Blog Posts - TheNewU

FINALLY MY BRETHREN

1/17/2025

January 17, 2025 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

WITHOUT AND DOUBTING

1/15/2025

January 15 2025 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. We do not know what the future holds; 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

A SERVANT MINDSET

1/13/2025

January 13, 2025 A SERVANT MINDSET

1 Peter 4:10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
Matthew 20:26-28 “It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Galatians 5:13-14 “For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

This may come as a shocker to many, but life is not all about us! However, if you observe the lives of people, if you listen to conversations and if you listen to the news, you will conclude that many, if not most, live as though life is all about them. There is within the core of man a nature that impels him or her to search for that which satisfies his deepest longings. Such things as material gain, popularity, being attractive and physically fit, success in a certain field, or whatever-may bring temporary satisfaction but it is short-lived. But God has a solution that fulfills the deepest longings of our soul. The ways of God are contrary to the ways of the world; the world says to do whatever it takes to satisfy self, but God tells us to lay our lives down. What a contrast! It is a mystery and a miracle, but as we lay our lives down and take on a servant mindset, we find a sense of fulfillment. Our new nature finds joy and fulfillment when we serve, when we bless, when we give, and when we consider others above ourselves. 2 Corinthians 9:10 is an amazing verse: “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” God sees to it that we never run of seeds to sow! Laying our lives down does not mean that we neglect our personal responsibilities, but it does mean that our mind-set in life is that we are here to serve. And let us not overlook the fact that our immediate family members are among those we are to serve. Jesus came to serve and He is our example; let us be about serving and blessing.

Proverbs 11:25 “Whoever brings a blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”

Blessings, Buddy

LEAN NOT

1/12/2025

TRYING TO LEARN

1/9/2025

January 10, 2025 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 Him. 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

THE GOAL OF INSTRUCTION

1/7/2025

January 8, 2025 THE GOAL OF INSTRUCTION

1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

I like simplicity and I like to know that I am headed in the right direction in life. We were not given the word of God just as a book to read. The word of God is a book in which God reveals Himself and it is a book of instructions on life-it’s not a book of good suggestions. The instructions from God are perfect; there are no mistakes, ambiguities or contradictions in His word. I heard Peter Parris once say that “The word contradicts it self, but only in our minds.” It is God’s desire that we love from a pure heart. That’s easy to understand. A pure heart is a heart free from whatever is ungodly. In a pure heart there is no guile, envy, jealousy, dishonesty, hate-the list could go on. The good news is that God gives us a new heart and a new spirit. This does not mean that we do not have to make decisions and wrestle with issues in life; but it does mean that we can walk according to the ways of God by the power of His Spirit. In a real sense, we have to manage our hearts-to make sure we are living out of a pure heart. A pure heart is a heart that expresses the righteousness of God. By that I mean that if, for example, I wrong someone, if my heart is pure, I will ask their forgiveness and make restitution if needed. Having a pure heart is a huge blessing; with a pure heart we can be at peace-and we can have a good nights sleep. This does not imply that we are perfect; but it does instruct us that we can love form a pure heart. Also, another goal of biblical instruction is that we live with a good conscience; and how freeing a good conscience is. Having a good conscience has to do with our actions. Very simply put, if we do what is right, our conscience is good. Our conscience is a gift from God; we have this built in eternal guide that lets us know if what we are doing is right or wrong. The third goal is that of having a sincere faith. A sincere faith means that we totally accept as true the word of God and that it is our goal to live according to His word and that we continue to live by faith even in difficult times.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Blessings, Buddy

DESTINED TO LIVE WITH HIM

1/6/2025

January 6, 2025 DESTINED TO LIVE WITH HIM

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, 5:8-11 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you are also doing.”

We have all experienced the death of a loved one; and we all at times think about our own death. To many, death is a dark ugly reality they had rather not think about. The quote you have probably heard holds true: “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die.” For sure, the death of someone close to us is grievous and we go through a season of morning. There are examples in the Bible where people mourned over the lost of a loved one. Mourning is a part of the process. But, the scriptures present a view of death that gives hope, even in death. There are several bits of good news in the verses above in regards to death. As a starter, the scriptures describe one who has ‘died’ as being asleep. When you go to sleep, you wake up again. When we understand death from a biblical viewpoint, we do not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. When Jesus returns, He will bring with Him those who have died in the faith-the faith that Jesus is the Savior. What an awesome day that will be when we will see again those who have gone before us. Wow! When Jesus died on the cross, He defeated death once and for all. In light of the fact that Jesus will return one day, we should be be living in a state of readiness. We have every reason not to fear death, and every reason to have hope. God has destined us, and all believers who have physically died, to live with Him forever. Yes, we will have trials on this earth and we experience physical death, but death truly is the door to life with our Father. Be encouraged; our destiny with our Father has been sealed.
2 Corinthians 15:51-53, 55 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’’

Blessings, Buddy

FOR NOTHNG

1/3/2025

January 3, 2025 FOR NOTHING

Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

What God is saying through Paul test our mettle-our core beliefs; it has a way of revealing to us whether or not we are truly living according to the gospel. At the moment, me personally, and my family are faced with some circumstances that are difficult and anxiousness knocks at the door. To tell someone ‘to be anxious for nothing’ surely sounds like you are telling them to bury their heads in the sand. But, as is always the case, God has the answers to our predicaments and our challenges. What God tells us in His word is contrary to the ways of the world; the world says it is human and it is normal to be anxious when facing difficulties and uncertainties; BUT God tells His people to ‘be anxious for NOTHING.’ So there is the challenge. To bridge this gap between being anxious and being anxious for nothing requires a deep faith in a loving, caring, and all powerful God-a God who works beyond human reason and human effort. It is a matter of believing in our innermost being that God does ‘work all things for good to those who are called according to His purpose.’ Romans 8:28. A key truth to remember a we face trials is that the Lord is near. When we face whatever would make us anxious, we are instructed to pray and make supplications, with thanksgiving, and make our request known to God. Did you hear that-‘make our request known to God.’ When we do this in faith, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds. Our hearts and minds need to be guarded; if they are not guarded, we will become anxious. Not to be anxious in this life is indeed a miracle-it’s a work of the Holy Spirt in us. Because God works in such awesome ways and because He is able to do beyond what we think, we can rejoice always. We do not rejoice over the bad things that happen; we rejoice because we serve a God who overcomes all the plans of the enemy.
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on you, because they trust You.”

Blessings, Buddy

BEGAN TO SPEAK

1/1/2025

January 1, 2025 BEGAN TO SPEAK

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”

There are varying opinions concerning the evidence of being filled with the Spirit. But as you read through the New Testament, the unmistakable evidence of being filled with the Spirit is boldness. Some believe that speaking in tongues is the sign of being filled with the Spirit. It is clear from scripture that speaking in tongues is something that is ligit; however, Paul makes it clear that all do not speak in tongues and he also makes it clear that when spoken in a gathering of believers, there must be someone to interpret. From the verses above, we see once again the importance of and the power of prayer. Believers has gathered together-that’s important. God is blessed when His people gather to offer prayers to Him. Just as the early believers had a lot going on in their world, so so we; and we need the guidance, the empowerment, and the wisdom that God gives when we pray in faith. It’s another subject, but many believe that it’s one thing to receive the Spirit at salvation and another thing to be filled with the Spirit-that could be discussed for a long time. But here is one thing for sure; we have the power to walk according to the flesh or to walk according to the Spirit. When we die to ourselves, when we turn from our ways and yield ourselves totally to God, His Spirit fills us. There is some mystery regarding the filling of the Spirit; we can be walking according to the Spirit and enjoying our relationship with God, but at times the Spirit moves in powerful ways and speaks to us very clearly and directly. I am saying that we cannot put the Holy Spirit in a box. The key points for us are to hunger for God, seek Him first, read and study His word to know Him better and to learn who we are in Him, to receive His word, and to act out or obey what He says. Let us understand and let us know in our spirit that boldness is a result of being filled with the Spirit. We do not have to try to work up boldness-it’s a result of being filled with the Spirit. Being afraid of offending others can cause us not to be bold in sharing the gospel. Certainly we do not want to offend others, but being bold in our faith-however that looks-takes precedent. We are the people of God and His ambassadors who have the Spirit of God living in us; let us be given to prayer and let us keep being filled with the Spirit, and be those who are bold in Christ.
Proverbs 28:1 “The righteous are as bold as a lion.”
Ephesians 3:11-12 “This was in accordance with the eternal which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.”

Blessings, Buddy. HAPPY NEW YEAR

NEWNESS OF LIFE

12/30/2024

December 30, 2025 NEWNESS OF LIFE

Romans 6:4-7 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, 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 free from sin.”

I dare say that many of us believers have not yet come to fully understand and experience what is said in these few verses. In the natural, it is a stretch to believe with all of our being the awesome and life-changing truths found in this passage. I say ‘with all of our being’ because it is possible to have mental agreement-to believe in our minds with what a scripture says-but it is all-together different to receive in our spirit, the deepest part of our being, that what is said is indeed true. We stand in need of the Holy Spirit to reveal to us truth of the scriptures. Certainly we need engage our minds as read and study the word, but then we need the Spirit to give us revelation in our spirit. Back to this passage. Can we comprehend or believe that we have been buried with Him through baptism-that our old self is dead? And can we believe that we can now walk in newness of life? Just as Jesus died, so we too have died if we have been born again and united with Him. It is crucial for us to know that our old self was crucified in order that ‘our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.’ And, ‘for he who has died is free from sin.’ Wow. It is true that our old self has not been annihilated and we can yield to our old nature, the flesh, but we do not have to yield to it. Instead, we can walk by the Spirit and not walk according to the flesh. It is good news indeed that we are no longer slaves to sin. There is a point in time when we die to ourselves, but it is also a continual dying to ourselves. The point is that we have died and have been raised up in Christ whereby we walk in newness of life. Newness of life is a wonderful thing to experience. We are now NEW creations, freed from the power of sin. We have been given a new nature and new minds. It may be a stretch to believe, but we are now in the likeness of Christ. Think on that.
Romans 6:11-13 “For even so consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of 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