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
A Journey of Repentance
Christianity hinges on the message of forgiveness. Other religions may offer moralism. They may offer methods that will help us tidy up our lives or make us feel that we are good people. Christianity, however, is for the unworthy, the lost, the beleaguered, and the sinful. It’s for people who need to hear that they can be forgiven. In other words, it’s for everyone.
From first to last, the gospel is about what God does, not about what we must do. It is God, by His mercy, who gives us the desire to even want to be forgiven—and it is only when we put our faith in Jesus that we are fully pardoned. When we turn to Him in repentance and faith, we are able to look back and say we have been saved from sin’s penalty. All that was against us, all that kept us from knowing God, all that kept us from discovering His love and His goodness—all of the penalty that we deserve—has been eradicated, erased through the saving work of God’s Son on the cross.
As believers, then, we can—we should—rejoice in the fact that sin no longer rules over us. Yet the reality is that in our earthly lives, we still sin. We still miss the mark; we still fail to reach God’s standard. And when we do, the Evil One loves to whisper, “Are you really saved? Will God really forgive you this time?” To which we must answer, “Yes, I am; and yes, He will, for the one who died for me is at this moment advocating for me.”
Knowing forgiveness is not a license to sin; indeed, John wrote with the purpose “that you may not sin.” When we sin, the joy we have found in God begins to fade. While He remains our heavenly Father, it should be no surprise that if we harbor sin, we will fail to enjoy all the blessings He intends for us.
And so we seek to live in obedience to our Lord, and yet, since we will not do so perfectly, we also must live in repentance to our Lord. Jesus underscored the need for and importance of daily repentance in John 13 when, while He was in the midst of washing His disciples’ feet, Peter protested and said, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus responded, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me” (13:8). Forgiveness is not ours until we are washed by Jesus, and then He continues to wash us through our daily repentance and faith.
One day, you will be taken to heaven and saved from sin’s presence. But until that great day, your Christian life is to be a journey of repentance. You have been saved. You will be saved. But for now, day by day, you are mercifully being saved as you repent and turn back to Jesus.
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?
Romans 7:7–25
The Law and Sin
7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, oI would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if pthe law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, qseizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. rFor apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10The very commandment sthat promised life proved to be death to me. 11For sin, tseizing an opportunity through the commandment, udeceived me and through it killed me. 12So vthe law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, wsold under sin. 15For I do not understand my own actions. For xI do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with ythe law, that it is good. 17So now zit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells ain me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19bFor I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, cit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For dI delight in the law of God, ein my inner being, 23but I see in my members fanother law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from gthis body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Romans 8:1–2
Life in the Spirit
1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.1 2For the law of hthe Spirit of life ihas set you2 free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
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.
Hope in Barrenness
Sing, O barren one.
Although we may have brought forth some fruit and have a joyful hope that we are abiding in the vine, yet there are times when we feel very barren. Prayer is lifeless, love is cold, faith is weak, each grace in the garden of our heart languishes and droops. We are like flowers in the hot sun, desperately needing the refreshing shower. In such a condition what are we to do? The text is addressed to us in just such a state. “Sing, O barren one . . . break forth into singing and cry aloud.” But what can I sing about? I cannot talk about the present, and even the past looks full of barrenness. I can sing of Jesus Christ. I can talk of visits that the Redeemer has paid to me in the past; or if not of these, I can magnify the great love with which He loved His people when He came from the heights of heaven for their redemption.
I will go to the cross again. Come, my soul, you were once heavy-laden, and you lost your burden there. Go to Calvary again. Perhaps that very cross that gave you life may give you fruitfulness. What is my barrenness? It is the platform for His fruit-creating power. What is my desolation? It is the dark setting for the sapphire of His everlasting love. I will go to Him in my poverty, I will go in my helplessness, I will go in all my shame and backsliding; I will tell Him that I am still His child, and finding confidence in His faithful heart, even I, the barren one, will sing and cry aloud.
Sing, believer, for it will cheer your own heart and the hearts of others who are desolate. Sing on, for although you are presently ashamed of being barren, you will be fruitful soon; now that God makes you hate to be without fruit He will soon cover you with clusters. The experience of our barrenness is painful, but the Lord's visits are delightful. A sense of our own poverty drives us to Christ, and that is where we need to be, for in Him our fruit is found.
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 28
Jonathan Warns David
1Then David fled from Naioth min Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” 2And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” 3But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that nI have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, oas the Lord lives and pas your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 4Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is qthe new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, rthat I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6sIf your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run tto Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly usacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that vharm is determined by him. 8Therefore deal kindly with your servant, wfor you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. xBut if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” 9And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that vit was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” 10Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” 11And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
12And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness!1 When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13But should it please my father to do you harm, ythe Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. zMay the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15aand do not cut off2 your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, b“May3 the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” 17And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, cfor he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18Then Jonathan said to him, d“Tomorrow is the new moon, and eyou will be missed, because fyour seat will be empty. 19On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.4 20And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, gas the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22But if I say to the youth, h‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23iAnd as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, jthe Lord is between you and me forever.”
24So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite,5 and Abner sat by Saul's side, kbut David's place was empty.
26Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. lHe is not clean; surely he is not clean.” 27But on mthe second day, the day after the new moon, kDavid's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28Jonathan answered Saul, n“David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.”
30Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? 31For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” 32Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, o“Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33pBut Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew qthat his father was determined to put David to death. 34And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
35In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, r“Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap6 and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42Then Jonathan said to David, s“Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, t‘The Lord shall be between me and you, uand between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.7
Proclaiming Christ Crucified
1And I, when I came to you, brothers,1 xdid not come proclaiming to you ythe testimony2 of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except zJesus Christ and him crucified. 3And aI was with you bin weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of cthe Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men3 but din the power of God.
Wisdom from the Spirit
6Yet among ethe mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not fa wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, gwho are doomed to pass away. 7But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, hwhich God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8None of ithe rulers of this age understood this, for jif they had, they would not have crucified kthe Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written,
l“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has mprepared nfor those who love him”—
10these things oGod has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even pthe depths of God. 11For who knows a person's thoughts qexcept the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now rwe have received not sthe spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13And we impart this tin words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, uinterpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.4
14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are vfolly to him, and whe is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15The xspiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16y“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But zwe have the mind of Christ.
Restore Us to Yourself, O Lord
1cRemember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
look, and see dour disgrace!
2eOur inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
3We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
4We must pay for the water we drink;
the wood we get must be bought.
5fOur pursuers are at our necks;
we are weary; we are given no rest.
6We have given the hand to gEgypt, and to gAssyria,
to get bread enough.
7Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
hand we bear their iniquities.
8iSlaves rule over us;
there is none to deliver us from their hand.
9jWe get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword in the wilderness.
10kOur skin is hot as an oven
with lthe burning heat of famine.
11Women are raped in Zion,
young women in the towns of Judah.
12mPrinces are hung up by their hands;
nno respect is shown to the elders.
13Young men are compelled to ogrind at the mill,
and boys stagger punder loads of wood.
14nThe old men have left the city gate,
the young men qtheir music.
15qThe joy of our hearts has ceased;
rour dancing has been turned to mourning.
16sThe crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17For this tour heart has become sick,
for these things uour eyes have grown dim,
18for Mount Zion which lies desolate;
vjackals prowl over it.
19wBut you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures to all generations.
20xWhy do you forget us forever,
why do you forsake us for so many days?
21yRestore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
Renew our days as of old—
22zunless you have utterly rejected us,
and you remain exceedingly angry with us.
How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
To the choirmaster. Of David, the xservant of the Lord.
1Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;1
ythere is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3The words of his mouth are atrouble and deceit;
bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4He cplots dtrouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in ea way that is not good;
fhe does not reject evil.
5Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;
hyour judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you isave, O Lord.
7jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge kin the shadow of your wings.
8They feast on lthe abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from mthe river of nyour delights.
9For with you is othe fountain of life;
pin your light do we see light.
10Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who qknow you,
and your righteousness to rthe upright of heart!
11Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12There sthe evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, tunable to rise.
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