Paul, on Transformation 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Ro 12.2

The devotional on "Evidence of the Spirit-filled life" concluded that, 'We can change - We must change!' So what, specifically, should we be working on changing in our lives?

To recognize that the requisite evidence of God's imprimatur on our lives is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness," is wonderful. However, to just list those traits as a statement of how we want to be is about as nearly accomplished as a teenager stating he wants to be rich and famous.

Just how does a kid get from being a teenager to being rich and famous? There has to be a specific plan with specific steps and specific accomplishments. There's no magic genie to provide riches, put the kid on talk shows, and his name in the headlines. It starts with little successes being strung together into bigger and bigger successes, one at a time.

So, too, do we change from being as we are - into being loving, joyful, full of peace, patient, kind, genuinely good to the core, faithful and trustworthy, and a truly gentle person even in the heat of adversity and conflict.

We start, one step at a time, by becoming truthful people... "therefore, put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor." (Ephesians 4.22-32)  Then we begin working our way on down the list of behaviors in the next 10 verses - anger, laziness, negativity, lack of faith, bitterness, rage, argumentativeness, talking bad about people, wishing bad things on people...until we get to the point where we are reactively kind, compassionate and forgiving!