Are you living a transformed life?
This week sees a dream fulfilled as my new TV series Living a Transformed Life, premieres on the leading Christian channel TBN. I have worked in, and with, the media for most of my life, as a national newspaper journalist, current affairs broadcast commentator and most recently as global communications chief for Christian aid agency World Vision, but I never dreamt that I would have the chance to ‘declare the works of the Lord’ on a channel like TBN UK which provides a platform to reach every home in the UK with the Gospel message. God has an amazing way of taking the challenges of our lives and using them to his greater purpose.
My TV new series originally emerged out of an interview with Leon Schoeman on TBNUK’s flagship programme TBN Meets about my best-selling memoir Sea Changed in which talk about my own journey of transformation and healing from advanced cancer.
I originally wrote my memoir Sea Changed as a legacy for my children, because I wanted them to know how much God had loved and shaped my life even as I faced potentially leaving them but, when I miraculously survived, my ministry became about something bigger. It became about helping people who were struggling to find God in the face of adversity and reassuring people that God can be found in the most unexpected of places – even a cancer diagnosis.
I told Leon how, in my darkest hour, I had repeatedly been given a passage from Psalm 118:17 ‘I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.’ (KJV) and how I had now dedicated my life to declaring his works as a preacher, author and public speaker ̶ and then to my amazement, he offered me a TV show!
The resulting series, Living a Transformed Life, explores one of the great mysteries of faith – God’s transformation and what it means that the purpose of our lives is to be transformed into the image of Christ. Over twelve weeks, I will be exploring how God uses all circumstances to transform us – from the mountain top moments to the valleys of our lives ̶ and what the fruits of this transformation look like, in this life and beyond.
We will look at what it means to live a life transformed by God as well as at how we cope with challenge and change. We will also look at the marks of transformation – what it really looks like when we live a life transformed by God. And finally we will be talking about God’s ultimate transformation which takes place when we pass from this earthly realm to the next.
To do this we will be exploring scripture and the lives of some key biblical characters as well as meeting people with some amazing stories of transformation. I will also share a little about my own story as captured in Sea Changed.
To accompany the show I have also written a companion guide, which covers all the themes we’re looking at and also poses a series of questions for reflection. And it is my hope and prayer that you will be encouraged and helped to life a life transformed by God.
Living a Transformed Life premieres on TBN UK at 9.00 pm on 8 July and will also be show on Mondays at 11.30 a.m, Wednesdays at 3.00 p.m. and Sundays again at 2.00 a.m (for night owls). It is also available free on demand on www.tbnuk.org .
Sea Changed: A Companion – Living a Transformed Life is available to buy online at TBN UK’s online shop (link), Amazon and Christian retailers.
Sea Changed: Coming home, healing and being at peace with God (shortlisted as CRT Christian Biography of the Year 2017) is available at Waterstones and Christian bookstores through the UK and online at eden.co.uk and Amazon worldwide.