Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
There have been debates concerning the Sabbath ever since Jesus confronted the Pharisees. What’s permitted, and what isn’t? Is it on Saturday or Sunday? Is it in fact obsolete? On Truth For Life, Alistair Begg helps us think through the answers biblically.
From the Sermon
The Sleeping Savior
Place yourself in the disciples’ shoes as they sailed that stormy sea while Jesus slept in the stern of the boat. Several of them were experienced fishermen, and they understood that they were confronted with the very real possibility of drowning—yet their Master seemed to have abandoned them to it, sound asleep as He was.
The very fact that Jesus needed to sleep reveals that He had a real human body that knew the feelings of fatigue and thirst and hunger. He experienced firsthand the body’s weaknesses. He even went through the trouble of finding a cushion on which to sleep, showing us that He knew discomfort. He who had made the universe could have turned the wood beneath Him into a more comfortable substance fit for a good rest, but instead the Lord of glory laid His head on a pillow, just like you and me.
If Jesus had not known the weaknesses and temptations of humanity, He would not be a sympathetic High Priest, offering us mercy and grace from the heavenly throne (Hebrews 4:14-16). But the Bible makes it clear that He did. He knew, for instance, the pain of neglect: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11). Even some of His faithful disciples—some of the very men in this boat—eventually denied Him or deserted Him. He also knew the abuse of slander that misrepresented the wonder and beauty of His character (see for instance Luke 7:34). He wrestled for forty days and nights with the lies and temptations of the Evil One (Matthew 4:1-11). He faced utter agony and turmoil on the cross as He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (27:46). There is no experience of pain or insult we might know that hasn’t wrung the heart of Christ—and because He knows such struggles, He invites us to come to Him as we experience them ourselves.
Here in this little incident nestled at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel is the life-changing reminder that Jesus is the living Christ, a sympathetic Savior, and a steadfast companion. There is no one better suited to deal with any predicament you or I may face than the Master whom the disciples found sound asleep on a cushion. You, like they, can cry out to Him and discover that the one who needed to sleep in that boat is also the one who could rebuke a storm—the one who reigns on high, who will never slumber nor sleep, and who will not let your foot be moved (Psalm 121:3-4).
What is on your mind today that prompts you to fear? Be assured that the Lord Jesus does understand what this life is like. Bring your fear to Him now, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
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?
My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of mAscents.
1I vlift up my eyes to wthe hills.
From where does my help come?
2xMy help comes from the Lord,
who ymade heaven and earth.
3He will not zlet your foot be moved;
he who akeeps you will not slumber.
4Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your bshade on your cright hand.
6dThe sun shall not estrike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7The Lord will akeep you from all evil;
he will akeep your life.
8The Lord will keep
your fgoing out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
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 Beauty of Christ
I am a rose of Sharon.
Whatever beauty there may be in the material world, Jesus Christ possesses all of that in the spiritual world to the nth degree. Among flowers the rose is regarded as the sweetest, but Jesus is infinitely more beautiful in the garden of the soul than a rose in the gardens of earth. He takes the first place as the fairest among ten thousand. He is the sun, and all others are the stars; the heavens and the day are dark in comparison with Him, for the King in His beauty transcends all.
"I am a rose of Sharon." This was the best and rarest of roses. Jesus simply is not "a rose"; He is "a rose of Sharon," just as He calls His righteousness "gold," and then adds, "the gold of Ophir"1—the best of the best. He is positively lovely, and superlatively the loveliest.
There is variety in His beauty. The rose is delightful to the eye, and its scent is pleasant and refreshing; so each of the senses of the soul, whether it be the taste or feeling, the hearing, the sight, or the spiritual smell, finds appropriate gratification in Jesus. Even the recollection of His love is sweet. Take a rose of Sharon, pull it leaf from leaf, and place the leaves in the jar of memory, and you will find each leaf retains its fragrance, filling the house with perfume. Christ satisfies the highest taste of the most educated spirit to the full. The greatest amateur in perfumes is quite satisfied with a rose: And when the soul has arrived at her highest pitch of true taste, she will still be content with Christ; indeed, she shall be more able to appreciate Him.
Heaven itself possesses nothing that excels a rose of Sharon. What emblem can fully set forth His beauty? Human speech and earthborn things fail to tell of Him. Earth's choicest beauties combine to provide ultimately a feeble picture of His glory. Blessed rose, bloom in my heart forever!
1) 1 Chronicles 29:4
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 1
The Seven Lamps
1Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” 3And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. 4And ithis was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Cleansing of the Levites
5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6“Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. 7Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the jwater of purification upon them, and klet them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8Then let them take a bull from the herd and lits grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, mand you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. 9nAnd you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting oand assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel pshall lay their hands on the Levites, 11and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. 12Then the Levites qshall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer rthe one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. 13And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as sa wave offering to the Lord.
14“Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and tthe Levites shall be mine. 15And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a swave offering. 16For they are uwholly given to me from among the people of Israel. vInstead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17wFor all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19uAnd I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and xto make atonement for the people of Israel, ythat there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.”
20Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. 21And zthe Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and aAaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Retirement of the Levites
23And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24“This applies to the Levites: bfrom twenty-five years old and upward they1 shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. 25And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. 26They minister2 to their brothers in the tent of meeting cby keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
Come to Our Help
To the choirmaster. cA Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah.
1O God, we have heard with our ears,
dour fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
ein the days of old:
2you with your own hand fdrove out the nations,
but gthem you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but hthem you set free;
3for not iby their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and jthe light of your face,
kfor you delighted in them.
4lYou are my King, O God;
mordain salvation for Jacob!
5Through you we npush down our foes;
through your name we otread down those who rise up against us.
6For not in pmy bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7But you have saved us from our foes
and have qput to shame those who hate us.
8rIn God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9But you have srejected us and disgraced us
and thave not gone out with our armies.
10You have made us uturn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11You have made us like vsheep for slaughter
and have wscattered us among the nations.
12xYou have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13You have made us ythe taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and zscorn of those around us.
14You have made us aa byword among the nations,
ba laughingstock2 among the peoples.
15All day long my disgrace is before me,
and cshame has covered my face
16at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of dthe enemy and the avenger.
17eAll this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our fsteps gdeparted from your way;
19yet you have hbroken us in the place of ijackals
and covered us with jthe shadow of death.
20If we had forgotten the name of our God
or kspread out our hands to la foreign god,
21mwould not God discover this?
nFor he knows the secrets of the heart.
22Yet ofor your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
23pAwake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! qDo not reject us forever!
24Why rdo you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25For our ssoul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26Rise up; tcome to our help!
uRedeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Others
1Where has your beloved gone,
O cmost beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?
Together in the Garden of Love
She
2My beloved has gone down to his qgarden
to rthe beds of spices,
and to gather tlilies.
3uI am my beloved's and my beloved is mine;
he grazes among the lilies.
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
4You are beautiful as vTirzah, wmy love,
zawesome as an army with banners.
5Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me—
aYour hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
6bYour teeth are like a flock of ewes
that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins;
not one among them has lost its young.
7cYour cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
8There are dsixty equeens and eighty econcubines,
and fvirgins without number.
9My gdove, my hperfect one, is the only one,
the only one of her mother,
pure to iher who bore her.
jThe young women saw her and called her blessed;
ethe queens and econcubines also, and they praised her.
10k“Who is this who looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
lawesome as an army with banners?”
She
11I went down to the nut orchard
to look at mthe blossoms of the valley,
nto see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
12oBefore I was aware, my desire set me
among pthe chariots of my kinsman, a prince.2
Others
133 Return, return, O qShulammite,
return, return, that we may look upon you.
He
Why should you look upon qthe Shulammite,
1Therefore ilet us leave jthe elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance kfrom dead works and of faith toward God, 2and of linstruction about washings,1 mthe laying on of hands, nthe resurrection of the dead, and oeternal judgment. 3And this we will do pif God permits. 4For it is impossible, in the case of those qwho have once been enlightened, who have tasted rthe heavenly gift, and shave shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and thave tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and uthen have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since vthey are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7For wland that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8But xif it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, yand its end is to be burned.
9Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10For zGod is not unjust so as to overlook ayour work and the love that you have shown for his name in bserving the saints, as you still do. 11And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance cof hope until the end, 12so that you may not be sluggish, but dimitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The Certainty of God's Promise
13For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, ehe swore by himself, 14saying, f“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15And thus Abraham,2 ghaving patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes han oath is final for confirmation. 17So when God desired to show more convincingly to ithe heirs of the promise jthe unchangeable character of his purpose, khe guaranteed it with an oath, 18so that by two unchangeable things, in which lit is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope mset before us. 19We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into nthe inner place behind the curtain, 20where Jesus has gone oas a forerunner on our behalf, phaving become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
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