Christ’s Call to Follow & Praying God’s Promises – Purity 1926
Purity 1926 04/01/2026
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of Matteo di Giovanni’s (1430-1495) oil and gold on panel, The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (1470s), comes to us from yours truly as I captured this work of art during my visit to the Clark Art Institute back on July 9th, 2023. This painting shows Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, urging two fishermen, the brothers Peter and Andrew, to become his disciples. Jesus leans forward to help Peter out of the boat, while Andrew casts his net aside, symbolically leaving his old life behind.
Well, it’s Wednesday, and I share Giovanni’s work of art as part of my Lenten journey to recognize beauty in the things of the past and because it reminds me of the first gospel message I ever preached and the way Jesus invited me to come and follow Him.
I went to Bible College through my local church, and one of the classes required the students to compose a short message, using a passage of scripture of our own choosing, to call people to put their faith in Jesus. We would first present our message from the pulpit in our church before the instructors and other students, and then we would literally take it to the street and deliver the message in public as part of an evangelistic outreach at the Seventh Street Park in Hudson, NY. I chose the story of Peter’s conversion in Luke 5 because it spoke to me and my past, as I, like Peter, was a “sinful man, O Lord!”
Ironically, I delivered that message before I was completely free of my besetting sins – my addictions to alcohol (2105) and sexual immorality (2018), so I guess you could say I was still a sinful man at the time, and I am still a work in progress, but Christ’s call on my life was real because He continued to compel me to follow Him into the new life of freedom in Christ that I enjoy now.
I was just watching an old episode of Bible Study with the Cincottis from 2023, and I was struck by how I have changed since then. Despite my continual struggles with food addiction, I would estimate that I am 30 lbs. lighter than where I used to be, and I am still endeavoring to renew my body and mind to be healthy and free of binge eating.
When God calls us to put our faith in Jesus and to follow Him into a new life, we the potential to become the people God made us to be in body, mind, soul, and spirit, and the only thing we have to do to experience progressive freedom in Christ is to choose to follow Him with the way we live our lives and stand on God’s precious promises.
Speaking of God’s precious promises, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today encourages us to stand on God’s word and to pray His promises. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
Praying God’s Promises
God is faithful and unchanging, so we can trust in His promises, act boldly, and rest confidently
Isaiah 40:7-8
Jesus told us that we would endure hardship in this life. But God gave His children amazing tools to keep trials from overwhelming us. For instance, He sent His Spirit to indwell believers, to guide and empower them. In addition, He gave us the privilege of prayer so we could not only stay connected with our Father but also bring Him our requests.
Today, let’s focus on His marvelous gift of Scripture. The Word of God Almighty is truth that never changes. The Bible contains thousands of promises—countless assurances we can rely on with complete confidence. God wants us to learn them, so we won’t miss out on the blessings He desires to give us.
For example, Psalm 32:8 offers this encouragement, which relates to difficult decisions: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”
We can pray God’s words back to Him, saying we believe He’ll teach us and reveal His path while remaining by our side as our caregiver through the entire situation.
When hardships arise, we need a sure foundation on which to stand. Remember that God is faithful and unchanging. We can trust in His promises, which enable us to rest confidently and act boldly. – Charles Stanley
Amen. This is why we really must study God’s word. Passages like Psalm 32:8 speak to the depths of our souls as the Holy Spirit uses God’s word to show us that the words in scripture aren’t just factually true in general – they are true about us personally and specifically.
To grab hold of God’s precious promises requires two things:
- that we read the words in the Bible that tell of them, and
- That we believe that they are true, and for us.
If we read that God will never leave us or forsake us but believe the lie that we have been abandoned or are alone in our suffering, we reject God’s promise, become deceived, and suffer for it.
There is no value in doubting God’s promises. Quite the opposite, we must not doubt but believe God’s promises are true even if we can’t see them yet.
Our faith in God’s faithfulness gives us hope as we move forward through trials, and it will give us cause to celebrate when God’s blessings come.
So use the tools of our faith (Bible study and prayer) daily to be able to walk in the Spirit with hope, peace, and joy.
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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 the Providence of God.
Proverbs 16:33 (NIV) The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Today’s verse is the third of five passages of scripture that fall under the twenty fourth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on the Providence of God.
24. God sovereignly works out his plans, his perfect will. No one can hinder or stop him.
Today’s Bible verse tells us that so called “games of chance” are determined events, with everything under God’s sovereign control.
In terms of games of chance, while the precise method is unknown, it is widely believed that the Urim and Thummim were used as a form of sacred casting of lots that God established to make decisions for the early tabernacle period. If the early priests wanted to know God’s will, they would use the Urim & Thummim to tell them.
While I won’t state that God alone influences every outcome, I will state that God is ultimately sovereign over all things and will determine our eternal destinies.
This question of influence or sovereignty isn’t so simple, though, because there are at least three possible influences over events that happen: God, Man, and the Devil. So we can’t say that everything that happens was God’s explicit will because God doesn’t condone evil, and men and the devil do have their own ability to influence events. The bottom line is that God is in charge, but that doesn’t make Him necessarily responsible for everything that happens. So follow the Lord and read His word to discern His will in all things.
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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 “Pause for Power” By Warren Wiersbe.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Wiersbe’s 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 60 – A Fashion Statement – Read 1 Peter 5:5–7
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5
Younger believers should submit to the older believers, not only out of respect for their age, but also out of respect for their spiritual maturity. Not every “senior saint” is a mature Christian of course, because quantity of years is no guarantee of quality of experience. This is not to suggest that the older church members should run the church and never listen to the younger members. Too often there is a generational war in the church, with the older people resisting change, and the younger people resisting the older people.
The solution is twofold: (1) All believers, young and old, should submit to one other; and (2) all should submit to God. “Clothe yourselves with humility” is the answer to the problem. Just as Jesus laid aside His outer garments and put on a towel to become a servant (John 13:1–17), so each of us should have a servant’s attitude and minister to one other. True humility is described in Philippians 2:1–11. Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves. It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all!
Something to Ponder – In what ways do you clothe yourself with humility? How could you improve in this area?[1]
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[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Pause for Power: A 365-Day Journey through the Scriptures, 2nd Ed., Year in the Word Series (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010).
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