NorMel House Devotions

Psalm 4 – Answer Me When I Call – See Below Once again, David calls out to the LORD in his distress. While the exact date of Psalm 4's composition is unknown, it makes sense that it follows Psalm 3. It, too, can be a response to his son Absalom’s betrayal and his supporters. David speaks of men who were spreading lies about him and trying to bring shame to his name. Absalom was a great source of stress and trouble for David; he turned many of the people against David and usurped the throne. Whether he was writing in response to this or not, we can understand how frustrating it is when the world around us believes lies instead of God’s truth. Satan earnestly seeks to destroy God’s people and tries to tempt us with many false gods, delusions, half-truths, and lies. When we are dealing with this type of attack, it can feel relentless at times, causing us to despair. David starts the Psalm with a plea for help, calling on God for relief. He recalls God’s faithfulness in the past ...

"When it rains, it pours." Ever heard that expression? Ever felt like that expression describes your life? Sometimes in life, we get hit hard, and then it seems the hits just keep on coming. One thing after another.... after another... after another. Every time you try to "get back up" again, something else hits and keeps you down. It's like the shoe fell, but then more shoes just keep on falling! As Christians, we know that there will be trials and suffering in this life, but God's word is filled with comfort and promises to give us strength. Matthew 11:22-30      Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.    Isaiah 41:10      Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my ri...

What then shall we do? The Bible is filled with verses that teach us how to live our lives and how to use the many blessings and gifts God gives us. Many of us don’t like to be told how to spend our money or use our time, and it can be uncomfortable to hear that we may not be living as God requires. But it is wiser to learn to use our blessings, be it talents, money, or possessions, as God tells us to. Proverbs 11:24-25 says, One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. This seems contradictory; the world will tell you to hold on to as much as possible, after all, didn’t you work hard to get what you have? God has every right to tell us what to do with ourselves and our possessions; we are His, and all good things we have are gifts He has given us. So, what does God tell us about giving? We are to give freely, generously, and even sel...

  Family. For some, family is a happy, healthy, and comforting thing, but for others, it can be quite a painful word. For some, hearing the word family brings thoughts of warmth and love, but there are also those who feel anxiety, or fear, or anger, some even feel bitterness or regret. Family is supposed to be a beautiful gift; there are many verses in the Bible that speak about how a wife and children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22 ESV) And turning to Psalm 127:3-5 ESV, we read, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!" Proverbs 17:6 ESV says, "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers." Family is meant to be a gift, but because we live in a sinful world,...

  Bless the Lord, O My Soul Of David. Psalm 103  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3  who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4  who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5  who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6  The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7  He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9  He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11  For as hig...

This world is filled with evil. We don’t like to think about how evil the world and people truly are, but sometimes it feels like it slaps us in the face and knocks us to the ground. When people do hateful and hurtful things to us, it’s easy to want to strike back. However, Romans 12:21 reminds us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Not an easy thing to do, and it goes against our own sinful nature; but if we turn back a few verses, we’re told “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the LORD’.” (Romans 12:19). 1 Thessalonians 5:15 tells us, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” Don’t strike back. When people slander you or do evil towards you, remember, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:18). But...

Titus 3:15 “Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.” Grace. Grace is where everything starts and ends.  Grace is where Paul begins and ends his letter as well. Grace makes salvation possible. By the grace of God, Christ brought us salvation. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12). Grace makes it possible for us to do the good works that Paul has been teaching us about, and that God requires of us. It is by grace that we are justified and made heirs to the kingdom of heaven. Paul wrote, “So that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). By God’s grace, we are called and made willing and able to live a life that is marked by good works. Although it may seem that Paul’s letter is asking a l...

Titus 3:7 “So that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Justification. What does it mean? Theologically speaking, the dictionary says it is the action of declaring and making righteous in the sight of God. We’ve already learned of our need for a Savior, that among men, “there is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10b) How, then, can we be put right before God, the Lawgiver and Judge? 2 Corinthians 5:21 gives us a nice summary when it says, “For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus died for us, He rose, and by His blood we are declared not guilty and acquitted of all our sins. We are given free and full forgiveness from the law's curse. All of this is only possible because of the grace of God. God offered Himself to save us from our sin. In giving the Son, He gave Himself. God took His own love to appease His own righteous anger by bearing it in ...

Titus 3:5-6 “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done , but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” We often like to think that we are good people, that we generally do good, and that we deserve to go to heaven. Paul, however, points out the flaws with this ideology and the Bible is full of texts that contradict this idea. In our text, Paul is making the point that even the things we consider our “best works” cannot contribute to salvation. The reality is that there is not an iota within us that can contribute to our salvation. Salvation is only through God alone. Because of His mercy, God does not give us what we deserve, but rather, as we learned in verse 4, He sent His kindness and love in Jesus to give us what we don’t deserve. 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jes...

Titus 3:4-5a “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us” If you know Paul's history, then you know that Paul was not always a servant and preacher of the gospel. Paul, formerly Saul, persecuted the Christians of his time, even putting many in prison. So, how did the persecutor become the preacher? Titus 3:4 gives us the answer; quite literally, "the kindness and love of God the Savior appeared." Saul went from persecutor to preacher, not because of anything he had done, but because Jesus came to him, and as our text says, "He saved us!" In Acts 9, we can read about Jesus' appearance to Paul, and in verse 20, it says, "At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God." The opposer became the opposed, again, not because of anything Paul did, but because God chose to reveal Himself to Paul through Christ Jesus. Jesus personifies God's kindness and love, and we can see a strong contrast between ...

Titus 3:3 “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” We live in a world that is full of deception. We deceive ourselves and others with worldly ideologies that would have you believe that you are a good person, that you can find strength in yourself, that you can have your own truth, and that freedom is being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want. The Bible tells us something different. If we start with the basic knowledge that we can do no good in and of ourselves then all of those concepts go out the window. In Titus 3:3, Paul is describing all mankind, and if you think you’re an exception, then you deceive yourself! Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Christians can sometimes have haughty opinions and think they’re better than unbelievers, but Paul is reminding us that we, too, were “foolis...

Titus 2:14 “Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” The Christian life is lived between two points: Christ has appeared, and He will appear again. We look back to what He has done, and we look forward to what He will do. Our text points us back to what He has done for us so we’ll know why we are to do what He says. Christ came and redeemed us from all wickedness, and having purchased us by His death on the cross, He released us from the power of sin. Not only are we freed from sin, but we are also purified from it’s influence and control so that we might live in accordance with God’s good and perfect will. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The Bible, quite clearly, tells us that we are not our ow...

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” The are many people in the world who push the idea of tolerance a lot farther than it ought to go. It’s gone so far that something can be true for one person but not another. It’ s a contradiction of reality. Many believe there is no real truth, but everyone has their own “Truths”. Without God people can do whatever they want because “who are you to say that what I’m doing is wrong?” But truth is NOT relative. Many think they don’t need God or His grace because they think they are good people and doing fine on their own. But the idea that we’re all ok doesn’t match experience or address the matter of our hearts. We are all guilty in God’s sight and must learn, through the law and the working of the Holy Spirit, that we’re not ok. Through the law we become conscious of our sins and therefore of our need for God’s grace. God’s justice requires payment for our sins, but His grace sent His Son to be born, beco...

Titus 2:9-10 “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.” Slavery was a basic element of Roman society and culture; therefore, Paul addresses Christian slaves and tells them how they ought to live. Romans 6:16 tells us we are either slaves to sin, which leads to death, or of obedience which leads to righteousness. Matthew 6:24 tells us we cannot serve two masters; we cannot serve both God and money. We are all slaves to something, either to God or to sin. Looking at Titus 2:9-10 we can apply these commands to ourselves as well. Who do you serve? The Bible tells us do all things to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). In all you say and do, do it to God’s glory. If you’re called to be a stay-at-home mom, do your duties to God’s glory. If you’re called to be an employee...

Titus 2:4-5 “Then you can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” Have you ever thought about your kids or spouse thinking something like, “I may love you but right now I don’t particularly like you”? If you’ve never thought about love like this before, it may seem a strange thing to say but the truth is that when you truly love someone there can be times when you are frustrated with them, angry at them, or really just don’t like their actions or words. Paul tells Titus to teach the older women to teach the younger women to love their husbands and families because, the truth is, we all need to be taught how to truly love one another. Love is not the wishy-washy emotions the world seems to think it is, but rather, love is a choice. We must be taught and choose to love because our sinful inclination is to be selfish, but als...

Titus 1:10 "For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group." When people think of false doctrine, quite often they think it’s an obvious and easy thing to identify, however there are times when Satan likes to work in subtle ways. In the time of this letter to Titus, Paul knew that there were many that were teaching and preaching things that were false, however, these false teachers truly believed the doctrine they were preaching was correct. This is often the case with “rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers”, so we must guard against this. This is a problem within the churches and therefore a big problem. The Bible gives us many warnings about those who profess to know the gospel but slip in falsehoods or their own rules and practices. In Matthew 24:24, Jesus says, “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” F...

 Titus 1:1  "Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness " Our current society would have you believe that everyone can have their own truth. That what you’re feeling is the most important thing, however, Paul tells us this is not true. Right in the introduction he tells us, “For the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life”. Paul knows there is only one truth. There cannot be individual truths; there is only the truth of the gospel. In Paul’s time, and still today, there were people teaching false doctrine and people professing their faith but not allowing it to function in their lives. Paul is telling the readers that knowing the truth of the gospel must lead us to a life characterized by faith and good works. There are some in life that are always learning but they never come to the ...

 Titus 1:1  "Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness" Today we take another look at the first verse of the book of Titus. Paul has identified himself as a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, and now he gives one of the reasons for his ministry. Paul tells us it is “for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of truth, that leads to godliness.” The word used here is ‘electos’, which means “the chosen of God.” The doctrine of election may be confusing, but it is biblical, essential and practical. In Ephesians 1: 4-6 we read, “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.” If we continue in Ephesians it...