The Grace of God brings . . .

     Spring has always been a favorite time of year.  A time when all things are made new.  A time when what was once dead comes alive.  A time when the changes that take place are so drastic and so miraculous that it leaves us in awe and could only be credited to the Creator!  From bland to brilliant, from dark to dramatic, from finished to flourishing, from rotten to refreshing.
   
     You could say the same thing about the changes that the Creator makes in His people.  The change that He performs through the actions of His grace: from wickedness to righteousness, enemy to heir, debt of sin to paid in full, objects of wrath to recipients of powerful love, from shameful to sanctified.  This is what the Living God does.  He gives life.  But beyond that He makes our life constantly better than they were before.  In fact unrecognizable to what they were before. God is a God of details.  He does not stop at just changing our eternal destiny, but He seeks to change our daily living as well  When looking at it this way it seems so wonderful that you would wonder why anyone would refuse such changes.  Yet many people do.  I know I do.  Although I have accepted His forgiveness for my sins and have placed my faith in Him for my eternal salvation, I still often refuse the further changes that He desires for my life.  Sometimes the thought of Him making me unrecognizable to what I am now scares me.  I don't enjoy change, but would rather stay with the familiar.  I don't want to lose some things.  I like the way I am now.  However without God's changes I would remain in my old nature and in my worldly ways.  I have to come to see my need to align myself with the reality of the worthlessness, darkness, and the temporary time that the things of this world have.  That I'm really not doing myself any favors by seeking to hang onto those things just because they are what I am used to.
1 John 2:15-17
¹⁵  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶  For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
¹⁷  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

     When I focus on the goodness and holiness of God and the wonderful desires He has for me and the world around me - I am then able to see the worldly things that I am clinging to become a lot more worthless, pointless, and small.  I believe that is what it means to have the heart and mind of Christ.  To look at things as He does, to see things as He describes them in His word, and believe it as truth.  Even if what we desire feels good, we should take God's Word over that emotion every time.
Proverbs 3:5-12 
⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
⁷  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
⁸  It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
⁹  Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
¹⁰  So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
¹¹  My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction;
¹²  For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

      I also need to remember the loving kindness of my Heavenly Father.  That everything He does and allows in my life is with the purpose of my good.  He is not out to beat me down, embarrass me, or create situations that I can't handle just for spite.  Rather, He treats me as His child, trains me to behave according to His standards of holiness, and molds me more and more into His image.  He disciplines me because He loves me.  

Hebrews 12:11  

¹¹  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 

     I pray that I will no longer harbor a rebellious spirit or resist the discipline God gives me, but to see it as good and respond with a sensitive and obedient heart.  I pray for a right perspective of my humanness, weakness, and susceptibility to sin and desperation for His grace working in me each and every moment of the day.  And that I would sow and walk in the Spirit, bear the fruits promised, and be faithful to do the good works God has prepared for me.

Galatians 5:16 
¹⁶  So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:22-26 
²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
²⁴  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
²⁶  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 6:7-8 
⁷  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
⁸  Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Ephesians 2:10 
¹⁰  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.