Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Do you sing along at church or just listen? Examine the purpose of the music ministry, its role within corporate worship, and why it’s hard to resist singing God’s praises once we understand who He is. That’s our focus on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg
From the Sermon
A Temple With Foundations
It’s possible for all of us to read certain passages or verses of Scripture many times yet miss goldmines of truth. Sometimes we pass by because we’re overly familiar with what we’ve read, and other times it’s because we don’t take the time to meditate and savor the wealth before us.
So let’s take the opportunity to dwell on the truth that “the LORD is in his holy temple.” This simple truth offers both comfort and chastening. Its reality is affirmed in many places in the Old Testament (for example Habakkuk 2:20; Psalm 18:6; Micah 1:2), but David provides some additional angles from which to consider it here in Psalm 11.
The first is that “the LORD’s throne is in heaven,” making Him the exalted Lord. He reigns not as a mortal with limited perspective and control but as the all-powerful, immortal, all-knowing God of heaven. He outlasts all rulers, and all nations are as nothing before Him.
Second, God is the observing Lord: “His eyes see.” From the exalted position of His heavenly throne, nothing is hidden from God’s sight. No good thing done in His name goes unobserved, and no impure motive or thought is secret to Him. What a comfort to know that every day of our lives, going back to when we were merely “unformed substance,” is visible to God (Psalm 139:15-16)! And what a sobering reality to realize that every word, thought, and deed is laid bare before Him!
Third, God is the examining Lord: “The LORD tests the righteous.” His tests are not always or often easy, but they are always precisely what we need. None of us will reach heaven without tests and trials along the way. This may be an unpleasant reality to consider, but it should be precious to us, for it means we will not panic when God, in His sometimes inscrutable wisdom, routes our path through a valley. God’s tests are never without a purpose; they are always for the sake of preparing us for the day when we shall see Him in His holy temple.
Keep the truth of this verse in mind the next time you feel as though “the foundations are destroyed” (Psalm 11:3). The instability we sometimes feel is meant to remind us that worldly stability is only an illusion and that true security is found in God alone. He alone is exalted, He alone sees all, and He alone directs our lives and tests us for our good. When the foundations tremble, we can remember that this world is not our home and that our sovereign God is leading us to one day inhabit a city with foundations that will not shake (Hebrews 11:10; 12:28). You can know that He is in His holy temple—and He has promised to bring you to that very place.
How is God calling me to think differently?
How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
22But you have come to eMount Zion and to the city of the living God, fthe heavenly Jerusalem, and to ginnumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to hthe assembly1 of the firstborn who are ienrolled in heaven, and to jGod, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, kthe mediator of a new covenant, and to lthe sprinkled blood mthat speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For nif they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26At that time ohis voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, p“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates qthe removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore let us be grateful for receiving ra kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus slet us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29for our tGod is a consuming fire.
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.
Let Them Go
Jesus answered … “So, if you seek me, let these men go.”
Mark, my soul, the care that Jesus displayed even in His hour of trial toward his precious sheep! The ruling passion is strong in death. He resigns Himself to the enemy, but He interposes a word of power to set His disciples free. As to Himself, like a sheep before her shearers He is dumb and opens not His mouth, but for His disciples’ sake He speaks with almighty energy. Herein is love—constant, self-forgetting, faithful love. But is there not far more here than is immediately apparent? Do we not have the very soul and spirit of the atonement in these words?
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep and pleads that they must therefore go free. The Surety is bound, and justice demands that those for whom He stands as substitute should go free. In the middle of Egypt’s bondage, the voice rang out with power, “Let these men go.” Out of slavery of sin and Satan the redeemed must come. In every cell of the dungeons of Despair, the sound is echoed, “Let these men go,” and out come Despondency and Fearful. Satan hears the well-known voice and lifts his foot from the neck of the fallen; and Death hears it, and the grave opens her gates to let the dead arise. These men go the way of progress, holiness, triumph, glory, and none shall dare to keep them from it. No lion shall hinder their progress, and no fierce opponent shall prevent them.
The Lord Jesus has drawn the cruel hunters upon Himself, making the most timid of His followers to discover perfect peace in His unbounded love. The thundercloud has burst over the cross of Calvary, and the pilgrims of Zion shall never be smitten by the bolts of vengeance.
Come, my heart, rejoice in the immunity that your Redeemer has secured for you, and bless His name all day and every day.
Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.
Daily Bible Reading for March 26
Making the Ark
1sBezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits1 and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 2And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. 3And he cast for it four rings of gold for its tfour feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. 4And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold 5and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark. 6And he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 7And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, 8one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. 9The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.
Making the Table
10uHe also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it. 12And he made a rim around it a handbreadth2 wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim. 13He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 14Close to the frame were the rings, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 15He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings.
Making the Lampstand
17vHe also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. 18And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 19three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 20And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, 21and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. 22Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. 23And he made its seven lamps and its tongs and its trays of pure gold. 24He made it and all its utensils out of a talent3 of pure gold.
Making the Altar of Incense
25wHe made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it, 27and made two rings of gold on it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles with which to carry it. 28And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29xHe made the holy anointing oil also, and the ypure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.
1“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2xThey will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, ythe hour is coming when zwhoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3And they will do these things abecause they have not known the Father, nor me. 4But bI have said these things to you, that when ctheir hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, dbecause I was with you. 5But now eI am going to him who sent me, and fnone of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6But because I have said these things to you, gsorrow has filled your heart. 7Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for hif I do not go away, ithe Helper will not come to you. But jif kI go, lI will send him to you. 8mAnd when he comes, he will nconvict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9concerning sin, obecause they do not believe in me; 10pconcerning righteousness, qbecause I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11rconcerning judgment, because the ruler of this world sis judged.
12“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When tthe Spirit of truth comes, uhe will vguide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but wwhatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will xglorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15yAll that the Father has is mine; ztherefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy
16a“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and bagain a little while, and you will see me.” 17So csome of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, d‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, e‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? fWe do not know what he is talking about.” 19gJesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20Truly, truly, I say to you, hyou will weep and lament, but ithe world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but jyour sorrow will turn into joy. 21kWhen a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22lSo also you have sorrow now, but mI will see you again, and nyour hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23oIn that day you will pask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, qwhatever you ask of the Father in my name, rhe will give it to you. 24Until now you have asked nothing in my name. sAsk, and you will receive, tthat your joy may be full.
I Have Overcome the World
25“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. uThe hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27vfor the Father himself loves you, because wyou have loved me and xhave believed that I came from God.1 28yI came from the Father and have come into the world, and now zI am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not ausing figurative speech! 30Now we know that byou know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that cyou came from God.” 31Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32Behold, dthe hour is coming, indeed it has come, when eyou will be scattered, each to his own home, and fwill leave me alone. gYet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33I have said these things to you, that hin me you may have peace. iIn the world you will have jtribulation. But ktake heart; lI have overcome the world.”
1A wise son hears his father's instruction,
but qa scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2From the fruit of his mouth a man reats what is good,
but the desire of the treacherous sis for violence.
3tWhoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
uhe who opens wide his lips vcomes to ruin.
4wThe soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent xis richly supplied.
5The righteous hates falsehood,
but the wicked brings shame1 and disgrace.
6yRighteousness guards him whose zway is blameless,
but sin overthrows the wicked.
7aOne pretends to be rich,2 yet has nothing;
banother pretends to be poor,3 yet has great wealth.
8The ransom of a man's life is his wealth,
but a poor man chears no threat.
9dThe light of the righteous rejoices,
but ethe lamp of the wicked will be put out.
10fBy insolence comes nothing but strife,
but with those who take advice is wisdom.
11gWealth gained hastily4 will dwindle,
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
12Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
hbut a desire fulfilled is ia tree of life.
13Whoever jdespises kthe word5 brings destruction on himself,
but he who reveres the commandment6 will be lrewarded.
14The teaching of the wise is ma fountain of life,
that one may nturn away from the snares of death.
but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.7
16qEvery prudent man acts with knowledge,
rbut a fool flaunts his folly.
17A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
but sa faithful envoy brings healing.
18Poverty and disgrace come to him who tignores instruction,
ubut whoever vheeds reproof is honored.
19wA desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
20Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
ybut the righteous are rewarded with good.
22zA good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children,
but athe sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.
23The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,
but it is swept away through binjustice.
24cWhoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.9
25dThe righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
but the belly of the wicked suffers want.
Children and Parents
1sChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2t“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, ubut bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Bondservants and Masters
5vBondservants,1 obey your earthly masters2 with fear and trembling, wwith a sincere heart, xas you would Christ, 6not by the way of eye-service, as ypeople-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8zknowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, awhether he is a bondservant or is free. 9Masters, do the same to them, band stop your threatening, knowing that che who is both their Master3 and yours is in heaven, and that dthere is no partiality with him.
The Whole Armor of God
10Finally, ebe strong in the Lord and in fthe strength of his might. 11gPut on hthe whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ithe schemes of the devil. 12For jwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against kthe rulers, against the authorities, against lthe cosmic powers over mthis present darkness, against nthe spiritual forces of evil oin the heavenly places. 13Therefore ptake up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in qthe evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, rhaving fastened on the belt of truth, and shaving put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, tas shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up uthe shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all vthe flaming darts of wthe evil one; 17and take sthe helmet of salvation, and xthe sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying yat all times zin the Spirit, awith all prayer and supplication. To that end, bkeep alert with all perseverance, making csupplication for all the saints, 19and dalso for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth eboldly to proclaim fthe mystery of the gospel, 20for which I gam an ambassador hin chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Final Greetings
21iSo that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, jTychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may kencourage your hearts.
23lPeace be to the brothers,4 and mlove with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace be with all who nlove our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
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