Causing Our Own Difficulties and God’s Call to Repentance – Purity 1800
Purity 1800 10/29/2025 Purity 1800 Audio Podcast
Purity 1800 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a darkened valley road and brightly sunlit Adirondack Mountain view comes to us from yours truly as I captured this majestic mountain scene while walking along Frontier Town Rd in North Hudson NY on Saturday, October 25th.
Well it’s Wednesday and I share today’s photo as a visual representation of our arrival to the last midweek summit of October, happy hump day, and to encourage us all to surrender to God and to let Him help us to move those mountains in our lives that are getting in the way of all that God wants us to receive. Many times, those mountains are of our own making but in order to throw them into the sea we need God’s help.
Since my injury work in August I have put on 20lbs of extra me and even though I am rejoicing this morning because I have 2 days food plan victory, I realized this morning that I have got to surrender to God and ask Him to help me to overcome what has been a progressively bad cycle of temptation, compromise, and sin. The war of against the flesh is not for the faint of heart because it requires a constant diligence and discipline to stay the course and it is very unforgiving when we decided to “cheat” or take a day off. Even though I am well versed in the dangers of giving into temptation with periodic compromises, it didn’t stop me from losing awareness and falling prey to negative thinking and fleshly attempts to comfort myself. When you allow your self-control to slip, it tends to get worse before it gets better, so today I stepped on the scale to face the music of my periodic cheat weekends and the fact that I went almost seven days without logging my food intake. The results were than I thought they would be and now I am seriously committed to continuing my repentance and have vowed to stay the course through out the upcoming Halloween weekend to march into November with hope.
My unrighteous fleshly behavior has caused me difficulties. I have been my own worst enemy and now I have to turn from my ways to the ways of the Lord that lead to freedom. Knowing our behavior is the root of our problem is the realization that can help us to surrender to the Lord and to repent.
Speaking of repentance, Monday’s In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion addresses that call on our lives and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage those of us who have gone astray to go back to the Father to be restored. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“God’s Call to Repentance
When we repent, God responds with compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance.
Luke 15:11-24
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger brother asked for his inheritance early so he might live as he chose. Once the father gave it to him, the young man made many unwise choices. What happened next illustrates the principles of godly repentance.
After squandering all of his money, the wayward son found work feeding pigs. One day he came to his senses and recognized his terrible plight. His repentance began with an awareness of his wrong choices and the fact that his situation was due to them.
Knowing that his difficulties came from unrighteous behavior, the prodigal grieved over his mistakes and acknowledged his sin (Luke 15:18). He declared he was no longer worthy to be considered his father’s son. His repentance was made complete when he turned away from his old ways and returned to his father. The Lord likewise calls us to repent and return to Him.
What a welcome the wayward young man received! Upon seeing his son, the father was filled with compassion and ran to embrace him. Forgiveness and acceptance were extended—blessings that God also freely offers to whoever asks Him.
The prodigal son did not clean himself up before returning home. He simply left his old life, turned toward home, and trusted in his father’s mercy. And so can we.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. Knowing that our difficulties come from our unrighteous behavior isn’t always a given. We often have to repeat the same mistakes of doing things our way, over and over again, before we come to the realization that our pride and selfish desires have led us down to a dead end.
Often this realization is given to us by God as the means to draw us into His kingdom. We see our sin for what it is and put our faith in Jesus to receive His forgiveness and the hope of a new eternal life.
Unfortunately, many Christians don’t go much further than that. Many put their faith in Jesus but continue to just go their own way, with Jesus as the savior and forgiver of their souls but not as the Lord and master of their lives. These Christians “know” their sinful and worldly ways are wrong but either feel powerless to change or decide that they can’t change. So, they have a limited relationship with the Lord and the lack of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives is evident.
But this should not be. Christ died for our sins to give us new life, not to just perpetually forgive us. God wants us to be free completely, not to be trapped in an endless cycle of sin & confession.
The prodigal saw his sin and surrendered to the idea of being a slave to His Father. But the Father only required him to come back home to be restored to sonship.
And that’s what God wants for us, He wants us to surrender our will to His wisdom and to come home to be restored.
When we recognize that our unrighteousness is causing our pain, we have to stop hurting ourselves and receive the healing that comes from living with the Father.
So don’t stop short by “just believing”, let the Holy Spirit guide you into repentance and a righteous life where you live close to God and benefit from His wisdom, grace, presence, and love. Repent for the kingdom of God is here and the Father is calling you to come deeper into His home.
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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 Persecution.
1 John 3:12–14 (ESV) We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
Today’s verses are the second of two passages of scripture that falls under the second point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Persecution.
2. Cain persecuted his brother Abel because his own works were evil, while Abel’s were righteous.
Today’s Bible verses encourage us to not follow the example of Cain, whose disobedience toward God culminated in the murder of His brother, Abel. Using Cain and Abel’s story, the apostle John tells us that we shouldn’t be surprised when the world hates us because our coming into the light of God’s love will make those who are separated from God to see the darkness of their ways. Cain wasn’t impacted by Abel’s righteous worship and deeds and we shouldn’t expect that the world will repent just because we have put our faith in Jesus.
Although we may feel the injustice of being persecuted for our faith, the Lord calls us to love one another in hopes that our love will touch the hearts of those who desperately need it. So be aware of the dangers around you but be bold with the love that you give because the love of God has set us free and God’s Spirit can work through us to save the lost.
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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 299
He said, “How could I unless somebody guides me?” – Acts 8:31
The Ethiopian eunuch, returning to Egypt from Jerusalem, was reading Isaiah 53. Guided by the Spirit, Philip joined him and explained what he hadn’t understood—that Isaiah foretold Christ’s death for sinners. The eunuch believed and wanted to be baptized on the spot when they came to some water. Philip agreed, and baptized him. Thus, he was the first known African convert to Christianity. The Spirit of God had planned the event, putting Philip in the eunuch’s way. Thus, the Gospel was first introduced to Egypt through this high official’s return to the court. Again, God was at work, furthering His program. Whether we obey or not, God will see to it that His will is done. But that does not excuse us! Could you explain Isaiah 53 to someone who asked its meaning? If not, make it your goal today to learn to do so. There may be an “Ethiopian” traveling into your future![1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 307.
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