Blog Archives - TheNewU

May 31st, 2023

5/31/2023

May 31, 2023 WALKING WORTHY OF THE CALLING

Ephesians 4:1-3 ”I, therefore, as a prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

We have been bought with a price; we belong to another; we have been and are being transformed; and we have been called by God to be His people. We are called to live according to the ways of God-according to the gospel of God. In God’s word we find specific instructions as to how we are to live as children of God. Today, I will just list some of the specific instructions for life we find in Ephesians. Be reminded that the reason for trying to keep God’s word is not to gain His love or approval, but because we belong to Him and because of His great love for us. So here are just some of the instructions for us as believers: speak the truth in love: grow up in Christ: lay aside the old self: be renewed in the spirit of your mind: put on the new self which is in the likeness of God: do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil and opportunity: labor, performing with your hands what is good so that you have something to share: speak no unwholesome word but only words that are good for edification: do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God: let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you: be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love: do not be immoral: walk as children of light: be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time.
The commands and instructions of God or not to burden us, but are given to set us free to live as sons and daughters of God. Also, the commands of God point us to our new identity; when we discover who we are in Christ, it is our heart to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord; keeping His word becomes our delight.

Ephesians 4:13, 5:8-10 “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.” “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consist in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”

Blessings, Buddy

May 27th, 2023

5/27/2023

May 27, 2023 FILLED UP TO THE FULNESS OF GOD

Ephesians 3:16-20 “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen.

God has big plans and desires for us. We may not understand why, but God lavishes His love on us and He does awesome things in us. It is God’s desire that we be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit; that Christ dwells in our hearts; and that we be rooted and grounded in love. He wants us to know the blessings we have as His sons and daughters and to know in a personal way the love He has for us. We can’t explain this love for us-it surpasses knowledge. It may seem like an impossibility for us mortal, earthly people-but God wants us to be filled up to all the fullness of God! I do not know exactly what that looks like, but I know it is awesome and it’s a possibility. It means that the life we live resembles God! We for too long have missed or overlooked the message of the gospel; God did not save us just so we could go to heaven when we die; He saved us to transform us into His image. He has given us a new heart, a new nature, and a new mind and Has put His Spirit in us. Because of His great work in us, we are no longer who we use to be; now we live as unto the Lord walking in HIs ways. Away with our old ways; let us walk in newness, pleasing Him in all our ways. For example, if we have been an impatient person in the past, now be patient; if we have been immoral in the past, now be moral-it’s just that simple. I think the root thing for us is to search out and believe what God has made available to us-it’s better that we can imagine. What He has done is ‘exceeding abundantly beyond all we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. Let us reject the lies of the enemy that would rob us of who we are in Christ and who He is in us and may we discover what it means to be filled up to the fulness of God.

Colossians 2:2-3 “that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Blessings, Buddy

May 24th, 2023

5/24/2023

May 24, 2023 IN HIM

Ephesians 1:17-19b, 2:5-6 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward those who believe.” “..even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

In the first chapter of Ephesians you find the words ‘in Him”six times; obviously, Paul wanted to make sure that believers understood the life changing truth that they were no longed their own, but were now in Him. Paul prayed that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God-that the eyes of their hearts would be opened that they might come to know what it meant to be in Him. This presents a problem; the fact is that God has to reveal this truth to us; no matter how much bible study we do, no matter how often we go to church, no matter how hard we try, we cannot on our own understand the riches that we have in Christ. So, do we just not do anything and wait on God to zap us with revelation? No. We do need to read and study God’s word, but we also must believe and receive what we read. God does the revealing how and when He wants to, but truly believing what God says, I believe, puts us in a great position for revelation from God. (Note the words ‘toward those who believe’ in the above scriptures.) True belief is more than mental agreement-true belief is receiving as totally true and acting on it. The other important aspect deals with our hearts; our hearts or turned toward to Lord, or they or turned elsewhere. God responds to the heart that is turned to Him. Being in Him is a totally new life, and totally unlike life out side of Him. Those who have had the eyes of their hearts opened to what it means to be in Him see the rich inheritance and they see the greatness of His power. We are indeed ‘seated in heavenly places’ even while living here on earth; we can a life here that is rooted in the heavenly places-in Christ. And, we can experience the ‘greatness of His power’ because we are in Him. May God continue to reveal more and more of what it means to be in Him.

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.”

Blessings, Buddy

May 21st, 2023

5/21/2023

May 21, 2023 TRYING TO LEARN

Ephesians 5:8-14 “For you were formally darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consist in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them is secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise 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.”

Because God has joined us to Himself and has made us new creations (not refurbished) and because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we have new reasons for living; we have a higher purpose in life. The life that God calls us to live as well as empowers us to live is in great contrast to life experienced by those who do not know God. The world is in darkness and at one time, we also lived in darkness; but God has called us out of darkness. Now, our major call is to walk as children of light, “for the fruit of light consist in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” We must understand that walking in the light does not happen automatically; we have a part to play in the process even though it is God who makes it possible for us to walk in the light. We constantly make choices-we choose our thoughts, our actions, our attitudes, and our priorities. As believers, our overriding goal in life, the thing that determines what we do, should be the desire to walk in the light of God. Just as Paul had the desire to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, we too should have that same desire. There is an ongoing learning process; sometimes we may not be sure if what we are considering is something that pleases the Lord, but if our heart is turned to the Lord, the Spirit will show us if what we are considering is pleasing to the Lord. Simply said, let us choose the things that please the Lord. We are light; now let us be “careful how we walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of our time.” May everything we do be guided by our desire to do what pleases the Lord. Importantly, we do not try to please the Lord as a way to earn HIs acceptance and approval; it is because He has already accepted us and loves us that we want our life to be pleasing to Him

Philippians 1:9-11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Blessings, Buddy

FINALLY, MY BRETHREN

5/18/2023

May 18, 2023 FINALLY, MY BRETHREN

Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

If we do not know first hand that we are in a battle, we are blinded or in denial. We must know who our real enemy is; our enemy is not of flesh and blood; people, no matter who they or what they do, are not our enemy. There is a bigger battle taking place; people may allow themselves to be pawns in the hands of our enemy, the devil, but they are not our enemy. In our ‘modern’ and ‘enlightened’ culture, many do not acknowledge, or even want to talk about being in a battle with the devil. But, there is good news for us who know God as Savior. God has not left us to fight this battle alone; He has given us the armor we need to stand against the enemy. We are in Christ and He is in us, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to live in us and to equip us to live victoriously. Let us take up and put on the whole armor of God. Our armor consist of the word of God, prayer, worship and faith, and it is also putting on the new person we are in Christ-in these we must stand. Whatever battle we face, we have what we need to overcome. The first step for us in simply to be aware that we are in a battle-we are on the battlefield. I love what Paul said; “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” After all said and done, let it be our ‘modus operandi’ to be strong in the Lord, and to stand against the rulers of darkness.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare or not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds); casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;”

Blessings, Buddy

May 16th, 2023

5/16/2023

May 16, 2023 GOOD DEEDS

As you read through the New Testament, you find many verses that encourage believers to be about doing good deeds or righteous deeds. I think that we as a whole have drifted from the importance of good deeds, primarily because there has been in the past an emphasis on the fact that we are not saved by works-and that is true-we are saved through faith in Christ. However, being about good deeds is central to the gospel; because God is good and He does good deeds, it follows that those who know Him will do like-wise. The motive for doing good deeds is not to gain His approval but to demonstrate to the world that God is good and He is righteous-and doing good deeds flows out of the new nature that He has given us. Listed below are some of the scriptures in which we find instructions to be about good deeds.
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.”
Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,”
Titus 2:7a, 3:14 ‘Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works,” “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”
2 Timothy 3:17, 6:18 “That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.”
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
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.”
Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.”
James 3:13 “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”
This is just a partial list of verses instructing us to be about good deeds-there are many more. The most crucial element about doing good deeds is that good deeds should naturally flow out of our hearts; the reason we do good works is that God has made us new creations, and out of the new person we are, we reflect the goodness of God. These scriptures, and many others, remind us of who we are as children of God.

Titus 3:8 “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Blessings, Buddy

BEING PURIFIED

5/14/2023

May 14, 2023 BEING PURIFIED

Titus 11-13 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His now possession, zealous for good deeds.”

For the believer, there is no place for coasting or being on auto-pilot mode in life. Jesus came and gave HIs life for a definite purpose; He came to redeem us and to purify us for His own possession. God has given us His word and in His word we find instructions for life; His word gives us a clear picture as to how we are to live in this present world. This passage, in a very simple but powerful way, instructs us how we are to live-what we are to be about in life. As a starter, we are instructed to deny ungodliness; if we are considering doing anything that is not pleasing to God, then simply deny it-don’t do it! This not only includes what we would call ‘terrible’ sins, but also includes what we might dismiss as no ‘big’ sin. One area that touches practically every one is what we choose to read and to look at on television, lap-tops, iPhone and etc. The culture accepts whatever the majority is doing; what is clearly ungodly is not even recognized as such. I say all that to say that we must be selective in what we choose to look at or be entertained with and be selective in what we read and want we choose to listen to. Anything that the world promotes that is ungodly, we are to deny. It is refreshing and is a blessing to live “sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age.” God has no desire to rob us of good things; He directs us to life abundant and life with no regrets. He came to redeem us ‘from every lawless deed’ and to purify us for Himself. Being purified is a process; it is continual. It is a mystery, but we can be pure now, but we also continue to be purified as we grow in the knowledge of God. The amazing thing is what God wants; He wants ‘a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.’ Let us know that He has redeemed us for His own possession; we now belong to Him; and because we belong to Him, let us live sensibly, righteously and godly, and be zealous for good deeds. The ways of God always leads to life.

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Blessings, Buddy

INCOMPREHENSIBLE

5/11/2023

May 11, 2023 INCOMPREHENSIBLE

Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him, in Him He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.”

Even though it is incomprehensible, can we believe that we were know by God before the foundation of the world? Yes-we can believe that by faith. The most brilliant among us cannot comprehend the greatness and the power of our God; it is beyond our reasoning. It is a spiritual giant-step to come to know that we are Fathered by God-that we have His DNA. Our earthly father and mother got us here physically, but God is our true Father. I well remember one starry night several years ago; as I looked up at the stars, I heard in my spirit in no uncertain terms God speak to me. The words that penetrated my total being were “The God that made those stars is your Father.” I was amazed at what I heard. Had you asked me many years previous to that night if God was my Father, I would have certainly said that I knew that God was my Father-but that night it became real from ‘head to toe.’ The first thought I had after hearing those words was “What is there to fear to worry about?” The immediate answer I had was ‘nothing.’ God has blessed His followers with every spiritual blessing; we have been adopted into His family and joined to Him-not that we earned it or was worthy of such blessings, but solely because of His grace and mercy. He has chosen you and I and He loves us with unconditional love. In Christ, we are favored by God! We tend to focus more on the physical or natural to our own hurt; as we discover what it means to have God living in us through the Holy Spirit, our focus will be more and more on Him and His spiritual blessings. We are more spiritual beings than physical beings; we are not a body with a spirit, but a spirit with a body. So, let us be disciplined and wise enough to turn our attention and our focus to the things of God and let us take steps to grow in the faith. Growing in the faith is more than attending a church service once a week and listening to a message from the minister. Our growth starts with a desire to know God in greater ways, by studying His word, by spending time with other believers, by obeying His word, and by prayer and worship. Above all, let us know that God knew us long before our physical birth and that He has called us to be a part of His family and to enjoy a relationship with Him.

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Romans 8:29-30 “For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”

Blessings, Buddy

THE EVIDENCE

5/9/2023

May 9, 2023 THE EVIDENCE

Galatians 5:22-24 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

At times, we may wonder if we are truly a born again believer. We know that salvation comes by trusting Jesus as our Savior alone; we are not saved by works. When one comes to know God as Savior, everything changes. The most important change is that the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us; in this process, we are made new creations with new hearts, new minds, and new spirits. Becoming a believer does not mean that the old nature, the flesh, is annihilated, but it does mean that we have the power not to live according to the desires of the flesh. It is only by the Spirit of God living in us that we can live according to the Spirit. The Spirit is real; He is a person; He is a part of the Trinity; and He is the source of power in the believer. The Spirit is always drawing us to the Father and equipping us to live in a way that is pleasing to the Father. If we ever find ourselves doubting our salvation, there is a sure way of alleviating that doubt. It sounds simple, but are we experiencing the fruit of the Spirt as listed above. Again, its not about trying in our own power to ‘do’ or to produce the fruit of the Spirit; the fruit of the Spirit is a by-product of the Spirit living in us. (It is another subject, but we must understand that a believer can resist the work of the Spirit and thus not experience the fruit of the Spirit.) We must choose to cooperate with the Spirit and work with Him as He works in us. The fruit of the Spirit is a package deal-we either experience all of the fruit of the Spirit, or we experience none of the fruit. The idea of trying to ‘work on’ having one of the fruits is foreign to scripture. Having the fruit of the Spirit in no way means that we are exempt from troubles and trials; but it does mean that even in the difficult times, the Spirit continues to produce fruit. This list of the fruit of the Spirit might sound like ‘pie in the sky’ to some; however, it is a miracle and a blessing of God for each believer to be able to be a temple of the Holy Spirt, experiencing the life that God has for those who love Him and walk according to His ways. The Holy Spirit enables us to crucify the flesh and He enables us to live according to the Spirit.

Romans 6:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Blessings, Buddy

SOJOURNERS

5/7/2023

May 7, 2023 SOJOURNERS

Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior; the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 11:13, 13:14 “These all died in faith, not having the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth.” “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
1 Peter 2:11-12 “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

We were born into this world and we grew up in this world, so in the natural, we see this world is our home. However, once we are joined to God through faith in Christ, old things pass away and we are made new creations and we are made citizens of the kingdom of God. God knew us even before the ‘foundation of the world;’ because sin marred our relationship with God, God sent His Son to redeem us back to Himself. Our true home is with God in His kingdom. We are tempted to view this world as our home; we interpret events and base our opinions and feelings on how things effect our life on earth. We also tend to think short-sighted; we act as though life on this earth is all there is. We also are apt to think in terms of time-how many years we live on this earth. If some one dies at a young age, we think how tragic-and it is. However, in the kingdom of God, time is no issue; God is not limited by time-He is eternal and all who belong Him live in the eternal realm. If not alert, we adapt to the ways of the culture in which we live. We do live temporarily in this world and we are to be about the things we need to do, but we are called to be focused on living our life here with a kingdom of God mindset. We are to be about our Fathers business here on earth; God has not abandoned the world-His kingdom will one day fill the earth. If we want to simplify our reason for living and if we want to know why we are here, it is to be a living witness of God, and to be about doing righteous deeds that glorify God. We have the privilege and the responsibility of reflecting and demonstrating the goodness of God and being expressions of His nature. So, let us make sure our view of life on this earth is founded on life in the kingdom of God. As someone has said, let us be culture transformers rather than being transformed by the culture.
2 Corinthians 5:1-4 “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our home is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this hose we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling place from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

Blessings, Buddy