The Joy of a New Beginning – a Life of Integrity – Purity 1751
Purity 1751 09/02/2025 Purity 1751 Audio Podcast
Purity 1751 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the sun shining the “sign of the cross” over Wait Road while my canine pal Harley keeps looking forward comes to us from yours truly as I captured this mesmerizing sight while bring up the rear on crutches this past Saturday.
Well, It’s Tuesday, and we are on the other side of Labor Day folks, and for many it is “back to life, back to reality” as the extended holiday weekend has come to an end and for others the “back to school season” is upon us teachers, like my wife, TammyLyn, and administrators will be getting the classrooms ready for the final year of the class of 2026 as they will be back at their studies in a day or two.
Lately, I have been reflecting on this wonderful time of the year and how no matter how old I get I can’t help but feel the “joy of a new beginning” that happens with the post Labor Day shift – the school years new, the NFL season is new, and Autumn is the air (and officially) comes in less than three weeks.
Sure I mourn and grieve over the loss of another summer, this year perhaps more than most, but I guess I am not much of a “griever” when it comes to the seasons because whatever melancholy feelings I may have about the things that are slipping away get chased away about the thrill of the present moment and the anticipation of things to come.
Yesterday, instead of running out on my own to try to craft one more memory to celebrate the summer, I looked ahead to the rest of the year and took steps to prepare for the “next things” that I believe that the Lord is leading me to do. I launched an email campaign to promote the Renovare Book Club Online Discussion Group that I lead, beginning in October, and I am thrilled to announce that I will definitely be doing that because an old friend and brother in Christ, immediately responded and signed up!
Sometimes you step out in faith without being completely sure whether that its “the Lord’s will” for you, but when someone responds, you realize that it was – at least for one other person and me – it was and is the will of God. So, I look forward to this opportunity to grow through the books that we will read and the monthly check-ins we will have.
As I was fully enthralled with the potential of that venture and not even fully realizing that it was going to shortly be a “done deal”, I also decided to prepare for the other “next” thing that I believe the Lord is leading me to do: The Grace Course. As the Lord has arranged, I have just enough time at the end of this year to spend eight weeks, from November 4th to December 23rd, to do “Grace for the Holidays” again and yesterday I took steps to make was a “maybe” into something that could be certain.
I have already two people express interest in doing the Grace Course after I complete the Freedom in Christ Course that is just under way, and so I made arrangements to be able to do that. I updated MT4Christ.com’s group coaching event page to announce what will be the last course of 2025 and I will promote it a little further down the road, but I guess that with yesterday’s update – registration is now open, for those who hear this message and want to sign up.
So, I am excited about what’s going on right now and I am looking forward to the things that will come. If we want joy, we have to pursue it and one way we can find it is to do the things that bring us joy. The thing that brings me joy is following the Lord and encouraging others to experience the joy of living good and holy lives.
Speaking of holy lives, the In Touch with Dr. Chrarle’s Stanley devotion for today is about living a life of integrity and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us all to follow the Lord and to pursue the joy that comes from following His way. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“A Life of Integrity
To pursue a life of integrity, believers need to follow the Lord and spend time in His Word.
Psalms 15:1-5
In his psalms, King David often describes virtues that believers are to cultivate. God wants us to increasingly pursue truthfulness, righteousness, and honesty.
To develop and maintain a spirit of integrity, we need to …
- Formulate our beliefs on the basis of Scripture. Our priorities should flow from our position as God’s children (2 Corinthians 6:18). We must align our thinking with His Word.
- Submit to Christ’s lordship. Jesus commands us to deny ourselves and follow Him (Mark 8:34). Wholehearted commitment to Him will help us resist temptation and pursue righteousness.
- Build relationships with individuals who value godly living. The influence of mature Christians strengthens us in our dedication and obedience to the Lord.
- Acknowledge our mistakes. Everyone misses the mark at times. As believers, we are to confess any known sin to God (1 John 1:9) and turn away from the wrong behavior. Asking forgiveness from others may also be necessary.
God has sent His Holy Spirit to teach us how to pursue righteousness. Ask Him to help you become more like the person described in Psalm 15” – Charles Stanley
Amen. In the David Jeremiah devotion for today, the message concluded with the direction to renew our faith in God when difficult things happen, to trust that God will reveal His reasons in time.
A good message for sure, but I shared Stanley’s message this morning because his points describe “how we can do that”.
How do we renew our faith?
By surrendering to God and choosing to follow His righteous path that will cause us to act and become people of integrity – the pathway that will demonstrate to ourselves and to the world that we are actual authentic Christians!
In this world of sinful selfishness, it’s a rare breed for sure but that doesn’t mean that it is a pathway only intended for “super saints” or people with “the anointing”.
The way we become “Spirit-filled” believers is by making the choice to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives – to choose to walk in the Spirit.
And for every step we take in the Lord’s direction, then we become blessed, in the process of trying to live with and for God. A walk is progressive. We become better walkers as we go but even though we may stumble at times we are always making progress when we decide to pursue the Lord’s will for our lives.
So, start walking by following Stanley’s advice.
- Align your thinking to His word. When your thoughts are contrary to what God says: Think again and remind yourself that God’s word is truth and we are to come into alignment with it, rather than trying to make It work according to our reasoning.
- Submit to Christ’s Lordship. What Jesus says goes, so turn from sin, bitterness, anger, or depression and walk in a manner worthy of our savior.
- Build godly relationships. Get engaged with the body of Christ – receive from those who can give and give to those who need to receive. Don’t go it alone anymore.
- Acknowledge your mistakes. Be open and honest about your failings. Let the light of confession and transparency illuminate your path. No shadows can overtake you when you stay in the light of truth so throw yourself under the bus as often as you wander so you will stop believing the lie that “you can have secrets”.
And do all of the above in the context of grace – in the bounds of your loving relationship with God – where it is okay to make mistakes, but where it is even better when you don’t.
Joy, peace, and love find us on this pathway only when we know God’s love and allow it to fuel our fire.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Peace – Rest.
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Today’s verses fall under the ninth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Peace – Rest.
9. Peace is the fruit of the Spirit.
Today’s Bible verses remind us that it is God, through the Holy Spirit, who produces the things that produce an abundant life of faith.
As disciples, we follow our teacher and are blessed when we spend time in His presence and benefit from the consequences of applying His lessons to our lives. When we partner with God and lean on His wisdom, He guides us into the path of righteousness and purpose that He wants us to experience.
When we walk by faith, He blesses us with joy, peace, love, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We walk the walk, but He produces the fruit. So, remember to trust the Lord and to always step out in faith to experience the life that God has for you.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 250
At that time they will begin to call to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
Luke 23:30
Echoing Hosea 10:8 and predicting Revelation 6:16, Jesus looked ahead to the time when the Roman armies would devastate Palestine and ultimately destroy Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. He warned those women who were lamenting that their tears were misdirected—they ought to be weeping for themselves and for their children (v. 28). It was a confused crowd that gathered on that day to witness an awful deed which would have repercussions that have reverberated down through all of history. Totally unaware of what was happening, they continued their customary weeping and wailing. The expression He co-opted from Hosea was as strong as such expressions come. It pictures a people so devastated that they want death at any cost! Obviously, they could not see the future. Bad decisions may lead to disaster. Think first![1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 258.
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