God's Timing!

Daily message of hope...
For Thursday, February 26, 2026:

John 13:36 NLT: “Simon Peter asked, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ And Jesus replied, ‘You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.’”

Omniscient Jesus knows what’s coming, and he tells the Apostles that he’ll be leaving soon. He knows a cross is in his future, and his human body will die. He also knows that he’ll be taking the sins of the world to the place of the dead. Believers will be forgiven, and will be able to join him in God’s heavenly kingdom, but later. He’ll rise from the grave in three days, wrap up his ministry on earth and then return to the Father.

Simon Peter doesn’t know any of this, and if you told him, he wouldn’t get it. I call him Mr. Impulsive, but he has a big heart. He wants to go with Jesus right now without an understanding of the consequences. It seems like a good thing to do, but he didn’t think it through to the conclusion. In ministry, everything happens within God’s timetable. Simon and all the other Apostles will join Jesus in the Kingdom when their work on earth is complete, when it’s time for God to call them home.

It’s no different nowadays. Ministry will proceed at God’s pace. When our earthly work is complete, God will call all believers home, in God’s timing. Count on it – Jesus said!

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

Deceivers!

 

For Saturday, January 10, 2026:

Matthew 24:4-5 NLT: Jesus told his disciples, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.”

Jesus said that no one will know the exact day and hour of his return. Only the Father knows. For believers, that’s the End Times. We have been told signs, things for which to watch, things to keep us on our toes so that when Jesus shows up, we can be prepared. Some theologians believe that we’re in the end times of the End Times. Most think we’re well past the halfway mark of the time until Jesus returns!

Who wants to be King of the World? Probably not you, and certainly not me! But many powerful, money-hungry people think that position was created for them. But those narcissists are only out for themselves. They are not heaven-sent individuals. When the Messiah returns, he won’t have to announce who he is. People will know. He’ll be doing Messiah stuff, things unattainable by any false prophet.

So keep your eyes peeled for the great deceivers. Discerning is more difficult than it first appears, since Jesus says that “many” will try to claim his status, and “many” will be liars. By the time Jesus returns, the world will likely be one big mess! We’ll no longer live securely in the land of the free and home of the brave. There is such division in our country that there may be another civil war.

Believers have confidence that Jesus will return to escort us into the hereafter, a far better place. He said he’d be back, and his word is always good. People will love the Lord, love each other and live in harmony. Life in God’s heavenly kingdom will be the way God intended for us to live from the beginning. There is sunshine on the horizon!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

The great I AM!

For Sunday, December 14, 2025:

Exodus 3:14 NLT: “God replied to Moses, ‘I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.’”

God was calling Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. At this point, God appeared as a burning bush that did not consume itself, so Moses had a fair question: “Who should I say sent me?”

God’s answer can seem a bit confusing, a little strange: “Tell them I AM has sent me to you.” This speaks to the eternal nature of God.

It’s not, “God WAS great, but he ran out of gas.” It’s not, “God is increasing, just now coming into his own.” Nor is it, “God has been coasting, but will soon achieve greatness.” The fact is that the goodness and strength of God are perpetual. Our Creator was, is and always will be the greatest of all time.

Furthermore, God’s timing is always perfect. He was at the end of his rope with Pharaoh. He knew just the right time to put Moses in motion. And as a solution to mankind’s sin predicament, he sent Jesus to Earth without a specific timetable. Jesus took ALL the sins of the world to the place of the dead. Offenses of past sins, present sins and even future sins not yet committed would be resolved through faith in God’s Son!

Our God is a really good God with kind of a strange name. I love it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Reciprocal Love!

For Thursday, December 4, 2025

Romans 5:5b NLT: “We know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Love is reciprocal. Bi-directional. God loves us so much that it becomes easy to love him back. So put the Lord up on a pedestal and add worship to your lives in abundance!

God’s timing is always perfect. When mankind was floundering, he sent Jesus to rescue us. Now that Jesus has returned to the Father, the Holy Spirit has been sent to be our helper and our advocate. As children of God, Heaven is where we belong. Eventually. God is trying to make it easy for us to come home. The Holy Spirit will guide us. Home is where when you go there, theyhave to let you in!

 When we become believers, we’re adopted into the family of God. We receive the rights, privileges and benefits of being a family member. We can inherit salvation! As we transition from this life to the next, Jesus will be there to welcome us with open arms. Jesus is the light of the world, and we should always pursue light, not darkness.

I wish churches would teach more about the Holy Spirit. He’s one-third of the Trinity, but seems to be on the short end of receiving screen time. Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations, but I don’t think I could ever do that on my own. The Earth is just too big! But a team with each member possessing different God-given gifts and talents can bring Jesus’ goal into focus.

Can you heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons? By yourself, no. With the Holy Spirit, maybe, if it fits with God’s purpose and timetable. For example, if someone is dying because God is calling them home, we should leave well enough alone. But if someone is dying because demons are disrupting things, we should cast out the demon(s) and heal the illness. God’s way is always the right way! The Holy Spirit will help!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He’s already loving you back!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

No Yeast!

February 3, 2025, Monday Message:

Exodus 12:17 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover), for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.”

Why unleavened bread? Well, making bread with yeast takes a long time. The yeast has to rise to make the bread fluffy. If you don’t allow the yeast to rise, you wind up with a cracker!

Commercial bakers have a “proofer,” which uses heat and steam to drastically shorten the rising time. But no such equipment existed in Egypt. The bottom line is that when God says it’s time to go, he means right now! We can’t be waiting for bread to rise to partake of our Passover meal.

The liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt was very important to God, so important that he executed 10 different plagues to secure Pharaoh’s cooperation. As the whole debacle wrapped up, Pharaoh not only allowed the Jews to leave; he insisted that they get out of town! “Get out of here, you guys, and take some silver and gold with you!”

Each of the 10 plagues took time. Pharaoh continued to reject the miracles he had seen with his own two eyes! But remember, this series of events wasn’t just to change Pharaoh’s mind. It was also to showcase the supremacy of Moses’ God, the one true God!

God’s timing is always perfect. Everything worked out in the end!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Living in Harmony!

For Friday, November 3, 2023:

Romans 15:5-6 NLT: “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul has been counseling the church in Rome – rules, commandments, dos and don’ts – when suddenly he inserts a short prayer for these people. It could have been written for us nowadays!

Patience is always needed, myself included. Nothing seems to happen as fast as I’d like. When something is good and right, my instinct tells me it should be put it in motion right away, but that may not be God’s timing. God’s timing will always be the right timing, so we may need a little encouragement along with our patience!

The goal is for believers to live in complete harmony with each other, following Jesus’ example. Everyone can then be on the same page as we give praise and glory to God the Father!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Truth!

For Saturday, September 30, 2023:

Romans 9:26 NLT: “Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

Paul is quoting God’s word through the prophet Isaiah. It sounds like God’s changing his mind, but it’s the people who have changed. Because of disobedience and lack of faith, the Israelites would be scattered, and only a remnant would remain. In fact, for a great many years, there was no nation of Israel.

Then the people repented and returned to the Lord, and in 1948 the State of Israel was declared out of Palestine to be its own country. You see, God had been given a place of honor in his children’s lives, a priority he should have had all along.

The point is that God is always true to his word. What was prophesied in about 700 BC played out in 1948 AD. God’s promises are always true, and the Bible is full of truth. What seems to take a long time by our standards is perfect timing on God’s calendar.

Believers need not worry about God’s promise of salvation. Do not be impatient! When God’s timing is perfect, we’ll all get to see heaven from the inside! That’s what Jesus said!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship