December 25-Flourish- Love
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
In his book, From Strength to Strength, Arthur C. Brooks reports that the largest living organism on earth is an aspen grove. Though we may see thousands of white trees with fluttering green leaves on a hillside, an aspen grove shares a single root system. Like the aspen, we are one body in Christ, but we also appear as unique individuals. As one complex set of roots unites a grove of aspens, the love of God can make us one.
God’s love was never made clearer than when He sent His Son to be born so that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection would reveal how deeply God wants us to be connected together in His family.
God’s design for us in Christ is that we function as a large interconnected and nourishing ecosystem to demonstrate Christ’s incarnate love for each other. When we’re born into Jesus’ love and share that same love with one another, we all flourish together. This is the promise of Christmas. This is the provision of our Savior. This is the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus, help us love others as You first loved by sacrificially giving Yourself for us. Fill our hearts with Your Spirit so we flourish together as one body. Amen
Is there someone in your life to whom you need to show Christ’s love? Think of tangible ways you can show love and kindness as Christ has done for you. Merry Christmas!
(This devotion was modified from the original to celebrate the birth of Christ.)
December 26- Flourish- Wisdom
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5
Another reality from Bible times that may interest you relates to wisdom. Wealthy people in the Greco-Roman world paid big money to the moral philosophers to gain wisdom. And those who lacked wisdom felt lost, unsure, ashamed, and carried the stigma of being unprepared for life.
In response to this prevailing way of thinking, James, the half- brother of Jesus and the head of the church in Jerusalem, offers us great news. If you lack wisdom, just ask God who supplies it generously. And He won’t put you down or shame you for asking. Notice how this relates to flourishing. If we choose to follow Jesus and make things right around us through our service and giving, we may face many challenges. We might struggle and not know what to do in different situations or how to address the problems in our community. The key is to seek God first and ask for wisdom.
What areas of your life bring you displeasure or disappointment? God can help. His counsel costs nothing and has incomparable value. He is never too busy and always reachable.
God, I resolve today to go to You first when I need wisdom. Thanks for Your promise to supply it generously. Amen.
Where do you look for wisdom? Many admit going to Google before calling out to God. Each day we’ve read a Scripture, shared reflections, and had a prayer. We hope these rhythms continue in your life so you can address problems with godly wisdom.
December 27-Flourish- Abundance
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
At harvest time in Western Colorado, peaches fill the trees. They are huge and delicious. Then, at just the right time, a crew goes tree to tree, row by row, and collects the peaches. They are boxed and sent to market. Some are eaten immediately. Others become cobbler, salsa, or other tasty treats. Each tree, pruned and managed carefully by the steward of the orchard, produces an abundance of peaches for enjoyment and sharing. And each one continues to do so year after year. God wants that fruitfulness for each of us!
Like those peach trees, if we submit to His pruning and daily nourishment, He will make us fruitful. But notice in today’s Scripture that the whole picture of flourishing pivots on the phrase, “God is able.” This implies that we have a choice whether to participate in His plan or not. If we join Him, He can supply all we need and more, in and through us.
This brings into view a counterintuitive paradox of flourishing. When we give, we gain, and when we don’t give, we lose. Our participation in God’s paradigm shapes our future. Again, we see this with the trees. Those that give an abundance of fruit get attentive care and abound again and again. The trees that don’t produce fruit are cut down and cast into the fire.
God, teach me to trust that You will provide all I need so that I can give generously like those peach trees. Amen.
Are there areas of your life where you are not trusting God to provide all that you need? Is this holding you back and limiting your generosity to others? Submit your insecurities to God and ask Him to give you peace.
December 28-Flourish- Location
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. Psalm 52:8
When you look for just the right house to make a home, realtors have a common saying: “location, location, location.” In short, the greatness of the house is directly linked to where it is located. The same is true for us.
David, the writer of this psalm, described himself as an olive tree flourishing in a specific place. It was not on the highest mountain, in the city center, or in a pristine palace. He flourished in the house of God. We want to remind you to live out your faith in community. You can’t flourish apart from the house of God.
Practically speaking, engage in a local church where you can learn and grow in community with others. There, like an olive tree, you can produce fruit over many years, and flourish while celebrating God’s unfailing love. The advice of realtors and the counsel of David come together to point the way. Those who make location a priority when deciding where to put down their roots will increase the probability of flourishing. Will you?
God, plant me in Your house. I trust in Your unfailing love. Amen.
Are you planted in the wrong place? It’s a huge step to acknowledge you are not where you need to be. Don’t worry. He’s a Master Gardener who can transplant you. If you need to be transplanted, simply ask God to point you where He wants you to go to flourish.
December 29-Flourish- Grafting
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11
Some of you might only be reading FLOURISH because you committed to go through it with someone else. But, in reality, you feel cut off from God, like a branch pruned from a tree and lying on the ground. Branches lying on the ground are usually gathered up and used for firewood.
We want to share some good news with you. God wants to give life to your disconnected branch. Vinedressers call this grafting. When a live root combines with a cut branch, it writes a new future for the branch altogether.
God wants to write a new chapter to your story. He does! God wants to give your life meaning, to produce fruit in you, and to bless you so you can bless others. But you can’t do this if you are a stick on the ground. Regardless of your past, He envisions fruitfulness and flourishing in your future. That only happens when you are connected to Him.
God, you raised Jesus from the dead, please do the same for me. Give life to my branch as I connect with You. Amen.
Feel disconnected? God is good at grafting. Reach out to a person of deep Christian faith that you trust. Ask them how they remain connected to Jesus. Or does someone else come to mind, someone who may be disconnected with whom you could share this?
December 30-Flourish- You and Your Children
May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 115:14-15
This verse is special to us as authors. We have tasted times of flourishing in our own lives and want this for our children. We believe our best days are yet ahead of us, and we hope the same for them.
But if we speak openly, we have seasons we regret. We’ve made our share of mistakes. Too many! We recall times when we functioned like gardens without water and nearly withered as a result. And we’ve also had good times, when our living, giving, serving, and loving matched God’s design.
So, in reflecting on this as authors and friends, we decided to do something special. By writing it here, we make it public. We dedicate this book to our children—Sammy, Emily, Sophie, Peter, Charlie Ray, Carly, Robbie, and Emily—with a prayer that the Lord will teach them how to flourish.
We trust God to make it so. Because God is faithful, we fret not for the future. We resolve to love and encourage our children to abide in the same vine that gives us life and enriches us for generous and abundant living.
If you have children, join us in this. Pause today to commit yourself to the practices that position you to flourish. But don’t stop there. Ask God to bless your children and cause them to flourish.
God, cause me and those after me to flourish in You. Amen.
Today, take the opportunity to write a special message to your children, grandchildren, or a special person in your life. Talk about what you have learned and what causes you to flourish.
December 31-Flourish- Fruit of Righteousness
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
Thanks for joining us on this 30-day journey. Our prayer for you comes from Paul’s words to the church in Philippi. We want your love to abound so you can discern what is best and live pure, blameless lives filled with the fruit of righteousness. What does that look like in common terms?
Let’s look to the plants—which have taught us so much—to find the answer. Every plant on earth looks to the sun and converts light and carbon dioxide into oxygen, which we need for fruitful growth. And fruitful growth is our desire for ourselves and you.
We hope that you look to Jesus to fill you with His love. As you spend time in the Word of God and prayer, we trust that He will make you into a fruitful tree. And we pray that your righteous deeds done in community will transform you and others in every aspect of your life.
Allow this to shape your service and giving, your living and loving. Be sure to bring hope and a future to the people in the place where God has planted you. And may God lead your children to join you in this mission.
Jesus, thanks for all You have taught me on the journey. I pray that You continue to remind me of the things I should put into practice. Amen.
In the end, flourishing is not something we do, but what God does through us when we participate with His indwelling Spirit in our serving, giving, living, and loving. May you flourish in the New Year ahead!
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
In his book, From Strength to Strength, Arthur C. Brooks reports that the largest living organism on earth is an aspen grove. Though we may see thousands of white trees with fluttering green leaves on a hillside, an aspen grove shares a single root system. Like the aspen, we are one body in Christ, but we also appear as unique individuals. As one complex set of roots unites a grove of aspens, the love of God can make us one.
God’s love was never made clearer than when He sent His Son to be born so that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection would reveal how deeply God wants us to be connected together in His family.
God’s design for us in Christ is that we function as a large interconnected and nourishing ecosystem to demonstrate Christ’s incarnate love for each other. When we’re born into Jesus’ love and share that same love with one another, we all flourish together. This is the promise of Christmas. This is the provision of our Savior. This is the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus, help us love others as You first loved by sacrificially giving Yourself for us. Fill our hearts with Your Spirit so we flourish together as one body. Amen
Is there someone in your life to whom you need to show Christ’s love? Think of tangible ways you can show love and kindness as Christ has done for you. Merry Christmas!
(This devotion was modified from the original to celebrate the birth of Christ.)
December 26- Flourish- Wisdom
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5
Another reality from Bible times that may interest you relates to wisdom. Wealthy people in the Greco-Roman world paid big money to the moral philosophers to gain wisdom. And those who lacked wisdom felt lost, unsure, ashamed, and carried the stigma of being unprepared for life.
In response to this prevailing way of thinking, James, the half- brother of Jesus and the head of the church in Jerusalem, offers us great news. If you lack wisdom, just ask God who supplies it generously. And He won’t put you down or shame you for asking. Notice how this relates to flourishing. If we choose to follow Jesus and make things right around us through our service and giving, we may face many challenges. We might struggle and not know what to do in different situations or how to address the problems in our community. The key is to seek God first and ask for wisdom.
What areas of your life bring you displeasure or disappointment? God can help. His counsel costs nothing and has incomparable value. He is never too busy and always reachable.
God, I resolve today to go to You first when I need wisdom. Thanks for Your promise to supply it generously. Amen.
Where do you look for wisdom? Many admit going to Google before calling out to God. Each day we’ve read a Scripture, shared reflections, and had a prayer. We hope these rhythms continue in your life so you can address problems with godly wisdom.
December 27-Flourish- Abundance
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
At harvest time in Western Colorado, peaches fill the trees. They are huge and delicious. Then, at just the right time, a crew goes tree to tree, row by row, and collects the peaches. They are boxed and sent to market. Some are eaten immediately. Others become cobbler, salsa, or other tasty treats. Each tree, pruned and managed carefully by the steward of the orchard, produces an abundance of peaches for enjoyment and sharing. And each one continues to do so year after year. God wants that fruitfulness for each of us!
Like those peach trees, if we submit to His pruning and daily nourishment, He will make us fruitful. But notice in today’s Scripture that the whole picture of flourishing pivots on the phrase, “God is able.” This implies that we have a choice whether to participate in His plan or not. If we join Him, He can supply all we need and more, in and through us.
This brings into view a counterintuitive paradox of flourishing. When we give, we gain, and when we don’t give, we lose. Our participation in God’s paradigm shapes our future. Again, we see this with the trees. Those that give an abundance of fruit get attentive care and abound again and again. The trees that don’t produce fruit are cut down and cast into the fire.
God, teach me to trust that You will provide all I need so that I can give generously like those peach trees. Amen.
Are there areas of your life where you are not trusting God to provide all that you need? Is this holding you back and limiting your generosity to others? Submit your insecurities to God and ask Him to give you peace.
December 28-Flourish- Location
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. Psalm 52:8
When you look for just the right house to make a home, realtors have a common saying: “location, location, location.” In short, the greatness of the house is directly linked to where it is located. The same is true for us.
David, the writer of this psalm, described himself as an olive tree flourishing in a specific place. It was not on the highest mountain, in the city center, or in a pristine palace. He flourished in the house of God. We want to remind you to live out your faith in community. You can’t flourish apart from the house of God.
Practically speaking, engage in a local church where you can learn and grow in community with others. There, like an olive tree, you can produce fruit over many years, and flourish while celebrating God’s unfailing love. The advice of realtors and the counsel of David come together to point the way. Those who make location a priority when deciding where to put down their roots will increase the probability of flourishing. Will you?
God, plant me in Your house. I trust in Your unfailing love. Amen.
Are you planted in the wrong place? It’s a huge step to acknowledge you are not where you need to be. Don’t worry. He’s a Master Gardener who can transplant you. If you need to be transplanted, simply ask God to point you where He wants you to go to flourish.
December 29-Flourish- Grafting
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11
Some of you might only be reading FLOURISH because you committed to go through it with someone else. But, in reality, you feel cut off from God, like a branch pruned from a tree and lying on the ground. Branches lying on the ground are usually gathered up and used for firewood.
We want to share some good news with you. God wants to give life to your disconnected branch. Vinedressers call this grafting. When a live root combines with a cut branch, it writes a new future for the branch altogether.
God wants to write a new chapter to your story. He does! God wants to give your life meaning, to produce fruit in you, and to bless you so you can bless others. But you can’t do this if you are a stick on the ground. Regardless of your past, He envisions fruitfulness and flourishing in your future. That only happens when you are connected to Him.
God, you raised Jesus from the dead, please do the same for me. Give life to my branch as I connect with You. Amen.
Feel disconnected? God is good at grafting. Reach out to a person of deep Christian faith that you trust. Ask them how they remain connected to Jesus. Or does someone else come to mind, someone who may be disconnected with whom you could share this?
December 30-Flourish- You and Your Children
May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 115:14-15
This verse is special to us as authors. We have tasted times of flourishing in our own lives and want this for our children. We believe our best days are yet ahead of us, and we hope the same for them.
But if we speak openly, we have seasons we regret. We’ve made our share of mistakes. Too many! We recall times when we functioned like gardens without water and nearly withered as a result. And we’ve also had good times, when our living, giving, serving, and loving matched God’s design.
So, in reflecting on this as authors and friends, we decided to do something special. By writing it here, we make it public. We dedicate this book to our children—Sammy, Emily, Sophie, Peter, Charlie Ray, Carly, Robbie, and Emily—with a prayer that the Lord will teach them how to flourish.
We trust God to make it so. Because God is faithful, we fret not for the future. We resolve to love and encourage our children to abide in the same vine that gives us life and enriches us for generous and abundant living.
If you have children, join us in this. Pause today to commit yourself to the practices that position you to flourish. But don’t stop there. Ask God to bless your children and cause them to flourish.
God, cause me and those after me to flourish in You. Amen.
Today, take the opportunity to write a special message to your children, grandchildren, or a special person in your life. Talk about what you have learned and what causes you to flourish.
December 31-Flourish- Fruit of Righteousness
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
Thanks for joining us on this 30-day journey. Our prayer for you comes from Paul’s words to the church in Philippi. We want your love to abound so you can discern what is best and live pure, blameless lives filled with the fruit of righteousness. What does that look like in common terms?
Let’s look to the plants—which have taught us so much—to find the answer. Every plant on earth looks to the sun and converts light and carbon dioxide into oxygen, which we need for fruitful growth. And fruitful growth is our desire for ourselves and you.
We hope that you look to Jesus to fill you with His love. As you spend time in the Word of God and prayer, we trust that He will make you into a fruitful tree. And we pray that your righteous deeds done in community will transform you and others in every aspect of your life.
Allow this to shape your service and giving, your living and loving. Be sure to bring hope and a future to the people in the place where God has planted you. And may God lead your children to join you in this mission.
Jesus, thanks for all You have taught me on the journey. I pray that You continue to remind me of the things I should put into practice. Amen.
In the end, flourishing is not something we do, but what God does through us when we participate with His indwelling Spirit in our serving, giving, living, and loving. May you flourish in the New Year ahead!
Posted in Daily Devotionals