Transformation
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
and shower righteousness upon you. ~ Hosea 10:12 (NLT)
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. ~ Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Lord Jesus,
THANKS: I'm grateful that you are the farmer who is plowing up the hard soil in our lives.
REGRET: I'm sorry that I've allowed so much hardness to cover my life -- preventing your kind words of grace and forgiveness from soaking into my heart.
INTERCESSION: I beg you to transform me into a new person who is truly seeking the Lord. I want to be a fruitful part of your new garden.
PURPOSE: I'm going to focus on producing your unique fruit. I'm not going to worry about being like everyone else.
Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
NRSVue = New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (© 2021 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.) NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)
REB = Revised English Bible (© 1989 Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press) TCEB = The Casual English Bible (© Stephen M. Miller)