New nature thrives when the old dies. Only the power of the Spirit of God can bring what was dead to life and transform a sinner into a reflection of the nature of God.

 

 

2MefromHim Devotional

New Nature

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

New nature only thrives when the old dies. The rosebush we thought was dead sprouted green leaves in spring. My beautiful rose wasn’t dead after all. Bending, to pluck a piece of pink paper caught on the thorns, I discovered a pink rose on a bush that had once been red.

Sometimes one type of rose is grafted onto the rootstock of another. The rootstock survived the winter and the true nature of the rose burst into bloom. Within a few weeks, a red rose opened up from another branch, the work of the world, reared its head. Gradually, the pink, the nature God intended, took over and choked out the grafted piece, which didn’t belong.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, the presence of his Holy Spirit produces a new nature. Spiritual growth and maturity will reveal the nature of Jesus through us, in time. Deep inside me, the rootstock of my old nature still hides. That old, sinful nature continues to thrive and rears its head when the new isn’t nurtured. Unless I allow the Lord to put the old nature in its place, things I haven’t surrendered to God’s control reveal themselves at the worst possible times.

We all have hidden rootstock, the sin nature inherited from man. Without serious nurture of the new, the old tries to sap the strength and beauty of the new. Prayer and serious study of God’s word are the only weapons capable of holding sin at bay. The ugly, old nature shows what I truly am, a sinner saved by grace, still in need of the Master’s hand to show forth his character through me. I am a work in progress, never to be complete until I reach heaven.

Our loving God longs to present us as a clean, spotless representation of his image. He alone, has the power to enable the world to see the godly, beautiful side.

When God controls our sinful rootstock, the beautiful, new creation within will bless others and reveal the love of Jesus to our hurting world. I must allow God to examine my heart daily for the world to see Jesus instead of me. Careful nurture by the Holy Spirit brings life from death and enables God’s character to outshine the old, and transforms me into what he intended all along, a rose in a world of thorns.

© Copyright Norma Gail Thurston Holtman February 1, 2013 & August 9, 2017

About the author:

Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of my Dreams, winner of the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 41 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Norma-Gail/e/B00ILHXBAK/

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Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170