Think Again!

92 • Think Again: Transformation That Yields a Return on God’s Investment

our identity). We are no longer debtors to ineffective works by the flesh, but we now live according to the Spirit’s forging power (Rom. 8.1-12). By the flesh, we attempt to make life work on our own. We try to win the respect of people and find meaning in life. We investigate answers and implement plans. We ensure nothing bad happens to our loved ones. We try to make sure we attain what gives us pleasure. But our efforts to find adequacy, answers, security, and pleasure cannot be found through our effort. Forging identity means presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to the Spirit, in a repeated pattern of putting to death our bad habits and replacing them with Christlike ones. By the Spirit, we can put the flesh to death (Rom. 8.12-15). Thanks be to God! He has a different strategy, providing weapons that really work. He forges you into the identity of Christ by making you strong on the inside, like our Lord Jesus. If you submit to the Spirit, he will show you how to experience true and lasting adequacy, answers, security, and pleasure that cannot be taken away by circumstances. The Bible tells us that the Spirit does this through three-dimensional forging: 1) demolishing strongholds of the past, 2) detaining lies of the present, and 3) defending against disobedience in the future.