transformation

i feel like i'm in this really awesome place in my walk with god. i can actually feel the lord adjusting me in particular areas.  i think this is what walking in grace feels like.  i can honestly say that i'm being transformed by god and it feels wonderful.  i'm looking a little more like jesus...and that's quite alright with me :-)

i think that reading this book, "the spirit of the disciplines" by dallas willard, helped a lot.  the one thing it brought home for me was this:  in order to live the life that jesus lived, you need to do what he did.  spiritual life involves ourselves and our BODIES.  what we do with it matters.  it's our bodies that we use to operate with in the world, so if spiritual life bypasses your body, you really aren't getting all that you can.

i don't know why, but understanding that has done wonders for me.  i think that when we think of our bodies we think of evil, perversion, and sin.  of course, without the help of god that's what we will ultimately do.  however, our bodies are the location and center of our life.  jesus wants to use our bodies, do that special work in us, so that the resulting behaviors will actually BE US.  it won't be a fake version of holiness, but a desire that is birthed by the grace of god that will ultimately cause YOU to live right.

i think sometimes we equate suppression with transformation. i believe that one can be transformed, which will cause you to suppress some things.  but, just suppressing sin without leading to heart change isn't the full picture.

i'm going to look up some scriptures soon to get some scriptural basis.  this is one of the rare times when my experience has come ahead of me having a text to come from!