We are all given a choice when it comes to what we believe. We are going to accept the claims of Christ or reject the claim. Yet lots of us live in a world of in-between. We like what Jesus says but when the rubber meets the road, when it comes down to living out the life that Christ called us to it's easier to walk away than dive head first. At some point we are called to be disciples of Christ instead of mere followers. At some point we have to take ownership of our faith. Taking a look at John 6 we find the same is true of the followers of Christ and the apostles and the stark difference in response between the two.

We all desire to enter into deeper relationships with people for the purpose of growing in our relationship with Christ. In Christianity we usually call that an accountability relationship, yet over time these have not really worked because they are based on guilt and shame rather than encouragement and intercession. We should call them advocate partners. An advocate is someone who actively supports, intercedes, pleads and argues in favor of someone. They are going to God praying for you, encouraging you, praising and celebrating you when you do well and correcting you when you go off track. They are there to help you, just as you are there to help them. This type of relationship is a physical representation of what Christ does as our advocate between us and God.

Most of us desire change in our lives and think that if we change the outward appearance then the rest of our lives will follow. Yet that isn't what God's Word tells us nor what our experience tells us either. For us to be truly changed we must be changed from the inside out. One of the ways that this happens is by spending time in God's Word. As we spend time in God's Word he changes our hearts and the rest of our lives fall in line behind that.

We find labels everywhere we go and the purpose is to help us easily and quickly identify things. As people we have all been given a label and we live from our label. When we do this we are living from affinity. Yet we were created for community, to live with people who come from different background and experiences to help us grow. Connecting to a small group is a great way to find the community that we need. A great example of that is the small group that Jesus brought together called the apostles, or the twelve disciples.

Everyone feels alone at times, but some people go through life perpetually alone, lonely. Jesus gives a great picture of what it looks like to see and listen to lonely people from the story of Jesus and the bleeding woman.

We live in a world that believes a lie that has completely shaped all of us. We live out the lie daily that women are commodities, something to be used and then discarded for a newer model. This isn't a new concept because Jesus addressed this idea when he lived. What does it mean for us to not buy into the lie, but what can we do to combat the lie?

What does it look like to live boldly when there is pressure to compromise your beliefs? How will you respond? Daniel is faced with such a decision. Take a look at his response and what that looks like to live boldly in the face of our beliefs.

What does it look like for you to live boldly when it costs us everything? Daniel's friends face this very question and their response should give us a great insight into how we should respond.

How are we supposed to live boldly in times of crisis? Daniel shows us what it looks like to keep you head when all those around you are losing theirs. It comes down to keeping your poise. Check out what it look like for us as believers to live with poise.

What does it look like for us to live boldly? Who can we look to as an example of bold living? Starting in Daniel 1 we are going to take a look at how Daniel and his friends lived boldly when it came to their faith and how that shaped their lives and the lives of those around them. It all comes down to them setting their hearts, just as we should set our hearts.