NorMel House Devotions

Psalm 14: The Fool Says, There Is No God Poetry often springs from strong emotions, love and anger, longing and defeat, laments and cries for help; with the right words, an author can stir the readers' emotions. It’s easy to be moved by poetry that puts words to our emotions when we ourselves cannot seem to express them. The Psalms are filled with emotion, and while many start in lament, most end in praising God. When we feel as though God isn’t answering us, we need to remember that God’s timing is perfect and He always hears the prayers of His children. It’s quite possible the answer to your prayer is “not yet” or “no”. Regardless of the answer, we need to trust in God’s unfailing love for His people. He will do what’s best for His children, whether we understand it or not. Many of us feel the need to “talk out” our problems. It helps us to organize our thoughts and release some of the emotions we’re holding on to. As Christians, we have the perfect friend and counsellor. God wan...

Thanksgiving. A word we all know and even celebrate. On Thanksgiving Day, we often ask each other what we're thankful for, but thanksgiving and thankfulness are not exactly the same. Thankfulness is an internal feeling, an emotion or state of being pleased and appreciative, that should resonate deeply within us and inspire genuine faith and humility. Thanksgiving is the active, outward expression or communication of that feeling. Basically put, thankfulness is the feeling; thanksgiving is the resulting action.  The Bible says a lot about thanksgiving; as Christians, we ought to be characterized by thankfulness and intentional in our thanksgiving. We can be thankful about something without showing thanksgiving, but that ought not to be; the Bible tells us in Colossians 2:6-7, " Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. "  Think of thankfulnes...

 Psalm 13: How long, O LORD? “I’m at the end of my rope!” “I’m running on empty.” “I’m just done.” Do any of those sound familiar? We all go through difficult times; many of us even face despair when we feel like we can’t go on. It feels as though the weight of the world is on our shoulders, and the burden is more than we can handle. Life can be tough, but as Christians, we have Someone we can lay it all on. Someone who carries us and always provides us with what we need. David was obviously struggling when he wrote Psalm 13. The psalms include several laments he wrote, beseeching God to act on his behalf. He poured out his heart before God, even as he wrestled with impatience and possibly doubt. David felt alone and abandoned and sought the only One who could truly help and comfort him. Despite the way he felt, he knew God would never “ forget ” His people, but in his struggles, he needed God to help him feel the comfort of the gospel. Sometimes in life, we too may str...