NorMel House Devotions

For many, this week is "March break," and there are lots of planned activities and holidays. Many children don't have school this week, and their parents are often looking for ways to keep their children occupied. What if this year's March break looked a little different? What if we pointed our kids towards Bible study, engaging them in fun and creative activities meant to direct their thoughts to learning to live as the Bible teaches us? What greater activity is there for our children than learning how Christ lived and died for us, and how we ought to express our thankfulness to Him? With Good Friday and Easter Monday coming up, why not prepare your children by teaching them what those days are really meant to celebrate? Knowing what we do about Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, how do we prepare ourselves and our families to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Monday? The people in that time were not aware of what was to come and what it would mean for them an...

Titus 1: 15-16 “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and their consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” Paul has been talking about false teachers and false doctrine and in today’s text he continues with this topic. The Pharisees and Judaizers were obsessed with purity; they made up all kinds of laws about what was clean and pure and how to avoid becoming unclean. They tried to trap Jesus in Mark 7 by asking Him, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” (Mark 7:5) They put the ideas and rules, that they made up, above the laws of God. Jesus turns this around and tells them, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” (Mark 7:8) He continues explaining and in Mark 7:15 He s...

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 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 and  1 Corinthians 6: 12-20 Today's text is a beautiful reminder that we are called to be holy; God wants us to be pure in all we say, think, and do. It is a call to action. We are to flee from sexual immorality because our bodies are meant for the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:15-17 says, "‭‭Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit." When we have sexual relations with others, we bind ourselves to them. But it doesn't stop there. In all we say, think, and do we are to be pure. That means that crude jokes, lustful thoughts and fantasies, what you wear, and how you present yourself all show what is in your heart. Someone who is pure at heart will not be se...

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Luke 17:5‭-‬6 ESV "For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20b ESV And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:30‭-‬32 ESV Why is faith compared to a mustard seed? A mustard seed is one of the tiniest seeds, yet it grows into the largest bush, so large people call it a tree. A mu...

"The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." Mark 6:30‭-‬31 ESV God is omnipotent and yet He still cares for all our needs. I cannot grasp how omnipotent and powerful God is.  He intimately knows every single person, throughout all times, at every moment.  Not just your thoughts or your soul, but every hair, every freckle, every part of you! He knows every beat of your heart,  every teardrop you cry,  every single breath you take. There's not a single part of you He doesn't know. There's not a thing about you that He doesn't take care for. He wisely created us with bodies that tell us things constantly, to help us take care for our bodies too. Jesus told the disciples to rest and take time for to take care of themselves. Its easy to brush aside your own bodily needs when th...