Do you all like a good remodel?

You know, the kind of remodel that is easy. There are no surprises, no delays or hiccups, and everything is perfect when it is finished? I am teasing here of course, but I am certain most remodels come with a certain amount of pain and frustration. I have been through a few fun remodels during my time as a homeowner and none have been super tragic but one in particular had a few bumps along the way. Remodeling can be tough. Especially during a pandemic or a supply chain shortage. However, typically after all of the pain and work you are pleased with the end result and happy you went through it.

Just as remodeling a house can be painful at times, learning, growing and maturing in God can be a painful process as well. However, thank goodness we have the Holy Spirit to help us during this process. I love that Jesus called the Holy Spirit a helper. I am so very grateful for this helper because I need His help daily to be a better and kinder person.

In John 14: 25 Jesus says “But the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to you remembrance all that I have said to you.”

It’s so comforting to me that as believers, we have the help of the Holy Spirit available to us. It takes the pressure off of us because it is impossible for us to be what God wants us to be on our own. And who better to have help each day, than the help of the creator of the universe? Wow! That’s very encouraging and comforting to me.

When I see the verse from Romans 12:2 “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”, it reminds me of how the Holy Spirit helps to remodel and change us. In this scripture, Paul is pleading with the Romans to basically straighten up and do not fall into the ways of the world.

God is the one who transforms our minds with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. In The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, Pastor Evans points out that the commands used in this text are passive commands. He explains that we aren’t the ones conforming and transforming our minds. It is God. I love how he puts it when he says “When God has all of us, and when the world has none of us, God does the work of renewing our confused minds. He brings our thoughts in line with his own so that we think God’s thoughts after him.”

When we are in the Word and spending time with God, we cannot be transformed by the world so easily. So how can we practically be transformed by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis?

1) First, by spending time in prayer and in scripture to get our state of mind in the right place before we begin our day.

2) Focusing on and memorizing scripture is also a very helpful tool to fill your mind with God’s word. And if anyone is as bad as I am about memorizing things, you can cheat with post it notes or scripture cards.

3) As we are being remodeled and worked on daily by the Holy Spirit, we can pray for the same thing for our children. If they are young, you can pray that they will want to follow the Lord and have a desire to study His word. Ask the Father for help in raising your children for His kingdom and for His glory. If they are older, you can pray that your children would love Him, and desire to keep His commandments and pursue Him.