Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
The idea of a Sabbath rest is often considered old-fashioned and obsolete. After all, the world has changed dramatically since God’s law was given to Moses. Why does one day matter so much? Find out when you join us on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Holy Day or Holiday? — Part One
Exodus 20:8–11 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 47:49 • ID: 1692
Finding Favor
The Noah of popular imagination is a spiritual giant, a hero of the faith. In truth, though, he was just an ordinary man. He was like everybody else as he went about his daily tasks, earned a living, and raised his kids.
Before Noah’s story unfolds, we’re told that “the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). No distinctions are made here. Without exception, the whole human race was involved in wickedness—including Noah.
The point is clear: All had sinned. All were alienated from God. All must face judgment.
“But Noah…” By God’s grace, the reality of sin and judgment is always tempered by a divine “but.” God’s grace, unexplained and unmerited, was extended to Noah. This was the only thing that eventually distinguished him from the rest of humanity. God chose Noah and his family to be the recipients of His grace, establishing a relationship with him that had not existed before. Because of this grace, Noah became “a righteous man” who “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9).
Noah could make no claim on God. Without any virtue on his part, and against all the odds, God simply intervened in Noah’s life.
Many people are under the impression that grace isn’t found in the Old Testament—that in the early days, it was all fire and brimstone, law and judgment, and it’s not until Jesus arrives that grace comes. The reality, though, is that grace not only precedes creation but also unfolds in the midst of judgments throughout history and on every page of the Bible.
And throughout the Bible, grace works itself out. Noah built a boat in obedience to the word of God when the word of God was all he had to go on. When we experience grace in all its fullness, it diminishes us and exalts God. It makes us realize that life is all about Him and His kindness to us. It moves us to trust His word and obey His commands.
The only thing that distinguishes you from the culture around you is the same thing that marked Noah out from the people of his day: the unmerited, outreaching favor of God. So be on guard against spiritual pride as much as worldly compromise. None of us are smart enough to grasp the idea of salvation or good enough to merit the joy of salvation. You and I are not deserving—but nevertheless, God has intervened. Only when the grace of God grips our hearts will we, like Noah, walk in the way of our Creator rather than the way of our world and live in obedient humility and confident hope. Only grace has that effect.
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?
Increasing Corruption on Earth
1When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3Then the Lord said, z“My Spirit shall not abide in1 man forever, afor he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4The Nephilim2 were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
5bThe Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every cintention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And dthe Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it egrieved him to his heart. 7So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah ffound favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah and the Flood
9These are the generations of Noah. gNoah was a righteous man, hblameless in his generation. Noah iwalked with God. 10And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God jsaw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, kfor all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13And God said to Noah, l“I have determined to make an end of all flesh,3 for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.4 Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits,5 its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16Make a roof6 for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17mFor behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18But nI will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” 22oNoah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
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.
Your Choice Treasure
Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
These words have been frequently used by the godly in their hour of departure. We may profitably consider them this evening. The object of the believer's interest in life and death is not his body or his possessions but his spirit; this is his choice treasure: If this is safe, then all is well. What is our physical condition compared with the soul?
The believer commits his soul to the hand of God; it came from Him, it is His own, He has until now sustained it, He is able to keep it, and it is fitting that He should receive it. All things are safe in Jehovah's hands; what we entrust to the Lord will be secure, both now and in that day of days toward which we are hastening. It is peaceful living and glorious dying to rest in the care of heaven. At all times we should commit everything to Jesus' faithful hand; then even if life should hang on a thread, and difficulties multiply like the sands of the sea, our soul shall live in safety and delight itself in quiet resting places.
“You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” Redemption is a solid basis for confidence. David did not know Calvary as we do, but even as redemption cheered him, so our eternal redemption will sweetly console us. Past deliverances are strong guarantees for present assistance. What the Lord has done He will do again, for He does not change. He is faithful to His promises and gracious to His saints; He will not turn away from His people.
Though Thou slay me I will trust,
Praise Thou even from the dust,
Prove, and tell it as I prove,
Thine unutterable love.Thou may chasten and correct,
But Thou never can neglect;
Since the ransom price is paid,
On Thy love my hope is stayed.
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 August 27
Saul Tries to Kill David
1And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. rBut Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. 2And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king ssin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5For the took his life in his hand uand he struck down the Philistine, vand the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against winnocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, x“As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence yas before.
8And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. 9zThen a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. aAnd David was playing the lyre. 10bAnd Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
11cSaul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12dSo Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13Michal took ean image1 and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16And when the messengers came in, behold, ethe image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. 17Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. fWhy should I kill you?’”
18Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at gRamah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. 19And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, hthe Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, iand they also prophesied. 21When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, iand they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, iand they also prophesied. 22Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in gRamah.” 23And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. jAnd the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24kAnd he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, l“Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Greeting
1Paul, acalled bby the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
2To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those csanctified in Christ Jesus, dcalled to be saints together with all those who in every place ecall upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3dGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4I fgive thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5that in every way gyou were enriched in him in all hspeech and all knowledge— 6even as ithe testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you jwait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8kwho will sustain you to the end, lguiltless min the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9nGod is faithful, by whom you were called into the ofellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church
10I appeal to you, brothers,1 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no pdivisions among you, but that you be united qin the same mind and the same judgment. 11For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is rquarreling among you, my brothers. 12What I mean is that seach one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow tApollos,” or “I follow uCephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13vIs Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you wbaptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I baptized none of you except xCrispus and yGaius, 15so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16(I did baptize also zthe household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and anot with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
18For the word of the cross is bfolly to cthose who are perishing, but to us dwho are being saved it is ethe power of God. 19For it is written,
f“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20gWhere is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? hHas not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach2 to save those who believe. 22For iJews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ jcrucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ kthe power of God and lthe wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26For consider your calling, brothers: mnot many of you were wise according to worldly standards,3 not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27But nGod chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; oGod chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even pthings that are not, to qbring to nothing things that are, 29so rthat no human being4 might boast in the presence of God. 30And because of him5 you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us swisdom from God, trighteousness and usanctification and vredemption, 31so that, as it is written, w“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
The Holy Stones Lie Scattered
1qHow the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
rat the head of every street.
2The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in sfine gold,
how they are regarded as tearthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!
3Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4The tongue of the nursing infant usticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
vthe children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
wthose who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
6xFor the chastisement1 of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment2 of Sodom,
ywhich was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.3
7Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form4 was like sapphire.5
8zNow their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.
9Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.
10aThe hands of bcompassionate women
chave boiled their own children;
dthey became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11eThe Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and fhe kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
12gThe kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
13This was for hthe sins of her prophets
and hthe iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
14iThey wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
jthat no one was able to touch
their garments.
15“Away! kUnclean!” people cried at them.
“Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
people said among the nations,
“They shall stay with us no longer.”
16lThe Lord himself6 has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
mno honor was shown to the priests,
nno favor to the elders.
17oOur eyes failed, ever watching
ovainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for pa nation which could not save.
18qThey dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
rour end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19Our pursuers were sswifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20tThe breath of our nostrils, uthe Lord's anointed,
was captured vin their pits,
of whom we said, w“Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”
21xRejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in ythe land of Uz;
but to you also zthe cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22aThe punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;7
but byour iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.
Great Is the Lord
Of David.
1Contend, O Lord, with those who ycontend with me;
zfight against those who fight against me!
2Take hold of ashield and buckler
and rise for my help!
3Draw the spear and javelin1
against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”
4bLet them be cput to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be dturned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
5Let them be like echaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
6Let their way be dark and fslippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
7For gwithout cause hthey hid their net for me;
without cause they dug ia pit for my life.2
8Let jdestruction come upon him kwhen he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!
9Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
lexulting in his salvation.
10All my mbones shall say,
“O Lord, nwho is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
11oMalicious3 witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
12pThey repay me evil for good;
my soul is bereft.4
13But I, qwhen they were sick—
I rwore sackcloth;
I safflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed twith head bowed5 on my chest.
14I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
I ubowed down in mourning.
15But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
they gathered together against me;
vwretches whom I did not know
tore at me without ceasing;
16like profane mockers at a feast,6
they wgnash at me with their teeth.
17How long, O Lord, will you xlook on?
Rescue me from their destruction,
ymy precious life from the lions!
18I will thank you in zthe great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
19aLet not those rejoice over me
who are bwrongfully my foes,
and let not those cwink the eye
20For they do not speak peace,
but against those who are quiet in the land
they devise words of deceit.
21They fopen wide their mouths against me;
they say, g“Aha, Aha!
Our eyes have seen it!”
22hYou have seen, O Lord; ibe not silent!
O Lord, jbe not far from me!
23Awake and krouse yourself for lmy vindication,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24mVindicate me, O Lord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and nlet them not rejoice over me!
25Let them not say in their hearts,
o“Aha, our heart's desire!”
Let them not say, p“We have swallowed him up.”
26Let them be qput to shame and disappointed altogether
who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be rclothed with shame and dishonor
who smagnify themselves against me!
27Let those who delight in my righteousness
shout for joy and be glad
tand say evermore,
u“Great is the Lord,
who vdelights in the welfare of his servant!”
28Then my wtongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.
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