Living in the Spirit!

For Thursday, February 19, 2026:

Romans 7:6b NLT: “Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”

Have you ever played a new board game with the family, or started learning a new sport? Chances are you’d have to pull out the rule book every few minutes. Being unfamiliar with the activity, you don’t yet know all the regulations and scoring terms. But after a while, you know the rules by heart and can keep score in your head. For example, in tennis, when someone says, “15 – love,” you know that you have scored a point while your opponent remains at zero. You don’t have to look it up. The scoring and the terminology associated with it become second nature.

Once they have accepted Jesus, new Christians need to take a look at God’s laws. They need to learn how to live a Godly life. Some of their old behavior may not suit God, and they’ll want to adjust. At first, they’ll be checking the rule book, the Bible, but soon after, God’s laws will be second nature. God’s laws will be written on their hearts. And that’s when they’re living in the Spirit. As the Holy Spirit directs more and more of our lives, our old ways will no longer exist on our agenda, on our list of things to do. Doing life the wrong way will no longer be an option.

Your church should be filled with those for whom living God’s way is automatic. Everyone should be living in the Spirit. Your church should house believers who are kind, helpful and love their neighbors, just like Jesus said. Your best friends in the world should be a part of your church. Smile next time you see them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Grace = Free Gift!

For Sunday, February 8, 2026:

Hebrews 13:9b NLT: “Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.”

The Old Testament contains some dietary instructions. Certain animals can transmit various diseases, and God, who always looks out for us, wanted us to remain alive and healthy. But our meat-packing and inspection methods have so much improved that those kinds of diseases have long since vanished. And friends, dietary choice is not a redeeming ordinance. You’re not disqualified from heaven for eating a pig! That would imply that we could earn our way into heaven by doing something or not doing something, and that’s simply not true.

Our hope for our eternal future is God’s grace. It’s a gift. All we need to do is accept it. Our faith in forgiveness, Jesus taking away our sins, is our ticket to the hereafter. We are saved by grace through faith, not by obeying rules. But having said that, Christians strive to conform to God’s rules out of gratitude for all that Jesus did for us!

Salvation is God’s gift to those who place their faith, hope and trust in his Son!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Same God!

     For Sunday, February 1, 2026:

Hebrews 13:8 NLT: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

This scripture tells us that God and his Son Jesus are consistent. If God gave a command 2K years ago, it’s still in effect nowadays. We can have confidence in the prophecies given to us. Rules are rules, and laws are laws. What God wants us to do doesn’t change. Tell everyone about the Father’s love and forgiveness. Tell them about Jesus, that he paid the penalty for our sins. Tell the people that our Lord has offered us a second chance, a do-over – and a third chance, and a fourth chance… His desire is that everyone would repent and return.

We can put our faith, hope and trust in the God of Abraham. He’s the same God yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our God is powerful enough to create an entire universe, but still quite interested in each of our lives. He wants us to talk to him today. He wants to favor us with his blessings today – right now, so connect with him frequently. Share not only your hurts and sorrows with him, but your good news and blessings as well. Get to the heart of the matter. You can’t just do small talk when conversing with God. Smile when you meet with the Lord!

God and his Son desire a relationship with you. Make a point of including him in your life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Compassion!

For Wednesday, January 14, 2026:

Hebrews 13:2 NLT: “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!”

How we live our lives on earth is (among other things) a test of our compassion. I hope everyone reading this gets at least 50% on this test. 80 or 90% would be better. Only Jesus scores 100%!

Most of the civil laws and rules to which we conform are manmade laws, not God’s laws. Other than God giving the Promised Land to His Chosen People, I don’t believe he drew any lines on a map. We’re all citizens of planet Earth, and our Creator wants us all to get along. Historically, mankind hasn’t been very good at it!

Jesus said we should love the Lord and love our neighbors. God is always first. Our neighbors could be next door, in our city, state or country, or the country across the ocean. God created a lot of people to populate the planet!

Even when a man-made law is violated, we need to remember that the perpetrator is still one of God’s creations. The ones who appear wrong to us were still made in God’s image, and should be treated with love, kindness and respect.

I remember a scene from a movie. As a couple of religious types walked down the street, they encountered a falling-down drunk begging for food. His clothes were torn, he was dirty, and intoxicated beyond belief. One of the religious leaders commented as they passed, “That man is a disgrace. He needs to get his life together.”

The other replied, “Perhaps the Lord’s testing your compassion!” Guilty!

Dear Lord, please give us more compassion than criticism, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church