Blog Archives - TheNewU

CONSECRATION

4/28/2023

April 28, 2023 CONSECRATION

Exodus 19:10-11 “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.’”
Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Consecrate: to make or declare sacred-especially: to devote irrevocably to the worship of God by a solemn ceremony.” “To consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate.”

In this modern day, many take a casual approach to life, a laid-back attitude, and have the view that I do what I want to do. If not alert, we can carry these mind-sets over to our relationship with God. We are a part of the family of God and we can be at peace and be comfortable with God, but at the same time we must also know that He is holy, and He calls us to be a holy people. Because we have been joined to God, our conduct-how we live our life is of upmost importance; we must not have a ho-hum mindset when it comes to living life as the sons and daughters of God. Before God came down from Mount Sinai, He told the Moses to get the people ready for that day; part of getting ready was to wash their clothes. That is interesting-wash their clothes? To me, the implication for us living under the New Covenant is clear; we are to be cleansing ourselves, ridding ourselves of anything in spirit or body that is not pleasing to the Lord. It is good for us to have those times when we examine and evaluate how we are living, to take a spiritual inventory. It should be our heart to be found ready should He appear at any moment; we are to keep ourselves ready. Also, to consecrate has the idea of setting apart; we are called to give ourselves completely to God and acknowledge with our words and our action that He is Lord over us.

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let is cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Blessings, Buddy

ABOUNDING JOY

4/26/2023

April 26, 2023 ABOUNDING IN JOY

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
James 1:2 “Count it all joy, My brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”
Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

The joy that the above scriptures are referring too does not come from our own efforts to be joyful. And this joy abides even in the midst of difficulties; the roots of this joy run deeper than the trials we encounter. Let us not misunderstand; joy is not always expressed in laughter; there are times that we are burdened and in need of the comfort that God gives. The joy that is constant in all circumstances comes from God. However, God does not automatically zap all of His people with joy; experiencing joy is a by-product of believing God, loving Him, knowing Him in a personal way, and seeking Him first. If we are pursuing our ways and living according to our own preferences, we will not know the joy of the Lord. One primary reason that this joy is not dependent on circumstances is that God is a God of hope. Even though we may be experiencing trials, we know that God is working in the trials, that He has a purpose in it, and that He will bring us through the trial; even though we do not fully understand the ‘why’ of the difficulty and even though we cannot see how any good will come out of it, we can have hope in God-that He is in control. The very idea of hope is that we hope for what we cannot see. Because God is faithful, because He loves us, because He is all-wise and all-powerful, and because the Holy Spirit is at work in us, we have every reason to put all hope in God. Again; Jesus said we would have trials in life; sometimes things go wrong for us; sometimes we do not feel like laughing-but that does not change who God is. No one likes trials, but according to James 1:2, we can rejoice in the trial because we know that it is producing something good. So, the key point for us is whether our joy is tied to how we interpret what’s taking place around us in the the here and now, or is our joy rooted in our God who loves us. Jesus desires that His joy be in us and that our joy may be full; it is indeed the joy of the Lord that we need.

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever.”

Blessings, Buddy

GUARDING OUR HEARTS

4/23/2023

April 23, 2023 GUARDING OUR HEARTS

Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the treasures of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Jeremiah 29;13 “You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all of your heart.”
Matthew 15:18 “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.”
Proverbs 14:30 “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

God asked King Solomon what would he like to have from God; Solomon asked that he might have wisdom-and God gave him great wisdom. Out of his wisdom, Solomn said it well; “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” ‘Above all else’ are significant words. You could say that our heart is who we are. Our view of life, our responses, our countenance, our temperaments, and our thoughts come from our hearts. (I understand that we have a spirit, a soul, a mind, and a body, and we could spend much time discussing how they work together, etc., but we use the word heart to refer to the core of our being.) We must not let our hearts be on auto-pilot; we must establish and direct our hearts. Certainly what we choose to think on, our view point in life, is a key part of establishing our heart. Some believe that we are who we are because that is just how we were born-we cannot really change. I agree that we are born with certain characteristics, but I also believe that we can experience change. This is why the word of God along with the Holy Spirit working in is is so important when it comes to establishing our hearts and our view of life. As I have often said, God does not refurbish us or make us better-He makes us new. When God’s word is embraced as the source of life; when we work with the Holy Spirit as He works in us; when we obey and put into practice what the scriptures teach; and when we renew our minds to the ways of God, our heart becomes a rich, ever-flowing wellspring of life. We need to decide that we must not live according to our feelings; we are to live by what God says-and we discover what God says in His word. A key truth we must not overlook is that we do not try to do what God’s word says as a way of earning His acceptance; we do the things that are pleasing to Him BECAUSE He loves us and because we love Him. John 14:14 makes it clear: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Let us see our hearts as a treasure chest and see that we can have good treasure and not evil treasure; and that the words we speak, the actions we take, and the thoughts we think flow out of the treasure that is in our hearts. What could be more fulfilling in life than to live with a heart that is full of good treasure-a treasure chest that is never depleted. So let us answer the question “What kind of treasure is in our heart?” If the treasure is good, then praise the Lord; if it’s not good, God can change that if we ask Him and work with Him in the process.

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Blessings, Buddy

DILIGENCE

4/21/2023

April 20, 2023 DILIGENCE

Proverbs 13:4 “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Just as sure as gravity always works, being diligent always produces good fruit. In the natural, even the one who does not know God will benefit from being diligent. However, for believers, there is a higher and greater dimension and a greater motivation for being a people who are characterized by diligence. It goes back to our design; God is diligent; and He created us in His image. In a very real sense, if one is not diligent, he is not living according to design. Being diligent may or may not bring financial reward or some other tangible reward, but there are greater rewards to be realized for being diligent as unto the Lord. We are to be diligent in spirit; we are to do what we do as for the Lord; certainly if we do what we do as for the Lord, we want to do it properly and with quality in mind. Something as simple as washing dishes or mowing the grass should be done ‘as unto the Lord.’ Note in the Proverbs verse above that it is the soul that is satisfied by diligence; being diligent, a job well-done, has a way of satisfying our souls. Our highest purpose for being diligent is not to be purely for gaining material possessions; we are to be diligent in what God has called us too and to what He has put in our hands to do. In being diligent in this way, our material needs will be satisfied. We must not separate or divide what we do into material and spiritual; we are to view our life and all we do as doing and abounding in the ‘work of the Lord.’ Jesus is Lord and all we are and all we do is to be done under His lordship. The diligent will be rewarded. Let us do the things that are pleasing to the Lord.

Luke 16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.”
2 Peter 3:14 “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

Blessings, Buddy

FINDING PURPOSE

4/18/2023

April 18, 2023 FINDING PURPOSE

Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure, but on a lamp stand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they will see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

If we are to find satisfaction in life, then we must have a meaningful purpose. There is an endless number of purposes that one might give himself or herself too; but when they approach the end of their life, they will likely conclude that what they had given their life too was rather empty-not really that important after all. It is critical as to what we choose as our purpose in life. It is worthwhile to have goals and ambitions in life concerning our daily lives, but we also need a higher purpose that serves as an overriding guide and inspiration for life. The verse above presents a purpose, that if embraced, will give us tracks to run on and will give energy to all we do in life. Is it not awesome that God says that we are the salt of the earth-and the light of the world? Since that is true-whether we feel like it or not-we have a major purpose to be about in life. God lives in us (that is amazing and stretches our minds) and we have the privilege and the responsibility to reflect His character and His nature to all; we are to be walking-talking expressions of God! We do not reflect God to others in our private thoughts; we reflect Him by our actions. Being salt and being light impacts others. Just as salt enhances taste, God uses us to help others to discover life as God intends. Many are living in darkness and in desperate need of light-and we are light (because God is in us); our light helps others to see God. We could find no greater purpose! If we live a life of being salt and light, when we reach the end of life, we will fill satisfied with the life we lived-with no regrets. So, in our homes, at the work place, at coffee, at school, at church, on the ball field, or wherever we may be, let us be the salt and the light God says we are. It is important to understand that we do not have to try to be light-we are light-because the Spirit of God dwells in us and we have been made new creations; our part is not to hide the light, but let it shine.

Romans 10:15 “As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.’”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Blessings, Buddy

April 16th, 2023

4/16/2023

April 16, 2023 LAUGHTER

Proverbs 15:13 “A glad heart makes a happy face.”
Philippians 4:4 “Be glad in the Lord at all times: again, I say, be glad.”
Psalms 9:2, 32;7 “I will be glad and rejoice in Thee: I will sing praise to Thy name, O Thou most high.” “I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy: for thou has considered my trouble; thou has known my soul in adversities;”
Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Nehemiah 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Life is serious-but we can take it too seriously. If we lose laughter and live without joy, we are most miserable. Blessed is the one who can find a reason to laugh and blessed is the one who has a joyful heart. Some may say that laughter and joy are simply personality traits; you are born with these traits are you are not. We are born with certain traits, but the laughter and joy we are talking about come from God; they are a gift to us. If we have a biblical view of life, we are able to see beyond the present and we are able to see the big picture and we are able to see where we are going-this has a way of lessening the pressure of the moment and allows us the opportunity to laugh and to be joyful-knowing God’s plans are sure. And, laughter and joy have health benefits as well. When God looked at His creation, He said it was good; God is good and He has good intentions for His people. If God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31. We encounter situations that are grievous and there is a time for mourning; yet, even in the most difficult times we can know the goodness of God. So, let us have a glad heart, and as the verse in Philippians tells us, be glad in the Lord at all times. We have received mercy and grace from God; our sins are forgiven and heaven is our destiny-therefore, let us rejoice and be glad.

John 15:11 “These things In have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Blessings, Buddy

PEACE

4/12/2023

April 12, 2023 PEACE

2 Thessalonians 3:16 “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Peace is a precious commodity! There is much in the world today that would rob us of peace. The good news is that we are not dependent on the world for peace; God gladly gives peace to those who believe and receive it. Experiencing the peace of God is not automatic; we must make the choice to ‘let’ it rule in our hearts. God gives us peace ‘at all times’ and ‘in every way’- not just in the good times and in certain situations. It’s a fact-we all have anxiety at times-BUT we are to cast all of our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. Casting has the idea of releasing or placing on someone else. It is amazing, but we can actually take our anxiety and give it to the Lord and not live under the stress of anxiety. (I think that many believers today struggle with anxiety even though being anxious is contrary to the gospel; God has made a way for us not to live under stress and anxiety. God does not condemn us, but He wants us to overcome anxiety.) Let us know that it is the heart of God to fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that we may abound in hope! What God has for those who truly believe is absolutely amazing. I think the main point for us to embrace today is that God does not zap us with peace; to receive His peace we must believe He gives us peace and we must continue to let it rule in our hearts. Let us take God’s invitation to receive His peace-no matter our circumstances. Yes-we do face difficulties and trials in this life, but the good news of the gospel is that God offers His peace in all circumstances.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”

Blessings, Buddy

WITHOUT ANY DOUBTING

4/10/2023

April 10, 2023 WITHOUT ANY DOUBTING

James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let that man not expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double- minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

1 Corinthians 3:18 reminds us that the “wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” There is a difference in education and wisdom; one can be very educated but yet lack wisdom. Education is a good thing, but we are lacking if we do not have a wisdom that is not of this world. God is the only source of wisdom-and He generously gives wisdom to those who ask. There is a critical point when it comes to asking God for wisdom; we must ask in faith without any doubting. The words ‘without any doubting’ caught my attention. In God’s economy, there is no room for doubting and for living without faith. Since we as believers have been joined to God and made citizens of His kingdom, in a very real sense, our entire life, all we do is to be based on faith; the life of the believer is a life of faith. Even though we live in the world, we are not limited to the principles and the ways of the natural world; we are super-natural beings who have been made new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:17. It is clear-God likes seeing His people exercising faith. In the last blog ‘Lean Not,’ we were reminded that we do not know what the future holds and that we must not lean to our own understanding as we make our journey through this life. If we need anything, we need the wisdom of God. Let us take the above passage at face value; God invites us to ask of Him in faith without doubting for wisdom-when we do, we can be confident that He will supply us with the wisdom we need.
Hebrews 11:6, 11;1 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exist, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.” “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Blessings,
Buddy

HIS LIFE GIVEN FOR US

4/8/2023

April 8, 2023. HIS LIFE GIVEN FOR US

From John 19. “Then Pilot therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe; and they began to come up to Him, and say, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ -and to give Him blows in the face.” “So he then delivered Him to be crucified. They took Jesus therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.” “The solders therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.” “And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore on account of the Jewish day of Preparation, because the tomb was empty, they laid Jesus there.”

Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”-that is, My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”

We cannot fully grasp it, but Lord, than you for dying in our place and bearing our sins.

Blessings, Buddy

April 05th, 2023

4/5/2023

April 5, 2023 LEAN NOT

Proverbs 3;5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understating; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Let’s face it: we are not as smart as we think we are. (No offense intended.) We may think we have it all figured out-but we do not. We do not know what is going to happen one minute into the future; we cannot accurately predict what world-events will take place; we do not know what the economy will do; we do not know how our health will be tomorrow; and we do not know what will happen politically. (I’m not trying to depress us-I promise.) Even though we are limited in knowing what the short term as well as the long term future holds, we have the Holy Spirt living in us and He leads us in which way we should go and leads us in making wise decisions. He will direct our steps. It is the nature of man to lean to his or her own understanding; to do what he thinks is best-and as logical as that sounds-that is the problem. God has all wisdom and He is all-knowing and He desires to lead His people in the way they should go. There is a prerequisite when it comes to God directing our steps: we must trust in the Lord with all of our heart, not lean to our own understanding, and acknowledge Him in all our ways. These prerequisites are not difficult to meet-it’s simply a heart issue. We must have a heart that is seeking to know God in greater ways and we must tune our hearts to hear what the Spirt is saying to us. If not careful, we can become paranoid about making decisions-fearing we are going to miss God or make a bad decision. That’s not God’s plan. The key is having our hearts turned to the Lord and trusting Him to show us the way. I believe that God’s main desire for us is to have our hearts turned to Him. So, let us not fear missing God or making wrong decisions if our trust is in Him and our hearts are truly turned to Him. In life, we must make many decisions, and decisions have consequences. For sure, we have all made bad decisions at times-but we can find comfort in knowing that God even uses our bad decisions for good if our hearts are now turned to Him. So, let us not depend on our own understanding, but rather, let us put our full trust in God and acknowledge Him all of our ways and exercise the wisdom that God gladly gives to His children.

Isaiah 30:21 “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

James 1:5-6 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with out doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
Blessings, Buddy