We have been created to worship God and fellowship with one another. Neither of these events happens naturally to our carnal nature. So, when God plants His seeds in us a new nature is created. The Holy Spirit begins a life-long battle to transform our soul (mind, will, and emotions). The apostle Paul explains the struggle like this: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). Old habits, old attitudes, and old strong holds of things we previously believed to be true will not go quietly in the night. The old nature will not die until you die physically, so it must be conquered in every sense of the word. God first baptizes (immerses) us with water; this symbolizes our new creation in Christ. Then, God baptizes us with fire, which is the renewing of our soul. Uprooting old ideas and habits will be one of the biggest challenges that we face. The Spirit of God and the Word of God is the filter that every thought must pass through if we are truly going to renew our mind and find the freedom that Jesus talked about when He said: You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free (John 8:32). However, the enemy of our soul knows how to combat the truth by planting the seed of doubt. If he can do that, he will be able to divide and conquer your soul. James tells us that we must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is a double-minded man, unstable in all that he does (James 1:6-8). We must trust and stand upon God’s Word and His Spirit to guide us all His ways. Every follower of Christ must go through the same transformation process so that we return to the image of Christ which is the likeness and image of God. John said: When Jesus appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). Discipleship is simply that: becoming like the one we are following. The longer you are a disciple of Christ, the more like him you will become.