Blog Posts - TheNewU

PERFECTING HOLINESS

1/22/2024

January 22, 2024 PERFECTING HOLINESS

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

The Holy Spirit in us is the power and the presence of God. An important truth that we must not miss is that we have a part to play in living out the gospel; we must work with Him as He works in us. God does not desire a family of robots; He desires a people who have their hearts turned to Him, a people who respond to His drawing and His invitation to come to Him, and because He is holy, He desires a holy people. The Holy Spirit is always drawing us to the Father and He is always desiring that we live in a way that is pleasing to God-and He is equipping and empowering us to do just that. In simple terms, this verse is telling us to discard anything about our life that is unlike God. We are instructed to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. If we are doing things in the flesh that are ungodly, we must lay those things aside. We can also have a spirit about us that is not pleasing to the Lord-such as being impatient, angry, ill-tempered, lazy, and etc. If we are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will bring to our attention anything contrary to the ways of God. God may also use other people and circumstances to show us certain aspects about us that we need to lay aside. The Holy Spirit is not about condemning us, and neither should we condemn ourselves. The Spirit shows us, draws us, and empowers us to live in a way pleasing to the Lord. There will be times that we need to make adjustments in our lives-laying aside what we need to, and putting on what is like God. We are not yet fully perfected; but we are to be about perfecting holiness-about living as children of a holy God. It is a reality check; instead of waiting for God to zap us into holiness, we are to be about cleansing ourselves! Of course, we can cleanse ourselves only because the Spirt enables us to do so. We are to be cleansing ourselves ‘in the fear of God.’ Yes, we should have a fear of God-but a healthy fear of God. After all, we are accountable for how we live as His sons and daughters. Because God loves us and cares for us, and has given us great promises, let it be our deepest hearts desire to live according to His ways. Amazingly, He enables us, who live in flesh and bone, to live holy lives, pleasing to Him in all we do.
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.”’
1 John 4:17 By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgement; because as He is, so also are we in this world.”
Blessings, Buddy

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN US

1/20/2024

January 20, 2024 THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN US

John 14:16, 16:13a “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth,”
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Romans 8:14, 5:3-5 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts though the Holy Spirt who has been given to us.”

God gives us the Holy Spirit for a reason. Above are just a few verses that gives us insight on the work of the Holy Spirt who lives in us. Certainly, all the books in the world could never exhaust the subject of the Holy Spirit and how He works in the lives of believers. In these few sentences, let us be reminded that the Holy Spirt was given for specific reasons, and also be challenged to see if we can see evidence of His work in us. It is possible for a believer to ignore, or grieve the Spirt of God; He does not force Himself on us. However, may you and I not be guilty of that. What a blessing that God has given us the Holy Spirit as a Helper. God knows that we need help! We cannot live this Christian life without the Holy Spirit being our Helper. A most important way that the Holy Spirit helps us is by guiding us into all truth. Our enemy’s primary weapon that He attempts to use against us is that of presenting lies to us. Because the word of God is truth, we must have our perceptions and our thought life based on the word of God. Rather being led by our own dictates, we must be led by the Spirit of God; the Holy Spirit will lead us. When we are lead by the Holy Spirt, the Spirit will produce certain fruits and characteristics in us-see Galatians above. Through the sufferings in life, the Spirit produces endurance, character, and hope-that is why we can rejoice in our sufferings. One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit is that through Him, the love of God has been poured into our hearts. Here is the big question for us-and the main point of this blog. Are we yielded to the Holy Spirit and are we conscience of His work in us, and are we experiencing the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. This is not meant to condemn us, but to encourage us to live according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh-or anything outside of God. We have an all-sufficient Helper with us all the time.
Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of God does not belong to Him.”

Blessings, Buddy

PLEASANT PLACES

1/18/2024

January 18, 2024 PLEASANT PLACES

Psalm 16:5-8 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely i have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

The Old Covenant is primarily about God dealing with His people in the natural; what God did in the natural under the Old Covenant is a picture of the spiritual in the New Covenant. The application of the first verse above is that our life in Christ is indeed a ’pleasant place,’ and our ‘boundary lines’ refers to the fact that He encompasses all of our lives. All we do should be within His realm and under His lordship. ‘Being in Christ’ is not just semantics or a discussion reserved for theologians; being in Christ and Christ being in us is the cornerstone of the New Testament. As believers, we have been joined to Christ; He is our life; we have died to our life. (It is possible for believers to revert back to living according to their flesh; to walk according to the flesh instead of walking according to the Spirit.) The mystery is that when we die to our lives and experience Christ as our life, we truly live to the fullest and our deepest longings are fulfilled. The psalmist states that he has a ‘delightful inheritance.’ Being in Christ does not mean that we will be exempt from difficulties in this life; it does mean that He will strengthen us and comfort us in the trials. We tend to focus on the here and now-and that is understandable; however, the inheritance that is ours should capture our hearts. What Christ has reserved for us is beyond our imagination. This is a crude illustration: but if one is homeless and without any resources, gets notification that in 30 days he will be receiving an inheritance for a million dollars, sleeping under the bridge will be no problem whatsoever. We live in the here and now, but let us not lose focus on what God has for each of His children. As you read the New Testament, it is evident that the believers were looking forward to the inheritance that was theirs in the Lord-even when they were experiencing great trials. God is with us; He counsels us; He instructs us; and we will not be shaken. Because we are in pleasant places in Christ, we have a glad heart and we rejoice. He will never abandon us. He makes known to us the path of life; and in His presence we are filled with joy! So, no matter our circumstances, let us turn pour hearts and minds to all that God has in store for those who know Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold; all things have become new.”
Blessings, Buddy

WALKING WORTHY

1/15/2024

January 15, 2024 WALKING WORTHY

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

The gospel gives us specifics as to how we are to live. God has a certain nature and certain characteristics; and the instructions in the scriptures as to how we are to live are indicative of His nature. God knew that in our own strength we could not live according to His ways, thus He gives us His Holy Spirit who enable us to live as unto the Him. The amazing thing is that He does not do away with our individual unique personalities and temperaments, but He expresses Himself and His nature through each of us. He may, and He will, adjust some things about us that that need adjusting. (One may say that they are impatient by nature, but God can transform that person into being patient.) It is ever so important for us to know and understand that the motivation for doing the right thing or being the right person is not to gain His approval or His love and acceptance. Instead, we walk worthy and live righteously BECAUSE that is who He is in us, and we have been joined to Him. Religion is man trying to earn God’s favor and acceptance by keeping certain rules and regulations; living the Christian life as described in the gospel is all about us dying to ourselves and letting Christ live His life in and through us. Back to specifics; through out the Scriptures we find specific instructions on how we are to live. These instructions are actually pointers or indicators as to what God is like; and when His life is being expressed in and through us, we will find that these lived-out instructions are a part of our lives. We can thank God that we do not have to be rule keepers when it comes to living the Christian life; living life as unto the Lord is a result of Christ living His life in us. Understanding this truth takes the pressure off of us trying to live godly; the life of Christ in us sets us free to be who we are in Him. When He is our life, we will become expressions of the nature of God-kindness, gentleness, joy, peace, patience, forgiveness, honoring one another, love, boldness-and so much more. The greatest and most liberating news ever is that the same Christ who died for us, who was raised from then dead, now lives in us, making us new creations who by the life they live, are expressions of God.
Colossians 2:6-7 “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Ephesians 5:8 “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

Blessings, Buddy

January 12th, 2024

1/12/2024

January 12, 2024 BE STRONG

Ephesians 6:10-12 “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 our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

If anything, these verses put to rest any idea that if you give your life to Jesus, everything will be good and life will be rosy. It is a given; we are at war. The war we are engaged in is primarily a spiritual war, but it also has implications in the natural, or physical. Another given is that the only way to win this war is by the power of the Lord. We often act as though people-flesh and blood-are our enemies-but that is not true. The enemy may use people, but people are not the enemy; it’s the ‘spiritual forces of wickedness’ that are are often manifested through people. We must realize that we live in a dark world, but we also must realize that we are light in the darkness. The goal of our enemy is to ‘steal, kill and destroy.’ John 10:10. BUT, God has overcome our enemy, but He has not yet annihilated him; He is using the devil for His own purposes. That’s where you and I come in to the picture; this world is our training ground where we must learn to overcome the enemy through the power of the Lord. It’s a deep subject, but God is showing to all the universe, to all the spiritual beings, that what Jesus accomplished on the cross enabled those who accept Jesus as Savior, to overcome our adversary, the devil. When Jesus rose from the dead, Satan was defeated once for all and the power of sin was broken. Satan, even though defeated, is still walking about trying to defeat and cause problems for believers, who are God’s chosen possession. Our part is to know that we will face spiritual forces of wickedness, but also to know that God has given us His armor that assures victory over our enemy. Only as we put on His armor are we able to stand; His armor is faith, the word of God, worship, and a godly mindset. So, even though we face spiritual forces of wickedness, and we will have skirmishes with our enemy, we have no need to fear or to be dismayed. Two primary weapons that our enemy uses are lying and deception. Do not listen to his lies and do not be deceived by his tactics. No matter what battle we face, we have the privilege and the choice to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Blessings, Buddy

PERFECT LOVE

1/10/2024

January 10, 2024 PERFECT LOVE

1 John 4:15-19 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him, and he in God. And we halve 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. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us.”

We often hear the word love; so much that it has likely lost it’s meaning and impact. What the world refers to as love, has nothing in common with the love of God. I believe that it is possible for one to be a believer and yet not know the love that comes from God. It is a major, spiritual red letter day when anyone, when any believer, comes to ‘know and believe the love which God has for us.’ One may be totally convinced in his or her mind that God loves them, but yet not know His love experientially; God’s love needs to be revealed. Revelation comes from God, but the good news is that He wants to reveal His love for us. Our part is to seek Him first and to have our hearts turned to Him; in His time and in His way, He will reveal His love to us. God’s love is perfect; and His love can be ‘perfected’ in us. His love gives us confidence and it cast out fear. It is interesting to see from the verses above that if one is fearful, he not perfected in the love of God. Being ‘perfected’ means that we have come to know and that we believe the love God has for us. It is no small deal to know the love of God. It’s one thing for a person to love us, but something else for God to love us! God is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present, and absolutely rules over all; YET, He loves you and I. When we come to know the love of God, we discover that there is nothing to fear, nothing to fret over, no need to be anxious, no need to stress—all because the God of creation loves us. We are totally secure in Him. In His love, nothing comes into our lives that He does not allow-and even when the difficulties comes, He comforts us and He uses it for good. When we experience the love of God, we become like Him-not Him, but like Him! That is amazing. His love fills us and out of His love in us, we love as He loves. His love is expressed through our actions, our attitudes, our spirits, and our desires and motives are formed on the basis of His love. Living out of and in the love of God is indeed a supernatural life. His love compels us to be expressions of His love.
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.”
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us.”
Blessings, Buddy

BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

1/7/2024

January 7, 2024 BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

EPHESIANS 5:18, 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirt within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”
Acts 11:24, 13:52 “For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirt. And a great many were added to the Lord.” “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

It is impossible to live the Christian life as God intended without being filled with the Holy Spirit. When a person accepts Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirt comes to live in that person. However, it is possible for a believer to not yield to the Spirt; as Ephesians 4:30 tells us, a believer can grieve the Holy Spirt who has been given to us. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we live according to our flesh, and not according to the Spirit. We may be doing all the things a Christian should be doing-attending church, praying, reading the Bible, being faithful, and being a ‘good’ citizen; yet we may do all these things without being filled with the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is not the same as receiving the Spirt at salvation. Being filled with the Spirit is a matter of emptying ourselves of self, the flesh and yielding wholly to the Spirit of God. We empty selves by turning our minds and hearts to the Lord and turning form the self-centered life; we tell God that we need His Spirit to fill us; we say yes to the things of God; and we yield everything about us-our health, our future, our possessions, our career, our reputation, and our thought life. Being filled with the Spirt is not a one time occurrence, but a way of life; as we go about our day, we have an attitude of being filled with His Spirit. When we live according to the Spirit, we will experience the peace of God and the pressures and frustrations that come as a result of living according to self will be gone. The Spirit equips us and empowers us to be overcomers even in the most difficult times and circumstances. As one of the verses above reminds us, we are the temple of God. Let us live by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law,”
Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Blessings, Buddy

MERE MEN

1/4/2024

January 4, 2024 MERE MEN

1 Corinthians 3:2-3 “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking as mere men?”

It’s evident that believers can live contrary to the ways of God; and it’s also clear that believers can live according to the ways of God. There are many scriptures that deal with the flesh; to live according to the flesh is to live according to self and to live according to one’s own dictates and desires. When a believer lives by the flesh, he or she ignores the teaching and instructions of scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Where there is strife, jealousy, contentions, and the like, there are fleshly desires at work. There are other signs of living by the flesh that are more subtle; such as discouragement, depression, hopelessness, and an ungodly thought life. You may be thinking that this blog sure has a negative tone to it; however, there is good news for us to glean. The point is that we do not have to live as mere men who live by the flesh. We are not mere men and women because we have the Holy Spirit living in us-and that makes all the difference; and we are not mere men and women because God has made us new creations with new hearts, new minds and new spirits. Our salvation is so much more than a ticket to heaven; being adopted into God’s family has enormous benefits for us in this life and the life to come. God has made us to be overcomes in life; we no longer have to respond to difficulties and adverse circumstances as the world responds; we no longer have to depend on our own wisdom and our own strength; we no longer have to be discouraged or disheartened with deluge of bad news and all that’s wrong in the world. This does not mean that we bury our heads in the sand pretending there are no difficulties. It does mean that we live with a God like perspective and that we are a part of the solution, being light in the darkness. Let us not slip in to living like mere men and women; let us live daily with the awareness that God is present in us, empowering, equipping and guiding us. When we live in the ways of God, we live a supernatural life even though we live in fleshy bodies.
Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit which dwells in you.”

Blessings, Buddy

ENRICHED IN EVERYTHING

1/1/2024

January 1, 2024 ENRICHED IN EVERYTHING

1 Corinthians 1:4-8 “I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God has done more on our behalf than we presently understand. What we do know is that the grace of God has been given to us in Christ Jesus. This grace given to us is sufficient for anything and everything we face in life; we have been in everything enriched in Him. In fact, in Christ, we lack nothing! This does not mean that we know everything and it does not mean that we do not need to grow in the knowledge of God. It does mean that Christ in us is sufficient for the present moment. We can spend a lifetime discovering and learning the implications of being recipients of the grace of God. Christ being ‘confirmed’ in us means that we know and understand that He is our life and that we embrace the gospel that He proclaimed. There is obviously a connection between knowing Christ for who He is and eagerly awaiting His return. This is a red flag for many believers today; in the songs we sing and in the messages we hear, and in the conversations we have, we do not often hear much about His return. Perhaps we are overly focused on this present life. How we live in this present life is certainly important, and while here, we are to be good stewards in the kingdom of God on this earth and be faithful to the calling of God. As we begin this new year, let us be reminded and let us live life, knowing that we have been enriched in everything and that His grace makes us sufficient for all situations and all circumstances. Remember, in Christ we lack nothing.
Colossians 2:10 “For in Him dwell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Blessings, Buddy

NEW BEGINNINGS

12/30/2023

December 30, 2023 NEW BEGINNINGS

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

A new year is upon us. It’s a time of looking back and looking forward. Likely, as we look back over the past year we will remember some of the good things and some of the not so good things. This is a good time for self examination; to determine what are our priorities, our goals, our desires and our mindset, and most importantly, our spiritual health. We are blessed to have a God who gives us new beginnings; and to have a God who forgives and renews. We must remember that God is for us and He is always drawing us to Himself. Even if we experienced trials and even though we may have failed in many ways in the past year, we are at the doorsteps of a new beginning. The past year was a tough year for sure, filled with political upheaval, wars, inflation, sickness, crime-and the list goes on. However, our God reigns; He is using everything for His purposes; and He invites us to be a co-worker with Him in this upside world in which we live. Let us be renewed in our minds and in our spirits and move into this next year with a sense that God has plans and purposes and we get to be a part of what He is doing. Finding our place in what He is doing begins in us; we can turn our hearts to the Lord; we can seek Him first; we can die to ourselves; we can say no to our flesh and to sin and we can yes to the Spirit of God who is living in us; we can embrace and obey the commands of God; and we can let our light shine and be a blessing to others. Like Paul the Apostle, let us make the decision to not look backward, but to look to the future and to press on in the things of God. (Philippians 3:14) Bottom line: God loves you and I and He is with us and He has given us His Spirit to equip us, empower us, and guide us so that we can experience life as He designed.
Ephesians 4:1-3 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Blessings, Buddy Have a blessed new year.