Forever and Ever!

For Wednesday, May 13, 2026:

Colossians 1:15b-16a NLT: “The Son existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.”

This scripture lines up perfectly with John’s Gospel account: “Jesus existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”

Therefore, we know that Jesus existed long before our world was created, and long before he came to earth in human form. When he showed up, it was big news to mankind. God’s people had been watching and waiting for the promised Messiah. They were excited to meet Jesus and hear him speak! None of this was news to God, whose Son had been around from the beginning.

What we need to remember is that Jesus is a perpetual spirit, just like Father God. The Son was here before the creation of our world, and he’ll be here long after it’s gone. The place Jesus prepares for us will be in the New Heaven and the New Earth. When Jesus’ forgiveness promises to give us eternal life in the presence of the Father, we can’t even imagine how long that is. The Father and the Son have set us up for a life expectancy similar to their own.

We are only on this earth for a very short time – like a blink of an eye! I believe eternity is somewhat beyond our comprehension. I cannot over-stress the importance of being on the right side of things as we transition from this reality to the next. Decide today to live in harmony with God and mankind, until we get a face-to-face meeting with God’s Son! It may happen sooner than you think!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Same God!

     For Sunday, February 1, 2026:

Hebrews 13:8 NLT: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

This scripture tells us that God and his Son Jesus are consistent. If God gave a command 2K years ago, it’s still in effect nowadays. We can have confidence in the prophecies given to us. Rules are rules, and laws are laws. What God wants us to do doesn’t change. Tell everyone about the Father’s love and forgiveness. Tell them about Jesus, that he paid the penalty for our sins. Tell the people that our Lord has offered us a second chance, a do-over – and a third chance, and a fourth chance… His desire is that everyone would repent and return.

We can put our faith, hope and trust in the God of Abraham. He’s the same God yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our God is powerful enough to create an entire universe, but still quite interested in each of our lives. He wants us to talk to him today. He wants to favor us with his blessings today – right now, so connect with him frequently. Share not only your hurts and sorrows with him, but your good news and blessings as well. Get to the heart of the matter. You can’t just do small talk when conversing with God. Smile when you meet with the Lord!

God and his Son desire a relationship with you. Make a point of including him in your life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Rumors of Wars!

For Friday, January 16, 2026:

Matthew 24:6 NLT: Jesus speaking: “You will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.”

Jesus is teaching about warning signs, signs that the end times is drawing near. One of those signs is wars and rumors of war. Rumors would be threats from one nation to another before actual fighting takes place. No war seems to start without some words being thrown first.

Some wars are new; some have been going on for thousands of years. Palestine has been upset ever since God settled Jews in the Promised Land. That’s a long time!

More recently, last week, the US took over Venezuela. It wasn’t exactly a war. Venezuela was so disorganized under a corrupt leader that fighting back wasn’t an option, and many in the country welcomed the intervention. Nonetheless, their president was deposed, and the US president is now setting policy for that country.

Afghanistan and Pakistan can’t agree on the border between their two countries. Russia is still trying to annex Ukraine. At least eight countries are undergoing civil wars, unable to agree on a government within their own country. The US did that in the 1860’s. Other governments are threatened by gangs and terrorists, mostly involving drugs. Illegal drugs represent a lot of money, and to find the source of the conflict, just follow the money! By the way, illegal drugs are only valuable because there’s a huge market for them. That’s our country’s problem!

Note that Jesus doesn’t say that these wars are the end. “The end won’t follow immediately.” But each war is a step closer to the end. These are times to lock in our commitment to Jesus and to God’s way. As God reveals the New Heaven and the New Earth, believer’s salvation will also be revealed. If we stick with Jesus, we’ll be given a ticket for eternal life in God’s forever heavenly Kingdom.

All aboard!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Messiah = Rescuer!

January 12, 2026, Monday Message:

Luke 2:25-26 NLT: “There was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him, and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.”

On the eighth day, Jesus was presented in the Temple. There, the Holy Family encountered Simeon, who was filled with the Holy Spirit. He believed that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. At that point, most of Israel had been watching and waiting for a Messiah. Angels verified Jesus’ identity to the shepherds. Gabriel confirmed Jesus’ mission for his earthly parents. And now the Holy Spirit helps Simeon identify the Son of God. There should be no doubt concerning Jesus’ true identity and his mission in coming to Earth.

At that time, Rome had captured Israel. The police keeping order were Roman soldiers. The Hebrew people were not happy about this, and the popular thinking was that God’s Messiah would rescue them from Roman oppression. They were only half right. Jesus would rescue them all right, but from their sin penalty, not from the Roman government.

Let’s keep this simple. Before Jesus, Israel was in disarray. After Jesus, everything got better. If he had fixed Israel, it would have benefitted mankind only for their lifetimes, perhaps 50-100 years. Instead, he fixed mankind’s eternal sin problem, ensuring us a safe life in God’s forever Heavenly kingdom.

Jesus gave mankind not what they asked for, but rather the gift with the greatest long-term benefit. Stick with Jesus, and in the end, everything will be OK! Jesus and his Father are always looking out for us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Merry Christmas!

For Thursday, Christmas Day, December 25, 2025:

Luke 2:11 NLT: “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

If we are faithful, God promises that everything will be all right in the end. He will finish what he started, and that includes bringing faithful believers to his forever Kingdom, in spite of their sin. The coming of Jesus is a sign that we’re on the right path.

While sin is a problem, it can be overcome. God can decry the world’s sins while forgiving those who repent and desire to return to the Lord. Jesus will suffer the penalty for mankind’s sins. He is our Savior, our redeemer, our one-way ticket to heaven. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves!

As we shout “Merry Christmas” to one another, understand that the solution has arrived, and that’s good news! Father God will not abandon us if we’re loyal to him. So for today, celebrate the birth of our Messiah. Remain confident in believers being rescued. Believe that we all have a reservation in a better place. Baby Jesus will be very good to believers! That’s what the Bible says!

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

God's Gracious Gift!

For Saturday, December 13, 2025:

Romans 5:15 NLT: “There is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”

Which is greater – Mankind’s sin or God’s wonderful gift of grace and forgiveness? Given who God is, anything from him will be greater, more important, more significant than anything mankind could implement.

God has a commodity to which we should aspire – greatness! God’s Son was great and obedient to his Father. People were dying left and right, God wanted the problem solved and sent his Son to put the plan in motion.

Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, making mankind once again eligible to join the throng in God’s eternal Heavenly Kingdom. Forever is a long time, and God’s desire is that we join him in that reality.

Sounds good to me!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

God's Gift!

For Wednesday, November 26, 2025:

Romans 5:2 NLT: “Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

 "Because of our faith…” This is why Heaven’s gifts keep raining into our lives. I wish we could see God. That way, we could watch him smile as we do things that please him. Surely God smiles when we worship him, and when we honor his Son. God wants to include us in his forever kingdom, where his glory shines!

 In the past, we might not have been worthy to live alongside the Father and his Son. But the Son, Jesus, took away our sinful nature as part of God’s vast eternal plan. So here we are, looking forward to our eternal lives because of what God had his Son put in motion. This is undeserved favor at its max! Mankind is the beneficiary of God’s grace!

 God, Jesus and believers all living in harmony, loving one another, forever! It doesn’t get any better than that!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Faith = Good Idea!

For Wednesday, October 22, 2025:

Hebrews 11:1 TLB: “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”

What is faith? Good question! Habakkuk 2:4b says that the righteous will live (eternally) by faith. So faith in Holy things assures us of residence in the forever Heavenly Kingdom.

Faith includes believing that God-the-Father loves us, and that he sent his Son to redeem us. The faithful believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and that all His promises (prophecies) are true. We believe through faith that Jesus can and will do what He said He will do. We believe that God-the-Father, Jesus-his-Son and the Holy Spirit are one God. Believers have no doubt that all of God’s promises will come to fruition. He is, after all, God!

Faithful believers know that Jesus preceded the bulk of mankind into the life after this life, to prepare our forever residence. The believer-filled church is the bride of Christ, and we will be honored to attend the wedding banquet in Heaven’s Great Hall!

Jesus is offering us a gift we cannot repay, residence in an unseen reality for an unending length of time. Our faith tells us that it will be the best thing ever! Sounds good to me! Does it sound good to you?

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship
 

Count On It!

For Sunday, October 5, 2025:

Hebrews 10:23 GNT: “Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise.”

God only deals in truth. It is not in God’s character to lie or deceive any of us. His Son is the same way. And Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

I think we all want to experience life after this life. Jesus knows the way. He promised that our loyalty would be rewarded. He ascended first to prepare a place for believers in the hereafter. It’s like having a hotel reservation, except that these are forever rooms. We’ll have everything that we need. People will love one another and love the Lord, and in that respect, Heaven sounds far better than Earth! We believe God’s Kingdom will exceed our every expectation, because that’s what Jesus promised, and his word is good, trustworthy.

So closely guard the hope we have been promised. Spend a little time thinking about Heaven and what our lives will be like living in the Lord’s presence. Thank God for his Son, for making forgiveness available! Our ticket to the afterlife is the best present we could ever receive from our God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

One Perfect Sacrifice!

For Friday, September 19, 2025:

Hebrews 10:14 NLT: “By that one offering (on the cross) Jesus forever made perfect those who are being made holy.”

Believers are being radically transformed! Many were living only for the world. God had no place in their lives. But once introduced to Jesus and God’s ways, they like what they see and desire to become a part of it.

The first church, The Way, lived out Jesus’ command to love God and to love one another. This “caring for your neighbor” was a new concept for a lot of people. Most were only looking out for #1! But they liked what they saw and wanted to give it a try. “They’ll know we are Christians by our love!” The church grew by leaps and bounds!

I always say that Christianity isn’t a DO religion; it’s a DONE religion. Jesus made the ultimate one-time sacrifice to redeem believers. Jesus did it all! Nothing else is required. Once Jesus has captured your spirit, nothing can snatch you out of his hand. This scripture says that Jesus’ one sacrifice is good forever, for eternity. Believers will be reengineered into what God wants us to be. We are being made Holy! It’s all good!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Ultimate Sacrifice!

For Saturday, September 6, 2025:

Hebrews 10:4 NLT: “It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Animal sacrifices were the order of the day. God gave these instructions to Moses, who then told the priests and the people. Many would repent on the Day of Atonement, but sin would creep back into their lives. So these sacrifices were only a temporary fix. They did not solve mankind’s ongoing sin problem.

What would be better is a “once and for all time” permanent solution. Look out – here comes Jesus, the only one suitable to take away the sins of the world for all time. The Jesus-cure is effective as long as it’s needed, which could be forever! His obedience to the Father is never-ending.

Animal sacrifices originated in the Old Covenant, but Jesus as our Savior is from the New Covenant, a better way. You can only bandage a wound for a limited time. At a certain point, it becomes necessary to end the infection or lose the limb. God lets you choose, and He has provided His Son as the “once and for all time” solution. Choose wisely!

Sacrifices under the old system were required year after year, but Jesus is a “one and done” solution. Old Covenant sacrifices were a temporary fix, an imperfect cleansing, whereas Jesus provides the perfect cleansing. God does not want animal sacrifices. He wants our hearts!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

I Am = Messiah!

For Thursday, September 4, 2025:

John 13:19, Jesus speaking: “I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I am the Messiah.”

Magicians, sorcerers and the like were common 2K years ago. They would perform a trick and claim to be someone special. They were not. People became wary and weary of them. Jesus had executed many miracles and healed thousands, but several wondered if it was all some kind of trick. After all, Jesus had arrived as a little baby, born to a builder and an obedient mother. That this young man who had grown up in their midst could be the Messiah seemed unlikely.

But magicians and sorcerers cannot predict the future. Jesus, who was riding high at the time, predicted his betrayal and unlikely demise. Quite a contrast! But everything happened just the way Jesus said it would. When he was gone, not only theologians but also everyday men and women could compare what happened with Jesus’ predictions, and immediately recognize him as the Messiah!

In the original language, Jesus refers to himself as the “I am,” the same name God gave when Moses asked that question. “I am” implies a perpetual existence. It’s not “I was” or “I’m going to be.” It’s just “I am,” I was from the beginning and I always will be. I am everything from God-the-creator to God-of-the-future. I was God of your ancestors, and will be God of your progeny. Forever!

Thank the Lord today for the privilege of knowing the Son, who died paying the price for mankind’s sinful nature. He personally redeemed the souls of all who believe. That’s why Christians have assurance of salvation. Jesus said so, and he’s the I am!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Hereafter!

For Thursday, August 28, 2025:

Luke 18:29-30 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”

People wanted reassurance about the life after this life. Was such a thing even possible? Does heaven really exist? How do you get there? Who’s included?

Critics of the Bible sometimes say that the afterlife isn’t clearly explained. But make no mistake. In this speech, Jesus clearly explained that there is a Heaven, God’s eternal Kingdom; that we should expect a life after this life; that those loyal to Jesus, God and the Kingdom would inherit a forever home.

Reread Jesus’ words. They should excite you, inspire you to pursue God’s reward. Consider this Jesus’ invitation to the hereafter!

If you love Jesus, you’re included! See you there!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Impossible!

Daily message of hope...
For Wednesday, July 30, 2025:

Hebrews 6:4-6a NLT: “It is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—and who then turn away from God.”

About this scripture, Spurgeon wrote: “We come to this passage ourselves with the intention to read it with the simplicity of a child, and whatever we find therein to state it; and if it may not seem to agree with something we have hitherto held, we are prepared to cast away every doctrine of our own, rather than one passage of Scripture.” He’s saying that we need to properly translate and obey Holy Scripture, not bend the text to fit our preconceived ideas.

A few years ago, a man asked if he could meet with me. He had many questions about the Bible. We did that for quite some time. But one day we read about God favoring life, and he said, “I’ve never believed that part.”

And I said, “Well, I guess we’re done!” If you believe the Bible is truth, the unerring Word of God, then I’m willing to teach it. But I must ask, if you don’t believe the Bible is true, why would you want to learn more about it?

God doesn’t like wishy-washy. If you are convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, great! Sign up! Get on the bandwagon! But don’t think you can jump off and cast our beliefs aside, and then jump back on when it suits you. God says he understands hot and cold. (He’d prefer hot!) But lukewarm has no place in the worship of our God.

Paul was famous for persecuting Christians. Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and he was immediately baptized. Went from cold to hot! He never looked back! He became the point person evangelizing all of Asia Minor.

Just my opinion: More than a commandment or ordinance, I believe this scripture is God letting us know what’s possible. If someone could so easily turn their back on the goodness of God, they probably weren’t 100% convinced to begin with. We can’t count on them, and God can’t count on them if they have a habit of coming and going. When you sign on with Jesus, that’s a forever deal! And he wants us all to accept his offer of forgiveness and eternal life! Are you “IN?”

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship

Bitterness and Resentment!

For Wednesday, July 16, 2025:

Luke 15:25b NLT: “When the older brother returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house.”

The Prodigal Son story hasn’t quite ended. We know the father welcomed him home with open arms. But we also must consider his assimilation into the remainder of the household. As Paul Harvey would say, “The REST of the story!”

One of my commentaries titles this section, “The bitterness and resentment of the older son.” In his mind, what mattered is what he wanted. But what really matters is what God wants! In this parable, the father represents our Father in Heaven.

The older son had never lived a prodigal lifestyle. When he heard the celebration, he refused to enter. “I never disobeyed...” he said, and, “You never gave me…,” clues that a deep-seated grudge lived within the older son. How long had he believed himself to be superior to the younger son?

Let’s get back to what God wants. God expects certain decisions to be ‘forever.’ If you want to be part of God’s team, great. That’s a forever decision. If you decide to be the ‘good’ son, you’ve got that position for life. When you ask Jesus to live in your heart and to be Lord and Savior of your life, that’s an eternal decision. Yes, eternal! God won’t come around daily, asking, “Are you still ‘in?’ Do you still believe? Great!” No, you told Him once that you were ‘in,’ and He expects your word to be good. So was the older son ‘in,’ or was he a backslider?

One more thing. The Hebrew word translated ‘repent’ really means ‘to turn,’ as in, “I was headed North but should have been going South!” It’s referring to turning our lives around. Repent and return. Instead of drifting farther from God, we all need to settle in closer to God, and make that permanent, a forever decision. Our word needs to be good.

Notice that heaven’s celebration begins with the radical transformation of even one sinner. “This son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So let he party begin!

When God celebrates, we should celebrate with Him. After all, heaven celebrated when each of us was saved!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship