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

Predictions!

For Tuesday, April 21, 2026:

John 14:29 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.”

Q: How can you tell if a prophet is the real deal?
A: The prophecies all come true!

As his ministry draws to a close, I don’t think Jesus looked at these words as any long-term prophecy. But he didn’t want any of the believers to lose faith. He didn’t want them to give up or be scared. That could easily happen when your spiritual mentor is hanging from a cross!

As it happened, everything played out just as Jesus predicted. In death, he took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving mankind forgiven, eligible for life after this life. Three days later, he walked out of the tomb. Death could not hold him! And with sin and death both conquered, mankind was given a fresh start! God is good!

Even the bad things that happened should increase our faith, because it all happened just as Jesus said it would!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
The Father’s House
Jesus In the City Fellowship
Truth & Freedom Church

Believe the Eyewitnesses!

For Thursday, February 5, 2026:

Mark 16:14 NLT: “Jesus later appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.”

That Jesus would appear to the remaining 11 disciples. This should have removed all doubt concerning his resurrection. They could all see him and hear him speak. Unfortunately, he spoke a chastisement for their previous unbelief!

Jesus previously told them that he had to leave, but would come back for them. Prophets long ago had said that the Messiah would be persecuted, suffer and die. God saw to it that the disciples knew everything in advance. They were warned! But when it actually happened – when Jesus was crucified – they didn’t believe they’d ever see him again. They could not fathom their spiritual mentor dying a human death. And in their experience, once someone died, that was final.

But not for Jesus! He took another 40 days before ascending to God’s heavenly Kingdom. In that length of time, hundreds could have seen the risen Jesus! By then, life after this life should be known by all. “Should be...” The reality is that most didn’t understand what was taking place and tended to dismiss what they had seen with their own two eyes! It’s hard to convince people of conclusions that differ from their personal experiences!

Evangelists fight this same battle daily, trying to coax faith from unbelievers. Remember that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” So believe! Be blessed by the Messiah!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Messiah!

For Thursday, January 22, 2026:

Luke 2:28-29 NLT: “Simeon took baby Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.’”

It had been prophesied to Simeon that he would not die until the Lord’s Messiah had been revealed to him. And now he’s personally lifting baby Jesus in his arms! Voilà! The Messiah had arrived!

God always makes good on his promises! He promised to send a Savior, a Rescuer, a Messiah for his people. As it turns out, God’s gift was much more important than what the people were expecting. They were frustrated with Roman occupation of their land. They would have been happy just to be free of the Roman Army. God’s almighty gift was forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness opens the door to eternal life and residence in God’s forever heavenly Kingdom! BTW, there is no Roman army in God’s Kingdom! Mission accomplished and then some!

Don’t expect to understand supernatural events. Just accept the results. The Holy Spirit brought Jesus and Simeon together that day in the Temple, and Simeon identified Jesus to the world. This was only eight days into Jesus’ life. So everyone would have known right from the beginning that Jesus was heaven-sent.

His promise to forgive the sins of all who repent and return is as good today as it was 2k years ago. And God’s desire is that ALL would repent and return. His desire is that none would be lost. You can sign up for that program for free. Just acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life and repent of past sins. Draw a line in the sand, before Jesus and after Jesus. The after Jesus side of the line will be clean and fresh. Garbage will be left on the other side of the line. It’s easy to make the right decision. The sun will be shining on Jesus’ side of the line. See you there!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

God's Rescue Plan!

For Saturday, December 27, 2025:

Luke 2:38 NLT: “Anna, a prophet, came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.”

Anna had the right idea. While everyone else was fussing over baby Jesus, Anna’s prayers were to thank the Lord for sending a rescuer to Jerusalem. Their Holy City was under Roman siege, and the Roman army thought Caesar was a god. Followers of the true God know better. Yes, Jesus Son-of-God had arrived, and that’s one piece in God’s masterplan. And with God in charge, mankind’s rescue was never in doubt.

To God, the biggest problem wasn’t the Romans. It was sin, so God went after the biggest problem first. While the people would pray, “Rescue us from the Romans,” Jesus and Father God would answer, “Your sins are forgiven!” Forget the Romans for a minute. They have long since fallen from power, but Jesus taking mankind’s sins to the place of the dead still matters to us 2,000 years later, and has eternal ramifications.

With mankind’s sin problem out of the way, believers could spend eternity in God’s hereafter, Heaven. Our friend Jesus said he would prepare a place for all believers. He’ll meet us with open arms!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Jesus – Proophet-Approved!

For Wednesday, December 24, 2025:

Luke 2:38 NLT: “Anna, a prophet, came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem

Today is Christmas Eve. 2,000 years ago, as Joseph and Mary wrapped up her 9^th month of pregnancy, the couple would complete their sojourn to Bethlehem for Caesar’s census, and improvise sleeping quarters in a stable where the Son of God would make his earthly entrance! Eight days later, the prophet Anna confirmed that Jesus was the one for whom they had been waiting! Let’s see what he has up his sleeve.

Some of the people weren’t too confident about this newborn Jesus. They’d been expecting someone to overpower the Romans, to liberate them from slave-like conditions. A tiny baby just wouldn’t do!

But God’s timing is always best, and it would play out in 30-or-so years. Jesus would have thousands of followers by then. Jesus and his Father understood the Hebrew’s predicament better than they did. The Hebrews were concerned with the Romans being in charge. God and Jesus were concerned with removing sins that could block the path to eternal forgiveness. God’s desire is that everyone would repent and return. Of course, God is always right! Sin problem solved, eternity problem solved. God is good beyond measure!

On the cross, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, saying, “Your sins are forgiven.” Only God can forgive sins. Anna was right! Jesus IS the one!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Not Guilty!

For Thursday, July 10, 2025:

John 11:57 NLT, as people were gathering for Passover: “The leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report the sighting immediately so they could arrest him.”

To say that Jewish leadership had it in for Jesus would be an understatement. As Jesus’ popularity increased, leadership sensed an impending church split, and they wanted to nip it in the bud. As I’ve said before, when worshipers leave, their tithes leave too! The case against Jesus was primarily centered on power and wealth.

Theologically though, Jesus was spot on. He preached loyalty to the same God. He exalted the same prophets. He observed the law of Moses, the commandments God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There was only one point of contention. Jesus claimed to be the heaven-sent Son of God. Blasphemy, they called it! Religious leadership had never seen or heard of anything like this, and they not only didn’t believe but wanted to crush this errant philosophy.

Jesus’ arrest would be the first step in his demise, leading to sham trials in kangaroo courts and ultimately to the cross. When this scenario came to fruition, the Pharisees thought they had won. But on the cross, Jesus took mankind’s sins to the place of the dead, thereby redeeming believers and fulfilling God’s vast eternal plan. In fact, God won!

And because of what Jesus did, all believers are winners!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

I'll Be Back!

For Thursday, December 26, 2024:

Isaiah 7:14 NLT: “The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”

It’s Dec. 26^th, the day after Christmas – sort of. Most of you know by now that Jesus wasn’t actually born on Dec. 25. Traditional theories say sometime in April or May. Modern thinking says September, probably between 4-6 BCE. In the dead of winter, little work could be accomplished, so Dec. 25, near the winter solstice, seemed a good time for a major celebration. Does it really matter? This isn’t a redeeming ordinance!

God’s timeline is not our timeline. God, through the prophet Isaiah, promised a Messiah would be arriving soon. It took about 750 years for that to happen. If we estimate a generation to be about 25 years, the Messiah’s arrival took about 30 generations! That’s 30 times people watched, prayed, and eventually had to pass the dream on to their offspring! So when Jesus finally arrived, Israel was filled with skeptics and doubters, among them the Pharisees and Temple leaders! They weren’t about to step away from power, position and financial security to let some youngster get into the driver’s seat!

Remember, when the resurrected Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised to return. Optimists thought he meant perhaps by Friday, or certainly later this month. I’m sure the believers were amazed when a year passed and there was still no sign of the Savior! They’d be astounded that 2k years later, we’re still watching and waiting. Jesus may be busy preparing our place in the hereafter.

Everything Jesus ever said was truth, so we fully expect his return. Each day we’re one day closer!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Bible = Truth!

For Friday, July 26, 2024:

2 Peter 1:19 TLB: “We have seen and proved that what the prophets said came true. You will do well to pay close attention to everything they have written, for, like lights shining into dark corners, their words help us to understand many things that otherwise would be dark and difficult. But when you consider the wonderful truth of the prophets’ words, then the light will dawn in your souls and Christ the Morning Star will shine in your hearts.”

Once again, eyewitness accounts reinforce our faith, faith being confidence in an eyewitness’ testimony. The Bible never contradicts itself, and our “High View” of the Bible teaches that every word is God-inspired and truthful. Therefore the prophets of old can speak of the second coming of Jesus, and it all fits together. The testimonies all line up, confirming the same event, the fact that Christ WILL come again! We can count on it!

People studying philosophy spend a lot of time trying to figure out God, Jesus and the created world. They seek to answer questions like, “Who am I,” “What is my purpose?,” and, “Why am I here?” The answers are found in the Bible, our handbook for life. So what we need to build up is our confidence in the testimony of eyewitnesses and those to whom God spoke directly, prophets.

Pray for an increase in faith!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Heaven-sent!

For Saturday, June 1, 2024:

1 Peter 1:12 NLT, Peter writing to believers: “The prophets were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you! And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.”

God sometimes sends messages through his prophets way ahead of time in a nonlinear fashion. Sometimes generations ahead! Messages are sent from heaven by the Holy Spirit. It’s not a total mystery since God is always good, but even the angels didn’t see this coming! What is playing out is capturing their interest!

With the birth of Jesus, prophecies were coming to life! When something unusual happens with Jesus, check with the prophets. These events may be foretold in the prophecies!

Thank goodness someone wrote down the words of the prophets, so we could know that what was happening was from the Lord! We’ve been waiting for a Messiah, and voilà, here he is in the flesh!

Good things come from the Lord, and the prophets told everyone to keep their eyes open and prepare to be amazed!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Homeboy!

For Saturday January 13, 2024:

Mark 6:2 NLT: “The next Sabbath Jesus began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’”

We know that Jesus is the best source of knowledge about God and heaven. After all, God is his father and the Kingdom is his permanent address.

In Nazareth, everyone was amazed when Jesus taught in the Synagogue. But the question came up as to how Jesus had acquired all that knowledge. The townspeople knew him as the son of Mary and Joseph. They knew his brothers and sisters. Their entire family was a part of community life in Nazareth, and to them, Jesus was just “one of the guys!” Having grown up together, they had no reason to consider him “special.” Many of his friends refused to believe, and Jesus was amazed at their unbelief.

As young adults, they worked alongside one another as a “tekton,” or builder. Jesus is traditionally thought of as a carpenter, but tekton/builder says stonemason may have been his skill. Instead of having a little wood-shop, putting up larger walls and buildings may be more accurate!

Jesus summed it all up: “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown.” That’s as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. I’m sure the residents of Tupelo, Mississippi thought Elvis was an “OK” singer. He grew up there. But they had no idea what would take place when he visited Sun Studios in Memphis!

Sometimes you have to get out of your hometown!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Father's Plan!

For Saturday, June 24, 2023:

Matthew 20:18-19 NLT: “Listen,” Jesus said to the 12, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to Gentiles, to the Romans, to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

Jesus was both fully God and fully human. I find it interesting how Jesus (God) can speak of Jesus (man) as if he was another person. In this scripture, Jesus (God) is predicting the horror to befall the Son of Man, a name Jesus called himself. His pronouns are he and him.

Jesus, in addition to being mankind’s savior, was also functioning as a prophet. He knew what the future days would bring. He knew the persecution coming his way, ultimately resulting in death. He also knew that he would overcome death, rising on the third day. So in the end, everything would turn out OK!

God’s plan was for Jesus to take mankind’s sin problem upon himself, take that sin to the grave, and leave the believers suitable to spend eternity in the presence of the Father. We call it “The Great Exchange.” This is the best gift ever!

Sunday’s coming. On the third day, the tomb will open and Jesus will walk away from it all, just as his Father planned!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship