NorMel House Devotions

  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 ...

  Proverbs 3: 5, 6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Its interesting that the heart is often spoken of in the Bible. Several times we are told to keep things in our heart; for example  Deut 6:6 "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.", Proverbs 6:21 "Bind them always on your heart, fasten them around your neck." and 2 Corinthians 3:3 "You show that you are a letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." The heart is an important thing, and is often spoken of in an emotional and mental sense. As a teenager I used to write quite a bit of poetry and more often than not I spoke of things that affected my heart. We tend to use the heart as a way to express something that is important to us. We believe something with all...

  Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the Lord is a fortified tower, the righteous run to it and are safe" At first glance it may seem this verse is talking about refuge from an enemy, but take a moment to read the surrounding verses. The context of this verse is quite interesting. It's found amidst proverbs on the use and misuse of our mouths and the consequences. Satan does not always tempt us in obvious ways. He sneaks into our thoughts with words of slander, anger, gossip, and malice. When we do not guard our thoughts and thus our tongues we hurt others and stir up strife and contention. We can guard our thoughts by running to the Lord. Fill your mind with the wisdom of God's word and there is less room for Satan to slip into your thoughts. Verse 15 says "the heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out". The Lord is our tower, run to Him, seek His knowledge, ask for His Word to fill your heart and mind. Our words reflect our ...

  When I look at your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?         Ps. 8:3&4 Moments. Moments are what we're given. A moment to think, a moment to hold on to, a moment of peace, a moment of silence. Moments. Each precious, tiny moment a gift. To love, cherish, to have and to hold on to. At this moment (and for quite a few lately) my heart is actively reminding me of moments passed, moments that never happened and ones that won't ever happen. It hurts. When I think of all the moments I'll never have with my children, you know the ones every parent looks forward to, my chest hurts. First Christmas, first steps, first words, first birthday, so many firsts that I won't get with them. I'm thankful Denver and his siblings will never have to feel this pain. We often forget to live in each God given moment. We worry about...

  "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matt. 6:25 - 26 (ESV)  When we consider our lives, do we truly understand that all things are in God's Hands? So often we struggle with situations or difficulties and try to fix them. Sometimes there are actions we can take, but then we worry about whether it was the right action or choice. We need to lay it all before Him in prayer and then trust that He is in control of all things! Seek God's help, and then trust that He will lead you on the right path.  We also need to remember to leave it with Him. There have been times in my life where I've prayed about things and I say I'm leaving it in His Hands ...

Emotions betray us. I know, I know, there’s a purpose for them, but the way I see it, it comes down to Faith versus Feeling.  I am a person who lives with overwhelming emotions. Not just moody, or fluctuating, but OVERWHELMING. Have you ever felt overwhelmed by something? Have you ever been so submerged in something, so surrounded by it, so overtaken by it, that it literally feels like it’s the only thing in your world at that moment? I have. I do. Constantly. I am not an expert, or a doctor, or a scientist, nor do I have any qualifications but one; life. When it comes down to making decisions most people will go with what they feel is right; I don’t. I go with what I know is right. God has given us everything we need in order to know what is right and wrong. Plain and simple (well, not really, our emotions can make things very complicated and sometimes there’s no black and white line, or writing on the wall, but you’ll get my drift eventually). I should start by saying that I don’...