Blog Archives - TheNewU

NOW WE HAVE RECEIVED

7/31/2025

July 31, 2025 NOW WE HAVE RECEIVED

1 Corinthians 2:12-15 “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, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those things taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thought with spiritual words. But 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. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.”

Those who do not know God as Savior have great limitations; one being that they are limited to living life solely based on human wisdom. Another limitation is that they are subject to the spirit of the world, a spirit which is self-centered-and that alone leads to all manner of conflict. In contrast, those who know God as Savior have received the “Spirit who is from God, that we might know things freely given to us by God.” The natural man, the one who does not know God, cannot understand or accept the things of God because they foolish to him and he cannot understand them because they are ‘spiritually appraised,’ and he is void of the Spirit. So, the big plus for us is that because we have the Spirit of God living in us, we can know the things given to us by God; we are taught by the Spirit! We are not limited to our minds; we have the Spirit of God who reveals to us the things we have been given by God. We are not dependent on mere human wisdom-we can be guided by the Spirit of God. We could not give an adequate list of the things given to us by God, but it would include such things as a wisdom from God; eternal hope; peace; joy; a spirit of forgiveness; patience; kindness; perseverance; faith; love-and the list could go on. Let us be continually appraising all things by the Spirit of God and live according to the ways of God. God gave us a wonderful and amazing mind, but the mind must be under the influence of the Spirit.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Blessings, Buddy

BE STRONG

7/29/2025

July 29, 2025 BE STRONG

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 ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.’

I do not know of a believer that has not, or is not experiencing trials and difficulties. Some trials we face are minor on the grans scale of things, but some trials we face ‘try our souls’ in tremendous ways. Personally, I and some members of our family are experiencing great difficulties. When the difficult times come our way, we can respond in different ways; we can allow trials to cause us to be anxious, to lead us to depression, to be fearful, or cause us to be greatly stressed. Also, sometimes a sense of anxiety, fear or depression just seems to come out of the blue, with no apparent reason. However, we can find comfort in the fact that God knows our state and He knows that life in this fallen world is no cake walk. Thankfully, God addresses this anxiety issue and gives us insight as to how we deal with it. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” That’s it in a nutshell. I am convinced that we should tell new believers that life as a follower of Christ is not a life exempt from trials. 1 Peter 4:12 tells us not to be surprised at the fiery ordeals that come our way. But, in John 16:33 God tells us that even though we will have tribulations in the world, we can have peace and be of good cheer because He has overcome the world! That’s an awesome verse. When we read above, “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord,” let us be reminded of the words that God has spoken and the promises He has given us, and then let us be strong-that is something we can do because of what He has done. Our enemy, the devil, is out to distract us and to cause us not to walk in the ways of the Lord. HOWEVER, we can reject his lies and his deceptions; we can live in the truth of the gospel.
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

Blessings, Buddy.

NOT BY ACCIDENT

7/27/2025

July 27, 2025 NOT BY ACCIDENT

Hebrews 2:10-11 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying ‘I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise.’”
John 20:17b “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”

This is bigger than life; what we are a part of is much greater than we know-even beyond our imagination. We may mistakingly think that we are here solely because our mother and father, or a man and woman, had a baby. When it is revealed to us in our innermost being that God is our real Father, our view of ourselves and our view of life drastically changes. Our earthly parents, no matter who they were, were simply the means by which God arranged our physical birth. Even though our earthly parents played an important role and certainly our upbringing had a great influence on us, our true identity is rooted in God, who is our Father. What a blessing that Jesus calls us and thinks of us as His brothers and sisters. In fact, Jesus came and suffered and gave His life to redeem us back to the our Father. As believers, we have been restored to our Father and can now live in relationship with Him. We have been redeemed! We were not redeemed because we did something to deserve it or was good enough; we are redeemed only because God loved us. God likes family, and He has made us a part of His family. With God being our Father does not mean that all will be roses in this earthly life. Just as earthly parents train up their child, God trains us to live as His sons and daughters, and even transforms us into His image. Because we are fathered by God, no matter who our earthly parents were, even if our conception was ‘accidental,’ and perhaps we grew up in unhealthy surroundings, we must remember that God knew us and formed us in our mother’s womb; we are important to God and loved by God; knowing this truth takes care of any poor self image. No matter our circumstances today, let us reflect on the fact that God knew us long before we were born physically, that He sent His Son to redeem us back to Himself, and that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters.

Psalm 139:13-16 “For Thou formed my inward parts; Thou weaved me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me.”

Blessings, Buddy

BE FILLED

7/25/2025

July 25, 2025 BE FILLED

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

I sometimes wonder if the Holy Spirit was taken from us, would it make a difference in our life. God choosing to send His Holy Spirit to indwell believers was a great miracle to say the least. The Holy Spirit living in us does not automatically mean that we are being led by the Spirit. Scripture instructs us to not to grieve the the Holy Spirit of God. Ephesians 4:30. Apparently we have a choice when it comes to following and being filled with the Spirit; and the choice we make has monumental consequences. It means that we either follow our own ways-which is scary-or we follow the Spirit of God. In Romans we see that our flesh battles against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; however, we have the power to not yield to the flesh and the power to yield to the Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit is not a complicated or drawn-out process; it is a matter of yielding to the Holy Spirit, acknowledging His presence, and telling Him that we want to follow His leading. Not only does the Spirit lead us, He also equips us to follow and to accomplish what He has for us. As Oswald Chambers says, the Holy Spirt does not normally speak to us in earth-shaking ways, but often speaks to us in a quite voice; as we walk with in Spirit for some time, it becomes more natural for us to walk according to His ways; He guides and we follow. The Holy Spirit is always pointing us to the Father and equipping us to live in a way that is pleasing to the Father. May we not quench or grieve the Holy Spirit by ignoring Him or by not following His leading; instead, let us be sensitive to His voice and quick to embrace His work in us. The Holy Spirt is vital for us being transformed into the image of God.
Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy/Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”

Blessings, Buddy

RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

7/23/2025

July 23, 2025 RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

John 7:38 “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”
John 4:14 “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

I am sure that every person likes the idea of living waters flowing from his/her being. Not just water, but living water. A basic tenet of the Christian faith is that Jesus came that we might have life-life as He designed it. Sin has blinded those who do not know God; they cannot experience the life that Jesus gives. In spite of the fact that we live in a fallen world where there is brokenness, strife, wars, godliness, pride-and you name it-we are blessed to have the rivers of living water welling up in us, flowing from our innermost being. The good news is that this living water flows regardless of our circumstances. Believing in Jesus is the key to experiencing rivers of living water flowing from within. Sure, we face difficulties and trials, but this flow of living water cannot be plugged! We drink of the water He offers when we believe and embrace all that He says. We have as a constant presence the Spirit of God living in us, always pointing us to the life and the ways of God. We must know that we can live above the ways of the world; we are not subject to the darkness. Our view of life, our mindset, our responses are to be anchored to the ways of God-and we learn of His ways in the Scriptures. We can believe what our emotions tell us, what the world tells us, or we can believe in Jesus and all that He says in His word. Truly, it is only God that gives abundant life, and He has revealed Himself and has revealed truth to us. “He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.
Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Blessings, Buddy

INCREASING AND ABOUNDING

7/21/2025

July 21, 2025 INCREASING AND ABOUNDING

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 “and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we do also for you; so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”

As we live this Christian life, there is not a place for coasting or plateauing spiritually. Throughout out life we are to be growing in the faith and in the knowledge of God. In the verses above we are called to be increasing and abounding in love for one another and for all men. This is true because God IS love and He lives in us; it’s only natural for us to be about expressing His presence in us. The love that we are to be increasing in is the love that comes form God. The love that the world knows is basically a selfish love whereas the love of God is a totally unselfish love. Human love fails, but the love of God is steadfast, never failing. The one who does not know God cannot live in or be expressions of God’s love; but for the believer, Romans 5:5 is great news: “And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirt, who has been given to us.” We can now love with the love of God; human love has been superseded by the love of God! We cannot underestimate the power of the love of God that has been poured into our hearts. This means that our actions and our general view of life, our mindset, is motivated by the love of God in us; we no longer have to perform or ‘try’ to live as God would have us live-and that is more awesome news. We are free and we are able to love as God loves. His love is unoffendable, is patient and kind. (See 1 Corinthians 13 for a look at the love that flows from God.) You may be thinking that “This all sounds good, but after all, I am human.” This can indeed sound to good to be true, BUT it is true; the new heart that He has given us is a heart full of His love. Are we perfect? No. But when the Holy Spirit lets us know we are not loving as God loves, we can confess that and immediately return to living in His love. I have said all of this, but the main point I wanted to make was for us to be increasing and abounding in our love for one another. May our love not be a ho-hum type of love, but may it flourish. As the years pass, our love for others can be increasing and abounding.
1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.”
1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.”

Blessings, Buddy

CLEANSING OURSELVES

7/19/2025

July 19, 2025 CLEANSING OURSELVES

2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.
And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

These verses do not make the headlines in our culture; and sad to say, they are not often talked about in Christian circles. They are contrary to our culture that denounces moral absolutes and promotes the idea that each individual decides what is right in his own eyes. Our culture cast off restraints and encourages every one to express themselves in any way they choose. However, the culture can do whatever it wants to do, but God has His own ‘culture’ and it has always existed and will always exist. In His kingdom (culture) there are absolutes that cannot be broken without suffering the consequences-and that is what the culture of the world despises and denies. God is sovereign whether one believes it or not. As alluded to above, many professing believers have knowingly or unknowingly bought into the worlds culture; many find it difficult saying that certain things are sin-they do not want to ‘judge’ anyone. Don’t misunderstand, we are not called to judge, but we are called to recognize sin and abstain from it, and as God leads, exhort and admonish others to stop sinning. (See 1 Corinthians 15:34.) God is holy; He has no sin; He is pure; AND He has called us to be holy in conduct. If we say we love God but continue in sin, we are desperately deceived and we lie. Loving God demands our holiness. Holiness is not a matter of being better than someone else, and it’s not a matter of keeping a list of all the good things we may do. We are holy because Holy God lives in us and He has set us apart; we are the temple of the Holy Spirit—how shall we continue in sin? So, for us-let us not participate in anything that is unpleasing to God; if we find ourselves in a compromising situation or we are being caught up in what is sin, let us be quick to come out or leave whatever sin we are committing. For sure, we will have contact and dealings with those who do not know God and we are not to shun them, but we are to be a light that points them to God who forgives and who loves. The main point for us is not to be participants in what is ungodly. We have a great promise; when we come out of what is sin, God will welcome us and He will be our Father. Because of who God is, let us ‘cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is a healthy fear. Let us be bold and put away anything that is not pleasing to the Lord.

Romans 6:12-13 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust, and do not go on presenting your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Blessings, Buddy

PS: This is not saying that we must be perfect and never sin; but if we sin, we confess it and then continue to walk according to the Spirit.

WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE

7/16/2025

July 16, 2025 WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE

Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

We tend to complicate things, including our relationship with God. It seems we are continually being admonished to be about certain ‘spiritual’ activities that will bring about spiritual growth, to lay certain things aside and be more diligent in getting our life right with God. Don’t get me wrong; spiritual disciplines and evaluating our life with God is a good thing. But, there seems to be a subtle message ‘out there’ that tells us we need to do more, know more, strive more in order to be right spiritually and to be right with God; like we do not quite measure up or that we are lacking in some way. Colossians 2:10 tells us we are complete in Christ. I fear that many of us live like the proverbial rabbit who never catches the carrot that he is chasing. The good news is that we can ‘find Jesus’ and the life He offers and enjoy life with Him. If we take the scriptures at face value-believe what they say, it almost seems that the message of the gospel is to good to be true. We have heard it often, but Jesus told us that He came that we might have abundant life. John 10:10b. God desires that we live in peace and that we experience joy and hope; that we be anxious for nothing; that we fret not; and that we be filled with the Holy Spirit. His promises and desires for us hold true even in the difficult times. We speak a lot about the trials of life that we all face, but there are also times when we are not in the midst of the trial. In trials or not, we can ‘act justly, and love mercy and walk humbly with our God.’ In addition to our tendency to complicate things, we may also tend to over-analyze things. Over-analyzing can lead to indecision and it can cause us to be anxious. We should give careful thought to what we do, but the fact is that we cannot figure it all out and we certainly do not know what the future holds. But our God will direct us and give us His wisdom if we ask for it; we can be at peace even as we deal with the issues of life. I know I am rambling at bit, but the point is that God does not complicate life, and He does not burden us down; He came to rescue us from our ways-the ways of fallen man-and He offers us His life and all that comes with it. So, take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy, and be thankful for the life we have in Him.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

Blessings, Buddy

KEPT IN PERFECT PEACE

7/14/2025

July 14, 2025 KEPT IN PERFECT PEACE

Isaiah 20:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trust in You.”
Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 2:2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

A lot of things calls for our attention. Our minds are working 24/7. Through our iPhones/laptops we have immediate access to world wide events, and that can certainly overload the mind and have adverse affects on our spirts and souls and rob us of peace. The good news is that there is a solution for this dilemma. When we are not experiencing peace, when we are discouraged, when we are anxious, and when we are fearful, one thing is evident-our trust in God is broken. There is a certain peace that comes when everything is rosy (I thought you spelled it ‘rosey.) and going our way-that peace is based on circumstances. The peace that comes as a result of trusting God is not dependent on circumstances. Just about everyone says that they are ‘trusting God;’ we are talking about a genuine trust in God no matter the circumstances. Back to the mind. The key word in Isaiah 20:3 is ‘stayed.’ To have our mind ‘stayed’ on God is to have as a bedrock our belief and our trust in God; it is to believe from the deepest part of our being that God is supreme and that everything about our lives revolves around Him. Trust is defined as “Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” We cannot bring about peace on own accord; peace comes and our souls and spirits and our minds find rest and peace when our trust is in God in all circumstances. Sometimes, maybe often, things happen that we do not like; sometimes we experience pain, hurt and disappointments; and sometimes we suffer a wrong done to us; but even so, we can have peace. This peace of God ‘surpasses all understanding;’ we just cannot explain in. When everything is telling us to worry and fret, His peace rules. The word for us is to have our minds stayed on Him and to set our minds on things above. Those who do not know God do not have access to the peace of God; but we are blessed in that we do have access to the peace of God-and that access is to have our genuine trust in God.
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.”

Blessings, Buddy

A MERCIFUL AND FAITHFUL PRIEST

7/12/2025

July 12, 2025 A MERCIFUL AND FAITHFUL PRIEST

Hebrews 2:16-18 “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

Jesus understands. God saw the plight on mankind-that he was lost and bound by sin, without hope and unable to save Himself. God did not save us from afar; He sent His Son to be born as a man and and He became like us in all things! That is amazing; the Son of God leaving heaven and coming to earth and being made like us in everything. Jesus experienced life on earth; He experienced being hungry, getting tired, being rejected, seeing sickness and the brokenness of man, spending time with friends-all the ups and downs of life on earth. YET, He did not sin. Jesus fully understands life on earth-He has been here. Between us and a Holy Righteous God, Jesus stands as our merciful and faithful priest. Do not misunderstand; Jesus does not only understand that we live in a dark, sinful world; He also delivers us from the power of sin. Do not make the mistake of having the view that since we are human beings, we are sinners by nature. We sin when we walk according to our old flesh; but He has made us new and has given us a new nature and we can now walk according to the Spirit, free from the power of sin. There are times when we choose or allow sin; in such times, what a blessing it is to be able to confess our sin to our ‘merciful and faithful priest,’ knowing that we are forgiven. Because Jesus experienced life in a world of darkness, and because He is compassionate and merciful and because He loves us, He is able to come to our aid when we are tempted. What a blessing it is to know that GOD HELPS US! Let us understand that we are not alone in this life; even if live alone, even if we are in prison, or in someway isolated from people. God is with us us; we have a priest who sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us and He is always ready to hear us and help us.
Romans 8:34 “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised-who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

Blessings, Buddy