NorMel House Devotions

My father once said, "There's no artist like The Artist," and that sentence has stuck with me ever since. It's what comes to mind when I see a beautiful sunset or a blooming flower; indeed, so much of creation reminds me of God's power. The overwhelming sense of grandeur when standing on the edge of a canyon, or hearing the thunder boom, is a gift. It's incredible to think of all the amazing, intricate,  and beautiful things God has, and continues to, give.  Everyone has been given talents, but I find myself drawn to the ones that evoke feelings and emotions. I admit I'm a little envious of those whose talents lie in the arts. Hearing a beautiful voice singing, or a well-played instrument, or absorbing the beauty of a painting or sculpture, can have a profound impact on one's emotions. So often I find peace in the beauty of this world that our awesome God has created. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above procla...

  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...

 Change. Life is full of changes, some of which we want and plan for, and others that happen to us whether we want them or not.  It can be difficult when you realize you really have no control over anything. We all like to think we have control over things in our lives, but the Bible tells us, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). We can and should make plans, but ultimately, God is in control of all things. When we go through things we don't really want to, it can be easy to start questioning God and His plan, but it's at times like those that we really need to lean on God. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Trust in God, and He will make your path straight. The Bible often speaks about life like a path or a race: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the w...

Titus 2:15 “These, then, are all the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.” If we look back to Titus 2:1, it says, “You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” Paul starts with a command and then gives instructions for following it. He tells Titus what and how to teach the various groups of people. In verses 11-14, Paul tells us why we are to live as he has instructed; God gives us grace so that we can live this way while we await “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13). Christ redeemed us and continually purifies us so that we are His people and will seek to do what is good. This brings us to our text today, in which Paul reiterates his point. All the things Titus has been told to teach must be taught with encouragement but also rebuke when necessary. Paul reminds Titus that God is our authority. By the working of the Holy Spirit, he is to share the word of God....

Titus 2:6 “Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.” Self-control. We all need it and yet, we all lack it in some way. For some it’s indulging excessively in food, for others it’s not holding the tongue but gossiping, yet, for others, it’s indulging sexual desires in wrong ways, still, others struggle with drug or alcohol abuse and there are still so many more ways we lack self-control. Maybe you lash out in anger or frustration, maybe you read or watch things that you shouldn’t. Demanding self-control is a tall order and yet, it’s one we must all seek. Self-control is a common theme throughout the book of Titus. Paul tells Titus to teach self-control to the old men, the older women, the younger women and now the young men as well. Really, he wants us all to practice self-control because when we can control our urges it prevents us from sinfully living them out. In James 3:2 it says, “For we all stumble in many ways and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is...

The Bible tells us that this life will not be easy. Christians, especially, can count on going through hurdles, trials and tribulation. Even Jesus had to endure through sorrow, rejection, pain and temptation. Jesus wept upon seeing Mary's grief after Lazarus died. He was rejected three times by someone who claimed to love Him. He was beaten and mocked by the authorities and had to deal with Satan actively trying to get Him to turn from God. How did Jesus deal with all this? How did He persevere when life got difficult? If we turn to John 11 we can see how He dealt with His grief, "And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, 'Father I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this on account of the people standing around that they may believe that You sent Me.'' (John 11:41b-42). So we see that prayer is where we start. In Matthew 4 we can read about how Satan actively pursued Jesus and tried to tempt Jesus to turn from God. Jesus quash...

  Read Romans 5:1-5 Our passage today is a beautiful piece about rejoicing in our suffering, with a theme of faith, hope, and love. Paul tells us we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is what allows us to go through hardship and suffering and still rejoice. We can rejoice, regardless of our circumstances, because we know that God's plan is being fulfilled. We don't rejoice because of our suffering, but in our suffering because we know our suffering isn't meaningless. Our suffering here is meant to build character and produces hope in God, "and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2). We are being built up in faith, hope, and love. God has poured out His love, and because of that, we can have faith in His gifts of grace and hope in the future He has planned for us. "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith, without hope, is dead. We must have faith in...

  "...yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."  I recently had a conversation about moments (in truth I have this conversation alot) and this just solidifies my thinking. We only have moments. Some people get years worth of moments, others get only a few. We ought to appreciate the moments we have, in humility, because we do not know how many moments we will have. We're here for "a little time" it seems to me that James 4 is telling us how to live those moments, not in fighting or coveting, but in yearning for the Spirit and submitting ourselves humbly to God. How often don't we waste the moments we're given on selfish things or with sinful attitudes. I'm reminded once again that each moment is a precious gift from God and should be used wisely.

 Going through hardships, loss or trials can leave us confused and feeling hurt. We don’t understand why we go through them and can be left feeling brokenhearted. When struggling with life’s disappointments and troubles it’s hard to do as the Bible says in James 1:2 and “count it all joy”. It’s times like these that we need to remember what the Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Though we may not always see it or understand God’s plans for us we can always go to Him in prayer. The best thing we can pray is that God’s will be done. His desire and plans for us are better than anything we can dream up or hope for ourselves. As you go through rough times it’s ok to cry out to God, but remember to trust His good will for you. Today’s #TuesdayTunes speaks to the broken hearted in a prayer that reminds us to pray that God’s Will be done. Check out Hillary Sc...

 What does God’s word teach about Dealing with Problems? 5.       “Go to Other Believers and Pray with Them”  James 5: 13-16 "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."             Sickness and sin are an obvious part of the world we live in. In Christ we bring them all before God’s throne. In Christ we are victorious over death, that is eternal death. Yet God in His wisdom does not leave us as lonely individuals. He gives us other believers to aid, help, and assist and espec...

  2. “Seek the Lord First” : Judges 4: 1-7, 23 Judges 4: 1-7, 14a    After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.  Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his troops to the Kishon River and ...

  I'd like to share a series of devotionals my mother wrote for a Quilting Retreat she ran with some friends. I've taken the liberty of using them as a basis for inspiration and further study for myself. I found myself digging a bit deeper into scripture and my own contemplations and thought I should share. I hope you are inspired to open your Bible and add your own notes and thoughts as well. What does God’s word teach about Dealing with Problems? 1.       “Believe”: Genesis 18: 13-14             Genesis 18: 13-14             Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”             All of life has problems since the fall into sin by Adam and Eve in paradise. We all will encounter problems, some ...