As you go throughout the week reflect on these takeaways:

- You are united with Christ in both His death and resurrection. When you placed your faith in Jesus, you were baptized into Him—fully immersed into His person and work. Your old self was crucified with Him, and sin's power over you has been rendered powerless. You are no longer who you used to be.

- Change requires your faithful and patient participation. While Christ has done the work to make change possible, we must actively participate by faith. This means considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, refusing to let sin reign in our bodies, and offering ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness. Engage in counseling, practice spiritual disciplines, and place yourself in God's greenhouse where growth can happen.

- Change is always hard but always worth it. The process of transformation involves affliction that produces endurance, endurance that produces proven character, and character that produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Trust the Gardener's work in your life, even when the process is difficult.