Do What's Right!

For Tuesday, February 24, 2026:

Romans 7:15-17 NLT: “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.”

Have you ever found yourself in a similar predicament? You’ve been introduced to Jesus, you believe, and want to live your life his way. And yet you find yourself slipping back into your old, sinful behavior. In spite or your best intentions, the author of sin makes sin look attractive and drags you down into the muck once again. You don’t want to do wrong. You swore you’d never do those bad things again. And yet here we find ourselves!

The author of this Epistle is as human as we are. “I want to do what is right, but instead I do what I hate.” Fortunately, there is no limit to God’s love. If our heartfelt desire is to do the right thing, we can confess, repent and return to the Lord as often as need be. God offers forgiveness in abundance, free to all who confess and plead for redemption.

I believe that the longer we’re believers, the fewer encounters we’ll have with sin. We will become better people, more acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. He’ll need to forgive us less often because we’ll have a firmer grip on living according to God’s instructions.

When in doubt, just do what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Knowledge of Good/Evil!

 October 13, 2025,Monday Message:

Hebrews 10:29 NLT: “Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.

Sometimes we’re better off not knowing. Let me explain.

When Adam and Eve were first created, they didn’t know about sin and judgment. They innocently romped through the Garden of Eden, doing whatever they pleased and enjoying life. Sometimes God would walk with them in the evening, along the stream. Understand that Adam and Eve couldn’t sin, because they had no knowledge of right and wrong. God had told them, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

God was right! Predictably, mankind did exactly what they were told to NOT do! Eve saw that this unique fruit (knowledge of good and evil) was good, and offered some to her husband. Knowing they had done wrong, both hid from the Lord. With the transfer of knowledge, the bar had been raised. Now that they could discern good from evil, they were expected to choose “good.” Now that they could separate right from wrong, they were expected to choose “right.” As it was, they surely would have perished without the intervention of Jesus, who took the sins of the world upon himself.

In today’s example, the people knew all about Jesus and the new covenant. So ignoring those things would constitute willful and intentional disobedience, people thinking their way was better than God’s way. It never is.

As we model our lives following the footsteps of Jesus, we should be accustomed to knowing good from evil, and always choosing “good.” We may not be perfect, but our God is a God of second chances. Our shortcomings won’t derail God’s goals for us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Gnats? Gnuts!

For Saturday, January 25, 2025:

Exodus 8:17 NLT: “Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals. All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats.”

Gnats? Gnuts! Gnats would have given the frogs something to eat, but that’s not how it worked. The frogs were gone, but Pharaoh’s heart was hard. He was determined to not believe in the God of Moses.

Gnats are those tiny, miniature flies, biting and blood-sucking, thereby making everyone’s life miserable. You see them in the air and try to swat them, but always seem to miss. Gnats swarm by the thousands, and Pharaoh’s magicians could not duplicate what was happening. In fact, they encouraged Pharaoh to go ahead and believe in Moses’ God. This plague of gnats was beyond anything they could duplicate.

The one with the hardened heart was too proud to admit defeat, and that’s what hardened heart means – never acknowledging that you’re wrong even when you know that you are. Stubborn! Our takeaway is to always confess our sins and humble ourselves before the Lord. Don’t be obstinate and stubborn like Pharaoh. Our God is patient, loving and forgiving and will gladly welcome you back home! Today is the accepted day to commit or recommit yourself to the Creator God of the Universe!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship