Tue, 21 Oct 2025 18:34:01 -0700WeeblyTue, 21 Oct 2025 10:36:16 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/october-21st-2025October 21, 2025                         NEVER STOP


Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”


Paul had a goal he was relentlessly pursuing and that goal was the ‘prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.’ God chose Paul to be one who would have a major role in proclaiming the gospel and God equipped him by revealing to him a clear understanding of the gospel of God. The central message and the message that was essential to understand was that by the work of God, believers were in Christ and Christ was in them and He was and is their life. Paul knew that genuine, abundant life was found only in this union with Christ; any ‘life’ outside of this union was not life as God designed. The mystery is that a believer can come to discover that life is in Christ, but it’s also an ongoing process. With our limited human minds we cannot fully grasp what it means to be in Christ; discovering life in Christ is a life-time process-and we will fully understand it only when He comes again and gathers us unto Himself. To pursue the goal of the upward call of God, we must forget what lies behind; the mistakes, the sins, the successes, and the heart aches; and we must focus on and move toward gaining greater insight of what it means to be in Christ. Being in Christ and receiving the truth of the gospel impacts every aspect of our lives here on earth. To be in Christ means that we have died to ourselves-that’s the part many miss. When we live for ourselves, trying to work God into our life, we fail to live as God designed. Dying to self is a matter of laying my desires and my ways aside and pursuing and following the ways of God that is made known to us by the Holy Spirit. For example; if my way is to speak words that tear down and criticize, I must lay that aside and speak words that build up and edify. The good news is that the Holy Spirit gives us the power to lay aside what we should and the power to put on Christ; another way of saying that is that we have the power to walk according to the Spirit instead of walking according to the flesh. So, let us have the same goal as Paul had and spend our days pressing on to the things of God. Pressing on the the things of God does not negate fulfilling our responsibilities of life on this earth. When we experience life in Christ, our deepest longings are fulfilled and we experience abundant life. Dying to our ways and having Christ live His life in us is the best thing that could ever happen to us in this life.
1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Blessings, Buddy ]]>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:12:31 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/october-19th-2025October 19, 2025                        SET FREE


Romans 8:1-4 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was though the flesh, God did; sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in then flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”


There are two major laws: the law of sin and and death, and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The awesome and amazing good news is that if we trust Jesus as our Savior, we have been SET FREE from the law of sin and death! That means that we do not have to sin and we do not have to fear death. Sad to say, but many believers do not realize that they have been set free from the power of sin, and the fear death. (Someone has said that death is not an enemy for believers.) The Law was given to show that man could not keep the Law; under the Law, man was under the power of sin. The Law was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ; the Law revealed that we needed a Savior. Galatians 3:24-27. If one does not embrace the fact that they are forgiven, they live with a sense of condemnation, and that robs them of life; believers are also set free from a feeling of condemnation. All of this is possible because of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus; Jesus lives in us and we live in Him and the sins and guilt issues were dealt with when Jesus bore our sins on the cross and then was raised from the dead. Life as God designed can be experienced only in Christ Jesus. For this reason, it is absolutely essential for believers to know their true identity in Christ; to understand how the scriptures describe who they are. Sadly, there is much misunderstanding about what it means to be in Christ. At the core of the issue of our identity is that of being made new creations-not refurbished creations. As new creations, we have new minds, new spirits, and a new heart; and the power of sin has been broken. We can now walk according to the Spirit in place of walking according to the flesh (sin). Being set free from the law of sin and death is a much larger issue than we think it may be; being set fee is being set free! We are no longer enslaved to sin, to the old way of life where we are focused on getting what we want; we are now to live as Christ-to live life to the fullest, being over-comers. Do not let a misunderstanding of our true identity rob you and I of what great things God has done on our behalf. We are have been SET FREE to be who God designed us to be. 


Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”


Blessing, Buddy ]]>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 10:15:21 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/why-we-were-created1867432October 16, 2025                 WHY WE WERE CREATED


Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”


There is a common view point, that if accepted, will derail our life as a believer; and it deals with grace and works. Most everyone would agree that we are saved by grace, and rightly so. The error comes when we think that because it is grace that saves us, we may downplay the importance of works. We must not overlook the fact that good works are a crucial part of of the Christian faith. We learn from the passage above the amazing truth that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works! We must know that we do not do good works in effort to earn His love and His acceptance; we do good works because He is good and that is how we are designed-to do good works just as our Father does good works. It is so important to embrace the fact that we are His workmanship; we are not here by accident or by chance. Your life and my life matters. Knowing why we exist and knowing our core purpose in life is essential if we are to live life as God intends. Knowing why we are here and living accordingly has many benefits, and it has a way of helping us avoid costly mistakes in life. Good works are called for because good works glorifies God-and that is more than sufficient reason to be about good works. We must not take credit or draw attention to ourselves for the good works we do; we do them to honor Him and because it is our new nature to do so. As we navigate life and all that it demands, let us not lose the awareness that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works, and by doing so, we glorify and honor Him.


Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in .”
Titus 3:14 “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.”


Blessings, Buddy 
]]>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:59:21 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/lat-asideOctober 14, 2025                          LAY ASIDE


Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth do easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”


We are blessed to have the power to ‘lay aside;’ we do not have to live with unnecessary weights that would rob us of the life God has for us. Whether it be attitudes, thought processes, or habits, that are hindering us in life, we can lay aside those things that so easily beset us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Some would say “You just don’t know the struggle I am dealing with”; I understand that it may seem difficult to simply lay things aside, but yet, God’s word remains true-we do not have to live weighted down. It sounds so simple, but it is amazing what power there is in our spoken words and the commitments of our hearts. Throughout the scriptures we find that God gives us the power to be over-comers. There is a race set before each one of us and it is our unique race and we must run our race with patience, and we must lay aside any unnecessary weights if we are to win our race. God has not left us powerless. There are ‘clouds of witnesses’ who have gone before us, and there are witnesses around us today who are rooting us on in the race we are running; let us run to win. So if there is anything that hinders us or causes us not to run the race set before us-the life God calls us to live-let us lay it aside; it is not as difficult as it may appear. 


1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, less possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”


Blessings, Buddy]]>Sun, 12 Oct 2025 00:28:17 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/arise4694078October 12, 2025                            ARISE


Ephesians 5:14-17 “For this reason it says, ‘Arise, sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”


It is always good advice to be careful how we walk. We may find ourselves ‘asleep’ as it were, or in a coasting mode of life, simply going through the motions of life. It is easy to get in such a routine that we miss the real part of living life; we just put life on auto-pilot. (Nothing wrong with routines.) The word for us is that if we are ‘asleep,’ wake up and rise up. How we live life matters-big time. When we are spiritually awake, Christ shines on us and we become engaged and we make a difference because Christ is working through us. It is about us being careful how we walk; we are not to be unwise, but are to be wise. Just as Paul did, we live in evil days; we need to be alert to the voices and the things of the culture that would distract us from living the life God has for us. It is a good word for us ‘to make the most of our time.’ When we see life for what it really is and we see that we can make a difference as His representatives, we want to make the most of our time, not wasting time. When we are in tune with what God is doing in the earth and in us, He will give us opportunities to make a difference-to be salt and light-and that is what is needed in these evil days. When we understand this, we find energy, and we do in a real sense ‘arise from the dead.’ This is all according to the will of the Lord; we were put here to be difference makers! 
1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil days, and having done everything, to stand firm.”


Blessings, Buddy
]]>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:15:09 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/storing-upOctober 10, 2025                   STORING UP


Romans 2:4-8 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to His deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious, who do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.”


Even though it may be painful, it is better to hear the truth than not to hear it. This passage may be painful and unpleasant to digest for some, but clearly it is a message we as believers need to hear. Whether we realize it or believe it or not, by the life we live, we are in the process of storing up for the future. The all important question is what are we storing up. By the way, what is written here is not written to condemn or cause us to fear; it is written to remind us that we can be storing up what is good and what will lead to great rewards. Many, including believers, have a tendency to live as though this life is what its all about, forgetting that there is a day of reckoning coming for all-including believers. We are saved by grace and not by works or deeds-that’s a sure fact. However, throughout the scriptures, you find numerous admonitions to be about good deeds. It is super critical to understand the call to do good deeds; it is not to gain God’s approval or to earn His love or to get a pat on the back from others-or even from God. Good deeds are rooted in the goodness of God!!! We have a new identity and we have been and are being transformed into His image and because He is good, we are to be about expressing His goodness through good deeds. Doing good deeds with the right motive not only pleases God and blesses others, it also blesses us. Doing good deeds has a way of eliminating being focused on self. It is a sobering thought, but one day ‘God will render to every man according to His deeds.’ Let His kindness lead us to repentance and to turning from our ways and let us live in a way that expresses the goodness of God. It is simple: because He is good, let us be expressions of His goodness. Jesus came not to be served , but to serve. 
1 Timothy 6:18-19 “Instruct them to do good deeds, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”


Blessings, Buddy
]]>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 10:33:32 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/walking-like-mere-menOctober 8, 2025               WALKING LIKE MERE MEN


1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not waking as mere men? 


This verse is a wake-up call for believers; it is a sober reminder that believers can live as those who do not know the Lord. Even though one has trusted Christ as Savior and has received the Holy Spirit, they can still live as men and women of the flesh. It is a sad reality, but believers, those who have been joined to God, can live as mere men. The evidence or fruit of living as mere men is jealousy, strife, division and the such. So, the all-important question is whether we are living by the Spirit or by the flesh. If we are believers, we are primarily spiritual beings; we are a spirit with a body-not a body with a spirit. It is a major transition from fleshly to spiritual. The comparison is dramatic. The fleshly life is one of selfishness, strife, jealousy, pride, brokenness, and the like. Life lived by the Spirit is, or can be, one of peace, hope, serving and blessing others, joy, and much more. We are not to remain babes in Christ; we are to grow up and to walk in our new identity as sons and daughters of God, a people who live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. In God’s word we find solid food; food that nourishes and brings about growth. 
Galatians 5:16-17 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”


Blessings, Buddy
]]>Mon, 06 Oct 2025 11:18:48 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/building-yourself-up5231705October 6, 2025                 BUILDING YOURSELVES UP


Jude 20-23 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save some, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”


We are to be pro-active in the faith. Considering we have been called by God, considering the gospel and the faith we have been given, and considering that we are members of the family of God, there is no time to coast on the spiritual journey we are on. It is no light matter to be called children of God. Some tend to wait for God to ‘zap’ them or to do whatever He wants to do in their life; that perspective is far from the truth of the gospel. It is God who works, but we are clearly called to work work with Him as He works in us. We have the responsibility of building ourselves up in the faith-and note that it is a holy faith, given to us by God. Faith is a gift that must be exercised and built up. We are called to pray and it is through the Holy Spirit that we know how to pray and what to pray for. A powerful reminder that Jude gives is for us to ‘keep ourselves in the love of God.’ That is super important. There are times when we may find ourselves operating outside the love of God where we become anxious, impatient, critical, and self-centered, or whatever. The good news is that we can keep ourselves in the love of God; we can choose to respond and to think in ways that are pleasing to the Lord. Another major truth we find in this verse gives us a healthy and godly view of life on this earth. Sometimes we live as though this life is the main deal-that’s a huge mistake. This life is momentary and in this life we have tribulations. The big deal is that we are waiting for the mercy of Jesus to be revealed in greater ways than we can imagine and we are waiting for the inheritance we have as His children, and we are waiting to be taken to be with Him in heaven for all eternity. So, let us be consciously aware that it is our responsibility to build ourselves up on our holy faith-the faith that God has given us. 
2 Peter 3:17-18 “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.”


Blessings, Buddy]]>Sat, 04 Oct 2025 10:28:43 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/things-are-different-now4496500October 4, 2025                THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOW


Colossians 1:9b-14 “ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”


Life lived in the kingdom of God is far different from life lived according to the world. If we take just the few verses above and meditate on what is said, we will be amazed; in fact, it may sound to good to be true. (There is one qualifier to experiencing what we read in these verses. If one is a believer, then he or she is forgiven and loved by God; however, if a believer chooses to live according to their flesh, they will not experience life as God designed.) Let’s look at some of the key words and truths we find in this passage. It is God’s desire that we be FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE of His will-no more wondering and guessing about what His will is for us. He will give us ALL SPIRITUAL WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING; we will know how to navigate life and will not live in confusion, but be enabled to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. We CAN PLEASE HIM IN ALL RESPECTS; we can live with a clear conscience and enjoy being used by Him. We can bear fruit in EVERY GOOD WORK and we can INCREASE IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD; He wants us to know Him and He will gladly reveal more of Himself to us. As we walk in the life God has for us, we will be STRENGTHENED WITH ALL POWER, according to His might! We no longer have to live defeated and unfulfilled. God’s work in us brings about ALL STEADFASTNESS AND PATIENCE. Because of all that God does in us, we will JOYOUSLY give thanks to our Father who has made us a member of His kingdom. We have been DELIVERED from the domain of darkness, and TRANSFERRED to the kingdom of God’s Son. In Christ, we HAVE BEEN REDEEMED and FORGIVEN. These are amazing, transforming truths; they are not in theory only, but are fruits of the work of God in us that find expression in life. In spite of the difficulties we face, nothing can deter what God does in those who love Him and walk in His ways. May we embrace who God says we are in Him. 


Colossians 2:6 “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”


Blessings, Buddy 
]]>Thu, 02 Oct 2025 09:55:26 GMThttp://thenewu.org/blog/being-a-vessel-of-honorOctober 2, 2025             BEING A VESSEL FOR HONOR


2 Timothy 2:20-22 “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee youthful lust, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the name of the Lord from a pure heart.”


We set the course of our life; we continually make choices and decisions that determine our actions and our mindset. It is a sobering thought, but we either qualify or we disqualify ourselves for being useful vessels for the Master. Do not misunderstand; being loved by God is not based on our works; but our being useful in His kingdom is dependent on us making ourselves useful to Him. According to the passage above, we make ourselves useful to Him by cleansing ourselves of anything about our life that is not pleasing to Him. (In the verses preceding the verses above, Paul list some of the things that we are to cleanse ourselves of.) In verse 15, we are instructed to “Be diligent to present ourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” The message to us in this passage is clear, and it has very practical implications for us. The first point is that we must not live on auto pilot, having the mindset that ‘I am who I am-I was born the way I am.’ As believers, we are called to grow in the faith and in the knowledge of God; believers should be in an ongoing state of change because we are to always be growing and maturing; we are in the process of being transformed from image to image. Second, we are to lay aside, or put off anything that is unlike God-could be certain thoughts, certain things we do, anger, impatience, dishonesty, laziness, a argumentative spirit, selfishness-and the such. It is good to occasionally examine ourselves and see if there are things we need to lay aside. God values a pure heart. God is for us, and He desires for us to be a vessel for honor, sanctified, prepared for every good work. The good news is that because the Holy Spirit lives in us, it is not difficult to lay aside what we need to, and it is easy to ‘pursue righteousness, faith, and love and peace.’ So, let each of us prepare ourselves to be vessels of honor to the Master, ready to be used in any way He chooses. 


Colossians 3”12-13 “And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”


Blessings, Buddy
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