Truth Defended!

For Wednesday, July 29, 2026:

Colossians 2:4 NLT, Paul writing to the church in Colossae: “I am telling you these things so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.”

2K years ago, a lot of people would frequently switch religions. The core beliefs of each group were not always clearly defined, the exception being Jews who had previously encountered the real God. But others – the idol worshipers and such – were constantly proselytizing that there was value in their ever-changing beliefs. There was not. But remember, Christianity was the new kid on the block!

Once people had been introduced to the Son of God, Paul didn’t want their minds polluted with Higher Power misinformation. The Risen Savior personally met Paul on his way to Damascus, so Paul had truth straight from the horse’s mouth. (That’s a common expression; I’m not dissing Jesus! And he’s not Mr. Ed!)

Truth is worth fighting for. Paul’s truth wasn’t based on a rumor or what some random person told him. He’d heard from Jesus, he learned the truth and he was blessed to share it with others. Paul doesn’t want any believer to be side-tracked, because truth is nonnegotiable. Truth is not up for debate.

Truth is what’s in our Bibles!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

God's Love!

July 27, 2026, Monday Message:

Romans 8:38 NLT, Paul testifying to the church in Rome: “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

Our God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And the Son Jesus is just like his Father. What that means is that if God says that something is good, it will be good forever. God’s value system isn’t going to go through a recalibration.

Think about the 10 Commandments. It is written that honoring the Lord is good, and it will always be good. Honoring our parents is good, and it’s not a changing value. We are to give out parents the respect they deserve forever. It’s wrong to steal, not just because our laws say so, but because God said so. Murder? Same thing. God said. And always speak the truth. God is always listening, and we will be judged! Besides, that’s what Jesus would have done.

God’s love for mankind is unshakable, and that’s not about to change. In spite of mankind’s sins, God’s desire is that all would repent and return and take up eternal residence in his Kingdom. Nothing good or nothing evil can separate us from the Father’s love. That’s what the Bible says!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

God's Wisdom!

For Saturday, July 25, 2026:

Colossians 2:3 NLT, Paul speaking: “In Christ lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Paul writes that wisdom and knowledge are to be treasured. Spiritual leaders of the day had rejected Jesus. But the supernatural resurrected Jesus interacted with Paul on his way to Damascus. Paul was temporarily blinded and shown truth, God’s plan, and given an assignment. Paul was to evangelize the Gentiles!

Paul’s sight was restored, and the first thing he did was to be baptized, burying the lies under the water while truth came up out of the water. You could say that Paul did a spiritual 180º.

Disciples in Israel had a simplified task. Since most of the population were Jews, they already believed in God, a higher power. Asia Minor was a tougher nut to crack. They had no track record with the real God, and Paul had to dismiss hundreds of pretend gods, fake gods if you will. The idea that one God created everything was radically different from having separate idols for sunshine, rain, bountiful crops, provision, love, safety and protection. Before Paul could convince anyone that Jesus was God’s Son, he had to first make a case for Father God.

Since Paul now had God’s truthful knowledge, he could teach it to others. Believers are a lot like Paul. In becoming Christians, we learn the truth, and Jesus told us to teach others. Actions are stronger than words, so our first efforts should be to live as Jesus lived, caring for our neighbors. Being kind and helpful should have a prominent place in our lives.

Safeguard the wisdom and knowledge given to us. Share it with others. Be unflinching in our devotion to Jesus, God’s Son. He’s gone ahead to prepare your special place in the life after this life. Say thank you, Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Vast Eternal Plan!

For Tuesday, July 21, 2026:

Colossians 2:2 NLT, Paul speaking: “I want all the churches to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.”

Our own intelligence can get in our way of understanding God’s vast eternal plan. If you’re good at solving problems by logically thinking things through to their obvious conclusion, God’s plan may not seem like the best idea. Let me explain.

Jesus was sent as the spiritual mentor for the world. He is here to get believers back on track. And that one man, Jesus, was opposed by the Pharisees, the Temple leaders and all of the religious establishment. It’s an uphill battle not easily won.

At first glance, it appears that Jesus lost. He died. But right before he gave up his last breath, the sins of the world were heaped upon him, upon God’s Son! He left mankind’s sins in the place of the dead. Believers were forgiven and offered an opportunity for a good life after this life. It all works out in the end, but getting there requires divine intervention. And for us, divine understanding!

Jesus eventually won. He walked away from the tomb three days later!

I’m amazed at the number of devotees sitting in our pews who don’t really understand how God’s plan applies to them. And I’m really, really amazed by how few clergy actually ‘get it.’ They can’t teach what they don’t know, what they don’t believe or what they don’t practice.

Friends, there is only one church, the Church of Jesus the Christ. One thing Jesus stressed was love for one another, loving our neighbors as ourselves. Start by doing what Jesus did, being nice, being kind, helpful and eager to serve others. Paul wants all believers to fully understand God’s mysterious plan in due time. Paul is advising us to have confidence in the Son, who only spoke truth!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Faith!

For Friday, July 10, 2026:

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

Believers are saved by grace through faith. Grace is undeserved favor, a gift from our Creator. Faith is a perpetual belief that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that he can and will do everything he said. He warned the faithful about imminent persecution. Life wasn’t going to be easy. But Jesus always spoke the truth. Being God, one-third of the Holy Trinity, he could not do otherwise.

When others come down on believers, we could easily become discouraged. Jesus is trying to prevent that. When bad things happen to good people, believers don’t give up. We know that this is “prophecy playing out, just as Jesus told us.”

Our reward comes in the life after this life. When we die and stand before judgment, Jesus has our sins covered. He went ahead to prepare a place for us in his Father’s Kingdom.

So in a weak moment, don’t abandon your eternal gift. Ill-treatment on earth is for just a brief moment, but your heavenly residence is forever. Stick with Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Freedom & Truth!

For Saturday, July 4, 2026:

John 8:32 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Today we celebrate Independence Day in the US, the day the 13 United States decided to no longer answer to British monarchy. A foreign government could no longer influence our decisions. It involved a war, but we emerged victorious. That bought us some earthly freedom, but what about spiritual freedom?

Almost 1,800 years earlier, Jesus brought us truth. We remember the healings and miracles, and the knowledgeable preaching. An even bigger gift was Jesus, on the cross, taking the sins of the world upon himself, and taking those sins to the place of the dead, leaving mankind forgiven simply by declaring faith in the Son. But let’s not forget that every word spoken by Jesus was true. That truth is the foundation of our religion.

How spiritual leaders can get so far off track is a mystery to me. To many leaders, ceremony overtakes substance. The ritual itself becomes more important than our reason for celebrating. And tradition overcomes truth. “We’ve always done it that way” carries more weight than the reason for the action. Pharisees thought they had memorized God’s Laws, but they skipped the part about compassion, about loving their neighbor. Their actions didn’t line up with Jesus’ teaching.

There is really only one church – the church of Jesus Christ. So why do we have so many denominations? – over 45,000 worldwide, each claiming their way is the only way. Something’s off.

My advice would be to check your Bible and see what Jesus did. Then do that. Read Jesus’ advice. Then follow those instructions. Don’t adopt any new-agie whims. Stick with the basics. The main things are the plain things.

I treat “truth” as a noun, a desirable commodity we should all seek. (Spell-checker may disagree with me…) Jesus hasn’t rehearsed speaking “the truth.” In fact, he can do no other! If Jesus opens his mouth, truth comes out! There are no alternative narratives within him.

Jesus says that all true believers will know the truth, which is the origin of our spiritual freedom. Happy Freedom Day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Continuous Truth!

For Saturday, June 6, 2026:

Colossians 1:23 NLT: “You must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.”

You probably already know that the word “Gospel” is translated as “Good News.” And Bible is also referred to as Truth. Once you have heard the story of Jesus, the Gospel, hang onto it firmly. Now that you know the truth, never waver in your commitment to Jesus.

This is the advice of Paul, who at first didn’t get it either. I jokingly say that Jesus slapped him upside the head on the road to Damascus, but that’s kind of what happened. Paul was struck blind for three days, led into town where a believer cleared his eyes, restoring his sight. Paul should have been quite hungry by then, but the first thing he did was to be baptized. Nothing was more important than obeying this newly discovered truth!

Paul was “all in!” How about you?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Conspiracy Theory!

For Thursday, May 21, 2026:

John 15:18 NLT, Jesus speaking: “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.”

That scripture tells us that the world somehow got turned around, 180º from where it should have been. After all, Jesus was always kind, nice and helpful. He would give of his own time to heal anyone who needed healing, and there seemed to be no end to this gift of healing. Every word he spoke was the truth, and he was religious, teaching from both the Prophets and Torah. What’s not to like about this guy?

Those against Jesus were cursed with greed and the desire for power. Although Rome ruled the country, the citizens were allowed to practice their ancestors’ religion, as long as they didn’t disrupt the Roman government. No riots, no rallies, no protests. Just follow your ethnic religion – quietly!

This left the Pharisees at the top of the pecking order. They were the ones trying to maintain power and resources. If worshipers went with this radical Jesus cult, they were NOT at the Temple! Furthermore, they probably took their tithes with them! So both influence and shekels going to Jesus threatened the Pharisees’ way of life. Jesus, you understand, was just doing what pleased his Father. But Pharisees initiated a conspiracy to have Jesus killed, to take him out permanently. He was that much of a threat to them that they would violate their own religious commandments!

Hatred for Jesus started as a conspiracy by the Pharisees. Israelites were accustomed to looking up to Pharisees for direction and advice. They were the religious leaders to be followed. When Pharisees spoke ill of Jesus, there was an implied obligation that people should follow their thinking. They convinced the surrounding world to hate the Messiah, which is unfortunate. The crowds changed their mantra from “Hosanna,” save us now, to, “Crucify him!, in less than a week.

I’ve said before that I believe Christianity should have been Judaism, the next chapter. It should have been a continuation of the life believers already knew, following God-the-Creator, God who brought them out of Egypt, God who delivered them to the Promised Land, and now God who sent them the Messiah as a redeemer for the sins of the world. Like Paul Harvey would have said, “The r-r-rest of the story!”

We’re presently living in the rest of the story. Jesus was here for us and promised that he’ll be back. Should we die first, he promised to prepare a place for us in his Father’s eternal heavenly Kingdom! Secure your spot today! All it takes is faith!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Joy!

For Tuesday, May 5, 2026:

John 15:11 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

Jesus spent a lot of his time teaching the faithful. He wanted everyone to know how his Father expects them to live. He states unchangeable principles such as honesty and truth. And he foretells the future, wanting believers to have hope.

Many things will happen to fulfill God’s plan, things that may be confusing. Jesus wants to clear things up and let everyone know what to expect. One example is that mankind’s sins will be forgiven, taken away as if they never happened. That sounds good, but the human side of Jesus will die in the process, and that sounds bad. The truth is that everything is good that lines up with God’s plan. Seeing God’s plan come to fruition should bring us joy.

Happiness can be fleeting, but the joy of the Lord comes from substance. Happiness results from circumstances, and the circumstances around you are forever changing. Interestingly, “circumstance” is the same root word as “circus!” Does your life have three rings and a bear on a bicycle? That’ll put a smile on your face, make you happy, but nothing of substance, nothing that really matters lives there. When the bear falls off the bike, the smile falls off your face.

Not so with the joy of the Lord. God gives us a new day each morning and fills us with joy! We read God’s word in the Bible, and that reinforces our joy! We meet our friends and coworkers – more joy! God’s joy is permanent, something that matters, something of substance. It was God’s plan to rescue repentant believers. He took us under his wing, adopted us into the holy family, and that’s forever! We can look forward to living in God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom in the place Jesus has prepared for us, where joy abounds!

We can decide how to live our lives – substance or circumstances, God’s way or the world’s way, fleeting happiness or rock solid joy. Choose wisely!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Changed for the Better!

For Wednesday, April 29, 2026:

Colossians 1:6 NLT: “This same Good News (Gospel) that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.”

Years ago, (when I was a much younger man,) I wrote “Changed Minds, Changed Hearts, Changed Lives.” Some of it was about evangelism. We needed to change some people’s minds about attending church, who Jesus is and the truth of the Bible. For those already attending, a change of heart was needed. They needed to be “all in” for Jesus, more than just “pew sitters.” With a changed heart, they could then unflinchingly believe in the truth of the Bible, and that Jesus is God’s Son. And as lives would change, many could move into leadership. Their lives were changed permanently!

In this scripture, a word that stands out to me is “understood.” Paul is saying that you may not have been convinced when you first heard about this, but only after you understood deep down the truth of what was being taught.

The other word is “truth.” Remember, Paul was waylaid on the road to Damascus by the risen Jesus, struck blind, and then shown truth by Jesus himself. To him, believing in Jesus was now nonnegotiable. Jesus had commanded believers to make disciples of all nations, and Paul was doing his part. He took the Gospel out of Jerusalem, out of Israel, and was now spreading the Good News throughout Asia Minor. We continue that work nowadays!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Confident Hope!

For Tuesday, April 28, 2026:

Colossians 1:4-5 NLT: “We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.”

Paul is writing this Epistle to the church in Colosse. It could have been written to any group of believers. Paul could have been writing to your church today!

Church is more than a social gathering. The common denominator is what Paul calls “confident hope,” also known as belief or faith. We believe everything that Jesus told us: Everything that we know was created by God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus is our rescuer, our redeemer. Jesus forgave our sins and proved that there is life after this life. When he said, “See you later,” he was going to prepare a place for us in the eternal Kingdom. Death is not the end for us, just as it was not the end for Jesus.

Believers share unshakable faith in the promises of Jesus. When we first heard the Gospel or Good News, it made sense to us. Our devotion has only grown stronger as time marches on. Like Paul and like the Colossians, we’re blessed by sharing confident hope!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Eternal Life!

For Saturday, April 25, 2026:

Romans 8:11 NLT: “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

Two important things happened between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. First, the sins of the world were heaped upon Jesus, who was otherwise sinless. His primary mission in coming to earth was the rescue of mankind from our sin problem. I believe this occurred when Jesus declared, “It is finished.” His mission had been accomplished. He would take those sins to the place of the dead, leaving mankind spotless, eligible to take up residence in God’s heavenly Kingdom.

And on resurrection Sunday, Jesus was raised from the dead and walked out of the tomb. He proved to everyone that there is life after this life, and that death is not the end. Believers, those who call Jesus “Lord,” will receive that same reward. We call it Assurance of Salvation.

If you’re looking for a guarantee of someday seeing heaven from the inside, here it is. No other religion can promise Assurance of Salvation. This scripture quotes the words of Jesus, which we know to be true! They’re in the Bible, which is also truth!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Challenge Builds Strength!

Friday, April 24, 2026:

Luke 4:14-15 NLT: “Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.”

After being tested in the desert by Satan, Jesus returned to the region around the Sea of Galilee. The Devil had been tempting Jesus, who consistently rejected Satan’s offers. In this ongoing battle of good vs evil, Jesus was the clear victor. And when you battle the evil one and win, you emerge stronger. In other words, Jesus was in his prime as he began teaching in Synagogues. He was praised, honored and glorified by all.

The same principle applies to us. Satan will continue tempting us throughout our lives. But if we reject the evil one, we will emerge stronger for overcoming this challenge, just like Jesus!

At this point, Jesus’ ministry efforts were focused on teaching. Listening to him speak must have been like having a complete Bible commentary to explain Torah in a way that everyone could understand. Nowhere does it say that Jesus attended a school, a seminary or studied with a particular Rabbi. Being the Son of God, he just knew what the Father would want him to do, preach truth! At this time, there was no organized opposition to Jesus

Lead us not into temptation. But if we find ourselves there, let us grow from the challenge. Let us emerge stronger!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church