Some more quotes from Mr. Tripp...

     Lets start out with some more quotes in the form of questions from Paul Tripp's book "What Did You Expect??"  I am so thankful for this book because I have the potential of 3 weddings to perform in June, therefore, 3 sets of pre-marital counseling sessions with these couples to share some of this material.  I am for sure going to talk about the weeds that can grow up in a marriage that need to be routinely pulled out.  Here are the questions.

"Is your communication free of hidden agenda, and is it motivated by the needs of your spouse?"

"Are you serious about your promises, even when they are little, and do you do everything in your power to follow through?"

"Do you quickly admit your wrongs and seek forgiveness?"

"How well do you care for one another?"

"Do you quickly deal with wrongs and quickly settle your differences?"

"Do you respond to your husband or wife out of a sense of your own heart need?"

     And one more quote from this chapter because it is so good and true.

"We long for a marriage where confrontation isn't regularly needed, because when we do or say something wrong, we are unsettled in our hearts (the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit), and without being confronted with the wrong we did or said, whichever one of us was wrong comes to the other and owns the wrong and seeks forgiveness and a restoration of the relationship."

     Sunday went great.  The last part of chapter 4 of Matthew is a set up to chapters 5-7.  I am so thankful how the Lord puts words into my mouth that I haven't planned and pulls it all together.  The whole concept of Jesus asking His disciples to follow Him and in turn asking us also leads into what areas we are going to consider in the following chapters.  This series will slow down as we cover just 4 of the Beatitudes this Sunday and 4 more next Sunday.  The "poor in spirit"; the "mourn"; the "meek"; and the "hungry and thirsty" will be our focus.  These 4 deal with our relationship with God while the last 4 deal with our relationship with others.  Hence, the 2 greatest commandments again to love God and to love others.  The big question over the next many weeks will be "Am I really following Jesus' way?"

     I can say that cancer has made me study more and I delight in the time I have with the Scriptures to prepare for the speaking arrangements that God puts me in.

Adam