Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Audio PlayerMost of us have questions we’d like to ask God. Well, He has questions for us too! Listen as we consider seven questions God asks, beginning in the garden of Eden. Hear God’s question—and Adam’s all-too-familiar response—on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Life Will Flow to All
The best is yet to come.
The Israelites had been in exile for six decades when Cyrus of Persia came to power in the 6th century BC. Soon after, the king allowed some of the Israelite captives to return to their previous home. With great hope and anticipation, Ezra and Nehemiah journeyed back and led the people in rebuilding the temple and the walls of Jerusalem.
The number of returned exiles was small, and they faced significant opposition. They were successful in their endeavors, but they were by no means triumphant. In fact, the older, wiser people wept when they laid the foundations of the temple, because they knew it would not meet the grand expectations of the prophets (Ezra 3:10-12).
The longings of those who wept reflected Ezekiel’s final prophecy, which contained this great hope: a new temple would someday be built in a greater Jerusalem. It would be more magnificent than the first temple had ever been, and God would preside in the immense structure, from which a river would flow, giving eternal life to the world (see Ezekiel 40 – 48).
The Israelites knew that what they were building wasn’t the temple Ezekiel had prophesied. It didn’t quite fit. Nor was the homecoming from Babylon the great exodus about which the prophets had spoken. They were left looking beyond their own city and the rebuilt temple. Ultimately, Ezekiel was prophesying about the coming kingdom of God, which was beyond his comprehension.
In the book of Revelation, John describes a vision of heaven that provides a different sight: the church in the kingdom of God. God’s plan was never limited only to the Israelites; it includes so much more. He is determined to completely undo the effects of sin and renew the whole world. Once again, mankind will know what it means to live continually in His presence, in the city called “The LORD Is There.” God will be in our midst, and from Him life will flow to all: “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God … I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:2, 22-23).
Like the Israelites before us, we live looking forward. We lean towards the future in expectation of the return of the King and the completion of His salvation. We will join Jesus in His kingdom and experience the joy which comes from being with Him. Do not settle for what this life has to offer, nor grow despairing over the disappointments of the here and now. Our best days lie ahead of us, in the city of God.
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?
Water Flowing from the Temple
1Then he brought me back to xthe door of the temple, and behold, ywater was issuing from below zthe threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of athe altar. 2Then he brought me out by way of bthe north gate and led me around on the outside to cthe outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
3Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, dthe man measured a thousand cubits,1 and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. 4Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 5Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6And he said to me, e“Son of man, fhave you seen this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river gvery many trees on the one side and on the other. 8And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into hthe Arabah, and enters the sea;2 when the water flows into ithe sea, the water will become fresh.3 9And wherever the river goes,4 every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea5 may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From jEngedi to kEneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of lthe Great Sea.6 11But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12And on the banks, mon both sides of the river, there will grow nall kinds of trees for food. oTheir leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, pbut they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and ptheir leaves for healing.”
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.
Christ's Precious Wounds
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a lamb standing, as though it had been slain.
Why should our exalted Lord appear in glory with His wounds? The wounds of Jesus are His glories, His jewels, His sacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is altogether lovely. We see Him as the lily of matchless purity, and as the rose crimsoned with His own blood. We behold the beauty of Christ in all His earthly pilgrimage, but there never was such matchless beauty as when He hung upon the cross. There we saw all His beauties in perfection, all His attributes developed, all His love drawn out, all His character expressed.
Beloved, the wounds of Jesus are far fairer in our eyes than all the splendor and pomp of kings. The thorny crown is more than an imperial diadem. It is true that He no longer bears the scepter of reed, but there was even in that ignominy a glory that never flashed from a scepter of gold. Jesus wears the appearance of a slain Lamb as His royal dress in which He wooed our souls and redeemed them by His complete atonement. And these are not only the ornaments of Christ: They are the trophies of His love and of His victory. He has divided the spoil with the strong. He has redeemed for Himself a great multitude that no one can count, and these scars are the memorials of the fight. If Christ loves to retain the thought of His sufferings for His people, then how precious should his wounds be to us!
Behold how every wound of His
A precious balm distils,
Which heals the scars that sin had made,
And cures all mortal ills.
Those wounds are mouths that preach His grace,
The ensigns of His love;
The seals of our expected bliss
In paradise above.
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 23
Laws About Vows
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone omakes a special vow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons, 3then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels1 of silver, according to the pshekel of the sanctuary. 4If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 6If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.
9“If the vow2 is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the Lord, all of it that he gives to the Lord is holy. 10qHe shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. 11And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, 12and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. 13rBut if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a sfifth to the valuation.
14“When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the Lord, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15tAnd if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a sfifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his.
16“If a man dedicates to the Lord part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer3 of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, 18but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall ucalculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. 19vAnd if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a sfifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. 20But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. 21But the field, wwhen it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the Lord, like a field that has been xdevoted. The priest shall be in ypossession of it. 22If he dedicates to the Lord a field that he has bought, zwhich is not a part of his possession, 23athen the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the Lord. 24bIn the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. 25Every valuation shall be according to cthe shekel of the sanctuary: dtwenty gerahs4 shall make a shekel.
26“But a efirstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord's. 27And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, fand add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation.
28“But gno devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. 29hNo one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction5 from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
30i“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. 31If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. 32And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that jpass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. 33One shall not differentiate between good or bad, kneither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”
34lThese are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel mon Mount Sinai.
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
1 Of David, when he nchanged his behavior before oAbimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1I will bless the Lord pat all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2My soul qmakes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and rbe glad.
3Oh, smagnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4I tsought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5Those who look to him are uradiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6vThis poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and wsaved him out of all his troubles.
7xThe angel of the Lord yencamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8Oh, ztaste and see that athe Lord is good!
bBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10cThe young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who dseek the Lord lack no good thing.
11eCome, O children, listen to me;
fI will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12gWhat man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may hsee good?
13iKeep your tongue from evil
and your lips from jspeaking deceit.
14kTurn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and lpursue it.
15mThe eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
nand his ears toward their cry.
16oThe face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to pcut off the memory of them from the earth.
17nWhen the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18The Lord is near to qthe brokenhearted
and saves rthe crushed in spirit.
19sMany are the afflictions of the righteous,
tbut the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20He keeps all his bones;
unot one of them is broken.
21vAffliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22The Lord wredeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be xcondemned.
1Dead flies make gthe perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2hA wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
3Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he isays to everyone that he is a fool.
4If the anger of the ruler rises against you, jdo not leave your place,
kfor calmness1 will lay great offenses to rest.
5There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were lan error proceeding from the ruler: 6mfolly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7nI have seen slaves oon horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8He who pdigs a pit will fall into it,
and qa serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9rHe who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who ssplits logs is endangered by them.
10If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.2
11If the serpent bites before it is tcharmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
12The words of a wise man's mouth uwin him favor,3
but vthe lips of a fool consume him.
13The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
14wA fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him xwhat will be after him?
15The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know ythe way to the city.
16zWoe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for adrunkenness!
18Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19Bread is made for laughter,
and bwine gladdens life,
and cmoney answers everything.
20Even in your thoughts, ddo not curse the king,
nor in your ebedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.
Teach Sound Doctrine
1But as for you, teach what accords with psound1 doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, psound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3qOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, rnot slanderers sor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, tpure, uworking at home, kind, and vsubmissive to their own husbands, wthat the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge xthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be ya model of good works, and in your teaching zshow integrity, adignity, 8and bsound speech that cannot be condemned, cso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9dBondservants2 are to be submissive to their own masters ein everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10not pilfering, fbut showing all good faith, gso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
11For hthe grace of God ihas appeared, bringing salvation jfor all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and kworldly passions, and lto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in mthe present age, 13nwaiting for our blessed ohope, the pappearing of the glory of our great qGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14rwho gave himself for us to sredeem us from all lawlessness and tto purify for himself ta people for his own possession who are uzealous for good works.
15Declare these things; exhort and vrebuke with all authority. wLet no one disregard you.
Get the Program, Devotional, and Bible Reading Plan delivered daily right to your inbox.