Blog Posts - TheNewU

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

12/7/2023

December 7, 2023 THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

Galatians 5:22-26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fruitfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirt. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”

In the first part of this chapter, Paul describes what is like to live according to then flesh; in the verses above, He describes what it like to live by the Spirit. As you read this chapter, you see the great contrast of living by the Spirit and living by the flesh. This passage above is one of those we must ‘wrestle’ with if we are to understand what these verses are saying. These verses challenge us at the core. The profound statement is “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh.’ I am quick to say that I cannot fully understand or explain this statement. I do know that a believer can live according to the flesh; there are many scriptures admonishing believers not to live according to the fleas but to live according to the Spirit. I think there is a major spiritual ‘fork in the road’ when we come to on our spiritual journey; and it is the Spirit who leads us to this point. It sounds so simple, yet it is so profound and so life changing; what makes all the difference, what changes everything is our crucifying the flesh. (The flesh refers to that part of us that wants to live according to our own desires apart from God.) Man thinks that he is wise enough to direct his own life-yet, he cannot find what he seeks for. The verses above talks about those ‘who belong to Christ Jesus.’ After all said and done, we cannot escape the fact that we cannot live according to the Spirit and live the life God has for us until we have crucified the flesh; and the Holy Spirit empowers us to just that. This is not necessarily something we do once one in a life time. There is a ‘both and;’ there should be a point when we realize that our flesh opposes God, and because of that, we consciously die to our self. As we walk with the Lord, it is also a continual choosing of dying to the flesh and living by the Spirit. Much could be said on this subject, but the key truth is that we are called to die to ourselves and to yield our selves to the Spirit. Life lived according to the flesh does not satisfy; but walking by the Spirit fills the deepest longings of our soul. The fruit that the Spirit produces in us is always good fruit.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Blessings, Buddy

WHY WE WERE CREATED

12/5/2023

December 5, 2023 WHY WE WERE CREATED

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

There is a common view point, that if accepted, will derail our life as a believer; and it deals with grace and works. Most everyone agrees that we are saved by grace, and rightly so. The error comes when we think that because it is grace that saves us, we may downplay the importance of works. We must not overlook the fact that good works are a crucial part of of the Christian faith. We learn from the passage above the amazing truth that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works! We must know that we do not do good works in effort to earn His love and His acceptance; we do good works because He is good and that is how we are designed-to do good works just as our Father does good works. It is so important to embrace the fact that we are His workmanship; we are not here by accident or by chance. Your life and my life matters. Knowing why we exist and knowing our core purpose in life is essential if we are to live life as God intends. Knowing why we are here and living accordingly has many benefits, and it has a way of helping us avoid costly mistakes in life. Good works are called for because good works glorifies God-and that is more than sufficient reason to be about good works. We must not take credit or draw attention to ourselves for the good works we do; we do them to honor Him and because it is our new nature to do so. As we navigate life and all that it demands, let us not lose the awareness that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works, and by doing so, we glorify and honor Him.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in .”
Titus 3:14 “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.”

Blessings, Buddy

BEARING MUCH FRUIT

12/2/2023

December 2, 2023 BEARING MUCH FRUIT

John 15:4,8,16 “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,”. “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so prove to be My disciples.” “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear much fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.”

We are likely familiar with the analogy of how fruit is produced through the life that flows through the vine. If you cut off the branches of the vine where the fruit grows, obviously there will be no fruit. We may try to produce fruit in our lives through our own effort, only to find that the fruit does not remain. Only as we abide in Him can we bear fruit. The point of todays blog is that it is God’s desire and God’s plan that we bear much fruit. We are not to live a stagnant life, or a life void of good and lasting fruit. God lives in us and it is His life flowing within us that manifest in good fruit. This abiding in Christ is an amazing reality that has far reaching consequences. Because one is saved, it does not necessarily mean that he or she is abiding in Christ. Abiding is not a feeling or belief. The idea of abiding is that of living with, or remaining or staying with. Abiding with Christ is staying or walking in who He is in us and who we are in Him; we abide in Him because we know that true life comes only from Him. It’s not about us living our lives, but about Him living His life in us. We are all unique and we are different, but even so, Christ expresses His life in us through our own personalities. Abiding does not take a lot if energy; we receive from Him life that produces fruit. Part of abiding is learning of Him through reading and meditating on His word, by praying to Him, and by choosing to walk in His ways. It is a red letter day for us, a major happening, when we discover in our innermost being that satisfying, abundant life, comes only from Christ in us. I said that abiding does not take a lot of energy; but abiding results in us being expressions of the fruit that He produces in us; we are to be walking talking expressions of the life of Christ in us.

Galatians 5:22-23 “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.”

Blessings, Buddy

MORE THAN WE CAN BEAR

11/29/2023

November 29, 2023 MORE THAN WE CAN BEAR

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened exceedingly, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,”

I have often heard it said that God will not put more on us than we can bear, and they use 1 Corinthians 10:13 to support their view. That scripture tells us that God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear; it’s about us resisting sin. In the verses above, Paul said that they ‘despaired even of life’ and that they had the ‘sentence of death within them.’ In their own strength, they could not bear the afflictions they were facing. God allowed great afflictions, but He did so for a purpose. The purpose, or the message that came through the afflictions was that Paul and his co-laborers could not trust in themselves. That might sound rather simplistic, but that is a big deal-for all of us. Have we learned not to trust in ourselves? Trials and afflictions have a way of revealing where our trust is and they reveal what’s on the inside of us. If God does not deliver us from great afflictions, there is no hope for us. When we feel there is no way out of the trials and afflictions we face, then we must cry out to God, confessing we can not deliver ourselves, and trust Him to deliver us. That is our hope; that it is God who delivers. He may not deliver us the way we want Him too, but He does deliver in a perfect way. So, when trials come, let us learn whatever God wants us to learn in the trial, and let us put our hope in Him who delivers, even while we are despairing of life. Even though one may be physically alive, he or she may feel that they are as good as dead-but remember that God raises the spirituality dead and those who have no hope. Let us learn the lesson; in the good times and in the difficult times, let us set our hope on Him, and not trust in ourselves.

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Blessings, Buddy

A DAY IS COMING

11/27/2023

November 27, 2023 A DAY IS COMING

Romans 2:4-8 “Or do you not think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.”

If there has ever been a sober warning, it’s in the passage above. And, do not overlook the fact that the book of Romans was written to believers. (I do think the warnings of this passage also applies to non believers as well.) Sometimes, we as believers need a wake-up call; to be reminded of what lies ahead for every man and woman. Just because we are a believer does not automatically mean that there are no consequences for how we live. You might read these verses and feel that they are ‘fear’ verses, and thus skip over them-or at least not take what they say to heart. The fact that God will render every man according to his or her deeds can be good news, or can be bad news, depending on if the deeds done or good deeds or selfish deeds. We must not allow ourselves to get to a point where we think there is no accountability for how we live. As said recently, we do not have to fear God as being afraid of God; but there is a healthy fear of God that is beneficial for us. God’s kindness and forbearance should lead man to repentance; but if one does not repent, he is stubborn, rejecting God. By being stubborn and unrepentant, one is storing up wrath in the day of wrath and revelation-that is scary! The good news is that we do not have to be storing up wrath, but can be storing up eternal blessings; and we do so by doing deeds that honor God and reflect His goodness. Our motivation for doing good is not to earn His love and acceptance, but we do good because He is a good God. The two words that we must not overlook in this passage are stubbornness and selfishness. Let us not resist what God is saying to us through His word and through His Spirit, but be quick to respond to Him as we should. We must continually be on guard against being selfish-and that is the big battle we fight continually. However, when we live out of our new hearts, when we walk by the Spirit, we will not be stubborn or selfish, but will be about good deeds. Ponder this: what are we storing up for ourselves for the day when God renders to every man according to his deeds?
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Blessings, Buddy

GOD’S LOVE POURED OUT

11/25/2023

November 25, 2023 GOD’S LOVE POURED OUT

Romans 5:3-5 “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has beeb poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Human love has some merit, but it falls far short when compared to the love of God. Even though a believer may mentally believe that God loves them, it’s possible for believers not to experience the love of God being poured out into their hearts. Not knowing that the love of God has been poured out into our hearts results in us failing to love as He loves. Being frustrated, impatient, angry, and selfish are signs that we are not living and responding out of the love of God that has been poured out into our hearts; we know what love we are living out of by how we respond to situations and circumstances. To live by the love of God in us is indeed supernatural. At times we have things that happen that are a inconvenience or interruption to our plans; however, we can see such times as opportunities to be expressions of the love of God. I am not saying that living out of the love of God means a life free of trying circumstances and that life is always rosy. I am saying that we can filter all things through the love of God that is alive in our hearts. Here’s the catch: it takes more than mental agreement that God has poured out His love into our hearts; the Holy Spirit must reveal this truth to us. It takes revelation, but it can begin with our belief-belief that God has poured out His love into our hearts and then finding ways to express this love. And, simply ask God to open your the eyes of your heart to see that His love is in you. His love can be what guides you, what determines your perspectives and your responses to all situations. The good news is that it is God’s plans and His desires for every believer to know and to experience His supernatural love for them and for those they relate to in this life. Because this is His desire for us, He will be glad to reveal this truth to us when we ask. So, let us not live out of mere human love; let us live out of the amazing, overcoming, all powerful love of God that resides in us. Even in tribulations and difficulties, in unpleasant circumstances, in times when our plans are not going as we thought, we can respond just as Jesus responds-knowing that all things are working for good to those who love Him.

1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.”

Blessings, Buddy

LIVING FOR HIM

11/22/2023

November 22, 2023 LIVING FOR HIM

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
Romans 14:8 “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

The strongest pull of our flesh is for us to live for ourselves; to live according to our on likes and dislikes and according to our own understanding. We may even try to work God into our schedule and our plans. These verses are a serious reminder that Christ died for us AND that we have died. Paul addresses this in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” A lot could be said about what it means to die to ourselves and just what that looks like. It is possible for a believer to revert back to living for himself, but that is certainly not God’s plan. The picture of baptism is one dying and then being raised to new life. Paul said it is the love of Christ that controlled him-and should control all believers. Think about it: Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth and died a cruel death so that you and I could be forgiven of our sins and be restored to our Heavenly Father! Knowing what great price was paid for our salvation, how could we not live for the One who died for us. It is a red-letter day for us when we come to know in the deepest part of our being that Christ died FOR US. Not only did He die for us, He also came to live in us. Colossians 3:3 tells us “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” To live for Christ is a heart issue; what are our overarching desires in life-what are we pursuing-and what motivates us. Back to dying to ourselves: accepting Christ as our Savior means we are turning from, or dying to our ways and receiving Him as our life; we died. It is God’s plan that we live our life in Him as He lives His life in us. However, we have the choice of walking according to the Spirt, or we can choose to walk according to our flesh-who we use to be. So, it is ever so important for the love of Christ to control us and to live for Him who died and rose again for us. Living for Him means that it is my desire to live a life that honors Him and is pleasing to Him.

Colossians 3:23-24 “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the.”

Blessings, Buddy

PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION

11/20/2023

November 20, 2023 PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION

Hebrews 1:14-2:3a “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? For this reason we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the word spoken through the angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”

If you have ever been fishing in a boat with no anchors out, you know how easy it is to drift and not even realize you are drifting. The same is true spiritually; it’s easy to drift; but the consequences are much greater for spiritually drifting than drifting in a boat while fishing. God’s salvation for man is a big deal; He does not take lightly the salvation of His people. God has worked throughout the history of man, revealing Himself and working His purposes out for mankind. The Old Testament reveals how God was at work in the ones He had chosen to be His people and it reveals His plans for His salvation for all who would come to trust in Him. As we read in the verse above, and from other scriptures, God sent out ‘ministering spirits’ (angels) to render service to those who would inherit salvation. In the New Testament we learn about Jesus coming and giving His life in order that man could be saved. In other words, God has been and is active in His plan of salvation for man. When we look at all that God has done and is doing that sinful man might be saved, how could we ever drift away from so great a salvation? Those that did drift away received a ‘just recompense.’ We do not have to live in fear as we know it; but there is a healthy fear of God that we should have; and it is a healthy fear to fear drifting from God. Our flesh would have us turn from God-to drift, and pursue our own way; however, we do not have to yield to the flesh; we must be alert to the possibility of our drifting. So, we must pay closer attention to the gospel! We pay closer attention by continually renewing our mind in the word of God; by meditating on the scriptures; by being quick to obey the word and being quick to follow the leading of the Spirit; and by worship and prayer. We must never take our salvation lightly, thinking it does no matter so much what we do and that God’s grace is all that matters; that would be abusing the grace of God. As believers, we have been forgiven; however we are not exempt from ‘just recompense’ if we drift from the gospel and the ways of God. Let us live out of our new hearts and enjoy fellowship with our Heavenly Father, always being conscious of the great things He has done on our behalf.

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Blessings, Buddy

BEARING MUCH FRUIT

11/18/2023

November 18, 2023 BEARING MUCH FRUIT

John 15:4,8,16 “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,”. “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so prove to be My disciples.” “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear much fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.”

We are likely familiar with the analogy of how fruit is produced through the life that flows through the vine. If you cut off the branches of the vine where the fruit grows, obviously there will be no fruit. We may try to produce fruit in our lives through our one effort, only to find that the fruit does not remain. Only as we abide in Him can we bear fruit. The point of todays blog is that it is God’s desire and God’s plan that we bear much fruit. We are not to live a stagnant life, or a life void of good and lasting fruit. God lives in us and it is His life flowing within us that manifest in good fruit. This abiding in Christ is an amazing reality that has far reaching consequences. Because one is saved, it does not necessarily mean that he or she is abiding in Christ. Abiding is not a feeling or belief. The idea of abiding is that of living with, or remaining or staying with. Abiding with Christ is staying or walking in who He is in us and who we are in Him; we abide in Him because we know that true life comes only from Him. It’s not about us living our lives, but about Him living His life in us. We are all unique and we are different, but even so, Christ expresses His life in us through our own personalities. Abiding does not take a lot if energy; we receive from Him life that produces fruit. Part of abiding is learning of Him through reading and meditating on His word, by praying to Him, and by choosing to walk in His ways. It is a red letter day for us, a major happening, when we discover in our innermost being that satisfying, abundant life, comes only from Christ in us. I said that abiding does not take a lot of energy; but abiding results in us being expressions of the fruit that He produces in us; we are to be walking talking expressions of the life of Christ in us.

Galatians 5:22-23 “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.”

Blessings, Buddy

THE POWER OF WORDS

11/16/2023

November 16, 2023 THE POWER OF WORDS

We hear a lot about the power of the tongue. And it’s true; there is much power in the words we speak. Our words can build up or tear down and can wound. Our words express what is on the inside. You cannot overestimate the power and influence of the words we let proceed from our lips. Below are some scriptures that deal with the power of words and the importance of having dominion over our tongue.
1 Peter 3:10 “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.”
Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Proverbs 15:4 “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”
Matthew 15:11 “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Proverbs 21:23 “Those who guard their mouths and their tongue keep themselves from calamity.”
Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Proverbs 12:18-19, 16:24 “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
We have the choice and the power to choose the words we speak. James compares the tongue to a rudder that directs a large ship. Because our words flow out of our hearts-our spirits, it is crucial that we walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We need to know in the deepest part of our being that God has made us new and has put a new heart and new spirit within us; as we walk in our new identity, our words will be words that build up and bring life. The good news is that we do not have to continually be trying our best to speak the right words. As we know our true identity and as we live out of our new heart, the words we speak will be words of life, encouragement, and edification.

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Blessings, Buddy