Life Changing Lesson

"And Do Not Be Conformed To This World: But Be Ye Transformed By The Renewing Of Your Mind, That Ye May Prove What Is That Good, And Acceptable, And Perfect , Will Of God."
Romans 12:2

I will admit I have had a hard time co-operating with Him and the transformation process He has started within me.

Because I didn't know exactly what it was He was trying to change within me, I fought it each step of the way.

Now that the renewal of my mind and soul is becoming clearer, I have a better picture of what He is wanting from me.

That doesn't make it any easier to accept.

In order for the transformation to take place and ultimately "stick", I needed to know what He was wanting from me.

I already knew He was removing anything in my path that kept me from Him, no matter how painful it was to me.

I am 100% guilty of not putting Him first in my life, for an awful long time, and I have already sought His forgiveness for that transgression.

I am human, I sin, daily and no I am not proud of that, however I can't be perfect either.

For the renewal and transformation to take place, there are some things that need to happen from you.

Study the Bible.

Put away negative qualities.

The most important part after these two is done by Him...

By the power of the Holy Spirit, the transformation can become complete.

Let's look at the first one, study the Bible...

Should be easy right?

It isn't, I admit I could stand to read my Bible a lot more than I do...

I read a few verses here and there, however I don't sit down and spend time in the word like I should.

We will read anything we can get our hands on, from romance novels to cereal boxes, yet when it is time to read the one Book we should be living by, we balk at it.

It is boring, it is too long, I don't understand it, I don't have time etc...

I have used these as well, it is crap.

Nothing but excuses...

If you want to feel Him by your side, more so than you do now, read His Book.

Let's look at number two, put away negative qualities.

What does this mean exactly?

Let's look at my personality...

Again I am human and I have many flaws and since this is my blog, I will use myself...

I am not a patient person, I have a bad temper, I curse more than I should, I can be judgemental, I can be critical etc...

Now, in order for me to become more like Him, I have to put away those qualities and put on the qualities He wants in me.

Love, compassion, patience, harmony, kind, generous, gentle etc...

This is how He wants me to be.

Each and every flawed aspect of your personality has a verse about it somewhere in His Word.

See where I am going with this?

Make a list...

On the paper, draw down the center a straight line, now on one side list each "bad" personality trait you have...

Then go and get your Bible and do a search in the concordance...

On the other side of the paper, write down the specific verse that pertains to whatever your trait may be for that search.

It is all there in black and white.

Now tear the page out of your notebook and study those verses, keep the page with you and when you feel the "bad" start to crop up, get your page out and read it.

It will take some time, however eventually, you will be able to "stop" those traits in their tracks, to be replaced with what He wants from you.

I still struggle with this each and every day.

It is, of course, easier to slip back into the "old me".

To lash out in anger, to show my impatience with what is at hand, to judge where I have no place to judge.

Yet now I know I can stop it...

It is a matter of thinking before acting.

The struggle runs very wide and very deep within me.

We live in the age of wanting everything right this minute...

No matter what it is, none of us wants to wait...

Instant gratification is surrounding us in almost every aspect of our life.

With Him, there is no instant gratification.

In order to get to number three, you have to do the other things on your own...

This renewal will be on His time, however you have to do the work as well...

He isn't going to sweep in and make you whole again...

You have to want it more than anything else and you have to be willing to fight for it...

I never realized how bad I wanted it until He started His work within me.

JOSH WILSON
Savior, Please Help Me Stand
I Fall So Hard, I Fade So fast
Will You Begin Right Where I End
And Be The God Of All I Am Because You're All I Have