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Active Spirituality Letter 4 – “Walking in the Spirit”

Study Questions by Dr. Tedd Tripp Active Spirituality by Brian Hedges will serve to give you solid footing regarding many of today’s questions about what it means to have an active faith. The blog is featuring Active Spirituality during the month of March. Today’s questions are taken from Letter 4 of Active Spirituality. This material is rich and multifaceted. This is why Tedd acknowledges that there may be varying answers to several of these important questions. Why is the Apostle Paul’s emphasis on walking in the Spirit so important? It is only by the Holy Spirit that we will be empowered to obey God. Why is it not enough to say, “Walk in the law of God.”? We will not […]

A calmed soul

Normally, we don’t associate young children and calmness. But in Psalm 131 David compares the condition of his heart with that of a young weaned child being comforted by his mother’s presence. Think about how amazing this is. David is the king. He has all of the pressures of life and leadership. Yet he uses the image a weaned child being comforted by the presence of his mother to show his trust in God. O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within […]

Thought for Lord’s Day

Don’t look for help in the wrong place. When you worship God, get rid of all the pretenders to his throne! The world, your flesh and the devil are constantly offering counterfeits to the only true authentic Savior, Jesus Christ. Powerful people are just that, people who have no power that God does not give them. They have no help to give you. They get sick and die just like you will. They will return to the dirt and all of their great schemes and promises crash and burn with them. Do not look for help where it cannot be found! Unlike people who appear to have power, who appear to offer you help in your distress, only Jesus Christ […]

From teaching to protection

In Proverbs 6:20-22 Solomon tells children that God’s instruction is so significant they must make it part of their inner life. This truth is precious; it is to be displayed like fine jewelry. But the success of the instruction is noted in verse 22 when truth begins to protect those who have heard it. Yes, commands must be taught. Yes, they must be valued and received.  But things must not stop here. The process is not complete until what has been learned begins to work itself back to the outside world again. The process is not complete until the commands of God begin to show the fruit of protection in the lives of those who have been taught. Look carefully […]

You are a shepherd, not an enforcer!

Sometimes the deceitfulness of the world, the flesh, and the devil entices us to feel good about our anger. So when a child, a teenager, a spouse, or a friend crosses an arbitrary line we feel totally justified in letting them “have it.” We cover our sin by saying, “I know I shouldn’t be angry, but sometimes you just have to say enough is enough.” Here is one way to tell the difference between righteous anger and man’s anger. Righteous anger does not result in frustration, but in the energy needed to follow God. Your anger results in bitterness, upset towards others and alienation. These are not the marks of a shepherd. Parents, God calls you to be shepherds, not […]

Is God’s Wisdom Your Joy?

A scenario: You have the unbearable burden of teaching your children God’s wisdom. It is exhausting work. Sometimes you wonder why you even bother. All you ever get in return is frustration and resistance. It is almost unbelievable the effort it takes to teach your children to be kind and considerate, to be unselfish. But then you realize that there is no one else to teach them. So, you bare down and keep going. Question, based upon this scenario what type of results would you expect? Not really a difficult task to figure one out, is it? Obviously, this example is absurd. But, you get the point. If you are not excited and happy to teach something, don’t expect the […]

Why are you here?

Why are you here? There are many possible answers. But, perhaps the most important answer is the one we think about the least. The writer of Psalm 73 also asked this question. He looked around at the landscape of his life and asked what good does it do to be concerned about God. The bad guys are fat and happy. They mock God and everybody praises them. Me? I try to do what I am supposed to do, but what does it get me. He did not have a good answer to why he was here on earth. And without a good answer he became discouraged, despondent, bitter. Listen to what he says: Did I keep my heart pure for […]

A gateway to gossip

“Did you hear about…” These words are a gateway to gossip. These words can entice you to be part of an ugly communication chain. Someone comes to you and instead of saying “did you hear about…” he says: “Let me tell you about the marriage I am helping to destroy.”  Suddenly, when stated this way, this information is not so attractive! If something you hear cannot be verified it is dangerous. There is precious little verification attached to the flood of information we encounter each day. Verification is not popular because it requires time, restraint, and careful investigation. Lack of verification leads to gossip. What is gossip? Gossip is spreading information which you or others don’t need to hear. If […]

Thought for the Lord’s Day

Who controls time? By an act of Congress our clocks are adjusted by an hour twice a year. By the will of the Lord of the Universe all time proceeds just as he has planned. Your God is never perplexed about time, never worries about being late, everything always happens at the exact second he has planned. Your God tells you not to worry. Time belongs to him, he created it. One day time will be no more! How cool is that? Take comfort that your God rules time. You can trust what he controls. Hear what the Holy Spirit says about how intimately God is involved in the time of your life. A thousand years in your sight are […]

Why Is This Happening?

Regardless of whether one is rich or poor, wise or unwise, prepared or unprepared, the storms of life will come. Yet, when the storms come people are surprised. “Why is this happening?” We forget that we live in a sin-cursed world. We are told we can be safe. We can have insurance. We have healthcare. We have building codes. We have laws. We have safety devices. We believe we can protect ourselves. We believe that we are entitled to safety and peace.  We believe that the purpose of relationships is to make us happy and fulfilled. All these assurances ended at the fall. Don’t misunderstand, of course we should be wise, prudent and trusting. But, at the same time, we […]