Day 5 | A Convincing CallReflectionYou hardly need to be ‘a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall’ to live out an easy calling. But Jeremiah’s calling was not an easy gig: to confront the complacent and call out the conceited. He was beaten up, locked up, and told to shut up. What gave him the courage and confidence to keep going?At least part of the answer is that surely, he was convin...  Read More

1 John 4:1-6Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have ...  Read More

Day 3 | What Would Convince You?ReflectionOn the few occasions I've abseiled, I’ve discovered I tend to like having something to hold on to. And I don’t just mean the rope. I need to hold onto some facts.So, I’ll quietly establish that the instructor has done this before (successfully!). I’ll jokingly ask about the weight-bearing tolerance of the rope – if the rope could hold a small car, that’s r...  Read More

Day 3 | What Would Convince You?ReflectionOn the few occasions I've abseiled, I’ve discovered I tend to like having something to hold on to. And I don’t just mean the rope. I need to hold onto some facts.So, I’ll quietly establish that the instructor has done this before (successfully!). I’ll jokingly ask about the weight-bearing tolerance of the rope – if the rope could hold a small car, that’s r...  Read More

Day 2 | Good Reasons to be ConvincedReflectionYesterday, we introduced six things that help grow our confidence as whole-life disciples: being convinced, community, compassion, consistency, competence, and courage.For the next six days, we’ll look at the first one: confidence through being convinced. Knowing why we are convinced in our faith is the vital key to being confident.Look at Romans 8:38-...  Read More

Day 1 | The Right Kind of ConfidenceReflectionMost of us would love to grow in faith-confidence. We know it’s important – a lack of confidence can hold us back from living full and fruitful lives as Christians.But it often seems easier to have confidence on Sunday if we're gathered with other Christians. Confidence is harder to muster on Monday, in the everyday places where we meet those who don’t...  Read More

DAY 5 – Put On the New“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIVIt’s empowering to recognize and deal with the things that have been holding you back. But what now?Now that you’ve thrown off those old things, it’s time to “put on” the good things that will help you change into the wonderful person God has called you to ...  Read More

1 John 3:19-24We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.  Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;  and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.  This is Hi...  Read More

DAY 4 – Throw Off the JunkIt takes courage and trust in God to forgive, but it’s well worth the risk. Can you sense a new freedom in your soul? This is what change is all about!Now it’s time to get down in the trenches and recognize the bad attitudes and behaviors you’ve accumulated from these past experiences. Have you allowed your heart to become hard in self-defense or self-protection?  You may...  Read More

DAY 3 – Welcome ChangeSo far, we’ve established that God created you with “wonderful” in mind and that you have a God-given purpose. You may be asking the question: What if I’m not so hot right now? What if I’m mean and snarky and sometimes really hate who I am?Then it’s time to regain the picture of what God intends for your life.Life “happens” and sometimes it gets the better of us. Has someone ...  Read More

DAY 2 – Embrace Your PurposeGod made you wonderful! And it gets even better… You were created by God to do good and even GREAT things! You have a purpose in life and working towards that purpose is a big part of loving who you are – and being able to embrace and even welcome change so you can become the person God intended you to be. Look at what God’s word says:“For we are God's masterpiece. He h...  Read More

DAY 1 – See What God Sees“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” Ephesians 1:4 NLTChange doesn’t always happen overnight – but it can begin today. If you’re tired of who you are and how you’ve been living, your change can start now. The very first thing you must do to embrace any sort of change in your life is to remember that ...  Read More