My friends sat on the front porch steps of the little house my husband and I had just purchased. Instead of celebrating with us, their body language and words showed they thought we’d lost our minds. Obviously, they couldn’t see the potential we saw.

After my husband and I moved to Southern California I discovered I was pregnant. Our apartment complex didn’t allow children. As the pregnancy progressed, we began our search for a house with a yard for our budding family.

At the time, Orange County was the highest priced housing market in the nation. We’d left the Midwest where three times the house sold for a quarter of the price of these homes. So, we were thrilled when we found an 800 square foot, 60-year-old arts and crafts bungalow in a respectable neighborhood we could afford.

The house had previously been occupied by a pot-smoking motorcycle gang. The dark-paneled living room served as a garage for their bikes.

Larry and I painted the main room soft shades of ivory and taupe. We wallpapered our tiny bedroom in a charming blue and ivory print and dressed windows in shutters and lace. We planted shrubs and flowers. The haunted house was transformed into a happy home.

Twelve months later we put the house on the market. It sold in two days for the highest price per square foot of any house sold in Orange County that week!

What made the difference in its value? New owners and occupants. The dreary house that had housed pot-smoking blow-outs, became a sunny home for our family and host for spiritual growth meetings.

We Are God’s Workmanship

The Bible says we are God’s workmanship (Ephes. 2:10). When God purchased you He envisioned the beauty you’d become. Like my friends, perhaps you can’t see your hidden grace, but God can.

When God purchased you He envisioned the beauty you’d become. #Transformation Click To Tweet

We Were Chosen by God

• “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Ephes. 1:4 NLT)..

• “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom. 8:29 NLT).

We Have a New Owner and Occupant

• “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor. 19-20 NIV).
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• .^“Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Rom. 6:14 NLT).

We Are Being Transformed

Just purchasing our house didn’t transform it. We had work to do.

• “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom. 12:1-2 NLT).
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• “Therefore, never let sin rule your physical body so that you obey its desires. Never offer any part of your body to sin’s power. No part of your body should ever be used to do any ungodly thing. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have come back from death and are now alive. Offer all the parts of your body to God. Use them to do everything that God approves of” (Rom. 6:12-13 GW).

The Result Is Priceless

• “Letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (Rom. 8:6 NLT).
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• “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 Jn. 3:2 NLT).

What do you see when you look at yourself? Do you recognize the value God has placed on you? He paid the highest price in the universe—Jesus’ precious blood—to purchase you. Your new Owner and occupant, the Holy Spirit, won’t rest until your beautiful transformation is complete. If you want to know how He sees you, look at Jesus!

I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6 GW).

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Blessings,

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