Heartblown!

Within a day or two of my previous post, God expanded my understanding even more on the matter of transformation for the believer.  God showed me that the soul is made up of three parts as well; our mind, will, and emotions.  Our mind produces thoughts, our will produces choices, and our emotions produce feelings.  Our mind has been deceived by this sin-ridden world, our will has become rebellious, and our emotions become controlling.  At salvation, our spirit becomes alive and the Holy Spirit indwells us.  We become new.  Our thoughts, choices, and feelings want to change.  The Holy Spirit desires to work through our soul to bring fruit to the body.  The spirit and fruit of the body is God's part.  Our part is to renew our minds and surrender our will and emotions.  We have to make those changes and allow God to rewire our thinking to please Him and glorify Him.  WOW!  What an incredible concept.  It is amazing how everything works together for a purpose.  I am thankful for the love He has shown us just so we can know Him.  I am so excited learn more, and ready for God to reveal what I need to change next.  It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

 For the Glory of God,

"Be ye transformed..."

Have you ever had a light bulb moment where something finally clicked and made sense for the very first time?
I have.  This particular moment occurred during a message at church over Ephesians 2:1-3.  This passage speaks of how a Christian is made alive in the spirit when he accepts Christ as his Savior.  My wheels get to turning as man is described as body, soul, and spirit.  Pictures start flooding my mind and I start writing down what I see.  The end result looks similar to the diagram above for a non-Christian.  A non-Christian's body and soul are alive while the spirit is not, yet the spirit still has needs that need to be met.  Those needs are filled by the body or the soul.  When a non-Christian becomes a Christian, the spirit is "quickened" or made alive, and can now its needed can be properly fulfilled (see diagram below).  The problem is that because the spirit's needs were improperly fulfilled, the improper patterns and beliefs are set in place.  It will take a lot of trust, and effort to reprogram or "renew" the mind to reset the patterns originally created.  Salvation is an immediate and free gift, but renewal of the mind is a constant process.  God gave us His Son as payment for our sins, but the consequences of our sin are ours to bear.  We must seek to know God each day, and ask God to reveal the "stinkin' thinkin'" that we learned before Christ in order to be transformed.  Transformation speaks of change.  Change is never easy, but it is inevitable.  God also promises to be with us through every up and down that we face.   Let's hold on tight and trust the process of God's transforming grace (Romans 12:1-2).

      For the Glory of God,