I have been hand writing Bible verses in the notebook I am doing for my granddaughter.  And today, I came to a verse that is encouraging.  I had memorized it.  I use a green pencil to color the verses I memorize.  The green makes it easy to find the verses that are special to me to put in her book.

Romans 12:1-2  "I beseech thee therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God."

I heard a sermon on this scripture years and years ago that really stuck with me.  The preacher used it to encourage people who had missed God's perfect will for their lives and felt worthless.  He said, "We have all probably missed God's perfect will.  But God is gracious.  If you didn't learn to follow Christ as your Lord when you were young--with a good shot at getting it right--God still has an acceptable will for what's left of your life.  And if you have messed that up, he has a good will for you.  He wants to use us.  It requires that we be totally transformed to his will--at whatever point we come to Him in faith.  We need His good, acceptable, or perfect will.

I am reminded of a verse in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

I like the words from Romans, "...transformed by the renewing of your minds..."  It all happens inside your thoughts.  Clean those up and begin the transformation.

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery...which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27  God does it all.  We just submit.