"With God's Grace Our Worst Past
Becomes Our Best Future"
Becomes Our Best Future"
PLEASE WELCOME
NORMA GAIL
TO
DEVOTIONAL WEDNESDAY
God wants us to reveal the new creation not the rootstock to the world.
Several years ago, I noticed new leaves on the red rosebush I thought was dead. At first glimpse, I thought a piece of pink paper was caught in the thorns. However, a pink rose grew where red once bloomed.
Sometimes one type of rose is grafted onto the rootstock of another. The rootstock lived, and the true nature of the rose was revealed. A few weeks later, a red rose opened up. Now, red and pink roses lived on the same bush, but both appeared small and sickly.
I have a hidden rootstock deep inside. Even though I am a new creation in Christ, my old nature lives on. Like my rose, it’s not very pretty. It reveals my true nature. Living side by side, those two natures can never be as healthy as if only one existed without the other to sap its strength and beauty.
The Spirit of Christ wants to create a clean, spotless, and perfect work in my life. However, my rootstock living deep inside displays its true colors when I fail to surrender wrong attitudes and behaviors to God.
As a Christian, I am no longer to see things from a worldly point of view. Instead, I am to open God’s word daily and allow Him to correct the eyes of my heart to see the world through His eyes. People, news media, and popular ideas nurture my old nature. They create wrong ideas, causing ugly actions and words to flow from my heart and mouth.
God can overcome my sinful rootstock by renewing my mind to be in harmony with His. He can replace my sinful nature with a new nature like His own. In turn, I become God’s hands and feet to reveal His love and understanding to a hurting world. I exhibit my new nature and not my rootstock.
© Norma Gail Holtman, June 25, 2020
ABOUT NORMA GAIL
Norma Gail’s debut novel, Land of My Dreams, won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. Within Golden Bands released May 19th. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals have appeared in several publications. She lives in New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub, or Amazon.
Her books can be found at:
Land of My Dreams - https://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail-ebook/dp/B01ENKEL02/
Within Golden Bands - https://www.amazon.com/Within-Golden-Bands-Gail-Norma/dp/1941103715/
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