he righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD, they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Psalm 48:12-14, Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation:

“This is God / Our God forever and ever / He will guide us forever.”

This week’s devotional is my synthesis of the sessions. How do we think rightly about technology? Can we use it well? How? This is a conversation we need to have more of and soon. Here's a start.

Leviticus 26 (of all places) lists beautiful, rich, descriptions of the ways in which God desires to bless His people, Israel.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

When is a body well? For most of my life I would have said: when you can forget about the body and just live. But once we grow up we quickly discover that this is not a definition of wellness, it is a definition of fortunate-youth.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

Psalm 32:10b, “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.”

The News always seems bad. Even when it’s a little-good, it’s quickly buffered by warnings of what might happen next, footnoted with caveats of gloom.

Psalm 27:8-9
You have said, "Seek my face."
My heart says to You, "Your face, LORD, do I seek."

I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth you have. (2 Peter 3:12)

What does God want us to do today? "You have said, 'seek My Face.'"

What separates a professional from an amateur? Professionals respect the fundamentals. Professionals are better at the basics. Amateurs don’t respect the basics—they’re tired of the boring stuff and want to have fun.

Psalm 1 envisions the Christian life as a fruitful tree. This big ol’ fig tree, planted in an ideal spot, soaking up the fresh water of life, with a steady leaf and regular seasonal fruiting.

You are reading your Bible. You are faithful on Sundays. You are praying for your family, friends, and neighbors. You are concocting holy-adventures.

Sometimes we get to thinking that "getting saved" and "Christian living" are two separate things.

How do you know when your faith is strong? When your discipleship is healthy? When you’re growing in Christlikeness? When you’re in-step with the Spirit? How do you know that you’re getting the point? That you’re on the trail and keeping straight?

How do we keep going so we keep growing? We want to go on; we want to get “there.” We want to see our faith become love; we want to supplement our faith however we must. We want to keep growing. So how do we keep going so we keep growing?

You’re a caring person. You care. You’re a Christian—the heart of Jesus is beating in your heart.

The fact that God “elects” people to be saved—chooses, predestines, calls—is clearly taught in Scripture. But that doesn’t mean we like it.