Beware Intellectual Babble!

For Tuesday, August 18, 2026:

Colossians 2:8 AMP, Paul writing to the church in Colossae: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.”

The world is constantly undergoing change. God gave mankind brains and the ability to think up new ideas. That creative curiosity is what moves our world forward. I’m often amazed, not that things change, but by the speed at which they change! That’s good in scientific and technological circles, but a bad idea in religion. As a group, mankind is quick to jump on the bandwagon and investigate new and exciting things, but it’s unnecessary and in this case, undesirable. The Bible says that both God the Father and his Son are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God’s value system and commands are unchanging. Truth doesn’t change.

Are all religions the same? On the surface, many look similar. They advise being nice, loving our neighbor and helping the less fortunate. But only one has dealt with mankind’s sin problem. Only one religion has a Savior, a Redeemer, someone who took the sins of the world to the place of the dead. Our Savior rendered us forgiven, pure and unblemished, prepared for residency in God’s Holy Heavenly eternal Kingdom.

As far as religion is concerned, don’t fall for the latest, greatest innovation. Stick with fellows who teach truth from the Bible, tried and true. Paul counsels us to beware of intellectual babble! And most of all, avoid the myths perpetrated by Satan and his demons. He’ll do anything to take you off the Christian pathway.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

P.S. Satan isn’t taking a vacation this year!

Love Your Enemies!

For Tuesday, August 11, 2026:

Luke 6:27-28 NLT, Jesus speaking: “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.”

Notice how Jesus begins: “To those who are willing to listen.” He already knows that this message may be unpopular. He’s teaching, “Love your enemies!” Seems counterintuitive. Don’t we hate our enemies?

That’s how the world works, but that’s not how Christians should operate. Jesus wants us to include enemies in our prayers. We can pray for a change in their evil ways. We can pray that they would see the light! We can pray that they would switch sides, come to know Jesus and become one of us! After all, that’s what Paul did!

Pray that our enemy would become our friend. Pray that we could let go and let God, and no longer hold a grudge. Pray that forgiveness would be our hallmark, because the Lord will forgive us as we forgive others. And as the Lord’s prayer says, “Lead us not into temptation.” Mankind so easily succumbs to temptation that we need to pray to stay far from it. We ask God to separate the sheep from the goats as he promised. If evil has crept too close to us, deliverance may be in order. Satan needs to be kept at bay, and Jesus said to pray, “Deliver us from evil.”

Every day God gives each one of us a yellow pad and a pen. At the top, write: Things To Do Today! Number down the left side. Now start filling in the lines. You get to decide your own agenda! Ideally, loving the Lord should be first. Loving your neighbors is next. Praying for your enemies should be somewhere on the list. After all, that’s what Jesus said to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Testify Truth!

For Friday, June 26, 2026:

John 15:27 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.”

Jesus was telling all the gathered disciples to continue the Good News ministry after he returned to the Father. Some had been with him from the beginning and were eyewitnesses to every miracle and every healing. Others joined the entourage later, but they did so because of what Jesus did for them or from what they had seen. They have sufficient experiences about which to testify!

Consider Mary Magdalene. Jesus cast out seven demons from her, turning her life around. She in turn traveled with Jesus’ followers and helped support them financially. She witnessed the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension. Her testimony would be completely valid.

Each of us has a “before Jesus” story and an “after Jesus” story. Our testimony should be about the positive changes as the result of that transition. Knowing that we are forgiven and have a place in eternity is no small thing! Having Assurance of Salvation makes for a great testimony!

What is your “changed life” story? It’s time to rehearse. Many need to hear what you have to say!

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

New Covenant!

For Wednesday, March 25, 2026:

Romans 8:1 NLT: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

If this announcement had been on TV, we’d hear, “Beep-pa-da-beep-beep! Breaking news!” That’s what this was, friends, breaking news! Things had been one way under the Old Covenant. Mankind was living condemned because of sin. But now, after Jesus, everything changed! Under the New Covenant, those who put their faith, hope and trust in Christ Jesus will be forgiven, given a clean start, have their sin-slate wiped clean. Jesus introduces us to a God of second chances and do-overs. I like the golf analogy. “That last sin I did – I’d like to take a mulligan on that!”

Notice that forgiveness isn’t universal. It’s reserved for the repentant who desire to restore God and his Son back to the place in our lives they should have had all along. It’s an apology and an amend to our higher power. There’s an implied, “I’m really gonna try to do better. I intend to change my ways.”

Those whose heart lines up with their words will get to see heaven from the inside. This is our “Assurance of Salvation.” If you belong to Christ Jesus, it’s a done deal. God’s heavenly Kingdom awaits you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Corrupt Tax Collectors!

For Saturday, February 28, 2026:

Luke 3:12-13 NLT: “Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ John the Baptist replied, ‘Collect no more taxes than the government requires.’”

A lone Roman didn’t feel safe amongst the Jewish population. The Jews were angry, having been mistreated, persecuted and over-taxed. So Rome lined up others to do their dirty work. They arranged for Jews to do the tax collecting from other Jews. This meant that the tax collector would have to have abandon his fellows, his family and probably his religion. Consequently, he had no friends and was known as a scoundrel, a traitor. But he got paid well for his misery.

Our scripture today calls them “corrupt tax collectors.” That’s almost a redundancy! Tax collectors were known for assessing a little extra to put in their own pockets, so most tax collectors were wealthy. Now, they may have put religion on the back burner, but it never entirely left them. So here we find them listening intently to John the Baptist. He stops their sinful, corrupt nature in its tracks. “Collect no more taxes than the government requires!”

A few listened to John, many vowed to change their life and stop the skimming. This is an example of the radical transformation we talk about as people come to know the Messiah. Each of us has habits in our lives that we’ve put off changing. It’s never too soon to change direction, to leave the sin behind and follow the right path. Don’t put it off! Cause God to smile down on you! Do the right thing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

The Best is Yet to Come!

For Sunday, February 15, 2026:

Hebrews 13:14 NLT: “This world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”

If only we could more clearly see the future! The Bible is truth. It tells us not only what happened, but also what lies ahead. History is interesting and important, but we can do nothing to alter what has already transpired. So it might be more beneficial to spend more time on Jesus’ words about what is to come. That’s something that we can change and make better!

Interesting sidebar: I’ve found that most Christians could retell a reasonably accurate version of the Christmas story with only a couple of missteps. They’ve sat through a number of Christmas pageants! The same group isn’t so clear about creation. Some know the Bible version, but don’t necessarily believe all of it. But when I teach about life after this life, I get a lot of blank stares. Our churches seem to teach a lot about what has happened, and very little about what is to come. Friends, I believe that we need to be prepared for the future!

Here’s the deal: If you’re alive today but headed in the wrong direction, there’s still time to set things right. By recasting our behavior, we can positively improve our place in eternity. We can join the group that calls Jesus the Lord and Savior of their lives. We can pray for Jesus to forgive our sins, wipe our slates clean and prepare a place for us in the hereafter. Eternity is a very long time! We want to be in the right place!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Turn Around - Face God!

For Thursday, February 12, 2026:

Romans 6:19b NLT: “Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.”

In the Hebrew language, a person caught up in sin is said to be far from God, whereas a righteous person is said to be close to God. That’s a good way to look at it.

If someone appears to have drifted from religion, they haven’t necessarily placed Satan in charge. But they have wandered farther and farther from God. It’s then time to turn, do a 180 and get back closer to God. Teshuva(h) means return, in this case, return to the Lord. Repentance requires acknowledging the sin, regretting it, and vowing to take a better path as the person changes directions and returns to be closer to God.

Who is Lord of your life? (Jesus.) Are you close to God, or far from God? (Closer is better.) If your eyes can’t focus on God, you may be facing the wrong direction. Time to flip around and head back the right way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Change!

December 29, 2025, Monday Message:

Romans 6:1 NLT: “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not!”

A change of heart on our part would be evidence of our gratitude for God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation. The Lord’s efforts are effective and efficient. He doesn’t seem to waste his time doing needless stuff. So God planned to rescue those who need rescuing. (Friends, that’s all of us!) A Savior wouldn’t have been sent unless people needed saving.

Being born again implies a second chance to get things right, to prioritize the Lord in our lives. We should learn from our past mistakes. The Bible word translated ‘repent’ means to change, like a change of direction. “We were going north, but God showed us that we should have been traveling south!” Radical transformation should be the result of God’s gift, God’s grace. Continued sinning should be out of the question.

God’s gift should bring about positive change!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Forgiveness!

For Friday, April 25, 2025:

Luke 24:47b NLT, Jesus speaking: “There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.”

Since Jesus offers forgiveness, we should repent and return to the Lord. Repent and return – those words should just roll off our tongues. Say it with me: “Repent and return!” When sins can be forgiven, that changes everything. Forgiveness of sin is a good starting place, but now let’s consider what’s possible following that.

For one thing, if you are without sin, you can live in the presence of the Lord. Sin is disobedience or disrespect for God. Therefore, sin and God never exist in the same place. But if your sins are not just forgiven, but blotted out as if they’d never occurred, you would be deemed suitable for heavenly residence, for a life after this life in the Kingdom! It’s either that or the lake of fire – pick one!

In my mind (and only in my mind), our afterlife unfolds like this. We approach the pearly gates, and they’re surprised to see us! “You lived on earth, where scripture says that ALL have sinned. What could you be thinking?”

I ask them to check the Book of Life one more time, and voilà, there’s my name! Now go across to the column marked ‘sin.’ Surprisingly, it’s completely blank! Nothing erased, no scratch-outs, just blank white space! Turns out that I qualify! Jesus personally paid the penalty for my iniquities. I’ve been redeemed! Meet me inside the pearly gates!

Yes, forgiveness changes everything – for the better!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jubilee!

For Friday, March 21, 2025:

Leviticus 25:39-40 NLT: The Lord said to Moses, “If one of your fellows falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself, he should not be treated as a slave. Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee.”

I like several songs that carry the message, “Some things never change; that’s just the way it is.” Some things in life are like that! The Serenity Prayer teaches us to accept the things we cannot change. But it also says to change or improve the things we can. Now we just need wisdom to discern the difference!

In Leviticus ch. 25, God offers change and optimism where perhaps at first we didn’t expect it. Back then the economy was agricultural based. People worked hard to plant, grow and harvest crops. God says six years is enough nonstop work. Take the seventh year off. He calls it a Sabbath year.

Seven Sabbath years lead to a Jubilee year. God says, v10 “Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there.” Slaves go free in the Jubilee year, and hired workers are free to go their own way. Those who have wandered can go back to the land of their ancestors. The Jubilee year gives everyone a fresh start, a do-over on life.

If someone sells real estate, they have up to a year to reconsider the sale, to change their mind about selling. Houses and pastures of priests may never be permanently sold.

The promised land and the people who live there all belong to the Lord, so his rules apply. That’s one thing that will never change!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Locusts!

For Thursday, January 30, 2025:

Exodus 10:3-4 NLT: Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country.’”

There was little left in Egypt, but the locusts would take down anything that remained. Locusts are grasshoppers that arrive in swarms, destroying everything in their path. They would eat any crops the hail hadn’t destroyed. They would eat the leaves off the trees. Locusts would cover the ground, invade homes and crunch underfoot.

Pharaoh’s advisors had had enough. “How long will you let Moses hold us hostage? Let the Hebrews go to worship the Lord their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”

Pharaoh put forth another question. “How many of you need to go?”

Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.”

Pharaoh wasn’t stupid. If he let the Hebrews pack up their wives, babies and livestock, it was obvious they’d be leaving for good. He threw Moses out of the palace.

Pharaoh was quick at promising to change, but also quick on going back on his word, a trap we should all avoid. An oath before God should be a forever promise. Just as God’s word to us is always good, our word before God should also be good. It’s both respect and love. Don’t disappoint your Father!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Arrival!

December 23, 2024 Monday Message:

Luke 2:7 NKJV: “Mary brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Birthing a baby is no easy task, especially in a stable! There’s no mention of a midwife or doula assisting the young couple. God’s Son came to earth without pomp and circumstance, a rather mundane event, especially if you consider its colossal significance in mankind’s future!

Do you know how to swaddle a baby? First you lay the baby on a pointy-side-up blanket with that top corner folded down just a little, and then pull a side corner over baby’s body, tucking it tightly under baby. Raise the bottom corner and tuck it in as best you can. Then, wrap the remaining corner of the blanket around everything. Success is when baby and blanket are as one, a warm, secure package. Mary and Joseph must have known that the birth was imminent, since they had packed swaddling clothes for the trip!

Since they had no crib or bassinet, a feed trough or manger would have to do. Baby was safe in there and couldn’t roll out, although newborns don’t tend to roll much!

Now Jesus was in the world. That changes everything!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Oral Tradition!

For Friday, December 20, 2024:

2 Thessalonians 2:5 NLT: “Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?”

This is one believer counseling other believers in the same way that Jesus counseled disciples when he walked alongside mankind. Even before there was written language, people learned in this way. It’s called ‘oral tradition,’ one believer sharing with others what he had been taught.

The older teaching is still valid. God’s value system is not about to change. If God said something was wrong 2k years ago, it’s still wrong today. And if God assigned us a task or established a principle, we should still follow those instructions nowadays.

Jesus is the only one to alter a few things. We call his way the “New Covenant.” A couple of examples: 1. We no longer have animal sacrifices because Jesus himself was the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. 2. We celebrate Holy Communion because Jesus said to do this “in remembrance of me.” That’s being obedient!

We still use oral tradition nowadays. Each Sunday your pastor should research a topic and give the congregation the ‘inside scoop’ on that topic. Week by week we increase our knowledge of God, our Savior and the Holy Spirit!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship