Blog Posts - TheNewU

GRATITUDE

4/23/2025

April 23, 2025 GRATITUDE

Colossians 2:6-7 “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all of my heart.”

Having a grateful heart makes all the difference in living life. Viewing and filtering the events of life through a grateful mindset is an antidote for being bitter, resentful, selfish, and ungrateful. No one enjoys the company of an ungrateful person. True gratitude comes from knowing the love of God and knowing that He is a good God and that He is working all things for good if we love Him and are walking in His ways. We must be ‘firmly rooted’ and continue in being ‘built up in Him’ so that we are ‘established in the faith.’ There is a correlation in being grateful and knowing and experiencing God. When we understand that the blessings God bestows on us are because of His grace and not because of what we do, we are grateful. One might say that they have certain possessions or blessings because they work hard for them; but it is is God who gives the power and health to work. It is true that all good things come from our Father above. James 1:17. It’s easy to have a grateful spirit when all is well; but even in difficult times we can have a grateful spirit for what God is doing in the process and can be thankful that He will not forsake us, but will comfort us and give us the strength to endure. Let us be grateful; God loves us and has restored us to Himself and He is our provider, our protector and He is our life.

Psalm 106:1, 107:21 “Praise the Lord, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind.”

Blessings, Buddy

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

4/20/2025

April 20, 2025 DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

1 John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

We could never over-estimate the power and the impact of Jesus being resurrected from the dead. Think about it: Jesus, who is dead and buried, begins to breathe again-life has come back to a corpse. The good news of the resurrection has been proclaimed throughout the world for centuries; His resurrection changed everything! The all important question for every individual is “Do you believe this?” Jesus does not say that if we do certain things, if we live a moral life, or if make sacrifices, we will live. He simply says that if one believes in Him, though they die, he will live. Believing in Jesus as the Son of God who died for us that our sins might be forgiven shall never die. That is awesome! Sure, we will die physically at some point, but the real us-our spirits-will never die. Life is much bigger than living seventy-or ever how many-years on this earth; those who believe in Him are destined to live forever with Him. The word ‘believe’ is the crucial word; we act on what we believe. To say we believe in Jesus and yet have no desire to know Him or to follow Him, is suspect. Again, believing in Jesus is what is required to live forever with Him. We may stumble, we may fall, we may at times have doubt; yet truly believing in Jesus and accepting Him as our Savior, insures our relationship with Him. The resurrection of Jesus is THE hope-giver; His resurrection is the ultimate good news for all who believe in Him. No longer do we have to live in fear and uncertainty; no longer is life limited to life on this earth; and no longer or we held captive to the enemy of our souls. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so are we raised from the dead (the old self); and just as Jesus received new life, we also receive new life. Death has been defeated! Hallelujah! Jesus rose victorious over the grave. Let us spend a life of celebrating Easter.
Romans 6:4-5 “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.”
Blessings, Buddy

IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH

4/17/2025

April 17, 2025 IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH

Romans 6:5-7, 11-13 “For if we have become united in Him in the likeness of His death, certain we shall be also in the likeness of HIs resurrection, knowing that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” “Even so consider yourselves to be 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 lust, 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.”

Jesus laid His life down; He came to earth and gave His life that we might be reconciled to God and delivered from the power of sin. The major battle, the major issue, that each believer must deal with is being and living in the likeness of the death of Jesus. Death precedes life. As believers, we cannot escape the call to die to ourselves. When one is baptized as a new believer, knowing it or not, it is a picture of dying to self as the water represents a grave, and then. being raised up out of the water represents being raised from the dead. We must get it through ‘our thick skulls,’ and into our spirits that our old self was crucified with Jesus-even thought we were not born physically for centuries after Jesus was crucified. How we ‘consider’ ourselves is critical and it determines how we live as believers. We are instructed to “consider ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Certainly we cannot misunderstand the instruction to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies but to be dead to sin. It is to our own hurt and it robs us of life to not consider ourselves alive to God; many believers consider themselves saved, but at the same time consider themselves to be sinners-and that is contrary to the scriptures. I’m not saying we never sin, but when we sin, it is because we choose to sin-we do not have to sin; we have been set free from the power of sin. Again, let us consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. The passage above presents awesome truths; truths that reveal what mighty works Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection on our behalf. He conquered the sin issue and has made us alive in Him. Instead of focusing on sin, let us focus on being alive in Him, freed from the power of sin. For us not to live in this truth surely grieves the heart of God. The lie of our enemy is that we are still sinners subject to the power of sin. God says we can live as those alive from the dead. Dying to ourselves is ongoing; daily, hourly we present ourselves to God, desiring to please Him in all we do. (1 John 2:1 says “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Farther, Jesus Christ the righteous.”) Note the word ‘if’.

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

LIVING LETTERS

4/14/2025

April 15, 2025 LIVING LETTERS

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirt of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.”

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Letters are messages. To think of our life as being a living letter that is read by all certainly should have great influence on how we live. This begs the question “What is the message of my letter?” We cannot fabricate or muster up a life style that is truly godly. Romans 5:5 tells us that God has poured out His Love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit; and our letter flows out of His love in us. The letter of our life is written in our hearts; and this letter is reflected in the life we live. It is God’s plan and desire that we be a living letter of Christ! How awesome is that! To realize that the very life we live can be a picture of Christ is the greatest motivation we could ever have to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. The word of God is not a book of good suggestions; it is a book that reveals the ways and the character of God, our Heavenly Father. The word of God cannot be understood apart from the help of the Holy Spirt who guides us into all truth. When the eyes of our hearts are opened to all that God has said and done, it becomes our desire to live as unto Him. God’s life in us is all encompassing; it affects every aspect of our lives-our thoughts, our motives, our words and our deeds. Our focus is not to be on our life but on the life of Christ in us. When we experience His life in us, we will discover a fulfillment and a sense of completeness that comes only from Him. Let us take to heart the appeal Paul makes in the above verse and present our bodies as a living sacrifice and let our life be a letter that reflects the goodness of God.

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Blessings, Buddy

RESURRECTION

4/12/2025

April 12, 2025 RESURRECTION

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Romans 6:4, 8:11 “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your moral bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

We often hear about the resurrection of Jesus, especially during the Easer season. Because we hear so much about it, it’s possible that we loose the impact of Jesus being raised from the dead. Certainly the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus are the two greatest events of all of human history. As awesome as the birth of Jesus was, it would be to no avail if He had not been raised form the dead. When the deceased body of Jesus began to breath again, when His heart began to beat again, when He walked out of the tomb, death and sin were defeated-once for all! Death seems like such a powerful force-so final; BUT Jesus overcame death; death for the believer no longer rules. Jesus walking out of the tomb that early morning ushered in a new day-a day that changed everything. The resurrection of Jesus meant that the sin issue was dealt with for all who would trust Him as Savior; it meant that those who believed in Him would be saved for all eternity; it meant that believers could walk in newness of life; that those who put their faith in Jesus could experience joy and have a hope for the future. Just as Jesus died and was buried, we too are to die to ourselves and be buried with Him and then raised to new life; that is what water baptism symbolizes. The amazing promise is that those who believe in Him will never die-even though their natural body dies. The resurrection is all about life, forgiveness, newness, hope, and being made a part of the family of God. Whatever trials we may be facing at the present, let us be focused on the fact that Jesus overcame death and sin, and now we can share in His resurrection and experience His life in us.

Matthew 28:6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”

Blessings, Buddy

LIVING AND ACTIVE

4/9/2025

April 9, 2025 LIVING AND ACTIVE

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

The word of God is not just a book about God; His word is ‘living, and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.’ That alone should cause us to handle His word with the upmost respect, and even with a healthy fear. There is nothing that is hidden form His word; His word even distinguishes between joints and marrow and is able to judge the thought and intentions of our hearts! Everyone and everything is open and laid bare before Him; such power gives us a sense of awe and even a certain fear-nothing we have ever done or ever will do or our every thought and intention is known by God. That fear can be a be harmful or be a healthy fear; it is good for us to have deep within us a strong desire not to ignore or miss God; note the phrase in the passage above ‘with whom we have to do.’ Do not misunderstand; remember that God is for us; He is not out to punish us or to make life miserable for us. Reading and studying the word of God is absolutely necessary if we are to live as God intended-and the life He intends for us to live is far better than any other life. God sees every aspect of our lives-our actions, our thoughts, the intentions and motives of our hearts, and our desires. Because He loves us, He has given His word, and His word is a light for our path-it instructs us for life-it gives us wisdom-it equips us and enables us to be victorious-it encourages us-it corrects us-it changes us from the inside out-it shows us what is true and right-and His word matures us and transforms us into the image of Christ. Let us be conscious of the fact that the Creator God has given us a book; and in this book He reveals Himself to us and He reveals how we are to live life according to His ways-to life abundant. The good news is that it is not solely up to us to learn of His word; He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us and enable us to understand His word. God is about transforming His followers into the image of Christ, and His word is a vital part of that process.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Blessings, Buddy

WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE

4/6/2025

April 7, 2025 WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
Ephesians 1;3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him…”
1 John 3:1 “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God: and such we are.”
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”

How we view ourselves and how we define who we are has major implications for us; our identity is ever so important; our thoughts, our actions, our responses, and our motives flow out of our identity. As believers, we have the opportunity to discover our true identity as sons and daughters of God; and the identity we have in Him differs greatly from identity that is based on anything other than God. Perhaps the most rewarding thing we can do in life is to be continually learning about who God says we are; and not only learning, but also living out of our identity. The issue of identity is not theory; it is real and it is to be experienced and expressed in the nitty gritty of life. We could never discover our true identity on our own; we have the Holy Spirit who opens our hearts and minds to the truth we find in the word of God; and His word has a lot to say about who we are. Just to name a few facets of our identity: we are created in the image of God; He has cleansed us and forgiven us of all sin; we have been adopted into His family; we have a wisdom that comes from God; we have been filled with the love of God; we have an inheritance that will not fade away; we have the Holy Spirit living in us and He leads us, comforts us, and instructs us in the things of the Lord; we have been given every spiritual blessing; He has made us new; in Him we overcome….and the list goes on. The point is that we have a new identity, we are who God says we are; let us not live according to our emotions or according to the lies of our enemy. We have all had hurts and disappointments in life, but those things do not define who we are. Yes! We can live in this fallen world with an identity of who God says we are, being light and being expressions of our Heavenly Father.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Blessings, Buddy

SONS OF LIGHT

4/5/2025

April 5, 2025 SONS OF LIGHT

1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you all are sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.”

The word of God is explicit in it’s foretelling of things to come. We live in a fallen world that is in darkness; everywhere there is brokenness, strife, wars, divisions, discontentment, pride, fear, lawlessness-and the list goes on. Also, there are events coming that will shock the world; Jesus is coming back and the events surrounding His return will turn everything upside down-it defies our imagination. In light of the current state of the world and in light of the events coming to this world, what sort of people are we to be is the question. Here is the good news for those who know Jesus as Savior. We have been transferred to the kingdom of light-the kingdom of God. Jesus did not say that we ‘should’ be light, He says we ‘are’ light. Other scriptures tell us not to hide our light, but to let it shine that others may glorify our Father in heaven. Matthew 5:15-16. God does not leave us in the dark concerning current events nor the events yet to take place. For those who do not know Jesus, His return will be total devastation for them; because they are in the darkness, His returning will overtake them like a thief-suddenly and unexpected; and it will be to late for them to turn to Christ. Back to us; let us walk in the light day by day; let us be about living as those who belong to Jesus. Let us lay aside any thoughts, motives, desires, and actions that are not pleasing to the Lord. Let us be ‘sober and alert.’ It is an amazing opportunity for us to let our light shine in a world that is in total darkness; many are searching for the ‘light;’ many are desperate and without hope. It’s like someone in a totally dark house trying to find a particular item-what they need is light-even the light of a match. We do not need to fear the present or the things yet to come, because our Father is ruling and reigning, and He has no competition and His rule is absolute.
John 9:5 “Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
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

BACK TO THE BASICS

4/3/2025

April 3, 2025 BACK TO THE BASICS

Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Psalm 106:1 “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

If not careful, in our busyness, we can forget or move away form the basics or the foundation of life. I was recently listening to a song, and was reminded of the basic truth we need to harbor in our hearts and minds. It goes like this: “Thank you Lord for your blessings on me. There’s a roof above me. I’ve a good place to sleep. There’s food on my table and shoes on my feet. You gave me your love Lord and a fine family. Thank you Lord for your blessings on me.” Having a grateful heart and being content goes a long way in having peace in life. It’s not necessarily a sin to pursue something or to have a desire to improve our surroundings, but if of not very alert, we move from contentment and being grateful. The one with little can and be just as happy as the one with much. Living in simplicity eliminates a lot of hassle in life. What we have or do not have is not the main issue; the issue is our dependence on God and our being thankful for all that He does. The bedrock of being thankful is knowing that it is God who blesses and who meets our needs because He loves us. When we are aware of the love of God, we are thankful. We need to be conscious of the fact that we are alive today because of the grace of God; we cannot rightfully take credit for anything that we think ‘we’ have accomplished. It’s just simply a blessing to stop and acknowledge all the ways God blesses us-and that is the greatest thing we can do. Whether we live in a big house or a small house or whether our income is great or not not so great or whether our health is great or not, we have every reason to continually be thanking God for His blessings.
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Blessings, Buddy

WALKING WORTHY

3/31/2025

March 31, 2025 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 humility to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

As pastor Phillip Miller pointed out, the word ‘worthy’ comes from the ancient market place involving scales. If a customer wanted to buy five pounds of grain, the merchant would put a five pound weight on one side of the scale and then begin to pour in the grain on the other side of the scale until the scales became balanced. When the scales were in balance, the grain was considered ‘worthy’ of the price being paid. In the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul, in a masterful way reveals the awesome and wonderful works that Christ does in the believer and what it means to be in Christ and for Christ to be in us. All that God does in the life of the believer is done only because Christ was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins; in Christ we have been cleansed and are now a people on which God pours out His grace. In these three chapters we find that God has chosen us, has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, has redeemed and forgiven us, has given us an inheritance, that He is rich in mercy, that He has made us alive and has seated us with Him in heavenly places, we are His workmanship created for good works, we have been brought near to Christ, we are fellow citizens with the saints-just to name a few things that God has done! God has adopted us as His children and is in the process of transforming us into His image; He has and is calling us to be like Him. In light of all that God has done on our behalf, certainly we should walk worthy of our calling. Walking worthy touches every aspect of our lives; our actions, our thought life, our motives, our attitudes, our responses-everything. Being a part of the body of Christ brings with it certain responsibilities. We are called to walk in humility, gentleness, patience and love as we relate to other believers in the body-that is part of walking worthy. God has made us a new people who have been called to His purposes-and that is a high and wonderful calling. Let us not take our calling lightly; let it be paramount to walk according to our calling.
Ephesians 4:15-16 “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Blessings, Buddy