Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Audio PlayerWhen it comes to tithing, how much is enough? This question has been asked since the church’s early days. So what are the guidelines for financially supporting the church? Hear the biblical framework for true giving, on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Giving: A Matter of the Heart
1 Corinthians 16:1–9 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 46:53 • ID: 1802
God Vindicates His People
Imagine a child who comes home from school deeply upset by something another child said or did. On the verge of tears over a hurt looming larger than a mountain, it would be easy for her to be thinking that she would never again speak to the one who caused the harm, or to be planning out how she would get her own back one day.
Imagine, though, that her parents suggest she write a simple note, extending both forgiveness and friendship, and the next day, having done so, she is able joyfully to report back: “I did it! I took the note to school, and it worked. We hugged, and we’re friends. It was fantastic!”
This is what it means to obey Paul’s call here to live peaceably “so far as it depends on you.” Sometimes, peace will be elusive; but never let that be because of some lack on our part. And may it never be because we are chasing or plotting revenge. Vengeance is a dish only to be served by God, and never by His people.
Quite frankly, the majority of our disputes are really just grown-up versions of what happens in childhood. Our response in the face of injustice says a lot about what we truly believe. Will we “repay evil for evil” (1 Peter 3:9), which is the way of the world, or will we respond according to the mind of Christ?
All our conflicts and hurts pale in comparison with what Jesus faced and felt. Yet when Jesus was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not curse or threaten. We must not make the great mistake of accepting Jesus’ salvation but ignoring His example, spending our lives trying to clear our names, defend our motives, and explain ourselves, seeking redress for every wrong and revenge for every slight. That is what comes naturally to us; and what frees us from that path is to remember that we can trust God to vindicate His people in due time. Justice will be served, and not by us. So, is there someone you need to reach out to in peace? Is there someone whom you are allowing to experience your wrath instead of your love in some way? Beloved, leave vengeance to God, and overcome evil with good. Today.
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?
18wServants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19For this is a gracious thing, when, xmindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But yif when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21For zto this you have been called, ybecause Christ also suffered for you, aleaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22bHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23cWhen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, dbut continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24eHe himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we fmight die to sin and glive to righteousness. hBy his wounds you have been healed. 25For iyou were straying like sheep, but have now returned to jthe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
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.
Rejoicing in Trouble
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Consider how the Holy Spirit can make the Christian independent of outward circumstances. What a bright light may shine within us when it is really dark outside! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be when the world shakes, and the foundations of the earth are removed! Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian's heart, but instead makes that music sweeter, clearer, more heavenly, until the last kind act that death can do is allow the earthly song to melt into the heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss!
Let us have confidence, then, in the blessed Spirit's power to comfort us. Dear reader, are you facing poverty? Do not fear—the Holy Spirit can give you, in your need, a greater plenty than the rich have in their abundance. You never know what joys may be stored up for you in the cottage around which grace will plant the roses of contentment.
Are you conscious of your physical frailty? Do you anticipate sleepless nights and painful days? Do not be sad! Your bed may become a throne to you. You cannot tell how every pain that shoots through your body may be a refining fire to consume your dross—a beam of glory to light up the secret parts of your soul.
Is your eyesight failing? Jesus will be your light. Is your hearing deteriorating? Jesus' name will be your soul's best music, and His person your dear delight. Socrates used to say, "Philosophers can be happy without music," and Christians can be happier than philosophers when all outward causes of rejoicing are removed.
In You, my God, my heart shall triumph, no matter my circumstances! By Your power, O blessed Spirit, my heart shall rejoice even though all things should fail me here below.
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 April 8
Leviticus 11
Clean and Unclean Animals
1And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, yThese are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. 3Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 4Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 5And the zrock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 6And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 7And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, ais unclean to you. 8You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
9“These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. 10But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is bdetestable to you. 11You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. 12Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
13“And these you shall detest among the birds;1 they shall not be eaten; they are bdetestable: cthe eagle,2 the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14the kite, dthe falcon of any kind, 15every raven of any kind, 16the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the ehawk of any kind, 17the flittle owl, the cormorant, the gshort-eared owl, 18the barn owl, the htawny owl, the carrion vulture, 19the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and ithe bat.
20“All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. 21Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. 22Of them you may eat: jthe locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. 23But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.
24“And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 25and whoever carries any part of their carcass kshall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. 27And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 28and he who carries their carcass kshall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
29“And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, lthe mouse, the great lizard of any kind, 30the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. 32And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. mIt must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. 33And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you nshall break it. 34Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. 35And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. 36Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. 37And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, 38but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
39“And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 40and owhoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
41p“Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. 42Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. 43qYou shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. 44For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and rbe holy, for I am holy. qYou shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45sFor I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. rYou shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
46This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, 47tto make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.
Leviticus 12
Purification After Childbirth
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then ushe shall be unclean seven days. vAs at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3And on the weighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. 5But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.
6u“And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, 7and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. 8And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take xtwo turtledoves or two pigeons,1 yone for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. zAnd the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”
Psalm 13
How Long, O Lord?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1vHow long, O Lord? Will you wforget me forever?
How long will you xhide your face from me?
2How long must I take ycounsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3zConsider and answer me, O Lord my God;
alight up my eyes, lest bI sleep the sleep of death,
4clest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am dshaken.
5But I have etrusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall frejoice in your salvation.
6I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 14
The Fool Says, There Is No God
To the choirmaster. Of David.
1gThe hfool says in his heart, i“There is no God.”
They are jcorrupt, they do abominable deeds;
kthere is none who does good.
2The Lord llooks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,1
who mseek after God.
3They have all turned aside; together they have become ncorrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4Have they no oknowledge, all the evildoers
who peat up my people as they eat bread
and qdo not call upon the Lord?
5There they are in great terror,
for God is with rthe generation of the righteous.
6You would shame the plans of the poor,
7Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord trestores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
1Like snow in summer or urain in harvest,
so vhonor is wnot fitting for a fool.
2Like xa sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
ya curse that is causeless does not alight.
3zA whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and aa rod for the back of fools.
4bAnswer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
5cAnswer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be dwise in his own eyes.
6Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
cuts off his own feet and edrinks violence.
7Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8Like one who binds the stone in the sling
is fone who gives honor to a fool.
9Like ga thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.1
11Like ha dog that returns to his vomit
is ia fool who repeats his folly.
12Do you see a man who is jwise in his own eyes?
kThere is more hope for a fool than for him.
13lThe sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!”
14As a door turns on its hinges,
so does a sluggard on his bed.
15mThe sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
16The sluggard is jwiser in his own eyes
nthan seven men who can answer sensibly.
17Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own
is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
18Like a madman who throws ofirebrands, arrows, and death
19is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”
20For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no pwhisperer, qquarreling ceases.
21As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is ra quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22sThe words of pa whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
23tLike the uglaze2 covering an earthen vessel
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips
and harbors deceit in his heart;
25vwhen he speaks graciously, believe him not,
for there are wseven abominations in his heart;
26though his hatred be covered with deception,
his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27xWhoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
28A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
The Day of the Lord
1Now concerning wthe times and the seasons, brothers,1 xyou have no need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves are fully aware that ythe day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then zsudden destruction will come upon them aas labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you bare not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all cchildren2 of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6So then dlet us not sleep, as others do, but let us ekeep awake and fbe sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, gare drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, hhaving put on the breastplate of ifaith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for jwrath, but kto obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10lwho died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Final Instructions and Benediction
12We ask you, brothers, mto respect those who labor among you and nare over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. oBe at peace among yourselves. 14And we urge you, brothers, admonish pthe idle,3 qencourage the fainthearted, rhelp the weak, sbe patient with them all. 15See that tno one repays anyone evil for evil, but always useek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16vRejoice always, 17wpray without ceasing, 18xgive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19yDo not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise zprophecies, 21but atest everything; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.
23Now may bthe God of peace himself csanctify you completely, and may your dwhole espirit and soul and body be kept blameless at fthe coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24gHe who calls you is faithful; hhe will surely do it.
25iBrothers, pray for us.
26jGreet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27I put you under oath before the Lord to have kthis letter read to all the brothers.
28lThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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