New Morning Mercies
Bibliography
Tripp, Paul David. New Morning Mercies. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014. 384 pp. $22.99
Category
Devotional
Summary
New Morning Mercies, by Paul David Tripp, is a devotional that seeks to help its readers to remember just how good God’s mercy really is. Tripp writes:
One of the stunning realities of the Christian life is that in a world where everything is in some state of decay, God’s mercies never grow old. They never run out. They are never ill timed. They never dry up. They never grow weak. They never, ever fail, because they really are new every morning.
The devotional is comprised of 365 readings on mercy, one for each day. Covering topics from “rebuking mercies” to “hope-giving mercies” this devotional is filled with God’s mercy. Each day is organized in a simple format. The devotion starts with a short, concise, summary sentence that Tripp has previously tweeted. The tweet is then followed with a short devotion that can be read in a few minutes. The devotionals are easy to read, filled with Scripture, and always encouraging. After the devotional, for further study and reflection, there are Scripture references given so that the reader can study and go deeper.
Overall, this devotional is for anyone who needs to be reminded of God’s mercy. It is refreshing, engaging, biblical and helpful. No matter what might be happening in your life right now, you will encounter the amazing reality that God loves you, is doing good to you and He is not finished yet!
Benefit for Pastoral Ministry
Pastoral work is about dispensing mercy. Preaching, counseling and leading are all mercy ministries. Pastors are leaders whose primary responsibility is to communicate God’s mercy to others. One of the hardest things for pastors to do in the midst of such ministry is to find places to receive that same mercy for themselves. Frankly, it can be easy to forget that we need it. Sadly, there are examples all over of pastors who forgot to center their lives on God’s mercy and the messes that followed. Thankfully Paul David Tripp’s devotional gives us one substantive way to receive the mercy that we desperately need.
This devotional is encouraging. It is all about mercy! Reading through it, you are reminded again and again just how good God is and just how good he has been in your life. Pastors need encouraging and Tripp gives us gospel encouragement.
This devotional is biblical. The truths it shares about mercy are straight from the Scriptures. These aren’t just hopeful ideas that Tripp has made up but the reality that the Scriptures graciously offers. This isn’t some fluffy, Scripture-lite reading, this is the real deal. It will feed your soul with life-giving mercy.
Most of all, this devotional is God-glorifying. The God of the Bible which Tripp shares elegantly and simply is sovereign, good, compassionate and loves us. He is the God of mercy! This is the gift of this book to its readers. Life with all of its demands, sorrows and disappointments can shrink our view of who God is. Tripp reminds us that whatever we might be going through in life and ministry, God is in control and doing good to us and through us.
Rating
Essential — Recommended — Helpful — Pass It By
Recommendation
If you are a pastoral leader, buy this book and use it for your own personal devotion. You will be glad that you did.
