The “Race to Thanksgiving Weight Loss Challenge” & Knowing Jesus More – Purity 1804
Purity 1804 11/03/2025 Puriyt 1804 – Audio Podcast
Purity 1804 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of my canine pal, Harley on Waite Road as the sun rises on the horizon of a new day comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene during our 6am walk yesterday morning.
Well, it’s Monday and as I adjust to the new normal of daylight savings time this morning, I am motivated to slowly work my way back to normal in the next week as I will seek to prepare myself for returning to my secular day job and the “regular routine” that comes with it next Monday. I am also declaring war on my flesh as I have decided to begin the “Race to Thanksgiving Weight Loss Challenge” where I will seek to undo some of the damage that was done over the last three months as I have been home recovering from my August work injury and have seen my weight increase at an alarming rate. I am so motivated to take back what was stolen (or given back?) that I have created a downloadable Weight Loss Goal Poster. The graphics are very basic, but the message is clear: Don’t Forget Your Goal! To Weigh XXX lbs. by November 26, 2025! – You can download yours and customize it for where you are at, by going to today’s blog post.
It’s a new month. It’s a new start. It’s a new beginning and if we want to be able to make it through the holidays without adding even more weight to our frames, we have to start forming good habits now and make a determined effort to get in better shape before the Thanksgiving Day feast arrives. I know if I just keep doing what I have been doing (deviating from my food plan and cheating on the weekends) I will be in a world of trouble when Thanksgiving comes so recognizing that, I am seeking to get back closer to where I was in August. In order to accomplish our goals, we have to be focused on them and it is my hopes that the constant reminder of this Weight Loss Goal Poster will help me to keep my eyes on the prize of better overall health.
To be honest, I’m not sure if I will be able to accomplish the goal I have stated by November 26th, but I am going to try. I will try to decrease my caloric intake, increase my activity, drink lots of water, avoid snacking, avoid eating after 6:30 pm, and go to bed at 9pm. These are good practices that should help but I will also seek to draw close to the Lord in prayer because although I don’t know if my goal is possible in my flesh, I know that all things are possible with God. So, we are going to go for it, and we will see whether I can achieve my goal by Thanksgiving or not. And as for beyond Thanksgiving? We will cross that bridge when we get there.
Speaking of bridges, the Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah devotion for today is entitled that and I am sharing it on the blog today to remind us all of our eternal destiny and the thing that matters the most – knowing Jesus. David Jeremiah writes:
“BRIDGES
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Romans 10:17
Many people have a mistaken view of faith, thinking that faith is believing in something or someone despite the evidence and we have to take a “leap of faith.” That is nonsense. It doesn’t work in any area of life. You don’t step onto a rickety swinging bridge with rotten ropes and missing planks, just assuming the bridge will support you. To place your faith in the bridge, it would need to be anchored on both sides, sturdy, reliable, and trustworthy.
Faith is believing because of the evidence. It’s not a leap into uncertainty but a step that is reasonable, logical, and sensible.
If the object of your faith isn’t worthy of your faith, your faith is inconsequential. When it comes to our eternal destiny, it’s not how much faith you have; it’s how much Jesus you know. The more you learn of Him, the more you’ll see the reasonableness of your faith in Him.
Taking time to read God’s Word daily will help you learn more and grow in your faith. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – David Jeremiah
You do not need a great faith, but faith in a great God. – Hudson Taylor
Amen. As someone who came to faith quite suddenly after years of rejecting and separating myself from anything to do with Christianity, the last thing I wanted to do was to take some blind leap of faith. Sure, I finally understood the fact that I didn’t have to earn my way into God’s kingdom and I “knew” that Jesus was the way to be forgiven and to be saved but because it took so long for me to finally get these revelations in my heart, I wanted to fill my mind with the truth and frankly I wanted to be sure I hadn’t just had an emotional moment and made a mistake. I wanted to know that what I believed in was real and I also wanted to be a “real Christian”.
I didn’t want to be a phony and I so after I got saved, I immediately started reading the Bible to try to assure myself that I hadn’t done something crazy. I wanted to make sure that the truth I received stood up to my inquiring mind’s testing.
It did, pretty quickly, and the most compelling reason it did was because of Jesus. My Bible study and The Case for Christ documentary by Lee Stroebel put all my fears aside. The gospel and story of Jesus Christ is a historical fact. Jesus’ fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies convinced me that not only was Jesus’ story a true story it meant that faith in Jesus was reasonable. Jesus really is who He said He was, and I believe any honest investigation of the Bible will provide all the evidence necessary to give assurance.
I love Jeremiah’s exhortation to read the Bible daily and that our faith depends on how much we know Jesus.
When I decided to know as much as I could about Jesus, I was not only given the evidence to assure me, but I was also given great joy. Knowing you found the answer to life is pretty awesome but knowing more about the One who gives you life is even better. So, get to know Jesus more.
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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 verse comes from the section on Persecution.
Acts 7:60 (ESV) And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Today’s verse falls under the fourth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Persecution.
4. Imitate Stephen, who prayed for his persecutors as they were stoning him.
Today’s Bible verse gives us a glimpse behind the veil of the unseen realm and assures us of God’s loving kindness even in moments of great persecution and death.
Stephen’s story is a sad one. He delivers an awesome message of how the Old Testament stories conceal the truth of Jesus as Messiah and how Jesus came to give us all new life, but the Pharisees couldn’t see it and were moved with murderous rage to silence him permanently.
But the Lord saw Stephen and loved him for his boldly declaring the truth and as a blessing opened his eyes to see Jesus standing at the right hand of God to assure him that his death would not be in vain. Assured of his place in God’s kingdom, Stephen prayed for his murderers, and his mercy and grace was rewarded with sleep.
God comforts us in our persecutions and when our hearts are assured of our place in God’s kingdom, we forgive those who sin against us, imitating our Lord and Savior on our way to seeing Him.
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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 303
… walking in the fear of the Lord and in the counsel of the Holy Spirit … – Acts 9:31
The church had peace and was built up. It was a wonderful time of growth, thanksgiving, and rejoicing, not to be enjoyed much longer. But look at what a church, when it isn’t persecuted, ought to be like. Principally, believers ought to walk in the “fear of the Lord.” This often-used phrase, found in Proverbs and in the Psalms, is sometimes weakened to mean only “awe.” It certainly does mean that, but it also implies a genuine fear of God’s might, righteousness, and wrath. That fear, however, is tempered by the fact of redemption. Even a man like Daniel is startled when confronted by an angel. This fear helps us to walk on the path of righteousness. We are considering the church’s journey to the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit counseled directly during this period before the Scriptures were completed to guide the church; today He does so through those Scriptures which are His ultimate contribution to us. They, and they alone, foster the fear of God.[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 311.
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