Creator!

For Wednesday, May 20, 2026:

Colossians 1:17 NLT: “Christ existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”

The Bible describes Jesus as the firstborn of everything, present before anything else was created. He himself is not a created being. But he was an active participant when our world was created.

We often take much of our world for granted, giving little credit to the creator. Mankind doesn’t generally question commonplace occurrences, but some are actually miracles. We are given air to breathe, with enough oxygen to keep us alive. The Earth’s temperature is perfect for sustaining life, warmed by a sun 93M miles away. We have a seemingly endless supply of water. Rivers carry away pollution, which settles in oceans. Only pure H₂0 evaporates into clouds, wind blows them over our land, raining down fresh water! It’s a genius system!

Gravity holds everything together. Even though the Earth speeds around the sun eight times faster than a speeding bullet, we don’t fly off into space! There are more insects in a square mile than there are humans on the planet! A single human chromosome contains twenty billion bits of information. Won’t fit on my phone, my iPad or my laptop – not even close!

God is very good, even when we don’t fully realize it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

For Sunday, March 8, 2026:

John 14:8 NLT, Philip speaking: “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus has been telling the disciples about the life after this life. Philip, one of the 12, has questions about the Trinity, the 3-in-1 God. I understand. As I meet with people to answer their Bible questions, this is the #1 topic!

Understanding the awesome power of God Almighty helps us make sense of the Trinity. First, God is omnipotent, meaning all powerful. Mankind can imagine supernatural things, but God can actually do them. God had the power to create planets, our solar system, the whole universe and the space into which it could all be put; plants, animals and human beings, from scratch! He can create anything and do anything, so don’t be surprised when God does something out of the ordinary, something kind of unusual.

Our all-powerful God is also omnipresent. He can be in more than one place at the same time, simultaneously. Being omnipresent, God can decide to walk on planet Earth to rescue mankind, while remaining in Heaven. Sort of like cloning, but still of one mind. God can also do different things at the same time, multi-tasking, if you will. And if you pray to God, He’s never too busy to take the call. God doesn’t have voicemail or call waiting. Omnipresence makes him perpetually available.

Omniscience is another God trait. He possesses all knowledge. God is smart, much smarter than any of us! He knows what’s good for us, and even if it hurts, He’ll give us what’s best for us. Mankind is better off living under God’s plan.

So can Jesus show the Father to Philip? Jesus answered, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” I hope Philip gets it; I hope we ALL get it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Trust in Jesus!

March 2, 2026, Monday Message:

John 14:1 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.“

Followers of Jesus were worried. First off, all the Hebrews were living under Roman rule, and while the Romans tolerated religion, they really didn’t like it. They believed in all their false gods, like a god for rain, for a bountiful harvest, for the sun and moon and stars. Some Romans even claimed that Caesar was God. Of course, he wasn’t.

Next problem, the followers of Jesus found themselves at odds with the Temple leaders. The Temple wanted to be in charge of Hebrew religion, and didn’t like this relative newcomer Jesus pulling worshipers out of the Temple, which also pulled their tithes out of the Temple. As with many things in life, if you’re trying to figure out what’s wrong, just follow the money! Also, when Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, they considered it blasphemy. The Temple attitude was, “We’ve always done things this way, and we’re not about to change.”

Jesus wants to comfort the loyal believers, put them at ease, have them not worry. Rest assured knowing that Jesus and his Father are in charge. Since they’re the creators of everything, we know their power. We can securely leave everything in their hands. Trust God, and trust his Son.

So friends, don’t worry about the future, in this life or the next. Don’t let your heart be troubled. Don’t give defeat a second thought. Put a smile on your face, a Bible in your hand, Jesus in your heart and optimism in your head. With Jesus at the helm, everything will be A-OK. He said so himself! He promised!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Serve the Lord!

For Friday, January 23, 2026:

Romans 6:12 NLT: “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let sin reign in your body, which is subject to death.”

Bob Dylan sang that each of us winds up serving somebody. We get to carefully choose who we will serve. This is the same declaration that Joshua, Moses’ assistant, made 3300 years earlier. “Choose today who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Your decision is an alliance and an allegiance. Which team do you want to play for, Jesus’ team or the other team? Jesus’ team aligns with our Creator God, while the other team is always battling their wrongdoings. Surprisingly, it’s easier to align with God, although at times we may be outnumbered!

Choosing Jesus’ team doesn’t instantly make us perfect. But deciding in favor of heaven’s ways gives us standards, goals for which we can strive. Believers wisely choose to adopt God’s value system, and the longer we bond with God, the better we get at serving him. We see progress, but our goal is perfection!

Satan’s sinners face death, while Jesus’ team is destined for eternal life in God’s heavenly Kingdom. Jesus made it possible for believers to view that Kingdom from the inside! Choose today who you will serve.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Connected!

For Friday, November 14, 2025:

John 15:5-6 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.”

In Jesus’ day, the economy was largely agricultural. Most people would have known the basics of tending sheep, and vineyards were abundant. So this vine/branches analogy helps clarify our relationship with Christ.

If a branch is severed from its host vine, it will wither and die, only to be tossed into the fire. But mankind will thrive when connected to the Creator, the source of life.

Knowing this, how could any of us ever get separated from the host? Neglect seems to be a key factor. Your vineyard needs water and fertilizer. Pruning away the unproductive branches leaves more nutrients for those focused on Jesus’ mission. Maintenance of our heavenly connection should top our list of “things to do today.”

Jesus promises a reward for our persistence. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” He sums it up like this: “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” Let’s put a smile on God’s face today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Walls Torn Down!

For Wednesday, October 1, 2025:

Hebrews 10:21-22 NLT: “Since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

God desires to live among the people he created. The Bible says that God loves us! The problem arises that there can be no sin in the presence of the Lord. By definition, sin and God don’t go together. What to do?

The presence of the Lord was in a special inner room, the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place. The entrance was covered by a large, very heavy curtain. Mankind could visit the Temple where God was exalted, but we had separate spaces.

Enter Jesus. After Jesus, everything is different. After Jesus, everything is better! As he died on the cross, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead and left them there. Mankind had been forgiven, redeemed, purchased back from Satan’s pawn shop, Jesus himself being the ultimate sacrifice for the world’s sins. And since mankind was no longer carrying a sin-burden, there was no longer a need for separation from God. The giant curtain was torn from top to bottom, a sign that God was doing the tearing! There was now nothing separating the creation, mankind, from our Creator God. He says our sins are forgiven and forgotten, and God is never wrong!

If we’re expecting company, my wife wants our place to look nice, so I go outside to mow the lawn and straighten up the yard. I work hard. Then I hear, “You’ll need a shower before they get here!” We want to look our best when meeting someone for the first time! Fortunately, we have Jesus to clean us up before we meet the Father!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Omnipresent!

For Thursday, August 14, 2025:

John 12:44-45: Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.”

Omnipresence is a challenging concept for some individuals to grasp. That God could be on the throne of heaven, Jesus could walk on earth alongside mankind with the mobile Holy Spirit on the bench, waiting to be called into action seems unbelievable. But it’s true. Our God, the Creator of the universe, isn’t limited by human constraints. Time and location cannot put chains on our God! He can be in more than one place at the same time. Omnipresent. But they’re all the same God!

Every word Jesus spoke was true, and this is no exception. He said, “I and the Father are One.” Hearing this, our opinion of the Son should go up considerably! This spirit-being, living within believers, is actually God himself. We are indwelt by a version of our Creator! Believers belong to Jesus; believers belong to God!

By definition, God and the Holy Spirit cannot be seen by human eyes. Jesus was sent to give us a glimpse into heavenly standards. His truth, honesty and love for God and his neighbors were unequaled. Our biggest challenge is to imitate the Savior.

When in doubt, do what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Lost Sheep!

For Saturday, July 12, 2025:

Luke 15:4 MSG: “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?”

Jesus is teaching the mixed crowd – tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees and teachers of religious law – the parable of the lost sheep. Livestock are valuable, well worth going after if one strays. Sheep share a philosophy that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, so they’re always wandering off, straying, doing the wrong thing, just like many humans! God figures that human souls are worth going after if they stray. That’s why Jesus came to earth, to redeem mankind! Note the ratio, 1 out of 100 missing. We’d check every nook and cranny of the pasture. The search wouldn’t be over until the missing sheep was accounted for!

In real life, something far more valuable than a sheep had gone missing. In this parable, the lost sheep represents a wandering sinner. Heaven patiently waits for each one of us to repent and return, and heaven won’t abandon us until we have had adequate opportunities to reconcile with our Creator. God’s desire is that none would be lost, and that all would repent and return!

When the animal is returned to the flock, the shepherd invites his neighbors in to celebrate the victory. “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep!”

Jesus summarizes his teaching: “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Team Jesus!

For Tuesday, May 20, 2025:

Luke 11:23 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

There are only two teams competing in the game of eternal life – Jesus’ team and the ‘other’ team. Team Jesus is the good guys, while the ‘other’ team is evil. Jesus’ team has declared allegiance to God Almighty, whereas the evil team is playing for Satan.

There is no neutral team. “No opinion” isn’t a valid answer to the question, “Who will you serve?” Jesus takes all believers under his wing. Everyone else is assumed to be in opposition to our creator. If you’re not moving God’s project forward, the dragging of your feet could be holding things back!

If you’re curious, you can flip to the back of the book and see who wins. The created one will never outplay the one who created everything! Today is the accepted day to sign up for the winning team! Your reward will be a glorious eternity in the presence of the Lord!

May God’s blessings cover you as you go about his work today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

A House Divided...

For Sunday, May 18, 2025:

Luke 11:17 NLT: “Jesus knew their thoughts, so he said, ‘Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.’”

A house divided will not stand. When someone has reached the top, there always seems to be a challenger attempting to knock them off the pedestal. If that opponent is an enemy, they can be dealt with. We expect attacks from our enemies. A much bigger problem is division within, subversion and betrayal by our own teammates, people wearing our uniforms.

Unbelievers claimed Jesus received power from Satan. They were wrong. Jesus was clearly preaching in favor of God and God’s Kingdom. Jesus would put Satan down and separate good from evil, the sheep from the goats. He would preach repent and return, telling people that the Kingdom was at hand. Jesus was saying, “Get ready to meet the Lord!”

Satan tried tempting Jesus in the desert. He tried offering Jesus things that were already his. Jesus used the Bible as his defense. “Scripture says...” answered his battles with the Devil.

A created being can never win a battle against its creator! So let’s all join up with our Creator. Play for the winning team!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Idols = Bad!

For Saturday, April 5, 2025:

John 14:24a NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.”

As Jesus draws closer to the cross, he leaves urgent last-minute instructions and theological details with the believers. (John chapter 14) We’ve been reviewing his thoughts as we draw closer to Holy Week, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday (Easter.)

Our Father in Heaven freely admits that he’s a jealous God. He has no time for those who pursue idols and false gods. The God we love is the Creator of the universe, while a statuette just sits there doing nothing. The God who gave us brains and reasoning is dumbfounded when people fall for a false god – makes no sense! Nowadays, idols can be work, hobby, sport or some other false religion – anything that competes with the real God for first place in our lives.

If someone has no time for God, God will have no time for them. Love is reciprocal. It’s easy to spot the wolf in sheep’s clothing, someone faking love for the Lord. Jesus instructed his followers to love the Lord and love their neighbors. If someone spends no time with God and/or has no compassion for their neighbor’s predicament, they’re probably not a believer.

Those who love Jesus obey his commands and put his instructions in motion. Believers are filled with the joy of the Lord, and God is pleased with their efforts. Believers have been recruited to play on Jesus’ team! Get in the game!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Glory to the Father!

For Sunday, March 30, 2025:

John 14:13 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.”

Jesus performed quite a number of miracles while he was here on earth. Many of them involved healing. He could take a person born lame and have them dancing a jig in no time! For that person, the miracle was life-changing, but it also fulfilled another purpose!

Jesus made no secret that he was the Son of the Most High and that any power he had originated with God himself. God, who created heaven and earth, should be exalted every day, but especially when we are eyewitnesses to his goodness. Healings showcase God’s love for mankind, and his desire to be a part of our lives.

Picture Jesus bragging, “Let me show you what my dad can do!” He never took credit himself. Jesus’ power to improve lives always came from above. That power has not ended. So we pray to Father God, “...in Jesus’ name – Amen!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship