40 Days of Faith

40 Days

by Paul David Tripp

New from popular author and speaker Paul David Tripp, this series of short devotionals encourages Christians to experience the life-giving message of the gospel every day. Each book contains 40 daily readings curated from the best-selling devotional New Morning Mercies and is focused on a particular theme essential to the Christian life. Short enough to read in 5 minutes or less, each meditation will encourage readers to treasure the life-changing truths of God's word more fully.

Faith is a gift from God. In this addition to the series, Tripp explores how this deep-seated trust in God and his word radically alters not only the way Christians think, but also the way they live. Through 40 daily meditations, Tripp urges readers not to rely on their own wisdom, experience, and strength--but to ask God to transform them into people who live by faith with a radical, God-centered perspective.

Genres: Devotional, Christian, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2020

About the author

Paul was born in Toledo, Ohio to Bob and Fae Tripp on November 12, 1950. Paul spent all of his growing years in Toledo until his college years when his parents moved to Southern California.
At Columbia Bible College from 1968-1972, (now Columbia International University) Paul majored in Bible and Christian Education. Although he had planned to be there for only two years and then to study journalism, Paul more and more felt like there was so much of the theology of Scripture that he did not understand, so he decided to go to seminary. Paul met Luella Jackson at College and they married in 1971. In 1971, Paul took his first pastoral position and has had a heart for the local church ever since. After college, Paul completed his Master of Divinity degree at the Reformed Episcopal Seminary (now known as Philadelphia Theological Seminary) in Philadelphia (1972-1975). It was during these days that Paul’s commitment to ministry solidified. After seminary, Paul was involved in planting a church in Scranton, Pennsylvania (1977-1987) where he also founded a Christian School. During the years in Scranton, Paul became involved in music, traveling with a band and writing worship songs. In Scranton, Paul became interested in biblical counseling and decided to enroll in the D.Min program in Biblical Counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Paul then became a faculty member of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF) and a lecturer in biblical counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Paul has also served as Visiting Professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 2009, Paul joined the faculty of Redeemer Seminary (daughter school of Westminster) in Dallas, Texas as Professor of Pastoral Life and Care.[1]
Beginning in June, 2006, Paul became the President of Paul Tripp Ministries, a non-profit organization, whose mission statement is "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." In addition to his current role as President of Paul Tripp Ministries, on January 1, 2007, Paul also became part of the pastoral staff at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA where he preached every Sunday evening and lead the Ministry to Center City through March, 2011 when he resigned due to the expanding time commitments needed at Paul Tripp Ministries.
Paul, Luella, and their four children moved to Philadelphia in 1987 and have lived there ever since. Paul is a prolific author and has written twelve books on Christian living which are sold internationally. Luella manages a large commercial art gallery in the city and Paul is very dedicated to painting as an avocation.[2] Paul’s driving passion is to help people understand how the gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ really does speak with practical hope into all the things they will face in this broken world. Paul is a pastor with a pastor’s heart, a gifted speaker, his journey taking him all over the world, an author of numerous books on practical Christian living, and a man who is hopelessly in love with Luella.

Reviews

[Stefanie Sugia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Faith is much more than a one-time decision; it is a lifestyle lived with the presence, promises, and call of God always in view."

The first time I read a book by Paul David Tripp was last year, with the title Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do, and I really enjoyed it. It gave me a lot of new perspectives and I really liked his writing style. That's why I decided to read this book, especially since we're nearing the end of the year and it's almost Christmas time, I thought it will be very fitting to read a book about faith. This was supposed to be a 40-day devotional but instead I read it in only 4 days because it's fairly short, each day consists of only a few paragraphs. Each day starts with a sentence or two that represents the devotional's theme and ends with a suggested scripture for further study and encouragement. In this series of devotionals, the writer tackles some misconceptions about faith and encouraged us to have real living faith. As Paul David Tripp writes at the start of this book, 'faith is much more than a one-time decision; it is a lifestyle lived with the presence, promises, and call of God always in view'.

"You don't have to be anxious about the future. A God of grace has invaded your life, and he always completes what he starts."

In this review, I will be sharing some devotionals that speaks to my heart personally. The first one is about having an active faith: 'It never works to ask people to do what only God can do. It never works to wait for God to do what he has clearly called you to do.' Some people might think that always waiting on God is a sign of faith. But I love how Paul David Tripp uses the example of people who were dealing with broken relationships saying "I'm waiting for the Lord to reconcile our relationship." It might sound spiritual but it is not the kind of faith that God expects us to have. He also use stories from the Bible as examples. God was going to defeat Jericho, but He called his children to walk around it. God promises to provide, but He calls us to labor, pray, and give. So faith is not only about waiting on God, but a combination of being active in doing what God calls us to do while wholly trusting in what only God can do.

"So the life of faith is all about rest and work. We rest in God's presence and constant care (vertical), and we toil with our hands, busy at the work that we have been commanded to do (horizontal). We rest in our work and work in our rest. At times we work because we believe that God who is at work calls us to work. At other times, we rest from our work because we believe that the work that needs to be done only God can do. So rest and work, and work and rest. It is the rhythm of the life of faith."

Another one of my favorites is the part where Paul David Tripp acknowledges that faith is not natural for us. It's natural for us to worry, envy, panic; but placing our trust and hope in the hands of God whom we cannot see, touch, or hear is far from natural. While we are still alive, we live in the middle of a war between doubt and faith. It is a war of anxiety and trust. And this devotional has one of favorite passage from this book, because it is so reassuring for me personally—especially during a time when everything around us may seem uncertain, which says:

When you hit hard times, when your weakness is exposed, be ready for the enemy to whisper in your ear, "Where is your God now?" and be ready to respond, "He is where he has been and always will be—with me in power, glory, and grace." You won't always feel his nearness, but you can rest assured he will never abandon you. He is the one who said, "Behold, I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20), and he never goes back on his word."

The last one that I will be mentioning in this review is the devotionals regarding faith in the midst of hardships. I think this one is especially relevant in our lives these days. The writer asks at the beginning of the devotional: When hardship comes your way, will you tell yourself it's a tool of God's grace and a sign of his love, or will you give in to doubting his goodness? There will be times when we are tempted to think that God has abandoned us during hardships, but we need to know is that God isn't so much working to transform our circumstances as he is working through hard circumstances to transform us. It is heart-transforming grace that we might not expect to get, but it is exactly the grace that we need. God is able to use the difficulties of life as tools to produce characters in us that would not grow any other way.

"The faith of the Bible will never call you to deny reality in any way. The faith of the Bible is so in awe of the grandeur and glory of God that it is able to look at the darkest of realities in life and not be afraid."

"God is with you in your moments of darkness because he will never leave you. But your darkness isn't dark to him. Your mysteries aren't mysterious to him. Your surprises don't surprise him. He understands all the things that confuse you the most. Not only are your mysteries not mysterious to him, but is in complete charge of all that is mysterious to you and me."

This book was a perfect read to end this year for me; it definitely boost my faith in God as we are entering a new year that is full of uncertainties. The writing is very straightforward and easy to read, it really doesn't take long to finish. By the end of this book, I am reminded that we don't need to have it all figured out as long as we cling on to the One who has it all figured out. Life is full of mysteries; a lot of what-ifs and if-onlys that we are constantly struggling with. But I continuously learn to be content with not knowing about everything and rest assured knowing that God is sovereign and He is in control of everything. Will definitely pick up more works by Paul David Tripp because I really enjoy his writing style and am encouraged by the biblical truths that he shared in his books :)

"We all face things that appear to make little sense and don't seem to serve any good purpose. So rest is never found in the quest to understand it all. No, rest is found in trusting the one who understands it all and rules it all for his glory and our good."

Read my full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2020/1...

[Josh Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Morning Mercies has been a Paul David Tripp classic since it was first published in 2014. In his inimitable style, Tripp leads readers in short, easily-digested devotionals that are meant simply to refocus readers on the Gospel by confronting and comforting them with the truths of Scripture. This devotional actually came out of a daily habit of Tripp’s, which was posting three tweet-length (140 characters at the time) meditations per day. That concept expanded into a year-long daily devotional and now, six year later, Crossway has taken eighty of those devotions and split them into two books called Forty Days of Grace and Forty Days of Faith.

These devotionals are very simply, four to six paragraph readings. They aren’t substantive in the sense that you’re meant to learn anything from them (though you might!) or that they’re study materials or that they should be the bulk of your devotional life. The best descriptor I have is that these devotions are a breather. Just five minutes. You wake up, go about your morning routine, sit down with a cup of coffee, and breather. You put the kids to bed and before you turn to cleaning up the house, breather. You walk away from your screen at work for a few minutes, breather.

The concept worked especially good in the context of Twitter—not known for being the uplifting of experiences in a politicized age. Doom-scroll, doom-scroll, doom-scroll, but then you’re hit with a re-orienting word from Paul David Tripp. The books don’t quite have that power because they are more of a directed choice. You are be surprised by what scrolls by on your Twitter timeline. Picking up a book requires directed action. As such, the expectations are a little bit different. The devotions still work. They’re still truthful. But they may not enough for those hungry enough to actively seek after such devotional teaching.

Each devotional begins with a sentence that captures the heart of the devotional’s theme. It ends with a suggested Scripture reading for further enjoyment and encouragement. Tripp doesn’t confine himself to any certain structure. Some devotions quote a paragraph of Scripture; others just a line. A few are primarily organized as lists and others written as poetry. It keeps the reader from getting into a rut and knowing what to expect and how to expect it. (I suspect it helped Tripp with the writing process as well!) The devotionals really do read like they are one Christian leader’s devotional diary entries. Forty Days of Grace and Forty Days of Faith is like sitting down with a friend and asking them “So what has God been teaching you lately?” And without any hesitation, Paul David Tripp is there to tell you exactly that.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

40 days devotional on faith. The devotional was not long and all focused on how to implement faith on daily life.

[Jason Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

faith comes by hearing.

Books of faith will always be necessary. 40 days and 40 years. We need to constantly stay in God’s Word and be remind that we Walk By Faith. Great read

[Tara-Lee Oostenbrug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this devotional. Encouraging and comforting Bible texts and messages for each day.

[Natalie Gassman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An encouraging read. Good reminders about waiting, self-reliance, and not understanding what God is doing.

[Chana Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores libros sobre la FE REAL que he leído. Super recomiendo ✨

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot in these short devotions that is wonderfully Christ-centred and rich in Gospel truth. But I personally would have liked them to have been more expositional, unpacking a bit of a passage each day. Whereas the Bible seemed tacked on the end of each day.

Also would have liked a touch more compassion for the person struggling with anxiety (thinking particularly with Day 34) and to not imply that his exhortation to remember God is a simple fix to the problem of anxiety. Though this will be helpful for many, some might feel condemned and guilty that they can't fix their anxiety and therefore must be a rubbish Christian. I know it's a tiny chapter and not meant to say everything you could about anxiety, but I think he could have been more careful.