers the right way to live, they preferred to catch them doing something wrong and punishing them. The commandment in question here is, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” They defined that as doing no manual labor on the Holy day.

The disciples were walking near the edge of a grain field, and found some stalks left unharvested. You could roll the grain in your fingers, remove the husk, and eat the inside. They were accused of working on the Sabbath. I don’t see that as any worse than if somebody left a tray of nuts on my table, and I quick grabbed a few for the drive to church. Speaking of which, is driving a car to church a kind of prohibited labor? Chassidic Jews don’t drive on their Holy day!

I don’t picture God splitting hairs on this, i.e. rigid enforcement. In our minds, we are to hold a “special” place for the Sabbath, remembering our Creator. After worship, a Sabbath day should be family time. God also wants us to use common sense. If we’re driving home from church and see a single mom with three kids and a flat tire, should we stop and change the tire for her? Even though that’s work? Yes, we should always be kind, helpful and do the next right thing. Loving our neighbors isn’t optional, and God will view your helpfulness as honoring His commands!

Jesus attended his Synagogue on the Sabbath. He would be called upon to teach, preach and read from the scrolls! Most of those present hadn’t learned to read or write, so they appreciated Jesus’ skill. Jesus even healed on the Sabbath, which got him in a lot of trouble with those Pharisees, but that’s another story. For now, “Love God and love your neighbor!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Word's Out!

For Friday, June 19, 2026:

Luke 5:17b NLT: “One day while Jesus was teaching, people showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.”

The word was out about Jesus! People wanted to hear him teach and preach, and they wanted to see him heal. In fact, that was the big draw, the legendary healings. This was something heretofore unseen. Crowds would line up to be next! Many traveled long distances to get close to Jesus. And they would transport friends and relatives with maladies or injuries, and Jesus could render them back to original specs, without the sickness or injury, fully healed!

We have weekly meetings featuring the words of Jesus. It’s called ‘church.’ Do people travel long distances to hear the Good News? Usually not. Do they bring the sick and injured? No, those typically stay home. Perhaps a renewed emphasis on the miracles of Jesus would attract more souls! Personally, when I consider the heaven-sent supernatural nature of God’s Son, no other options exist for my choice of Savior!

To those in Israel 2K years ago, Jesus was worth the trip. He should also be worth the trip nowadays!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Choose Me!

For Saturday, May 16, 2026:

John 15:16 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.”

Jesus would only choose people he wants to work with. People who have already chosen Jesus have an edge in this department. If people already love Jesus and want to help increase the number of believers, Jesus will assign them a territory to be their battleground. Your battleground and mine are probably different.

Think of signing on with Jesus like a sports draft. Believers have signed on with the “Jesus” team, doing our best to be forever loyal to his cause. Jesus says that the Father will give us whatever we ask for if we use his name. We are to make disciples of all nations and to do everything Jesus asks. The Father rewards obedience!

Jesus commanded us to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and preach the Good News. We understand the assignment. Now let’s get to work!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Authorized!

For Saturday, April 11, 2026:

Mark 16:19-20 NLT: “When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with his disciples, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And the disciples then went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.”

Jesus had prepared his disciples, saying that he would not be with them forever. He said that he would suffer and die, rise after three days, and eventually return to the Father. Everything happened exactly as he prophesied! It’s now time for these disciples to put Jesus’ final instructions into play.

Remember that “Apostle” refers to the original 12, but “disciple” is a much larger group of people, both men and women, who believed in Jesus, believed he was the Messiah and that his words were God’s words.

Mark just gives us the Reader’s Digest “condensed” version of the Great Commission: “The disciples then went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.” When Jesus sent disciples on previous evangelistic mission trips, he told them to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons, and it’s no different this time. They would preach the Good News, and God would prove them “authorized” by these miraculous signs!

Those original disciples covered most of Israel, but did not venture far into Asia Minor. God was preparing Paul, Timothy and Silas for that mission field. Where is your mission field? In my previous churches, we supported many missionaries in faraway foreign countries. And each summer, our youth group would lead a VBS in Mexico. I prayed and prayed about this, and finally God sent me to Lake Street in Minneapolis. Turns out He has plenty of work that needs doing right here in town!

So the best place to do ministry is wherever God calls you to do ministry! Pray and then be obedient. Do what Jesus asked you to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Healing Messiah!

Daily message of hope...
For Wednesday, February 25, 2026:

Matthew 4:23 NLT: “Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.”

As he gathered his disciples, Jesus continued his ministry around Galilee. Tradition said that if a guest showed up to worship in a Synagogue, he would be invited to speak. Jesus had plenty to say!

He could tell the people to repent and return to the Lord. He could explain God’s willingness to forgive all who would call him Lord and Savior. He could explain that he was God’s Son, God’s representative on earth. He could share the knowledge that believers become Children of God, eligible for residence in the Heavenly Kingdom. He could explain assurance of salvation!

Jesus would take as much time as needed to heal all who needed healing. No disease or illness was higher than the prayers of God’s Son. Jesus would oftentimes begin by casting out the demons, which were the root of the problem. No demon is higher than God’s Son.

People were quick to notice the healings and would tell others. Although they had no television, no newspapers and no internet, somehow the word spread swiftly. Soon, all who needed healing were being brought to Jesus. He healed them all, even though that wasn’t his purpose in coming to earth.

Soon, large crowds were following Jesus around, people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem – people from all over Judea, even those east of the Jordan River. The Hebrew people had been expecting a Messiah, and here was Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship
The Father’s House
Truth and Freedom Church

God's Word!

For Tuesday, November 12, 2024:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT: “We never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.”

Believers should have what’s called a “high view” of the Bible, meaning the scriptures are God-inspired and true. Therefore the theology we teach is not your idea or my idea; it’s all God’s ideas! The Holy Spirit opens people’s hearts, and we fill them with the Good News of salvation through Jesus!

Some preachers motivate their listeners with the fear of hell, and chastise them for wrongdoing. Personally, I’m not good at that. I’m more likely to teach what the Bible says, and assume that the desired action would be self-evident. If we truly believe that the Bible is God’s word, how could we not obey?

If we know what God has spoken, we’ll know what to teach!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship