NorMel House Devotions

  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,...

Titus 3:10 “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that have nothing to do with them.” Have you ever met a child or adult who argues a lot, someone who seems to enjoy picking fights? When a child has a bad attitude and is stirring up arguments, you don’t allow them to disrupt and disturb the whole house; you send them to their room until they can be a positive, productive, and happy member of the house. Just as discipline is important in the home, so, too, in the family of Christ. When parents fail to discipline, it affects the whole house. Paul wrote several times in his pastoral letters not to allow division and how to deal with it when it arises. When someone causes division in the church, they threaten its unity and must be dealt with. These warnings must be given to correct the individual’s divisive nature with a view to restoration in the church. Our warnings ought to be purposeful, pointing out their errors and the implications of their actions, wit...

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 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...

Read Ephesians 6: 5-9 Today's text is a difficult subject. Slavery was not part of God's intended design, so why do we see it in the Bible? Paul does not condone slavery; however, because of the socioeconomic situation of the Roman occupation, it was an embedded institution. The Christians Paul wrote to were subject to Roman laws, and therefore, many Jews were either slaves or masters.  Paul wrote a lot about our attitudes and how we should live our lives in the various roles we are placed in. This is why he wrote to slaves and masters. As with so many of his instructions, Paul addresses both perspectives and points them to God. No matter your station or status in this life, we are equal, in Christ, before God. Although we do not have slavery in our society here now, we can compare this relationship to that of an employer and employee. We can look at what Paul instructs and use it in whatever our job is here and now. What, then, should we ascertain from today's passage? Thr...