"Remember me with Favor, my God." (Nehemiah 13:31) Think of a time when you were most motivated to change. What was your driving force? The encouragement of someone else? Fear of missing out? Passion that stirred you up? Another person inspiring you? We've been exploring as a series of blog posts how we grow and develop and change through merging insights from Intentional Change Theory (ICT) with insights from studying the biblical book of Nehemiah. ICT would suggest that the

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2) It's just the way I am! Ever said or thought that? I certainly have. The truth in this statem

"...Run in such a way as to get the prize..." [1 Corinthians 9:24] When You're Not Winning, You're Learning Ever heard that phrase? I’ve heard it, and I like it. We live in a time that loves winning, and finds losing increasingly hard - and some people don't know how to lose well. The bible calls us to run the race to win: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games

"I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed  against you." [Nehemiah 1:6] That glaring breach Broken down walls are a powerful visual metaphor for guilt. How so? Mirriam-Webster's dictionary defines guilt in two core ways: "the fact of committing a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty" AND "feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy." In these two definitio

"The God of heaven will give us success" (Ne 2:20) Coming "Crashing" Back Down We're working through how we grow as individuals and as a church through this blog series. We're working through a Theory of Intentional Change (ICT), and finding how Nehemiah's God-led change initiative - rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem - seems to dovetail really well with this theory. It makes sense - God's wisdom for personal change is unparalleled, and we're always finding modern insights tha

Do you think much about your imagination? What it is, and how it works? I think, if you're anything like me, you simply take it for granted. Therefore, giving some definition will help us all get on the same page. A really helpful book on the imagination and it's need for redemption, titled "Imagination Redeemed", clearly states that the imagination: "...is simply the power of the mind to form a mental image, that is, to think in pictures or other sensory representations." [p