NorMel House Devotions

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...

Titus 2:2  “Teach the elderly men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” Once again, we see that Paul has brought us back to the importance of sound doctrine and practical application for the Christian life. Paul tells Titus to teach the older men to live up to certain standards, many of which were the qualifications for the elders in the church. Older men are the backbone of the church and so it makes sense that they should have the same qualities as the leaders in the church. As elderly members of the church, they are responsible for setting an example for those who are younger than them. By their conduct, speech and appearance they should set an example for godly living. Though their bodies may be failing, they should fill their minds continuously with God’s word so that they will be sound in faith and live a life worthy of respect. If their love for God and their faith in Him is genuine, then their actions will show th...

Read 1 John 3:11-24 The Bible tells us we are to love one another, and our text today is like a road map to doing so. In fact, it tells us that right from the beginning, we have been told to love one another. In the beginning, when God gave the law, He said, "Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself."(Levitcus 19:17-18). From these passages, we learn that acting out of hatred, or revenge, or bearing a grudge are not showing love. They are, in fact, the opposite of love! 1 John 3 even gives us an example when it tells us not to murder, like Cain, who was evil and jealous of his brother (1 John 3:12). What comes next is a reminder that the world will hate us for this (1 John 3:13). Jesus, Himself, said, "If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I hav...

Read Levitcus 20:26 and John 17: 6-19 Our text tells us that to be holy is to be set apart from the world. John 15:18-19 says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own, but I have chosen you out of the world, that is why it hates you." If we are set apart from the world, there should be an obvious difference between how the world behaves and how we behave. That difference will cause the world to hate us. To be holy is then to be different from the world; we are to be in the world but not of the world. Jesus prays about this in John 17 when He prays for His disciples. Several times throughout the passage, Jesus reminds us that we are in the world but not of the world, and the world will hate us for this. It is not our doing, but God who sets us apart and makes us holy. In fact, we were set apart from the world long before we even existed. We can see this in Jeremiah 1:5 where it says, "Before I ...