Blog Posts - TheNewU

BY HIS DOING

4/2/2024

April 2, 2024 BY HIS DOING

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God. But by His doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”

These are ‘deep’ verses for sure, but we can grasp the main truth presented in this passage. The ways of God are not the ways of man; man thinks one way, and God another; man has one viewpoint about life, and God another. There is a huge chasm that separates man from God and man cannot bridge the chasm, but God can. God bridging the chasm is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. All religions except Christianity are about what man must do if he or she is to appease God or get to Him when they die. From this passage, and many others, one thing for certain is that there is no room whatsoever for one boasting about how he or she came to know the Lord. It may be difficult for some to accept the fact that one is in Christ only because God chose it to be. One may make a decision to follow Christ, but preceding that decision is Christ drawing them to Himself. Once a person sees, or in some way becomes keenly aware of the holiness of God, all boasting ceases. The most brilliant, the most intellectual, the strongest, the most wise, the wealthiest and the most popular are as nothing compared to God and His infinite wisdom and power. God has chosen to use the most simple and the weak things to ‘shame’ the things the world considers strong, wise-the bragging points of man. After all said and done, we are in Christ only BY HIS DOING. The very first aspect of salvation is the drawing of God. No one on their own finds or comes to know God. It is not our place to determine who will respond to God’s drawing; it is our place to testify and share what God has done in us and to share the good news of the gospel. Once we understand in our spirit that we are in Christ only by His doing, our only response is humility and thankfulness for the grace of God being extended to us-even though we were undeserving.
John 6:44 “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Blessings, Buddy

IT IS FINISHED

3/31/2024

March 31, 2024 IT IS FINISHED

John 19:30 “When Jesus has received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished,’ and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
Matthew 28:6 “He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come see the place where He lay.”

We can only try to imagine the agony and the suffering Jesus endured as He became the sacrifice for sin. As someone said recently, perhaps the greatest agony He endured was expressed when He asked the Father why He had forsaken Him. (Matthew 27:45.) Jesus and His Father had always been one-never separated; how horrible it must have felt to feel forsaken by His Father. Isaiah and Mark refer to Jesus as a suffering servant; indeed, Jesus left His home in heaven, came to earth, walked among men, and ultimately gave His life as a ransom for the sins of man. Just as Jesus breathed His last breath, He spoke the three awesome, earth-shaking, liberating words, “It is finished!” The price for our sins had been paid in full. That was on Friday, but Sunday was just two days away. Even though Jesus had told His disciples that He would be raised from the dead, they did not understand it. After Jesus had died on the cross, His followers grieved and were dismayed. Jesus said that He endured cross for the joy set before Him. Hebrews 12:2-3. Joy came after the the suffering. Jesus has suffered for us; now we can enter the joy of being forgiven and restored to our Father. Now, the power of sin has been broken. Now, we can experience life as God designed. Now, we live in the light. We must live in the awareness that we live post-resurrection! When Jesus said it was finished-IT WAS FINISHED! The sin issue and the separation issue was settled once for all. It’s great to celebrate Easter on this day; but celebrating the resurrection of Jesus is to be a way of life. Let us thank God God for the so great salvation that came to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus; and may we honor Him by living as those whose who have been redeemed.

1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”

Blessings, Buddy

PAIN

3/28/2024

March 28, 2024 PAIN

Isaiah 53:4a “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering,”

For certain, we have had pain in the past, we have pain now, or we will have pain in the future. We have all been touched with pain, whether it be sickness, broken relationships, addictions, death of a loved one, financial loss, great disappointments, a lack of necessities, rejection-you name it. Jesus dying on the cross encompassed more than forgiveness of our sins. Before we were saved form our sins, we were lost, we were blind, without hope and without the ability to find our way or make sense out of life. But the good news is that when He laid His life down for us, we were made whole; our sins forgiven and our burdens lifted. The cross made the difference-in everything. We now have a hope for the future and we have a purpose for living in the present. Back to the topic of pain. Pain is a pain! It makes us grieve. It hurts. It robs us of life. By faith and by believing His word, He takes up our pain and He bears our suffering! Let us thank God for that! This is not just in theory; we can experience His taking up our pain. It does not mean that He erases all pain or that we are no longer aware of the pain, but it does mean that the crushing burden of it is taken up and we are comforted with His comforting. Because He has taken up our pain, we are able to continue with life and able to avoid the depression that would cripple us. Jesus told us that we would experience trials in life-and He was right-as always! But we are not controlled or derailed by the trials; because Jesus has overcome sin and darkness, we can live in the light even in a dark world-that’s a miracle! So, as we celebrate this Easter, be reminded of all that the death and resurrection of Jesus accomplished on our behalf; we are the recipients of many blessings because Jesus overcame all that would defeat us.

1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Blessings, Buddy

BUT AT YOUR WORD

3/25/2024

March 25, 2024 BUT AT YOUR WORD

Luke 5:4-6, 8 “And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we have worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish; and their nets began to break;” “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

When Jesus told Peter to let down the nets, what Peter was really saying was ‘Jesus, we are fishermen, we have been fishermen all of our lives, we know about fishing; the fish are not there today; you are not a fisherman.’ The response of Peter can speak volumes to us. After Peter had made the point that he was a fisherman who knew all about fishing, he said, ‘But at your word I will let down the net.’ It is so easy for us to live by, and be guided by our own knowledge and understanding, while not giving thought to what God can do. When we have ‘fished all night’ and the nets are empty, we conclude that it’s time to quit the fishing-we gave it our best shot, but no fish. Do not misunderstand; there is nothing wrong with using good sense and logic in making decisions; but we must not rule out what God can do in any given situation. In particular, when we hear God telling us to do a certain thing, let us be willing to lay logic and reasoning aside and follow what God says. There are times when the Spirit tells us do do something that would make us uncomfortable or it seems to be illogical. Let us respond as Peter by saying to God ‘At your word’ I will do what you command. This not only applies to specific things the Lord says to us; it also applies to what He says in His written word. Peter evidently realized that his hesitation to follow Jesus’ word was sinful; he fell at the feet of Jesus saying that he was a sinful man. We must not take lightly our hesitation in following what Jesus says. When we come face-to-face with Jesus and when we see His power and authority, we are humbled and we wonder how in the world could we ever question Him or fail to follow His every word. So, let us never take what God has said and what He will say in a casual-think about it sort of way. God is a God who is present in the normal routines of life; but He is also a God who has all authority and a God who works miracles and intercedes in the lives of those who love Him and follow Him. Be reminded that we are children of the Creator God-and all things are possible with Him.

Psalms 119:2 “Happy are those who follow His commands, who obey Him with all their heart.”
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

Blessings, Buddy

THE POWER OF OUR WORDS

3/23/2024

March 23, 2024 THE POWER OF OUR WORDS

PROVERBS 18:21, 15:4 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Most of us have spoken words we later regretted speaking. We have also likely been the recipient of hurtful words. The ability to control our tongue is a really big deal. The core issue concerning what words we speak is that the words we speak flow our of our hearts; so the key issue is the condition of our hearts. Even though our hearts may be generally ‘good’ most of the time, on occasion, we may speak a hurtful or damaging word; however, if we are walking according to the Spirit, the Spirit will quickly point out that what we said was wrong-then we confess it and ask forgiveness. It is amazing to understand from Proverbs above that ‘death and life are in the power of the tongue. ‘Let no un wholesome word come out of our mouths’-what a sobering instruction that should compel us to carefully measure our words. (There are times when we have to speak a corrective word that may sound harsh, but when it is done in love and with grace, it is life-giving.) On the positive side, we have the opportunity and the power to build up, to edify, to encourage and to speak graceful words. I saw this statement recently: “Who needs encouragement? Anyone who is breathing.” So true. The good news is that when we are walking in the Spirit, we will find that our words bring life. It does not have to be burdensome or a constant battle to make sure we are speaking life-giving words; as we walk in the Spirit, speaking uplifting words becomes natural. I am sure we all agree with what has been said thus far; but as they say, the ‘proof is in the pudding.’ So, from this moment on, let life-giving words proceed out of our mouths.
Matthew 15:18 “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” (God has given us a new heart; so when we live out of the new heart, our words will be life-giving. The heart is a fountain.) James 3:10-12 “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Blessings, Buddy

PASSING THROUGH

3/21/2024

March 21, 2024 PASSING THROUGH

Hebrews 13:14 “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
2 Corinthians 5:1 “For we know that if the tent that us our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
1 Peter 2:11 “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust which wage war against the soul……”
1 Chronicles 29:15 “For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all of our fathers were”

How we view our time on earth is critical. It is rather easy to allow ourselves to be focused more on life on earth than on our destiny with the Lord and all He has in store for those who love Him. (Do not misunderstand; we are called to be good stewards while living on planet earth and how we live life in the here and now matters.) Focusing on and being consumed with the temporary robs us of being blessed and encouraged by the amazing promises and plans that God has for us. It’s good to have the attitude that is expressed in an old gospel song-‘I’m looking for a home.’ Our life is is temporary; we are transitory, just passing through. It’s obvious that the early believers were looking forward to the promises that God had given regarding the life to come. One thing I have noticed is that today there is little discussion and little preaching on the subject of heaven-even though there is much said in the scriptures about the life to come. Those that are in great suffering and experiencing great trials are more apt to yearn for heaven. It is good for us to conduct our lives on earth in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, to be good stewards, and at the same time be keenly aware that what we see is temporary and is passing away. Rather than being consumed by what is temporal, let us live with an understanding that we are now part of the eternal kingdom of God, living on earth for a brief time-and while here, we are God’s ambassadors, representing Him all we do. The perspective that we are to have is that we are pilgrims passing through, in route to our home that God has prepared for us.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not at the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Blessings, Buddy

ATTAINING TO ALL THE WEALTH

3/19/2024

March 19, 2024 ATTAINING TO ALL THE WEALTH

Colossians 2:2-4 “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. I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive argument.”

There are two undeniable truths that we see in these verses. One is that we desperately need wisdom; the other is that there are many persuasive voices that would delude us-or distract us from the wisdom that comes from God. There is great wealth that comes through understanding that Christ Himself is the revealed mystery of God; only in Christ do we find the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The greatest minds cannot find true wisdom and knowledge apart from Christ; yet, all those who know Christ as Savior, have full access to true wisdom and knowledge. This wisdom and knowledge does not come automatically to us; note that there is an ‘attaining’ aspect of having the wisdom and knowledge that comes form God. This sounds a little negative, but to a great degree we have become lazy when it comes to studying the world of God and endeavoring to increase in the knowledge of God. For many, learning about the word of God is limited to one hour on Sunday mornings. Be that what it may….we can be about attaining to this wealth; we can be increasing in our understanding of the ways of God. This may all sound strictly spiritual-having no impact on the day-to-day natural life we live; but that is certainly not the case at all. Christ life in us impacts every aspect of our lives-it is His life that is being expressed in all we do and all we are. So, as we navigate life, we can do so being directed and guided by wisdom and knowledge that comes from God. God does not normally speak to us in audible words, but the Holy Spirit in us does speak to our spirits and our hearts to guide us and direct our steps. The blessing is that in our immediate families and our extended families, we can enjoy the reality of being united and knit together in the love, the wisdom and the knowledge of God that are found in Christ. Let us not be drawn away or deluded with persuasive voices and philosophies that are contrary to wisdom and knowledge of God; and let us be about attaining to the wealth that is found only in Christ.
2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
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

THE HOPE OF GLORY

3/16/2024

March 16, 2024 THE HOPE OF GLORY

Colossians 1:25-27 “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of then glory of this ministry among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, then hope of glory.”

God has chosen to reveal, to a certain group of people, a mystery that was hidden from past generations. This mystery has been revealed to those who know Him as their Lord and Savior. It is evidently possible for one to know God as Savior, yet not in a real way experience or understand that Christ is living in them; they may believe it in their minds, but yet not experience it. The mystery that Paul is referring to is that Christ lives IN us; and He is our hope. Christ living in us makes all the difference; because He is in us, we can experience His life rather than our life. Christ living us means we view life differently; we see situations and circumstances-and everything-from His perspective. Our view of life and the understanding of our purpose is bigger than life viewed from a human viewpoint. Because He is in us, we are overcomers, we are light, we have wisdom, and we are expressions of the fruit of the Spirit. His presence means we have no fear of death; it means that all things work together for our good; it means we can love our enemies. God is a giver, and because He is in us, we are givers. But perhaps greatest of all is that even though we have trials on this earth, we have a sure and steadfast hope in the inheritance that God has reserved for those who belong to Him. I pray that we will continue to understand in greater degrees what it means for Christ to be in us-it is a mystery that has been revealed, but it is also continually being revealed. As mentioned above, some believers have not come to a place where they have experienced the reality of Christ living in them; and that is not condemning. But, it should be in our hearts to discover what it means for Christ to be in us and how that impacts everything about our lives-and in fact makes us new. There is a growing in the faith and a maturing in the Lord; that implies that there is a part we play in our spiritual growth. Our part is to seek Him first and to learn of Him; and the primary way of learning of Him is to read and study His word. In Galatians 4:19-20, Paul said it was it desire, and his ministry, to see Christ formed in the those who were believers. Let it be our greatest desire for Chris to be formed us; He is in us, now let us discover our new identity we have in Him—-and I mean NEW identity!

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

Blessings, Buddy

SET YOUR MIND

3/13/2024

March 13, 2024 SET YOUR MIND

Colossians 3:2-3 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”
Proverbs 23:7 “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

It is often said that the major battle we face is the battle of the mind. I think that is true. As we look at this topic, it is crucial to understand that God has made us new creations and has given us a new mind. It is only out of our new minds that we can think in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and in a way that blesses us as well as those around us. We can think out of our old mind, or we think out of our new mind. The new mind we have does not take over our thinking automatically; we must learn from the scriptures how we are to think-we have to adjust to our new selves. It begins with understanding that we have been joined to God and now we view life and circumstances from a new perspective-the prespective that God has. We are no longer limited to the normal human way of thinking. It is not a matter of being a “positive thinker’ or a ‘negative thinker;’ it’s much bigger than that. Because we are in Christ and because the Holy Spirt lives in us, we have the opportunity to think on a totally new plane. It is ever so important to understand that we must instruct our minds what to think about; our spirit is to rule over our minds. If we let our minds wander, our minds will get off course, and that often leads to discouragement. When we think from God’s perspective, our thoughts will be life-giving. Even in difficult situations and uncomfortable circumstances, our thoughts can reflect the life of God and can be a source of light in the darkness. The new heart that God has given us is pure; and out of our new pure hearts come right thoughts and right actions. Let us not be guided by thoughts from the old mind; instead, let us choose to live out of the new person that God created us to be. When we realize our thoughts deviating from the path that leads to life, let us take dominion over our mind and direct it back to thoughts that are life-giving.
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Blessing, Buddy

SO THAT YOU MAY WALK

3/11/2024

March 11, 2024 SO THAT YOU MAY WALK

Colossians 1:9b-12 “I pray that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of Lord, to please Him in all respects, and bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Being a follower of Jesus has implications; Jesus, being our Savior and Him being our life, brings about certain benefits and certain fruits that affect how we live daily. We are no longer who we use to be; we have been joined to Christ and that makes a huge difference-it impacts everything about who we are and how we live. Our salvation is so much more than being assured of heaven when we die. Living the Christian life by our own strength is impossible; living life the way God designed it is nothing less than super natural. Without the Spirit of God living in us, there is no way that we could ever please God ‘in all respects;’ BUT, because of His presence and His work in us, we CAN please Him ‘in all respects.’ I know that for most believers, it is a stretch to believe that we can please Him in all respects. Many believers still consider themselves sinners who continue to sin even though they have been born again. It is a huge gap in seeing ourselves as believers who sin and seeing ourselves as new creations who have been set free from the power of sin. We do not have to sin. Do not misunderstand: it is possible for believers to sin, but it is only because they choose to walk by the flesh instead of walking by the Spirit-note, it is a choice. The great and awesome good news that many believers have not yet come to believe is that we can walk, or live, in a way that is worthy of the Lord and in a way that is pleasing to Him. And, we can be bearing good fruit in every good work and can be increasing in the knowledge of God. If that’s not enough, we can be strengthened with all power, and be steadfast in living out the ways of God. We need to understand our inheritance in the Lord; our inheritance has benefits for the present, and it has huge benefits once we die and go to be present with the Lord in heaven. Our old life has gone; now we have been made new with a new nature, a new heart and a new spirit! It was Paul’s prayer that believers would be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that they could walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord-and we are included in that prayer. This prayer may sound like a ‘pipe dream’ prayer or a prayer reserved for just a few; however, this prayer reflects what it means for you and I to be made complete in Christ. Our salvation is for the present, and it means that we can be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we can walk in a way that pleases Him in all respects.
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Ephesians 5:10 “..trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”

Blessings, Buddy