One God!

For Saturday, March 7, 2026:

John 14:7 NLT, Jesus speaking: “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three forms of the same God. Think of it like this. We turn on our tap and get water, good for cooking, drinking and washing. In the freezer, it’s known as ice, good for cooling beverages. We might say that a summer day feels humid, and that’s a surplus of water vapor in the air. It’s all still water, H₂O.

As I compose these daily messages, I often mix up our God labels. Jesus may have said it, but I might call it a command of God. Or the other way, Jesus tells us to do something and research shows us that the words originally came from the Father. I usually catch myself and straighten it out, but the truth is I don’t believe it really matters. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all of one mind, with the same goals, pulling in the same direction. They will never contradict one another. So there really is only one God.

Prophesy told the Jews to expect a Messiah to rescue them, they believed from Roman oppression. God indeed sent Jesus, the Messiah, but to rescue them from their sin burden, not the Romans. Jesus was sent to love and forgive. In this case, the desire of the God “team” is to return more souls to God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom. Jesus is the one who puts the plan in motion. On the cross, the sins of the world are heaped upon him, and as he dies a human death, he takes those sins to the place of the dead and leaves them there. Now repentant humans can be forgiven, be made suitable for residence in the eternal Kingdom.

If we repent of our sins and claim Jesus as our hope and salvation, we will be forgiven. We will get to see heaven from the inside. Friends, that’s assurance of salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Gone Missing!

January 26, 2026, Monday Message:

Luke 2:46 NLT: “Three days later Jesus’ parents finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions.”

Have you ever had a child go missing at the mall or at a theme park? We lost Melissa at the Atlanta airport. She had wandered around the corner and struck up a conversation with a friendly-looking, grandfatherly man. She was excited that she had made a new friend, but he was not one of our family. Fortunately, he was a nice man, and we located her quickly, but it could have been far worse! Children are both curious and precocious. Jesus was no exception!

Personally, I can’t imagine having a child of mine go missing for three days! Mary and Joseph must have been beside themselves with anguish. Picture losing the Son of God! They found him amongst religious teachers, asking them questions and answering theirs. How unlikely would it be for religious philosophers to enjoy conversing with a 12-year-old?

Jesus explained, “Why did you have to search? Didn’t you expect that I would be in my Father’s house?” For all they’d been through with angels, the immaculate conception, shepherds and wise men, and spending time as persecuted non-resident aliens in Egypt, Jesus’ parents still hadn’t connected all the dots.

The last line of the song, “Mary Did You Know,” explains it best. “That sleeping child you're holding is the great I Am!”

Those religious teachers were blessed to be getting answers from God himself. We’re blessed to know a relationship with God as he walked on earth. We worship the One who came to forgive us, to redeem our eternal essence, our souls. Jesus, our faith is in you!

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

Jehovah-jireh!

For Saturday, December 6, 2025:

Romans 5:6 NLT: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”

There’s a lot in this scripture. Let me review a couple of basic Christian principles, and then we’ll have a look.

1. God and sin are incompatible. God is perfect, and everything around him is perfect. Sin is hugely imperfect and is not tolerated in God’s presence.

2. When God formed mankind, the final step of creation, he looked at everything and declared it “very good!” He loves us, so his desire is that everyone would repent and return to his dwelling place, Heaven. God is willing to forgive repentant sinners if we’re willing to discard our errant ways and if our desire is to come home.

Mankind had no way to obtain forgiveness on our own. Helpless. So God sent his Son, Jesus, our redeemer, to rescue us. As Jesus died, he took the sins of the world to the place of the dead. And mankind, suddenly without sin, found ourselves eligible to take up eternal residence in the Lord’s presence.

God-the-provider, Jehovah-jireh, sent exactly what we needed, forgiveness and redemption, exactly when we needed it. God is good beyond measure!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Zechariah's Prophecy!

For Friday, December 5, 2025:

Luke 1:67 NLT: “Then baby John’s father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy.”

As Zechariah’s voice returned, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke prophecy concerning his newborn. This is not something he just thought up. This is God – the Holy Spirit – speaking through Zechariah.

Let’s review the high points. “The Lord has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior. God fulfilled his promise, his covenant with his people. We will be saved from our enemies and all who hate us. We will be rescued from our enemies. We can serve God without fear. And baby John will be called the prophet of the Most High, because he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will tell God’s people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven, is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Wow! Those are pretty big tasks, especially for a newborn, but history proves prophecy. We know baby John as John the Baptist, who indeed prepared the people for the ministry of Jesus. Jesus quashed Satan and his demons. Jesus personally died to redeem us. His life was the penalty for the sins of the world, now paid in full. Therefore, our relationship with Father God improved exponentially.

After Jesus, everything was different. After Jesus, everything was better, a lot better!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Father, Son, Spirit!

For Sunday, August 3, 2025:

Hebrews 6:10 NLT: “God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.”

Think of the book of Hebrews as a Bible teacher instructing new converts. They believe, but aren’t up to speed on everything yet. Basic principles about Christian theology are missing in their database, but, being Hebrews, they are familiar with God. Teaching Hebrew people is easier than teaching a pagan group, where you have to start from square one, creation!

Just my opinion: I believe God’s plan of sending Jesus to Earth to redeem mankind was intended to be the next chapter of Judaism, not a completely separate religion. After all, we didn’t switch Gods, although Christian eyes were opened to recognize Jesus as God’s Son and the Holy Spirit as our advocate. The Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so our God has always been a Triune God. John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was present at creation, and Genesis 1:2 says that the Spirit of the Lord moved over the waters of Creation. That Triune God is who we worship!

We expect our God to be fair and honest, and he won’t let us down. If we obediently love the Lord and love our neighbors, God has an eternal reward for us. The Son has prepared a place for the faithful in the hereafter. But let me be clear. Our redemption comes from our loyalty to the Son, not from our good works. But good works are typical for a committed follower of Jesus!

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

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

Kingdom of God!

May 19, 2025, Monday Message:

Luke 11:20 NLT, Jesus speaking: “If I am casting out demons by the power (the hand) of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.”

John-the-Baptist’s mission was to prepare the population for Jesus’ arrival. He told people to repent and return, because the Kingdom of God was coming soon. In other words, get your lives in order because God’s about to show up!

And here he is, Jesus, the anointed one, the Christ, heaven-sent, performing miracle after miracle in the name of the Father. Yes friends, with the arrival of Jesus, God’s Kingdom had arrived on earth! Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” With the power of God, he could cast out demons and cure any ailment! Jesus wields the power of our Creator!

For my 2¢, I wish the Bible and our churches made a much bigger song and dance of the arrival of God’s Kingdom. That is what was predicted, that is what everyone was waiting for, and now, here it is! (Perhaps some believed the Kingdom arrived 30 years earlier!)

Old Testament scriptures predicted a Messiah would come to rescue mankind. Now here he is! Those present needed to focus in on what was happening right before their eyes. We need to learn from those eyewitnesses. The Kingdom of God had arrived! Jesus said so!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus and His Father!

For Wednesday, April 16, 2025:

John 12:50 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I know God-the-Father’s commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

Friends, listen to Jesus. He didn’t come to judge the world; he came to SAVE the world, to redeem mankind. Ever since Genesis, humans have been fraught with a sin problem. Jesus’ mission was to take those sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving mankind with no record of sin, and therefore suitable for residence in God’s eternal kingdom.

Salvation is really pretty simple. Just stick with Jesus whose purpose is to redeem you. It’s probably easier for us to understand the completed scenario summarized in our Bibles than it was for the Israelites 2k years ago, perhaps hearing only one message on one day. And they feared the Pharisees expelling them from their Synagogues.

The Father sent Jesus. The Father gave him the words to say, the message to deliver. “When you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”

You’ll walk in the light if you follow Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Redemption!

For Tuesday, November 26, 2024:

1 Thessalonians 5:10 NLT: “Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.”

Jesus walking alongside mankind on Earth and then dying on Earth was fulfilling his mission of redeeming mankind. He gave his life as the offering for the sins of the entire world – all sins – past, present and future. It matters not if we’re dead or alive when Jesus returns to take us home. Jesus’ intent is to redeem ALL believers who need redemption, regardless of their physical state. Because of Jesus’ promise, we have confidence in our hereafter destination. Jesus left us with ‘Assurance of Salvation,’ a guarantee of a good life after this life.

We should all look forward to the New Earth!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Leadership!

November 4, 2024 Monday Message:

1 Samuel 16:1 NLT: “Now the Lord said to Samuel, … ‘Find a man named Jesse, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.’”

The favored son turned out to be David, the shepherd-boy who eventually conquered Goliath and rose to prominence in Israel. God planned the whole thing!

David was not perfect. You see, God must choose our leaders from the mankind-pool, a flawed, sinful supply! But God will often choose someone who is redeemable, someone who will repent and return to the Lord. You can read about David repenting in Psalm 51.

Tomorrow is election day in the US, and my prayer is that God will have his hand on the election. Compare the candidates with how Jesus lived his life and with God’s commands in the Bible. Don’t vote on just a single issue. Rather consider the entire scenario, the big picture. Whoever is the best fit should get your vote. Ultimately, God will have his way.

Realize that corrupt, immoral leaders can be a judgment on an imperfect nation! Yikes!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Second Chance!

For Friday, July 28, 2023:

Romans 3:20 NLT: “No one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are.”

The first step in solving any problem is clearly identifying and defining the problem. This problem was that mankind wasn’t making it into heaven. In spite of having been given the law and diligently studying it, that wasn’t enough. Remember that God uses a rigid pass/fail system: get 100% right, pass; miss one, fail. There was no provision for a do-over or a re-start.

This situation displeased God and frustrated mankind. The solution, of course, was that God sent his Son Jesus. Jesus taught, he healed, but his ultimate mission was the rescue of mankind. He took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, giving us a fresh start toward our heavenly goal. For those of us who believe, Jesus would go ahead and prepare a place for us.

It’s a good thing we have the Law. That way we know how we should live after we’ve been saved!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Patience!

For Sunday, July 23, 2023:

James 5:8 NLT: “You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

Jesus promised that he would return, but he didn’t specify exactly when. Everything else Jesus promised came to fruition, so we have every expectation that this too will occur at God’s perfect time.

Maybe that’s part of the mystery. We’re taught to live a good life, to obey God’s directions and to love God and love our neighbors – without an end date! Therefore we must perpetually be on our best behavior!

Patience is not an over-abundant human trait. We all tend to want things NOW, and if Jesus is coming back, sooner would be all right with me! But the Lord knows the best time for the Son to return, and it will be then that we see Jesus again.

We live by faith, believing that Jesus will return and that he’s coming to redeem each of us! He promised!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Included!

For Thursday, July 6, 2023:

Romans 1:6 NLT, Paul, writing to the believers in Rome: “You are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.”

Paul restates a key theological point. The Messiah was to come through the Jewish people, but his mission was to redeem ALL mankind. Jesus’ mission was successful and complete. Now any believer – even those in Rome – who puts their faith in Jesus, belongs to Jesus and is a part of the holy family. In the next life, we’ll join Jesus and his Father in eternity!

'Include’ is a powerful word. Everyone wants to be included. “Three of us are going to the event – there’s room in the car for a fourth, and we’d like to include you!” How could you refuse, especially knowing that the destination is God’s Kingdom and that your decision has eternal ramifications?

Believers are all included in the forever kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship