Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Planning your wedding is exciting—but marriage isn’t just about the emotions. Find out why the vows you make are far more important than the feelings you may share. We’re concluding the series We Two Are One on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
On Our Behalf
When the Israelites were redeemed from bondage, God instructed them to ask their former Egyptian landlords and owners for gold, silver, and clothes to take with them as they crossed over into the promised land. This would provide the material for the construction of the tabernacle-tent in which God would dwell among His people.
The Israelites hadn’t gone far when Moses was called up Mount Sinai to meet with God. When Moses was gone longer than expected, though, the people grew impatient and demanded of his brother, Aaron, “Make us gods who shall go before us” (Exodus 32:1). So Aaron told them to “take off the rings of gold … and bring them to me,” and he used that gold to make a golden calf: “and they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel’” (v 2, 4). God had provided them with all they needed for the work He would call them to, and instead they abused His gifts to chase after their own ambitions and to worship a false god of their own making. We might not make a golden calf, but we are not immune from doing the same thing with what God has graciously given us.
When Moses returned, he was dismayed at all he observed. Bowing low to the ground before God, he interceded on behalf of the people, essentially saying, You’re the God who has made a covenant with Your people. Please, keep Your covenant! Even though we’ve taken what You have provided for us and have wasted it in the construction of false gods, don’t leave us alone. Please don’t abandon the work of Your hands (Exodus 32:11-13).
It is remarkable that Moses, who was entirely blameless, should so identify himself with the people. It is still more remarkable that he should be more willing to be blotted out of the Lord’s “book” of His people than he was to see the people cast off by God.
In Moses’ intercession, we see glimpses of what ultimately would be fulfilled in the New Testament. God is never the author of unfinished business when it comes to His children. Christ intercedes on our behalf, and “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). In other words, God’s promises—that He will keep His people and complete the good work He has begun in them—are utterly fulfilled in Jesus Himself.
We are “prone to wander” and “prone to leave the God [we] love.”[1] We are those who use what God gives to pursue our idols. We need an intercessor—and we have one! The Lord Jesus was blotted out in order that we might be forgiven our sin. When we confess our sin to Jesus, we are coming to the one who has already intervened on our behalf. Let His remarkable love for you win your heart back from wandering after idols, and come back to using all you have to serve the God who gave you all you need.
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?
4aYou adulterous people!3 Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? bTherefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit cthat he has made to dwell in us”? 6But dhe gives more grace. Therefore it says, e“God opposes the proud but dgives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. fResist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8gDraw near to God, and he will draw near to you. hCleanse your hands, you sinners, and ipurify your hearts, jyou double-minded. 9kBe wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10lHumble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
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.
In the Cool of the Day
… The sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
My soul, now that the cool of the day has come, retire awhile and hearken to the voice of God. He is always ready to speak with you when you are prepared to hear. If there is any slowness to commune, it is not on His part, but altogether on yours, for He stands at the door and knocks, and if His people will but open, He rejoices to enter. But in what state is my heart, which is my Lord's garden? May I venture to hope that it is well trimmed and watered and is bringing forth fruit fit for Him? If not, He will have much to reprove, but still I pray Him to come to me, for nothing can so certainly bring my heart into a right condition as the presence of the Sun of Righteousness, who brings healing in His wings.
Come, therefore, O Lord, my God, my soul invites You earnestly and waits for You eagerly. Come to me, O Jesus, my well-beloved, and plant fresh flowers in my garden, such as I see blooming in such perfection in Your matchless character! Come, O my Father, who is the Gardener, and deal with me in Your tenderness and prudence! Come, O Holy Spirit, and saturate my whole nature, as the herbs are now moistened with the evening dews. O that God would speak to me. Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears! O that He would walk with me; I am ready to give up my whole heart and mind to Him, and every other thought is hushed.
I am only asking what He delights to give. I am sure that He will condescend to have fellowship with me, for He has given me His Holy Spirit to abide with me forever. Sweet is the cool twilight, when every star seems like the eye of heaven and the cool wind is as the breath of celestial love. My Father, my elder Brother, my sweet Comforter, speak now in loving-kindness, for You have opened my ear and I am not rebellious.
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 July 1
Israel Crosses the Jordan
1Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out tfrom Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2uAt the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by vthe Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4wYet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits1 in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5Then Joshua said to the people, x“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6And Joshua said to the priests, y“Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to zexalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, aas I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8And as for you, command bthe priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, cyou shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that dthe living God is among you and that he will without fail edrive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11Behold, the ark of the covenant of fthe Lord of all the earth2 gis passing over before you into the Jordan. 12Now therefore htake twelve men from the tribes of Israel, ifrom each tribe a man. 13And jwhen the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, fthe Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall kstand in one heap.”
14So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing lthe ark of the covenant before the people, 15and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and mthe feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now nthe Jordan overflows all its banks othroughout the time of harvest), 16the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside pZarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of qthe Arabah, rthe Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, sand all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
Psalm 126
Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord
A Song of mAscents.
1When the Lord srestored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who tdream.
2Then our umouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
v“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5wThose who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalm 127
Unless the Lord Builds the House
A Song of mAscents. Of Solomon.
1Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord xwatches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious ytoil;
for he gives to his zbeloved asleep.
3Behold, bchildren are a heritage from the Lord,
cthe fruit of the womb a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of da warrior
are the children1 of one's youth.
5Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies ein the gate.2
Psalm 128
Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord
A Song of mAscents.
1fBlessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who gwalks in his ways!
2You hshall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3Your wife will be like ia fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like jolive shoots
around your table.
4Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5kThe Lord bless you lfrom Zion!
May you see mthe prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6May you see your nchildren's children!
oPeace be upon Israel!
The Lord's Day of Vengeance
1Who is this who comes from lEdom,
in crimsoned garments from lBozrah,
he who is splendid in his apparel,
mmarching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness,
mighty to save.”
2Why is your napparel red,
and your garments like his owho treads in the winepress?
3p“I have trodden the winepress alone,
qand from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood1 spattered on my garments,
and stained all my apparel.
4rFor the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and my year of redemption2 had come.
5I looked, but sthere was no one to help;
I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
and my wrath upheld me.
6I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
tI made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
The Lord's Mercy Remembered
7I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
uand the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8For he said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely.”
And he became their Savior.
9vIn all their affliction he was afflicted,3
and the angel of his presence saved them;
win his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
xhe lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10yBut they rebelled
zand grieved his Holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
and himself fought against them.
11Then he remembered athe days of old,
of Moses and his people.4
bWhere is he who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
his Holy Spirit,
12who caused his glorious arm
to go at the right hand of Moses,
cwho divided the waters before them
dto make for himself an everlasting name,
13who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
14Like livestock that go down into the valley,
ethe Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So you led your people,
dto make for yourself a glorious name.
Prayer for Mercy
15fLook down from heaven and see,
gfrom your holy and beautiful5 habitation.
Where are hyour zeal and your might?
The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
are held back from me.
16For iyou are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our Father,
jour Redeemer from of old is your name.
17O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways
and kharden our heart, so that we fear you not?
lReturn for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
18mYour holy people held possession for a little while;6
nour adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19oWe have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.
Messengers from John the Baptist
1When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
2eNow when John heard fin prison about the deeds of gthe Christ, he sent word by hhis disciples 3and said to him, “Are you ithe one who is to come, or shall we jlook for another?” 4And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and lthe poor have good news preached to them. 6And blessed is the one who mis not offended by me.”
7As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ninto the wilderness to see? oA reed shaken by the wind? 8What then did you go out to see? A man2 dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9What then did you go out to see? pA prophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is he of whom it is written,
q“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14and if you are willing to accept it, he is sElijah who is to come. 15tHe who has ears to hear,5 let him hear.
16“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
17“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18For John came uneither eating vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19The Son of Man came weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, xa friend of ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”6
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21a“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on dthe day of judgment for bTyre and Sidon than for you. 23And you, eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24cBut I tell you that git will be more tolerable on dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
25hAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, iLord of heaven and earth, that jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and krevealed them to little children; 26yes, Father, for such was your lgracious will.7 27mAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son nexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28pCome to qme, all who labor and are rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and slearn from me, for I am tgentle and lowly in heart, and uyou will find rest for your souls. 30For vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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