NorMel House Devotions

So we’ve now learned that God’s grace is the undeserved gift of salvation that all people need. We could not earn it ourselves, but rather, by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we are given faith to accept this gracious gift. We’ve learned that God’s grace is limitless and all-sufficient. So, what else can we say about grace? Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” So, we who sinned and could not do any good, who “were once slaves of sin” (Romans 6:17), now, “Having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). So we see that grace transforms us! We go from being slaves to sin to being slaves of righteousness.  Titus 2:11-12 tells us, “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 the present age.” When God gives us His grace, He also gives...

Nehemiah 9:16-31 16  “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.  17  They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. [ c ]  But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.  18  Even when they had made for themselves a golden [ d ]  calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies,  19  you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.  20  You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and...

  Grace. What is it? Do we need it? Google AI says, “In Christianity, grace is commonly understood as a divine gift, an unearned favor or blessing from a higher power…Essentially, it is something good that is given to someone without them having to earn it.” While this is true, it doesn’t even remotely come close to the full explanation of what grace truly means for us. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” So, we know that we are all sinners, unable to do good. So, yes, we all need God’s grace. Romans 6:23 tells us why this is important to know: “For the wages of sin is death.” However, it goes on to tell us why we can have hope, continuing with “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 3:23-25a says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation...

Read Ephesians 6:21-24 It's rather interesting that Paul wrote a long letter to the Ephesians without our expected contents. Most letters are written to tell how the writer has been doing and inquire after the readers' well-being. Paul, however, writes a beautiful letter, not to correct an error, as his letters typically do, but to further instruct and teach what God's eternal purpose is, and how we, as Christians, ought to live to that purpose. The letter to the Ephesians reminds the reader several times that our salvation and every good thing are by God's grace alone. In chapter 2:5, he writes, "it is by grace you have been saved." Again in chapter 2:8, he says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Paul does not boast about his own God-given tasks, but three times in Chapter 3, he reminds the reader that it is by God's grace that he was sent to the Gentiles. It's n...

Read Romans 5:12-21 Paul wrote the letter to the Romans because he truly wanted to minister to the Christians there. It's filled with several theological points to confirm the true doctrine of faith for the Roman Christians but also for us. In this particular section (Romans 5:12-21), Paul is talking about our death through Adam and our life through Christ. Just as all men fell through the sins of Adam, so, all men are saved by the righteousness of Christ. Paul points out that the law was given so that we might recognize our sins and, thus, realize how much grace truly means. We can see the stark contrast between our sins and God's holiness. Paul also points out that God's grace is sufficient to cover all sin. No matter how much we sin, "grace increased all the more." (Romans 5:21). We receive this grace that covers all, through the righteousness and work of Jesus Christ. We need never worry that we've sinned too much to be saved because the Bible teaches us t...