It’s hard to imagine our lives without our devices (phones, tablets, laptops). Technology and online life have become an integral part of our daily lives. There is nothing inherently damaging or wrong with staying connected; it can be helpful. But, sometimes, the lines between necessity and desire can be blurred without us even realizing it. We can easily exchange the value of meaningful relationships for affirmative “clicks” from a crowd of faceless friends on Instagram or Facebook or avoid being vulnerable, transparent, and genuine for the comfort of scrolling through the day’s posts. 
If we’re sincere, we love the control offered to us through social media–it’s plagued us since the fall (Gen 3:5). Social media platforms can present us with counterfeit omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. Still, these belong to God alone (Is 45:22-24). In an online world that offers hollow affirmations, there is good news. In Christ, God desires to meet with us, befriend us and truly satisfy our souls (Col 2:3; Rev 3:20). He has also given us relationships with one another as a gift of his grace (1 Jn 1:7; Heb 10:24-25; Gal 6:2). And, God also gives us wisdom from His Word for how to honor him and love one another in all things–including our participation in social media.
Whether you are looking for wisdom on how to use social media, help with using it less, or abstaining from it completely; this is a quick guide to help you seek to honor Christ as you engage with social media.

Walk in God’s way, his path. Don’t get caught up in trends, time wasters, or questionable content.
Jeremiah 6:16 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Philippians 4:8–9 (ESV)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Ephesians 4:1; 22–24 (ESV)
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called [...] to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

1 Timothy 4:7 (ESV)
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;

1 John 2:15–16 (ESV)
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Make good use of the time God has given. Set limits for yourself and keep them.
Psalm 90:12 (ESV)
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Ephesians 5:15–17 (ESV)
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Remember the power of images and protect the eyes of your heart.
Matthew 6:22–23 (ESV)
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Psalm 101:3–4 (ESV)
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.

Psalm 119:37 (ESV)
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
Run from gossip and remember that our boast in God alone.

Proverbs 20:19 (ESV)
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

1 Timothy 5:13 (ESV)
Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

Ephesians 4:31 (ESV)
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Jeremiah 9:23–24 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Psalm 20:7 (ESV)
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Galatians 6:14 (ESV)
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Thomas Brooks, in his puritan classic "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices," begins the list of Satan's many tactics to lure us into sin as follows:
Though this first device applies to all areas of sin, it's hard to imagine a place in life to which this more vividly speaks than the area of lust and sexual sin.
Jesus tells us that Satan is the father of lies, one who does not stand in the truth (John 8:44), yet the vast majority of our culture happily takes their cues regarding sex and sexuality from the one who only seeks to steal, kill and destroy.

Contrary to how the world views sex and sexuality, we know that sex is not ultimate. Rather, it is a good and beautiful gift from the Lord himself–the giver of all good things. As God's people, we want to inform our hearts and minds of his truth and wisdom in our sexuality so that we might honor the Lord with our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Saints, the fight for sexual purity is a battle worth fighting. As with all sin, we don't fight in our flesh, nor do we fight alone. Perhaps this is an area you're struggling in. If it is, we'd strongly encourage you to seek help so that others might walk with you to encourage you in the gospel and provide you with ongoing support and accountability.

As you walk out repentance, we've selected a few scripture passages to help remind you of the holiness God desires in your life, the comfort he provides, and encouragement against the condemning voice of the enemy.

We pray this helps you turn from ways that lead to death and the Lord Jesus:

• He is the friend of sinners. 
• He bore your sin as well as your shame.
• He is your righteousness, as well as your refuge and strength

Mattew 6:13
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Matthew 5:8
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Psalm 119:9-11
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

1 Thessalonians 4:4-5
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Romans 6:12-14
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

2 Timothy 2:21-22
21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all vigilance,for from it flow the springs of life.

Titus 2:11-12
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

James 1:13-15
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

1 John 2:16-17
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

To feel disconnected, isolated or alienated even when surrounded by family or friends is a heavy burden. Yet, moments and even prolonged seasons of loneliness are part of our experience as image bearers in a fallen world. Our Savior, who was born in the likeness of men (Phil 2:7) and left the glories of heaven and the presence of His Father (Jn 17:5) experienced loneliness in a broken world overun by sin. In His kindness, He answers the problem of loneliness with the gift of relationship–with himself and with others and promises us that He will be with us until the end of the age (Mt 28:20).
Sometimes, our loneliness is quickly remedied and we are swiftly encouraged by Gospel truths, our fellowship with the Lord or friends and family. Other times, we may feel stuck in the mud of lonesomeness and not sure what to do.

This a quick-kit to help you in those moments. You can use it in your own moments of loneliness or to encourage a friend.

Psalm 139:7–12 (ESV)
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV)
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Psalm 62:5–8 (ESV)
5  For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6  He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7  On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8  Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

Joshua 1:9 (ESV)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Psalm 68:5–6 (ESV)
5  Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6  God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)
17  The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
2 Timothy 4:16–18 (ESV)
16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

John 16:32–33 (ESV)
32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Psalm 73:25–26 (ESV)
25  Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26  My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Keep God’s covenant in your trials. Hold yourself by His blessed word, and do not sin. Flee anger, wrath, grudging, envying, fretting. Forgive a hundred pence to your fellow servant, because your Lord has forgiven you ten thousand talents. For I assure you by the Lord, your adversaries shall get no advantage against you, except you sin and offend your Lord in your sufferings.
 - Samuel Rutherford

Proverbs 16:32
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Like all of our emotions, anger is God-given and is expressed on a sliding scale of intensity. Sometimes, our anger remains hidden or comes out indirectly through sarcasm, irritability, gossip or depression. Other times, it’s plain to all through aggression, road rage, manipulation or withdrawing from relationships. Anger, at it’s root, is always a response to something–injustice, hurt, being misunderstood. Our sinless Savior showed righteous anger in response to the merciless and greed hardened hearts of the Pharisees (Mk 3:4-6; Mt 21:12-13). As one born in the likeness of men (Ph 2:7), Jesus understood what it meant to feel anger and use it for the glory of His Father and the good of others rather than for sin.
If we’re honest, most of our experience with anger has not been as righteous warriors for good, but as ones struggling to be angry and not sin (Eph 4:26) against others or ourselves. Because we live in a fallen world, sinful anger is always at the  ready (Gen 4:7). The good news for weak people like you and me is that God promises to help those who humbly seek Him (Ja 4:6) and give grace in our time of need (Heb 4:16)
This is a quick guide to help you as trust Chirst in your battle against anger.

Psalm 4:4–5 (ESV)
4  Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5  Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.

Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Proverbs 22:24–25 (ESV)
24  Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
nor go with a wrathful man,
25  lest you learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.

James 1:19–20 (ESV)
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Proverbs 15:1 (ESV)
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Colossians 3:19–21 (ESV)
19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Ephesians 4:31 (ESV)
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.


Romans 12:19 (ESV)
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Psalm 37:8 (ESV)
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Proverbs 14:17 (ESV)
17 A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

Luke 6:27–36 (ESV)
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

“How can God forgive me for what I’ve done?” 
“If I’m really a Christian then why do I keep struggling with this?” 
“This is all my fault.” 
“This is the one sin that God will not forgive me for.” 
These are all things we might find ourself saying in moments when we are overcome with guilt. Sometimes, we feel guilt or shame for something we’ve done, said or thought. Guilt and shame have been with us since the fall (Gen 3:10); they’re are part of living in a world where sin exists in us and outside of us. Like all things in a fallen world, God uses the guilt caused by our sin to call us to repentance and restoration in the Gospel. Despite our mistakes and failures, God promises to meet us at the Cross, forgive us and help us (Jn 8:31-36; Rom 8:1).  Because of the Gospel, guilt can be used for good.
Other times, our guilt takes on forms of shame, worthlessness, false guilt and doubting our position in Christ before God. Just as guilt can be used for good, it can also become a prison that keeps joy in Christ, confident prayer and living for the Lord on the outside (Ez 9:5-6). 
Whether you are burdened with guilt because of unconfessed sin (Ps 32:3-5), doubting your assurance or stuck in the mud of shame, this is a quick guide to help you or help you come alongside a friend as you go to the Cross, where our guilt and shame were taken and paid for (Heb 12:2; Ez 16:63)

Psalm 32:3–5 (ESV)
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away 
through my groaning all day long. 
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; 
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, 
and I did not cover my iniquity; 
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” 
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Hebrews 10:22 (ESV)
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Romans 8:33–35 (ESV)
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Hebrews 7:24–25 (ESV)
24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Psalm 71:1–3 (ESV)
In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2  In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
3  Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

Micah 7:18–19 (ESV)
18  Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19  He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.

Psalm 103:12 (ESV)
12  as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

1 John 1:8–10 (ESV)
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

John 8:31–36 (ESV)
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.