1) “Today, most people of Scotland have no idea what the Bible says nor any interest in finding out.” Lesley’s quote from Monday speaks volumes of the spiritual state of her home country. If you were to make a similar summary statement for your country, your city, neighborhood, or even extended family, what would it state? What biases or bents can you identify from your statement? In what ways do you feel your personal journey with God has been influenced by the prevailing spiritual attitude in the culture around you? If you had the ability to radically shift your culture over the next decade, what areas would you intentionally influence and why? How does your prayer life and everyday choices reflect this desire for deep cultural impact? As you consider the nations of the world, the offer of Hope only found in Jesus, and the intentional calling of your life as a committed Christ-follower, what role do you think the Lord may be inviting you to stretch into?

2) “Don’t be so judgy.” It’s one of my teenager’s favorite lines when she senses my eyebrows will soon rise at her life, or clothing, choices. No one like to be on the receiving end of “judgy”, but oh we are so quick to justify why we have the right to be, don’t we? Or is that just me? I’m already thinking of all the reasons why I have the right to raise my eyebrows at my daughter. What are some scenarios where you feel rightly justified to also “be judgy”? If we sit still long enough, and pray honestly, the Lord will surely bring us some scenes just from the last week where we feel justified in our position. It doesn’t take much for us to stand on a higher pedestal than someone else, does it? As Christine shared of her country’s radical shift over her lifetime from ethical moralism to lack of tolerance for Christian morality, it made me consider how necessary relationship is as the foundation for genuine life transformation. Christine’s authenticity really struck me, and maybe it will you also. “I’ve spent most of my life with the healthy, people who already have a relationship with God, but now, God has called me to go to the sick.” The sick, being all those we easily default to “judgy” towards. I need to confess my sin of judgement to the Lord, you too? Let’s be willing to “go to the sick”. How about we both start praying for opportunities to do this right now?!

3) Anna’s experiences in moving countries called into question her identity as a Christ-follower. What is it that truly makes someone a Christian? Several nations have identified as “Christian nations” in various forms over the ages, while many have not. How have your experiences growing up in your family of origin as well as your homeland, shaped your expectation of what it means to truly identify as Christian? Maybe for you it meant going to church or mass on Sundays, or reading religious texts, saying prayers, or perhaps attending a worship gathering on special holidays. For Anna, her move really made her heart assess why she believed what she did, and if it was strong enough to support her life. Thinking through our beliefs is a difficult, sometimes frightening task, but it’s exceedingly important. What questions are you afraid to ask about your faith? Have you ever brought them up to anyone? What would it take for you to walk away, or run towards, the Christian faith? What about faith is attractive to you and what turns you off? These are all important questions we should ask! Be encouraged that God is not hiding behind a curtain hoping you don’t dare ask big questions. He encourages seekers to keep on seeking! No matter how long we have followed Jesus, there are more questions to ask, more things to ponder, and more seeking to be done. What a marvelous mystery that the One True God can both be welcomed by us, while also so vast and mysterious that we could seek Him for eternity and still never fully understand Him!