Showing posts with label Paul Tripp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Tripp. Show all posts
are you just nailing apples to the tree?
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
(John 15:4-5 ESV)
We don't bear fruit by effort. Fruit comes from abiding, living, remaining in the vine - Jesus. The fruit comes from being part of the vine. As Paul Tripp describes below, so much of our effort in the Christian life is nothing more than nailing apples to a tree that is not growing them.
Jesus is the source of life and fruit (v5), he speaks and we are clean (v3). He is the root and we grow when we are attached to him.
obstacles to building relationships
"Common obstacles that hinder redemptive relationships developing in our lives:
- The busyness of life, keeping relationships distant and casual.
- A total immersion in friendships that are activity and happiness based.
- A concious avoidence of close relationships as too scary or messy.
- A formal commitment to church activities, with no real connection to people
- One way, ministry driven friendships in which you always minister to others, but never allow others to minister to you.
- Self-centred "meet my felt needs" relationships that keep you always receiving but seldom giving.
- A private, independant "just me and God" approach to the Christian life
- Theology as a replacement for relationship. Knowing God as a life of study, rather than the pursuit of God and his people."
Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change
people are not efficient
"Spending time with other people is not very efficient! But God has a bigger and, quite frankly, messier and less efficient plan.
Being involved with people is time consuming, messy and complicated. from our point of view it is inefficient, but from God's point of view it is the best way to encourage growth in grace... That means we will have to make time for these kinds of friendships to emerge and grow. we will have to be realistic too. Close relationships make it more likely that you will sin against someone or that someone will sin against you."
Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change
minor theological tweaking
"None of us wants to think that we are as bad off as the gospel says we are! We prefer to think that we just need some minor theological tweaking or more faithful church attendance to function as God intended. Yet the gospel says that no system or activity can provide what we need. Our sin is do great that only Christ's work on the cross can rescue us."
Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change
good and bad news
"Only when you accept the bad news of the gospel does the good news make any sense. The grace, restoration, reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, patience, power, healing, and hope of the gospel are for sinners. They are only meaningful to you if you admit that you have the disease and realize that it is terminal. "
Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change
therapist or redeemer
"[we think:] How much better life would be if a certain situation or relationship were different! Meanwhile, God says that what needs change most is us!
Is Jesus my therapist or my Redeemer? If he is my therapist, then he meets my needs as I define them. If he is my Redeemer, he defines my true needs and addresses them in ways far more glorious than I could have anticipated.
We turn Jesus into someone whose goal in life is to make us feel good about ourselves. "
Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change
raising little pharisees
"My work with teenagers has convinced me that one of the main reasons teenagers are not excited by the gospel is that they do not think they need it. Many parents have successfully raised self-righteous little pharisees"
Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change
internal problems
"the anger we reveal in the middle of trial says more about us than it does about the trial. The Bible keeps the focus on us! It confronts the self-righteousness and spiritual blindness that make us think that our greatest problems are outside us, not inside."
Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change
I would not listen
"I was a very angry man. The problem was that I didn’t know I was an angry man. My wife, Luella, knew that I was angry. My kids knew I was angry. But I didn’t know. Luella was very faithful in bringing that anger before me with its resultant failures to love my family. She did it often and with much grace. But I would not listen. Again and again, I would wrap myself in robes of righteousness and tell her what a great husband I was. I said I would pray for her problem with discontentment. (That helped her!) I was a man in the midst of destroying my marriage, family, and ministry, and I didn’t know it."
Paul Tripp, Ministers in need of grace
the interruption of parenting
"Parenting is all about living by the principle of prepared spontaneity. You don't really know what's going to happen next. You don't really know when you'll have enforce a command, intervene in an argument, confront a wrong, holdout for a better way, remind someone of a truth, call for forgiveness, lead someone to confession, point to Jesus, restore peace, hold someone accountable, explain a wisdom principle, give a hug of love, laugh in the face of adversity, help someone complete a task, mediate an argument, stop with someone and pray, assist someone to see their heart, or talk once again about what it means to live together in a community of love... but my problem is that there are moments when I tend to love my little kingdom of one more than I love his. So I'm impatient, discouraged or irritated, not because my children have broken the laws of God's kingdom, but the laws of mine. In my kingdom there shall be no parenting on family vacation days, or when I am reading the paper on my iPad, or after ten o'clock at night, or during a good meal, or..."
Paul Tripp, Parenting: It's never an interruption
the most dangerous prayer
"I don't think you could say more dangerous words than those found in the Lord's Prayer. I don't think you could pray a more radical prayer. Probably most of us, even in ministry, would hesitate to say these words if we really understood what we were saying. We would at least pause before repeating this prayer if we clearly understood that we were actually inviting upheaval into our lives and ministries. This prayer can't be answered except through the tearing down and rebuilding of many things in our lives.
Here are the radical words I have been alluding to: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). I must admit that I don't always greet God's kingdom with delight. I want certain things in my life, and I not only want them, but I know how, when, and where I want them. I want my life and ministry to be comfortable. I want my schedule to be unobstructed and predictable. I want people to esteem and appreciate me. I want control over the situations and relationships that I cannot avoid. I want people to affirm my opinions and follow my pastoral lead. I want the ministry initiatives I direct to be well received and successful."
Paul Tripp, The most dangerous prayer for Pastors
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)