NorMel House Devotions

Before we get into the book of Titus it is good to know some historical context. Titus was a Greek man that was converted by Paul’s ministry. He worked with Paul at Ephesus during Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul then sent Titus to Corinth to help the church there. As we can see by several passages in 2 Corinthians, Paul greatly cared for Titus and calls him “brother” on many occasions. After Paul’s release from his first imprisonment, he and Titus worked briefly in Crete; after which, Paul asked Titus to stay there. This is evident by what he writes to Titus; chapter 1 verse 5 says, “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.” This would have been written for the benefit of the local churches, so that they might know the purpose of Titus’s stay. He was to be a directing leader and teacher. Paul describes Crete as having “many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers” (Titus 1

Read James 5:18-20 As we look at the final verses of the book of James, it is interesting to note that unlike a lot of the other letters in the New Testament, James does not end with a prayer or a blessing for the reader. Instead, he wants to pursue those who are wandering in their faith. He reminds us of his compassion when he once again calls the readers brothers; he’s reminding them that we are family in Christ and ought to be a living, loving community. As such, we ought to be worried when anyone wanders from the truth.  What does wandering look like? James has been teaching us this throughout the whole book. He’s been trying to teach us about Christian living. When we wander from the truth it is often a slow, subtle drifting from what God has told us in His word, and a shifting viewpoint of who God is. When we start blaming others for our sin instead of accepting responsibility for our own thoughts and actions, we start thinking differently from what the Bible teaches us. When we

Read James 5:13-18 Prayer is vitally important to our faith life and James wants to emphasize that no matter what the circumstances, we ought to pray. Prayer is the appropriate response to everything. James challenges our understanding of what it means to live by faith; we are called to be active. We must become a praying person, a praying people, and praying congregations. Whether in sickness or health, good times or bad, in all circumstances we must go to God in prayer. He is our faithful heavenly Father; we must have a God-centered perspective, not putting ourselves first, but having a God-centered trust. We must also recognize that always, and in all circumstances, God knows best.  When you have a best friend or spouse you want to share your whole life with them and tell them all about it. Our relationship to God should be so much closer than any other relationship so we should want to bring everything to Him. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything but in everythin

Read James 5: 12 Why does James start this verse with the word “finally” when there’s still more to follow? Well, it’s what comes next that makes this make sense. James says, “Finally, above all…” He wants to emphasize that while everything he’s said about the tongue thus far is important, what he’s about to say is even more important. James is urging us to pay attention to this area of Christian living. He echoes Christ’s teaching in Matthew 5: 33 – 37 where Jesus said, “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by earth for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’, ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” In the Old Testament, in Leviticus 19: 12 it says, “Do n

Read James 5:7-11 James just spoke to the rich unbelieving oppressors, but now he turns his attention back to the congregation he was writing to. Our faith must shape every part of our lives and James is particularly interested in our attitudes while we are here on earth. He wants us to be patient, without grumbling, because the Judge’s coming is near. We must persevere, even through the difficult times.  In a world where instant gratification is demanded, our text today calls us to be patient. Just as the farmer must wait patiently for the rain to help his crops, we too must wait patiently for the Lord’s return. A farmer cannot just take the summer off, he must work hard as he waits for the rain and for his crops to grow. So, too, we as Christians must work hard as we wait for Christ’s return. Deuteronomy 11:13-14 says, “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today – to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul – then I will sen

Read James 5: 1-6 James starts our chapter by addressing unbelievers, those who try to live independently from God. He rebukes those who are wicked, wallowing in wealth, abusing it with pride, oppression, cruelty and wastefulness. James first shows the ultimate worthlessness of earthly wealth and possessions, then he speaks of the horrible character of some who are wealthy. He is not issuing a blanket statement about all wealth and wealthy, but rather, he gives a warning to those who have hoarded wealth, failed to pay what is due, lived in excessive luxury, fattened themselves and those who have condemned innocent men. He is warning his readers against placing their hopes and desires on earthly things. James starts with telling these unbelievers to mourn, to weep and wail when they consider their future. Their riches will be shown to be corrupted, moth-eaten, and corroded. James warns of God’s judgement to come, and this should make them weep and howl. The very things they thought brou

Read James 4:13-17 Today’s text is about boasting about tomorrow. James wants to bring our attention to how we plan things. It seems like a strange thing to bring up, but James wants us to see that God should be in every part of our lives, including our plans. We plan our dinners, our days, renovations, vacations and so much more. James calls our attention to those who plan based on their dependance on themselves – self-motivated, self-made, prideful individuals – those who plan for personal profit with no thought to God and eternity. These individuals make no attempt to seek God’s will, His help and His glory. If you think you’re in control of your ‘destiny’ then James is speaking to you. James is interested in how we plan our lives. When we make plans, we must do so with a view to God’s will and plan for us. In the book of Luke, chapter 12:16-21, Jesus tells us a parable about a rich man who made plans and pridefully laid up gain and goods for himself. He did not include God or seek