Blog Archives - TheNewU

PURIFY YOURSELF

8/31/2018

August 31, 2018 PURIFY YOURSELF
1 Peter 3:3 “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Some have the belief that they must wait until God ‘zaps’ them before they experience change. However, this view is not in keeping with the teachings throughout the New Testament. We must remember that God works in us as we work with Him. God has given us His Holy Spirit for the purpose of revealing Himself to us, guiding us, teaching us, and empowering us to do the things that please Him. A major emphasis of the New Testament is that of encouraging believers not to resist the Holy Spirit, but to yield to and obey Him. In the verses above, we find a connection between looking for His return and making ourselves ready for His return. If we truly expect His coming for us at any time, if our hope is fixed on His return at any hour, then the natural thing for us to do is to make ourselves ready, or as this verse says, ‘purify our self.’ This is where we are called to work with Him. With the Spirt as the help and the power, we are to take dominion over our life; we must determine what we will do and what we will not do, what we will believe and what we will not believe. We must continually be laying aside those things about us that is not pleasing to the Lord or in keeping with being His sons and daughters. Colossians 3 is all about putting off those things that do no please the Lord and that are not a part of our new nature. In this chapter we see that we are to set our mind on things above, consider the members of our body as dead to sin, to put aside all the things that are not becoming of believers, to put on the new self, to do all in the name of Jesus, and etc. It is abundantly clear that we have the responsibility and the privilege to adjust our lives to the pattern we find in scripture; the scriptures are given for our instruction. Romans 15:4. So, in light of this, let us today be about purifying ourselves and making whatever adjustments we need to make in order to align our life with the life God has called us to live. Of course, we can only do this because the Spirit of God lives in us. Believe it or not, expect it or not, He is coming back for us-let’s be ready!
Matthew 24:44 “Therefore you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Blessings,
Buddy

LOVE

8/28/2018

August 28, 2018 LOVE
1 John 4:16 “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
In our culture, the word ‘love’ has many meanings, is often over-used and misused as well. In reading 1 John, we get a true understanding of where love originates as well as seeing how real love is expressed. 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the ‘love chapter’ and as we read that chapter, we find a clear picture of genuine love. The message that rings clear in 1 John is that genuine, real love is found only in God, for God is love. God’s love is a totally unselfish love, whereas all other ‘love’ is based on self. One may say he loves someone, but what they are saying is that they like the way that person makes them feel, or one may do acts of kindness because it causes them to feel good about themselves, etc. It may come as a shock to us when realize that so often, what we call love is actually not genuine love at all. Rather than feeling guilty about our love being of a selfish nature, let us become aware of what it means to experience and express the love of God. If there is a secret-if there is good news for believers, it is this- when we come to know the love of God personally, when we realize that He has poured out His love in our hearts, everything changes. When God’s love is manifest or made real to us in a personal way and we abide in His love, the keeping of His commandments and doing the things that please Him becomes natural! No longer do we have to ‘try’ to do what He commands, and no longer are his commandments burdensome. His love frees us to be all that He wants us to be, and now we see His words as the way to life. His love being active in us, transforming us, is part of the new nature that He has given us. No longer do we have to labor under trying to keep His word-now His commandments become our desire and our delight. Psalm 19 describes the ways and words of God as being sweeter than honey. Now, we can read 1 Corinthians 13 and feel no guilt-but say ‘amen’ to the picture of the love of God and we can be living expressions of that love. It was God’s love that caused Him to send His Son to be the Savior, to redeem His people who had lost their way, who had turned from Him. Let us be people who by our actions, express the unselfish love of God-there is no higher call or more fulfilling life than that of demonstrating the love of God. “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. Someone has said: “If we are not loving well, we are not living well.”
1 Corinthians 13:1 “If I speak with the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”
1 John 4:16 “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
Blessings,
Buddy

THE PROOF

8/25/2018

August 25, 2018 THE PROOF
I John 2:3-6: “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
In the last blog, we learned that as believers, we have been made new and that we have been set free from the power of sin. Our part in not sinning is to reckon our old self, our old nature, as being crucified, and being alive in Christ. The absolutely crucial question for each of us is whether or not we have made the connection, ‘connected the dots,’ in understanding the implications of being made new creations, and of reckoning our old self being crucified. The most amazing and life changing truth is that “we can walk in the same manner as He walked.” Even though we are flesh and bone and though we live in a fallen world, we can actually live in such a way that our life resembles the life that Jesus lived on earth. Of course, we cannot do this in our own strength, but because the Spirit of God lives in us, we can indeed live in such a way. One of the central truths of the word of God is that of believers being transformed into the image of God, and the transformation starts at the point of salvation where we are given the Holy Spirit of God to indwell us. The presence of the Spirit of God living in us actually means that we can live super-natural lives! The important thing for us to be aware of is that God has given us a part to play in the transformation process, and that part is to ‘work with Him as He works in us.’ As believers, we have been given a new mind, a new spirit, and a new heart, but we must choose to walk in this newness-or as the scripture says, by the Spirit. In fact, we have only two choices; either we walk according to the Spirit, or according to our flesh (self). The core evidence of our truly knowing Him and abiding in Him is that we do “walk in the same manner as He walked,” doing the things that are pleasing in His sight. Another important facet of these verses is that knowing and receiving the love of God results in the keeping of His word! The obvious implication is that if one is not keeping His word, he has not yet known and experienced the love of God to the extent that God desires. To clarify, to keep His word does not mean that we are perfect, never having a wrong thought or wrong action, but it does meant that we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice within and we are quick to obey His voice. So, even repenting when we are wrong is a way of keeping His word. The powerful truth is that the love of God, when received and experienced, changes us at the core, causing us to want to please Him in all we do.
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Colossians 1:10 “So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Blessings,
Buddy

ALWAYS HAVING ALL SUFFICIENCY

8/22/2018

August 22, 2018 ALWAYS HAVING ALL SUFFICIENCY
2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything you may have an abundance for every good deed.”
When it comes to the transforming work of God in our lives, He leaves no leaf unturned! By His grace, every ounce of our being has been, and is being transformed to His image. His work in us includes that of making us sufficient in everything-all the time. Having a sense of sufficiency is based on who or what we trust. There are some that do not know God who have a strong self-image and they may feel “sufficient”; but because there sufficiency is based on self, they will at some point come face to face with the fact that their sufficiency is inadequate. For those who know and trust God for their life, they are sufficient for everything because God is sufficient. The blessing for believers is that through His grace, He makes us sufficient for everything, all of the time. We can live, and work, and play, and go about our life knowing that we are sufficient for every task because God has made His grace abound to us. Feeling insufficient is evidence that we are not trusting our Father. Obviously, if one chooses to get outside of God’s will-if he chooses not to walk according to his new nature, then he will experience insufficiency. However, when we are walking in His ways, when we are living according to our new identity, we are sufficient for any task or any situation that may arise. Our feeling of sufficiency, or the lack of, is really an acid test of our spiritual health as it reveals the level of trust we have in our Father. The believer can know without a shadow of doubt that His Father is always present, is always leading, is always equipping us, and is always making us sufficient. The key is that we are in step with what God is doing in us personally. Should we choose to involve ourselves in some particular task or undertaking that is not God’s plan for us, then we don’t have the assurance of being sufficient in that setting. This does not imply that we have to fear being out of His plan or that we have to over-analyze every action we take or every decision we make. Our Father is living and is active and He is ever present. A wonderful truth is found in Acts 17:28: “in Him we live and move and have our being.” Yes, in Him, we exist and He makes us sufficient in all things as we see in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” There is no greater freedom, no greater blessing, than that of realizing that God is within us, that God is for us, and that He is always equipping us for every detail and activity of life. In the verse above, and from many other verses throughout scripture, it is obvious that God has called us to be about “good deeds.” When we realize that He is ever present, and that our heart has been made new, and our desire is to please Him in all we do, then practically everything we do is a “good deed.” It goes without saying that we are to be engaged in the doing of good deeds that will bless others, because by doing good deeds, we are expressing the love of God-and that’s what’s it’s all about. So, let us live, knowing that we are sufficient for all things all of the time, because God’s grace abounds toward us!
Colossians 2:10: “and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;”
2 Corinthians 9:10-11: “Now He who supplies seeds to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
Psalms 37:3: “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”
Blessings,
Buddy
PS: God makes us sufficient even for the task that we may not enjoy doing.

August 19th, 2018

8/19/2018

August 19, 2018 CAN WE LIVE AND NOT SIN ?
1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writhing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
If you want to be encouraged as a believer and be reminded of your new identity in Christ, 1 John is the place to start. If we have not come to know our true identity as a child of God, we live with the lie that tells us that our sin nature is still active and strong and we find ourselves trying to overcome the old sin nature. The truth is that we were sinners, but we were saved and joined to God; we are no longer who we use to be. Hebrews 3:14 tells us that at the point of salvation we become partakers of the Divine nature. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 also tells us that the new self we are in Christ has been created in true righteousness and holiness. There are many scriptures throughout the word of God that describe the new creation that He has made us; this new nature includes a new mind, a new spirit, and a new heart. The truth is, once we come to know God, we no longer want to sin-sin is contrary to our new nature. This view or belief that we still have to live with the old sin nature as being ‘alive and well’ is a result of a sub-standard gospel being preached for many years (approximately 100 years) in the western world. Part of this sub-standard gospel we have heard emphasizes that ‘we are sinners’, and has neglected the clear teaching of the New Testament that at salvation, we are made new creations-not just refurbished. (Peter Parris has some great material on this subject.) Do we live with a consciousness of our new nature, or the old nature, or with a mixture of the new and the old? As this verse, and other verses tell us, it is certainly possible for a believer to sin, but when we sin, it is by our choice that we sin. Note that the verse above says that IF anyone sins. The over-riding message of the gospel is that we have been delivered from the power of sin! It sounds rather simple, but the way not to sin, is to walk by the Spirit-AND we can walk by the Spirit. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16. Our part is to yield to our new nature and to reckon the old man as dead. “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:24. Romans 7 is not Paul’s testimony, but a description of his life before he came to know his identity in Christ; his testimony is Romans 8:2 where he says: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Yes, we can sin if we choose to do so, and if we sin and confess our sin, we have forgiveness in Jesus. BUT let us know that we can live and not sin!
Romans 6:6-7: “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
Blessings,
Buddy

August 16th, 2018

8/16/2018

August 16, 2018 ABIDING
John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; far apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned up.”
Recently, I was pruning muscadine plants; I cut of the excess long branches that were not going to produce fruit. A couple days later, I went back out to look at the plants, and just as this verse says-the branches that had been cut off had dried up and was ready to be burned. Sometimes, we are so busy or so preoccupied, that we miss the obvious lessons. Everyone knows that when you cut off a branch from a vine or a limb from a tree, it dies. If we believe what Jesus said in regards to the branches and the vine, then there is nothing more important than that of our abiding in Him; if we do not, we die to the life that flows from Him to us. In Christ, we have the opportunity to produce much fruit, but with our upmost determination, we cannot produce any fruit in our own strength. The fruit Jesus is referring to is the fruit that comes from living in the kingdom of God-living in His supply. The fruit that Jesus, the vine, produces in us the branches, is good fruit, lasting fruit, and fruit that satisfies. Galatians 22-23 is a list of some of the fruits that the Holy Spirit produces in us: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” To abide in Him means that we know that He is the source of real life. But, we must understand and be aware of the fact that one can know the Lord, but yet go about living according to the flesh, and not abide in Him. Abiding in Him is trusting Him, depending on Him, acknowledging Him in all we do, having a heart to do the things that are pleasing to Him, seeking to know Him in greater depth, and feeding on His word. For every believer, there will be both mountain top experiences and some valley experiences, but no matter what circumstances we face, we can abide in Him and experience the good fruit produce He produces in us. Jesus has given us a marvelous promise-that of Him abiding in us, and us abiding in Him! Let us choose to order our life in such a way that we are indeed abiding in Him.
John 14:17 “that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

GIFTS WITH A PURPOSE

8/13/2018

August 13, 2018 GIFTS WITH A PURPOSE
Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelist, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 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 fullness of Christ.
These two verses may be the two most neglected passages in the church today. Personally, I have never been a part of, and never heard of a church where the teaching of these passages are actually in operation. The church is made up of God’s people and He has chosen to use the church as His primary means of expressing Himself to His followers and to the world. Our culture focuses on the individual and this often carries over into the church. As believers, we should for the most part think in terms of ‘we’ and not so much ‘me.’ It is a clear teaching of scripture that believers need each other if we are to be spiritually healthy. God primarily uses the church, the body of Christ, as the means of bringing believers to maturity. God is the one who knows exactly what each member of the body needs in order to grow spiritually. In the verse above, we see that God gives to the church apostles, prophets, evangelist, and pastors and teachers for the purpose of equipping the believers for the ‘work of service’ and for the ‘building up the body of Christ.’ Every local church may not have each of these positions operative full-time, but each church should see that the members are routinely exposed to these ‘equippers’ if the church is to be healthy. Another error among some believers today is that there is a perception, or belief that our ‘Christian’ service, or our duty is that of ‘going to church.’ We must be reminded that the primary reasons for being active in a local church is to become spiritually mature and to be equipped to be expressions of the gospel, to represent the kingdom of God in all we do seven days a week. The church is a gathering place where believers meet to worship, to fellowship, and to be trained in the things of the Lord. The goals that God has for us is that we come to a unity of the faith, to know Jesus personally, to become mature, so that we may resemble Jesus. The sad reality is that even many church ‘leaders’ have not grasped the truth and the importance of this passage of scripture. You may need to search out a church that is more in line with this view of what the church is, or you may need to ask God how in the church you attend you might encourage others to move toward this understanding of the church. There are no perfect churches, but get involved in a local church and be one that pursues God with all of your heart. By the way, God always reaches His goal-be encouraged.
Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
Blessings,
Bud

THE EYES OF OUR HEART

8/10/2018

August 10, 2018 THE EYES OF OUR HEART
Ephesians 1:17-19 “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 us who believe.
It seems we are geared to live according to our mind and to logic, neglecting the more important aspect of spiritual understanding, wisdom and revelation. It is impossible to live the Christian life just on our mental understanding; we must receive revelation from God concerning who He is and His plans and purposes for us. In fact, 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the natural man (one who does not know God) cannot understand the scriptures. Since the very beginning, God has been revealing Himself in various ways, but the most powerful and most dramatic way He has revealed Himself is through His Son Jesus Christ. All that Jesus said and did reflected His Father; through Jesus, we come to know God. The New Testament is based on the life and teachings of Jesus and the writing of the New Testament was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each believer, and the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to give us understanding and revelation as we read God’s word. Even though believers have the Holy Spirit living in them, many still depend on and rely on their mental appraisal of the scriptures. One reason for this is that many have for a long time been exposed to and have heard teachings that are not in keeping with the gospel that Jesus proclaimed. Man, even believers, have been guilty of interpreting the scriptures according to their own preferences and own prejudices. The gospel that Jesus proclaimed is clear, it’s not up for debate, and there are no contradictions in the scriptures. Peter Parris has said that “There are contradictions in the scriptures, but only in our mind.” The riches that are in God and in Christ are unsearchable, they are beyond our natural ability to understand or comprehend. If we think we fully know God and His greatness, then we do not know Him. If we are to experience the life God has for, if we are to be transformed, it is essential that God gives us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, and that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened that we might know the riches that are ours in Christ Jesus. The Christian life is not about ‘trying harder’ or being ‘more dedicated’ or being ‘more disciplined’ etc. Only when we seek Him first and as He gives us revelation about who we are in Him and about who He is in us, will we experience the awesome life He has for us. The good news is that if we seek Him first, He will continue to reveal Himself to us in new and powerful ways throughout our lifetime. There is always more to know about Him. Let us take this prayer that Paul prayed personally, that the eyes of our heart be enlightened. God reveals Himself to those who desire to know Him.
Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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EXPECTING HIS RETURN

8/7/2018

August 7, 2018 EXPECTING HIS RETURN
Acts 1:9-11 “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; and they also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’”
I cannot even imagine what it would have been like to have been there with the disciples when Jesus was taken up to heaven! What an awesome moment that was in all of human history. Exciting as it was to witness Jesus ascension into heaven that day, the central truth and the message of this verse is that He is coming back in the same way! In recent years, there has been less and less teaching and preaching, and fewer books written dealing with the return of Jesus. Certainly in the scriptures we find many instructions on how we are to live as unto the Lord in this earthly life, but we also find much said about His return and being united with Him in heaven. Actually, much of the motivation and reason for living in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and in keeping with the gospel is the realization that He is coming back for His bride, the church. It is clear from the scriptures that no one knows when He will return, but we know it will be suddenly. The early church was expecting His return at any time. Just as a woman who is pregnant plans and looks forward to the birth of her baby, so should we be expecting His return. Even when we are expecting company to come to our house for a visit, we go about getting everything presentable and make ready for our company. The culture in which we live is consumed with the ‘now.’ We want what we want now and we do not like the idea of delayed gratification-we do not give much thought or considerations about the future, especially in spiritual matters. May we have the wisdom to understand and to adjust our thinking, our actions, on the fact of His return. His being taken up into heaven that day was awesome, but how much more awesome it will be when He returns. Believe it or not, forget about it or not, HE IS COMING BACK. Let us be ready.
Luke 12:40 “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.”
Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
1 Thessalonians 3:13 “May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.”
Blessings,
Buddy

LRT'S FACE THE FACTS

8/4/2018

August 3, 2018 LET’S FACE THE FACTS
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet out inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
We do not like to think about it or talk about it, but the reality is that our physical bodies are decaying. Exercise and physical fitness is good, but no matter what we do, we cannot stop the aging process. However, that is not the end of the story. If we are the Lord’s, then we are not limited to what is temporal. It is an amazing reality, but this verse points out that all we see with the eye is temporal, while what we do not see with the eye is eternal. When honest, we have to admit that we often find ourselves focused on the temporal more than the eternal. This is not to say that the temporal is evil, or that we should never focus on the temporal; we are to be good stewards of all that God puts in our hand. But, if our main focus is on the temporal, we will live on a much lower plane than God has for us. On the other hand, if we are primarily focused on what is eternal, then the temporal has it proper place in our life. The good news for us is that even though our physical bodies are decaying, it is possible for our inner man to be renewed day by day! Plus, the afflictions we face in this life are working to our advantage in eternal matters-beyond all comparison. (Just because we do not fully understand why we have ‘afflictions’ and how they work for our good does not mean it is not true-it just means that our minds are finite.) Our view of the eternal affects how we deal with and how we view the temporal. How blessed we are as believers too have life that transcends the temporal. The crucial part for us in this is to make sure that our inner man is being renewed day by day. The inner man is renewed as we read God’s word, when we die to ourselves, when we walk by the Spirit, and when we live according to the ways of God. When our inner man is renewed, when our thoughts and our ways are pleasing to the Lord, we experience life to the fullest. Even though our outer man is decaying, let us be men and women of God who have hope and courage, who have our minds renewed, and who believe that “our light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”
Blessings,
Buddy