Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
The Bible isn’t merely an inspirational book of helpful advice and encouragement. Its instruction gives life to the soul like the sun gives life to the earth. Hear about the power and perfection of God’s Word. That’s on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
An Exposition of Psalm 19 — Part Two
Psalm 19:7–14 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 44:22 • ID: 3240
Countering Spiritual Laziness
We’ve all seen it. In the worlds of sports, business, and academics, less gifted individuals often go further than those with greater abilities due to one trait: diligence. Such people are willing to take seriously the challenge of laziness and do what they must to overcome its allure. You likely either are one of those people or aspire and work to be one.
But, if we’re honest with ourselves, this same diligence is often lacking in our spiritual lives.
If you and I are to counter spiritual laziness, we’re in need of an assessment of sorts: Do we have any indication of how we’re doing? When we reflect on the past year, have we made any progress? Have we done any Bible memorization recently? Have we used “idle moments” to read or meditate on the word or to pray to our Lord? Or has laziness caused us to do what is easy rather than what is best and prevented us from storing the word of God within our hearts?
When asked to take part in Christian service, how do we respond? Maybe it’s not an outright refusal, but even a hint of reluctance is a dangerous sign. What about in hearing the word of God when it’s preached, when it comes home with power and impact and we know that it demands application and change? Do we take action as doers of the word and not as hearers only (James 1:22)?
Your answers to such questions can help you press on and avoid the slow drip-drip of laziness (a lie-in instead of a morning devotional here, a boxset instead of a prayer meeting or a sports match rather than a conversation about Jesus there), which leads to spiritual poverty. Do not become a master of unfinished spiritual business and unfulfilled good intentions. Often, all the started plans and kind notes, and the many words of repentance and petitions for help, die in our minds while we turn on our beds “as a door turns on its hinges” (Proverbs 26:14). Flee from this behavior and instead run to Christ, asking Him to stir your heart and make you into a man or woman of action.
Do you want to be useful to God? Do you long to make a difference: to reach people on the seas of life in all their trouble and emptiness and to be part of the means by which God builds His church? Do not neglect your souls by giving room to laziness. Without diligence in your relationship with God, you will grow no true fruit in your life. “Tomorrow” is the devil’s favorite word. “Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, emphasis added). Be useful to God now.
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?
27ePrepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field,
and after that build your house.
28fBe not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
29Do not say, g“I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
30hI passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man ilacking sense,
31and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone jwall was broken down.
32Then I saw and kconsidered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33lA little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
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.
The Humbling Impact of Grace
What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?
If Mephibosheth was humbled by David's kindness, what shall we be in the presence of our gracious Lord? The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity. Eminent saints have scarcely known what to compare themselves to, their sense of unworthiness has been so clear and keen. "I am," says the godly Rutherford, "a dry and withered branch, a piece of dead carcass, dry bones, and not able to step over a straw." In another place he writes, "Apart from their open outbursts, I am too much like Judas and Cain."
The meanest objects in nature appear to the humbled mind to have a preference above itself, because they have never contracted sin: A dog may be greedy, fierce, or filthy, but it has no conscience to violate, no Holy Spirit to resist. A dog may appear to be worthless, and yet by a little kindness it is soon won to love its master and is faithful to death; but we forget the goodness of the Lord and do not follow His call. The term dead dog is the most expressive of all terms of contempt, but it is not too strong to express the self-abhorrence of well-taught believers. They do not display false modesty; they mean what they say; they have weighed themselves in the balances of the sanctuary and discovered the vanity of their nature.
At best we are but clay, animated dust; but viewed as sinners, we are monsters indeed. Let it be published in heaven as a miracle that the Lord Jesus should set His heart's love upon people like us. Dust and ashes though we be, we must and will magnify the exceeding greatness of His grace. Could His heart not find rest in heaven? Does He need to come to these tents for a spouse and choose a bride from the children of men? Let the heavens and earth break forth into song and give all the glory to our sweet Lord Jesus.
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 May 27
Marriage of Female Heirs
1The heads of the fathers' houses of the clan of the qpeople of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel. 2They said, r“The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and smy lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. 4And when tthe jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the people of Joseph uis right. 6This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, vonly they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. 7The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel wshall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8And xevery daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’”
10The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses, 11yfor Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father's brothers. 12They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's clan.
13These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel zin the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Restore Us, O God
To the choirmaster: according to eLilies. A Testimony. Of fAsaph, a Psalm.
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead gJoseph like ha flock.
You who are ienthroned upon the cherubim, jshine forth.
2Before kEphraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
lstir up your might
and mcome to save us!
olet your face shine, that we may be saved!
4O pLord God of hosts,
qhow long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5You have fed them with rthe bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6sYou make us an object of contention for our sneighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7nRestore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8You brought ta vine out of Egypt;
you udrove out the nations and planted it.
9You vcleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11It sent out its branches to wthe sea
and its shoots to wthe River.2
12Why then have you xbroken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13yThe boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14Turn again, O God of hosts!
zLook down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16They have aburned it with fire; they have acut it down;
may they perish at bthe rebuke of your face!
17But clet your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18Then we shall not turn back from you;
dgive us life, and we will call upon your name!
19eRestore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem
1Ah, the proud crown of ythe drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2Behold, the Lord has zone who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like aa storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3bThe proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4cand the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like da first-ripe fig1 before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.
5eIn that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,2
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6and fa spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and gstrength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7hThese also reel with wine
and istagger with strong drink;
the priest and jthe prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by3 wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9k“To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11lFor by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12to whom he has said,
m“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
nthat they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you oscoffers,
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the poverwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made qlies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16therefore thus says the Lord God,
r“Behold, I am the one who has laid4 as a foundation sin Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17And I will make justice tthe line,
and righteousness tthe plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18Then uyour covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.
19As often as it passes through it will take you;
vfor morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be wsheer terror to understand the message.
20For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21For the Lord will rise up xas on Mount Perazim;
yas in the Valley of zGibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
22Now therefore do not ascoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard ba decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
23Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
24Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
25cWhen he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer5 as the border?
26dFor he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.
27Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever;6
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
29This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is ewonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
Greeting
1aThe elder to the elect lady and her children, bwhom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who cknow dthe truth, 2ebecause of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3fGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.
Walking in Truth and Love
4gI rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5And now I ask you, dear lady—hnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—ithat we love one another. 6And jthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just kas you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7For lmany deceivers mhave gone out into the world, nthose who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8Watch yourselves, oso that you may not lose what we1 have worked for, but pmay win a full reward. 9Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, qdoes not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching qhas both the Father and the Son. 10If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, rdo not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11for whoever greets him stakes part in his wicked works.
Final Greetings
12tThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. uInstead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, vso that our joy may be complete.
13The children of your elect sister greet you.
Get the Program, Devotional, and Bible Reading Plan delivered daily right to your inbox.