Blog Archives - TheNewU

BEING MADE FREE

1/30/2017

January 30, 2017 BEING MADE FREE
John 8:33-32: “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who believed in Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”
God created man with an innate desire to be free. The man that does not know God, defines freedom as doing what he wants to do, with no restraints; this view of freedom is rooted in the desire of man to be in control. The irony is that when man views freedom as the freedom to do what he wants to do, he becomes enslaved to his quest for freedom. True freedom comes through a relationship with God and by being in fellowship with Him and by living according to His design. God is truth; truth originates in God; all that God says and does is truth; and other than God, there is no other source of truth. Because God designed and created man in His image, we are complete, and free, only when we live according to His design. It is an awesome thought to realize that we are made in the image of God! God would not have made us in His image if it was impossible to live a life in keeping with His image. The bible is not just a good book that gives us good advice on life; the bible is the book of truth, the book in which God reveals Himself to us, the book in which we learn what it means to be made in His image, and the book that gives us wisdom and understanding about God and about life. As we seek to learn more of God, He responds by revealing more of Himself to us. Man takes great pride in what he has discovered and learned in the areas of science, physics, medicine, etc. but many fail to realize that it is God who is the designer and creator. It is a ‘giant step for mankind’ when he acknowledges God as truth and God as creator. Be that as it may, be assured that we are His disciples when we ‘continue in His word,’ and by continuing in His word, we will know the truth, and the truth we come to know will make us free. This freedom can be realized and experienced no, and no one matter our place in life can take this freedom from us. We are free to live according to design, we are free to love as He loves, we are free to find our security in Him, we are free from past sins, we are free from living with fear, we are free to forgive---we are free! Jesus said: “If” you continue in My word---Let us make the choice to continue in His word; if we do, we will know the truth, and the truth will made us free.
James 1:25: “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
2 Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
Blessings,
Buddy

THE VEIL IS REMOVED

1/27/2017

January 27, 2017 THE VEIL IS REMOVED
2 Corinthians 4:14-16: “But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Human nature insist that we understand something before we act on it. However, the ways of man or not the ways of God as Isaiah points out in 55:8: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.” Man’s insistence that he must understand first, reveals that self is the ruler. This is not to say that we should not desire to have understanding; but it is saying that we do not initially come to know God through our understanding. In God’s economy, faith and belief are preeminent. In Hebrews 11:6 we read: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligent seek Him.” One cannot be born again through his own understanding, but only as he first turns his heart to the Lord and places his trust and faith in Him as Savior. The issue of ‘turning to the Lord’ also applies to those who are believers. The Christian life is not one of living by logic, but of living by faith in what God has spoken and revealed. In Mathew 4:4 Jesus said: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” When a believer is not ‘turned to the Lord,’ he loses sight of the truth that is necessary if he is to live and navigate life according to the wisdom that comes from God. God has given us minds, and He has given us a desire to have understanding, but only when we first have our heart and our focus turned to the Lord will our minds function as they should and will we gain understanding. The mind functions at its maximum capacity when our priority in life is to pursue and to increase in the knowledge of God. Man is blind to the scriptures and the things of God until he turns to the Lord and the veil is removed in Christ. Let us make sure that our heart is first turned to the Lord.
Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Blessings,
Buddy

NOT OUR OWN

1/24/2017

January 24, 2017 NOT OUR OWN
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
The truth presented in these two verses certainly run contrary to our culture; a culture where personal rights and freedoms are paramount. It is a blessing to live in a culture where we do have personal rights and where we do have freedom; however, in a subtle way the emphasis of ‘rights’ and being ‘free’ can become a stumbling block that causes us to overlook and miss-apply a major truth of scripture. The core of this cultural battle centers around the question of who rules our life; is it self-rule, or is it God rule. It is obvious that the one who does not know God is ruled by his own dictates and choices, and it is also obvious that the believer is not excused from the battle of who rules. It is clear in scripture that self and God cannot co-rule our life; either we are living according to self, or we are living according to God. When a believer lives according to self, he is living outside the plans of God and he is not blessed as God desires to bless. The paradox is that we enjoy ultimate freedom when we give up our ‘freedom’ and become slaves to Christ (Ephesians 6:6). Apart from God at work in us, man is limited, and even deceived when it comes to knowing and experiencing life as God designed. The good news for believers is that we have been purchased by a loving God, and the purchase price was the death of His Son. As believers, we are to realize, and be thankful for the fact that we are not our own, that we have been purchased by God and now we are a temple of God. Because we are not our own, the battle over who rules our lives is over, and now, we can live in the freedom of being the sons and daughters of God. Being owned by God, takes the weight off of us of trying to understand life and attempting to do everything in our own limited strength. Under His ownership, we can enjoy the blessings that accompany having a single focus in life, a focus of doing the things that please Him. We actually find rest and peace when we acknowledge that we or owned by God, who is our loving, all-powerful, all-knowing Father. May we surrender what we perceive as our ‘rights’ and gladly proclaim that we are not our own, and not only proclaim it, but live in such a way that we demonstrate that we belong to Him.
Romans 14:8: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy

THE GREAT DIVIDE

1/21/2017

January 21, 2017 THE GREAT DIVIDE
1 Corinthians 2:11-12: “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God,”
The second chapter of 1 Corinthians makes a clear distinction between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God which has been given to believers; there is no blending or mixing of the two. As we relate to non-believers, we must remember that they cannot understand or relate to things of the Spirit-the things of God-because they are void of the Spirit of God. Verse fourteen tells us that: “the natural man, does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Because the rulers of Jesus day did not understand the wisdom or Spirit of God, they crucified Jesus (verse 8). However, the miracle that every believer has received is that he or she has been given the Spirit of God, and now that we have the Spirit of God, we are able to understand the things of God. Having the Spirit of God within us, we are able to know truth, we are able to discern what is right and what is wrong, we have understanding and wisdom, we know the words we should speak, and we are able to keep God’s perspective on life. The Spirit of God residing in us takes us out of the limitations of human wisdom and understanding and joins us to God Himself. How God has chosen to work has an element of mystery about it, as we see in verse seven that tells us that the wisdom of God was hidden, but now, in Christ He has made known His wisdom to those who receive Him. In verse ten, talking about the things of God, we read: “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depth of God.” And in verse twelve: “Now we have received, not the things of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.” As His people, we do lack; He is not withholding anything we need in order to experience abundant life-right now. 1 Corinthians 3:1 is a warning to believers admonishing them mature in the faith and not remain “babes in Christ.” Some of the believers were still “fleshly,” were jealous, and still living like mere men. For us, let us not be guilty of remaining as babes in Christ, but let us grow in Christ, let us understand what it means for the Spirit of God to live in us.
1 Corinthians 1:30: “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”
1 Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Blessings,
Buddy

ONCE FOR ALL DELIVERED

1/18/2017

January 18, 2017 ONCE FOR ALL DELIVERED
Jude 1:3: “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
There is a tendency for us to seek, or strive for something we think we lack, yet, we already have what we are seeking. We may think that if we put forth more effort, if we read and memorize more scripture, if-if-if, we will be better Christians. As believers, we have been given a package deal; a package that is complete with everything we need to live life just as God intended. The gospel is a done deal! It has been delivered! Our part is to discover the wonderful truths that are contained in the gospel-the gospel that “was once delivered to the saints.” Receiving the gospel may be compared to receiving a large gift box, and as we unwrap it and open it up, we find more gifts inside; like so, in the gospel that we have received, there are truths to be ‘unwrapped’ – the gospel is in our possession. Rather than striving to find or be something that we think we lack, we should be about discovering and celebrating our new identity in Christ. Realizing experientially that we have been made new, and not merely refurbished, seems to be a major hurdle for many professing believers. We can and should now live out of our newness-not who we use to be. I am reminded of the story of the Japanese soldiers, held out high in the mountains that remained in a war mode for a long time, even though the war was over-they did not get the word that the war was over. Today, there are believers who are still fighting the ‘self-effort’ war; they have not gotten the word that the war is over, and that the ‘old man’, our old self, has been defeated. Let us not misunderstand, as in the verse above, we must “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for delivered to the saints.” We must guard against any teaching or thinking that diminishes the truth of the gospel; we have to be aware of the fact that human nature is such that it wants to put responsibility for change on man, rather than simply receiving the truth that it is God who changes us from the inside out. As believers, we are not destined to spend a lifetime searching for ‘the abundant life’ that Jesus promised, but are to receive, or enter into all that comes as a result of being a member of God’s family. The fact that we have received the gospel and can now experience life to the fullest, does not mean that we will not face trials; however, the gospel brings with it the power and the strength to be overcomers in the trials and God causes the trials to work for our good.
Psalms 16:11: “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
Colossians 2:10: “And ye are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
Blessings,
Buddy

DO NOT BE SURPRISED

1/14/2017

January 14, 2017 DO NOT BE SURPRISED
1 Peter 4:12-13: “Dear friends, don’t be surprise at the fiery trials that you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.” New Living Translation.
You got to be kidding---be very glad when we encounter fiery trials? These two verses go to the core of our faith and they expose our deepest feeling and thoughts about how we view trials. There are some believers who believe that if they experience trials and difficulties, it is because Satan is attacking them and if their faith is strong enough, the trials will cease, but that belief is simply not biblical; that is not to say that we should not ask for God to intervene and send relief, and we should rebuke Satan when he attacks. It is true that Satan wants to harm and discourage believers and he will try to do just that, BUT Satan can do only what God allows him to do. If our attention and focus is on the trial, and not on what God is doing and how He will use the “fiery trial,” then we are out of focus spiritually. No one enjoys trials; God is not saying that we should look forward to trials and difficulties, and He is not a God who enjoys inflicting pain on His children; He is saying that He will bring blessings that we could not receive if we did not endure trials. It is true that we in the western world do not presently know the extent of persecution that the early believers experienced because of their faith in Christ; often, their faith cost them everything, and sometimes it cost them their life. The early believers counted it a joy to suffer for the name of Christ (Acts 5:41) because of their desire to share in His sufferings. A key point is that in enduring trials, we become partners with Christ in His suffering, and as partners, we will see His glory. We must not confuse suffering that comes as a result of our faith in Christ, with sufferings that come simply because of bad decisions we make or choosing to live contrary to the gospel. However, if our heart is turned to the Lord and we are walking in fellowship with Him, then we can find help and comfort in all trials, no matter their source; He is able to use our blunders and bad decisions for good. In life, we will have trials, but it does not mean that Satan is winning; it does mean that God is about His work in us, purifying us and preparing us to see His glory. Let us not be surprised by the trials that come our way, but let us respond in such a way that God is honored and we are overcomers in whatever we face, making us partners with Christ.
Philippians 3:10: “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
1 Peter2:20: “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
Blessings,
Buddy

HOPE

1/11/2017

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January 11, 2017 HOPE
Psalm 25:5: “Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.”
Colossians 1:27: “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Someone defined hope as: “the confidence expectation, the sure certainty that what God has promised in His word is true, has occurred, and or will in accordance with God’s sure word.” The hope that the world offers is tied to circumstances with no assurance that what is hoped for will come to past, while the hope that comes from God is sure and steadfast regardless of circumstances. As believers, we can know with certainty that what God has spoken in His word and what God will speak will be done; the knowledge that the word of God is THE source of hope, serves as a motivation for becoming students of the word. Hope that is based on God is not passive and it does not lead us to inactivity where we are ‘just waiting on God,’ and it is not an escape from reality nor from problems. Often, having unmet expectations is the culprit of being without hope. It is crucial that our beliefs, that our view of life, and that our hope is based on biblical truth. For example, if I believe that because I am a Christian, I will not experience problems or trials; that is an unbiblical expectation that will lead to confusion and discouragement and will rob me of hope. A proper understanding of biblical truth is that we will for a fact experience trials and difficulties in this life, but God gives us strength for the struggles and He promises to use them for our good. Biblical hope is both active and powerful, and it is the dynamo for living. Trust and hope in God produces in us the energy and the stamina needed to be overcomers in life; without hope, we become spectators in life, resigned to living on the sideline of life. No matter our age, our health, our financial status, or our past, we can experience hope by placing our hope and trust in the God of all hope. No matter who you are, you can dream again, and you can have a sure confidence in life because God has not forsaken you and He is at work in you to transform you into the image of His Son. This hope is not just ‘spiritual’ or reserved for heaven, and it is not just in theory; this hope is the power for everything we do. Because we have a hope that endures, we can even find purpose in washing dishes, mowing the lawn, teaching a class, or, in whatever we do. Fine your hope in God, unleash all that God has put in you; refuse to live another day without hope. Finally, our hope in God is tied to our knowing Him personally, so spend time getting to know Him-you will not be disappointed.
Isaiah 40:31: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Blessings,
Buddy

IN HIM WE EXIST

1/7/2017

January 7, 2017 IN HIM WE EXIST
Acts 26-28: “and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined there appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’”
In Romans, chapter seventeen, Paul was in Athens, Greece and was sharing the gospel with the philosophers who took pride in their intellectual prowess. Like many in the western world today, the Grecians viewed man as supreme; we can easily see the dynamics of this encounter where Paul was confronting their humanistic philosophy by proclaiming that God was the creator who rules the universe. The ultimate, most basic issue that each person has to deal with in their own life is whether or not they believe that God is the creator and ruler of the universe. God designed man is such a way that only by having a relationship with his creator God, can he find a sense of being complete, and the only way one can come to know God is through faith in Jesus Christ, who gave His life that we might be forgiven and redeemed. It is possible to be converted to faith in Christ, and yet if the new convert is not exposed to the uncompromised gospel, he does not mature in his faith. It is God’s plan for each believer to mature and to grow in the faith, and for our knowledge of Him to increases. The more we see of God, the more we see! God desires for us to come to a place where we do indeed recognize that “in Him we live and move and exist.” It is a good day when we come to a place where we realize that we cannot live and exist on our own strength, and confess that our life in total comes from God. Because God is totally trustworthy, we can yield every aspect, every detail of our life, acknowledging Him in all we do. Paul concludes this verse by saying that we are the offspring of God! May God make it real in our spirit that we are His children, and that He is our Father.
Proverbs 3:6: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”
Colossians 1:16: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
Blessings,
Buddy

January 04th, 2017

1/4/2017

January 4, 2017 WISDOM IS AVAIABLE
James 1:5: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
Proverbs: 4:6-7: “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom. Thought it cost you all you have, get understanding.”
Wisdom is necessary if we are to live full, meaningful lives; without wisdom, we will suffer the on-going consequences of bad decisions and choices that we make. ‘Smartness’ and wisdom are not the same; a man may be smart, but lack in wisdom. Wisdom has to do with discerning the consequences of our action before we act, and then making our decision accordingly. We all know the agony and the regret that comes as a result in acting in an unwise manner; there is no person alive who does not need wisdom daily, even hourly. Through the experience that comes from bad choices, one may gain some wisdom, or at least become smarter. God offers us wisdom when we ask for it, and we can receive wisdom that will enable us avoid the pot-holes along life’s highway. As believers, we find wisdom by the reading and the study of God’s word, and we have the Holy Spirit living within us that will reveal the truths of the word of God and He will direct our path (John 16:13). If we are to walk in wisdom, we must discern the path that the Holy Spirit is directing us to take and then follow His direction. The wisdom that God gives is for all of life, not just for financial decisions or other major decisions, but for the everyday decisions we must make. Also, we need the wisdom of God in our relationships; we need to know how to respond, how to give wise counsel, how to give God’s perspective, and in fact, be able to give the wisdom that comes from God. The verse in Proverbs tells us that we become wise when we begin to search for wisdom; in a sense, wisdom is hidden, but God has chosen to reveal it to us when we seek it. In our culture, it’s the norm to speak whatever comes to mind without giving thought to the consequence of our words and actions. Our culture is an ‘instant’ culture, one that is focused on the moment, where there is no allowance for ‘seeking’. Let us be a people that become wise because we are seeking the wisdom that God has promised to give those who seek it and ask for it-He will gladly give us the wisdom we need for our circumstances.
1 Corinthians 1:25: “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than man.”
Blessings,
Buddy