Heavenly Home!

For Friday, May 29, 2026:

John 15:19 NLT, Jesus speaking: “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

When we were children, most of us lived where our parents lived. But as believers, we’ve been adopted into the Holy Family. So, question: Where does Our Father reside?Kingdom, 

Our Father reigns over a magnificent Kingdom. (By definition, a Kingdom has a King!) His Son, Jesus, sits beside him. He prepared a place in that Kingdom with your name on it. Know that as a believer, you are now registered as a resident of the Kingdom. We have a temporary visa to visit planet earth on a mission trip to share the Gospel with others. It’s a fun assignment, working around good people with good attitudes and good values. Smile as you go about your long-term assignment today!

The earth is not our home!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Do What Jesus Did!

For Thursday, April 9, 2026:

Mark 16:17-18 NLT, Jesus speaking: “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes safely, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

Once again, Jesus has separated the sheep from the goats. There are only two types of people in this world: believers and unbelievers. Jesus says that those who refuse to believe will be condemned. End of story. But those who believe will be blessed with the ability to continue doing what Jesus himself had been doing. He wants us to love our neighbors and bring joy into the world!

Notice that the first mention is the casting out of demons. As Jesus’ work is documented in our Gospels, this was often his first order of business. Satan’s demons are likely the root cause of many of the problems we witness. Since they live in the Spirit realm and can’t be seen, many of us fail to perceive the problem. Jesus never skipped this step. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that Satan is on holiday. He’ll happily keep us miserable until the end of the age. Remember, Mary Magdalene became one of Jesus’ most enthusiastic supporters, but not until he sent away the seven demons holding her back!

I’ve decided not to personally test the snakes and poison thing. But I have laid hands on the sick. God once told me that healing would begin in two days, and like clockwork, 48 hours later, my phone rang saying the patient had a radical turnaround! I’ve concluded that the world would be a better place if there were more Christians in it doing what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Creation, Condensed Version!

For Friday, March 20, 2026:

Genesis 1:31 NLT: “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”

God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – created the planet Earth, made light and darkness, separated land and water, grew vegetation, put the stars, moon and sun in the sky, gave us fish and birds, next land animals, and finally male and female human beings. That all took six days, and God rested on the seventh, designating it as Holy. After each day, God declared his creation “good,” but in its entirety, following the sixth day, God declared everything to be “VERY good!”

We have been given the privilege of living in that well-designed world. At one time, it was all very good. Unfortunately, mankind has done a lot to make that not so. Sin, lust and corruption have tarnished God’s creation. Satan and his demons have done all they can to derail the project. Right now, the world we live in is a big mess!

The Good News is that God promised to fix everything! He sent his Son, our Savior Jesus to take away the sins of the world. He’ll restore the earth to be the New Earth, just the way it was originally designed. He’ll splash total forgiveness on loyal believers so they can join him in the hereafter. God’s desire is for all to repent and return. You and I can sign up for that program!

Let’s all join God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom, where there’s no sin, no sickness or disease, where people love God and love their neighbors. What God wants turns out to be a very good way for us to live! Hallelujah!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

The World vs Jesus!

For Wednesday, April 9, 2025:

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

For simplicity, let’s separate all the people on earth into two groups: those destined for heaven who love God and his Son, and those who have rejected Jesus and his Father. The Bible refers to those non-believers as “the world.” Remember that Satan currently occupies the world and will take every opportunity to throw sand in the gears.

It’s not always smooth sailing for believers. The same world that hated Jesus may cause trouble for you too. Satan will put demons in your path. That’s why our beliefs need to be locked in, nonnegotiable. Sometimes we have to help our brothers and sisters cast out demons. That’s what Jesus did.

True believers are sanctified, set apart from the world. But we must integrate with the world if we are to share the Good News, something Jesus commissioned us to do. It’s kind of a balancing act, sharing the Gospel while remaining set apart. Backsliding should be nowhere on our agenda!

If the world hates you because it hated Jesus, rejoice! You’re linked with other believers! You’re OK! It’s the demons who should beware of the name Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Beware the Antichrist!

For Sunday, September 1, 2024:

1 John 2:18 NLT: “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.”

An antichrist is anyone who opposes Jesus. They oftentimes falsely claim to actually be the Christ. They claim to be a Savior. They are not. Only Jesus holds the keys to heaven.

The Bible uses words like “pseudokhristos,” a pretend Christ or false Christ. Jesus also warned of false prophets, who sometimes can perform great signs and wonders and achieve worldly greatness. But we know their greatness is all worldly, not from God.

This is Sunday, a good day to join your friends at church and worship the real anointed one, Jesus. Remember that at the baptism, God’s voice boomed over the water saying, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased!”

My Savior is God-approved!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Love Not the World!

For Friday, August 30, 2024:

1 John 2:15 NLT: “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.”

Love is a two-way street. If you love someone or something, you expect to receive reciprocal love in return. And all the world has to offer is sin, short-term pleasure with long-term problems. In “the world,” Satan wants to divert your focus from the Father. This is a battle that believers must win, and the Devil must lose.

As we focus on eternity, the Father’s love becomes evident. Christians speak of agape love, love that cannot be destroyed. It’s love like when a parent welcomes children back home, no matter what they’ve done wrong. They are, after all, our children. And believers are children of God. Jesus said to pray to “Our Father in heaven.”

As a believer, you’re a member of the Holy Family, so act like it. In your heart, join the family of God. Jesus will welcome us with open arms as we transition to the next reality. It’s God’s unconditional lovingkindness!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Bright Shining Light!

For Saturday, April 27, 2024:

Philippians 2:15b NLT: “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”

In case you haven’t noticed, the world is a mess. There are wars, fighting, and innocent people dying internationally. Locally, each day’s headlines tell of more shootings and more deaths. Two or three every day; sometimes more. There’s also an abundance of crimes that don’t involve killing, but still affect our quality of life.

Lest we become discouraged, let’s all turn to the back of the book to find out (or to remember) who wins. It’s really no contest! Our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the creator of everything. Let me state that another way: No one else ever created anything! No one! The creator who initiated the world holds all the cards for how it all will end. What happens in our life-after-this-life is determined solely by the creator of it all.

Those who repent and return, who acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, will find their names in the Book of Life. That’s Jesus’ free gift to those who believe. And out of gratitude for that gift of understanding the Good News, we become God’s bright lights shining into an otherwise corrupt world. God want’s Christians to be the bright light that others want to get close to. When people look at Christians, they should like what they see and want to become a part of the action! Christianity grows through attraction.

So shine your light into the dark world. As time marches on, there will be fewer of us on the winning team, but don’t give up. Jesus has your reward waiting for you on the other side!

Blessings as you go about the Lord’s work today!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Do Not Love the World!

 For Sunday, March 26, 2023:

1 John 2:17 NLT: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

We need to define ‘world’ to fully understand this scripture. It doesn’t refer to the planet earth or the body of people who presently reside here. John is referring to the community of sinful humanity that is united in rebellion against God.

Do you ever have days when it feels like the whole world is against you? If you’re doing your best to live life the right way – God’s way – and those around you persist in sin, life can be challenging.

Paul compared our lives to an athletic contest. We are not to concern ourselves with the difficulty of the contest. Instead we are told to keep our eyes on the prize. In this case, the prize is heaven, spending eternity with the Lord. It’s a good reward, the best news ever!

When you compare paradise to the lake of fire, your choice should be clear!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship