Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
On Truth For Life, we’re tracking the story of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Alistair Begg notes that when most people would’ve been tempted to run and hide or fight back, Christ’s response revealed His majesty and divine mission.
From the Sermon
Jesus Betrayed and Arrested
John 18:1–11 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 27:56 • ID: 3595
What True Friends Look Like
In the days before the internet, ham-radio operation was very popular. Individuals skilled with these radios placed giant antennae in their backyards or attached them to their sheds, and if you rode by on a bicycle in the evening, you could hear them shouting into the night, “Hello? Is anyone out there?” At times they’d be awake deep into the night, hoping that someone in the hemisphere would respond—hoping that eventually they might hear, “Hello, I’m in Anchorage, and I’m reading you loud and clear.”
Our conversations today, whether in person, via texts, or through social media, really aren’t that different. They all demonstrate a great yearning for friendship. We are all wired by God to look for others with whom we may be joined in intimacy and affection. So what are some of the characteristics of true friendship?
First, a true friend is always loyal. Friendship is not built on superficial or fleeting commonalities that might pass away. A loyal friend is prepared to be faithful through thick or thin, whether you are successful or unsuccessful, whether you enjoy the same movies or not, and irrespective of whether you have offended them or not. Even when you’ve made a real mess of things, they will be there to remind you that there’s still a reason for hope.
Second, a true friend is always honest. It is impossible to enjoy or even to establish friendship where there is dishonesty. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6). When a friend wounds your pride by being honest about your sin, you know that you can trust them—their willingness to risk your disapproval in order to tell you the truth reveals that they are worthy of your trust. The honest friend looks out for your well-being because they long for your best.
Third, a true friend is sensitive. They choose their words carefully, unlike “the man who deceives his neighbor and says, ‘I am only joking’” (Proverbs 26:19). They refrain from gossip, because gossip always separates friends (16:28). A sensitive heart will cover an offense (17:9) because such a heart understands that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). It’s not that such friends don’t call sin what it is, but that where matters of illegality or injustice are not at stake, they cast a veil of silence over our transgressions, much in the same way that our heavenly Father chooses to remember our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).
Who is a friend such as this? Only one truly is this friend who “loves at all times”—your friend Jesus. Yet we are called not only to enjoy His friendship but also to imitate it—and with Jesus as our role model, we can learn to be true friends to those He places in our care. Whom has the Lord given you to be a friend to? What will it look like for you to show them loyalty, speak to them honestly, and treat them sensitively? What a glorious realization it would be for them to see that, in you, they have a friend who truly seeks to love them at all times.
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?
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19I hope in the Lord Jesus wto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20For I have no one xlike him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21For they all yseek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know Timothy's4 zproven worth, how aas a son5 with a father bhe has served with me in the gospel. 23I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24and cI trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
25I have thought it necessary to send to you dEpaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and efellow soldier, and your messenger and fminister to my need, 26for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29So greceive him in the Lord with all joy, and hhonor such men, 30for he nearly died6 ifor the work of Christ, risking his life jto complete what was lacking in your service to me.
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.
A Heavy Heart
My heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast.
Our blessed Lord experienced a terrible sinking and melting of soul. “A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?”1 Deep spiritual depression is the most devastating of all trials; nothing compares to it. No wonder the suffering Savior cries to His God, “Do not be far off,” for more than at any other time a man needs his God when his heart is melted within him because of heaviness.
Believer, come to the cross this morning, and humbly worship the King of glory as one who has been brought far lower, in mental distress and inward anguish, than anyone among us; and consider Him a faithful High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness. Especially let those of us whose sadness springs directly from the withdrawal of a present sense of our Father’s love enter into near and intimate communion with Jesus. Let us not give in to despair; our Master has already walked this dark road.
Our souls may sometimes long and faint, and thirst even to the point of anguish, to see the light of the Lord’s face; at such times let us calm ourselves by focusing on the sympathy of our great High Priest. Our drops of sorrow may be forgotten in the ocean of His griefs; how high ought our love to rise! O strong and deep love of Jesus, come in like a flood, cover all my powers, drown all my sins, wash away all my cares, lift up my earthbound soul, and bring me up to my Lord’s feet.
Let me lie, a poor broken shell, washed up by His love, having no virtue or value; but knowing that if He will bend His ear to me, He will hear within my heart faint echoes of the vast waves of His own love that have brought me to where I am happy to stay, even at His feet forever.
1) Proverbs 18:14
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 12
The Day of Atonement
1The Lord spoke to Moses after cthe death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to dcome at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For eI will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: fwith a bull from the herd for a sin offering and ga ram for a burnt offering. 4He shall put on hthe holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. iHe shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5And he shall take from jthe congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6“Aaron shall koffer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall lmake atonement for himself and for his house. 7Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for mAzazel.1 9And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10but the goat on which the lot fell for mAzazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to mAzazel.
11“Aaron shall present kthe bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12And he shall take na censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13oand put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover pthe mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. 14And qhe shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
15r“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood sinside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16Thus he shall tmake atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17uNo one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18Then he shall go out to the altar that is vbefore the Lord and wmake atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
20“And when he has made an end of xatoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall yput them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22The goat shall zbear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and ahe shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
23“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and bshall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. 24And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and coffer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25And dthe fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26And he who lets the goat go to eAzazel shall wash his clothes and fbathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27gAnd the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire. 28And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
29“And it shall be a statute to you forever that hin the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall iafflict yourselves2 and shall do no work, either jthe native or the stranger who sojourns among you. 30For on this day shall atonement be made for you kto cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. 31lIt is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall iafflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32mAnd the priest who is anointed and nconsecrated as priest in his father's place oshall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. 33He shall make atonement for pthe holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for qthe altar, and he shall make atonement for rthe priests and for sall the people of the assembly. 34And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel tonce in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron3 did as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Law of the Lord Is Perfect
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1iThe heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above1 proclaims his handiwork.
2Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4jTheir kvoice2 goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for lthe sun,
5mwhich comes out like na bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7oThe law of the Lord is perfect,3
previving the soul;
qthe testimony of the Lord is rsure,
8uthe precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is vpure,
wenlightening the eyes;
9the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules4 of the Lord are xtrue,
and righteous altogether.
10More to be desired are they than ygold,
even much zfine gold;
asweeter also than honey
and drippings of bthe honeycomb.
11Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
cin keeping them there is great reward.
12dWho can discern his errors?
eDeclare me innocent from fhidden faults.
13gKeep back your servant also from hpresumptuous sins;
let them not have idominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
The Words of Agur
1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.1
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.2
2Surely I am too mstupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of nthe Holy One.
4Who has oascended to heaven and come down?
Who has pgathered the wind in his fists?
Who has qwrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all rthe ends of the earth?
sWhat is his name, and what is his son's name?
Surely you know!
5tEvery word of God proves true;
he is ua shield to those who take refuge in him.
6vDo not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me wbefore I die:
8Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is xneedful for me,
9lest I be yfull and zdeny you
and say, a“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
band profane the name of my God.
10cDo not slander a servant to his master,
dlest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11There are those3 who ecurse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12There are those who are fclean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
13There are those—how glofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14There are those whose teeth are hswords,
whose ifangs are knives,
to jdevour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.4
kThree things are never satisfied;
kfour never say, “Enough”:
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17The eye that nmocks a father
and oscorns to obey a mother
will pbe picked out by qthe ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
18kThree things are rtoo wonderful for me;
kfour I do not understand:
19the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
20This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21Under kthree things sthe earth trembles;
under kfour it cannot bear up:
22ta slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is ufilled with food;
23van unloved woman when she wgets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24kFour things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25xthe ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26ythe rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27the locusts have no zking,
yet all of them march in arank;
28the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings' palaces.
29bThree things are stately in their tread;
bfour are stately in their stride:
30the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and cdoes not turn back before any;
31the dstrutting rooster,5 the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.6
32If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
eput your hand on your mouth.
33For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
Greeting
1Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby command of cGod our Savior and of Christ Jesus dour hope,
2To Timothy, emy true child in the faith:
fGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers
3gAs I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not hto teach any different doctrine, 4nor ito devote themselves to myths and endless jgenealogies, which promote kspeculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5The aim of our charge is love lthat issues from a pure heart and ma good conscience and na sincere faith. 6Certain persons, by oswerving from these, have wandered away into pvain discussion, 7desiring to be teachers of the law, qwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8Now we know that rthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9understanding this, that the slaw is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to tsound3 doctrine, 11in accordance with uthe gospel of the glory of vthe blessed God wwith which I have been entrusted.
Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners
12I thank him xwho has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, yappointing me to his service, 13though formerly I was a blasphemer, zpersecutor, and insolent opponent. But aI received mercy bbecause I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14and cthe grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the dfaith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15The saying is etrustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus fcame into the world to save sinners, gof whom I am the foremost. 16But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17To hthe King of the ages, iimmortal, jinvisible, kthe only God, lbe honor and glory forever and ever.4 Amen.
18This charge mI entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with nthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may owage the good warfare, 19pholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have qmade shipwreck of their faith, 20among whom are rHymenaeus and sAlexander, whom I thave handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ublaspheme.
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