Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Most of us enjoy a good story with an intriguing message. Jesus, however, often told stories that made his listeners increasingly uncomfortable. Hear three of those stories when you study along with us on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Pictures That Tell a Story
Luke 6:39–45 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 48:24 • ID: 2112
Gracious Gratitude
Almost everyone appreciates a good gift. Family, freedom, leisure, a warm bed, and a refreshing drink all make for a grateful heart, and we’re all naturally able to express at least some measure of gratitude for them. “Thank you” is a phrase we learn young.
The American revivalist Jonathan Edwards helpfully distinguished between what he referred to as “natural gratitude” and “gracious gratitude.”[1] Natural gratitude starts with the things we’re given and the benefits which accompany them. Anybody is capable of natural gratitude. Gracious gratitude, though, is very different, and only God’s children can experience and express it. Gracious gratitude recognizes the character, goodness, love, power, and excellencies of God, regardless of any gifts or enjoyments He has given. It knows we have reason to be grateful to God whether it’s a good day or a bad day, whether we’re employed or unemployed, whether the daily news is upbeat or overwhelming, whether we’re completely healthy or facing a terminal diagnosis. Such gratitude is only discovered by grace, and it is a true mark of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. Gracious gratitude enables us to face all things with the awareness that God is profoundly involved in our lives and circumstances, for He has made us special objects of His love.
When Jonathan Edwards died as a result of a smallpox vaccination, Sarah, his wife, wrote to their daughter, “What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud.” Notice the honesty in that. There’s no superficial triumphalism. But her husband was not taken out by chance; it was the overruling sovereignty of God that determined the right time to bring Jonathan home to his eternal reward. And so Sarah continued, “But my God lives; and he has my heart … We are all given to God: and there I am, and love to be.”[2]
Amid grief, we will never be able to speak words like these from natural gratitude, which cannot help us in loss. Such reflection can only flow from gracious gratitude. You may be facing difficult or even heartbreaking circumstances at the moment; and if you are not, then that day will come, for this is a fallen world. But in those moments, you can cling to God’s love and choose to trust God’s goodness, expressed most clearly at the cross. Then, even in the darkest hours, you will know the joy of His presence and always have cause to give thanks to Him. There is strength, dignity, and worship in being able to say, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).
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?
33Oh, the depth of the riches and swisdom and knowledge of God! tHow unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34“For uwho has known the mind of the Lord,
or vwho has been his counselor?”
35“Or wwho has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36For xfrom him and through him and to him are all things. yTo him be glory forever. Amen.
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 Love of a Husband
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church.
What a golden example Christ gives to His disciples! Few masters could venture to say, “If you would practice my teaching, imitate my life.” But as the life of Jesus is the exact transcript of perfect virtue, He can point to Himself as the paragon of holiness, as well as the teacher of it. The Christian should take nothing less than Christ for his model. Under no circumstances should we be content unless we reflect the grace that was in Him.
As a husband, the Christian is to look upon the portrait of Christ Jesus, and he is to paint according to that copy. The true Christian is to be such a husband as Christ was to His church.
- The love of a husband is special. The Lord Jesus cherishes for the church a peculiar affection, which is set upon her above the rest of mankind: “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world.”1 The elect church is the favorite of heaven, the treasure of Christ, the crown of His head, the bracelet of His arm, the breastplate of His heart, the very center and core of His love.
- A husband should love his wife with a constant love, for in this way Jesus loves His church. He does not vary in His affection. He may change in His display of affection, but the affection itself is still the same.
- A husband should love his wife with an enduring love, for nothing shall “separate us from the love of … Christ.”2
- A true husband loves his wife with a hearty love, fervent and intense. It is not mere lip service. What more could Christ have done in proof of His love than He has done?
- Jesus has a delighted love toward His spouse: He prizes her affection and delights in her with sweet satisfaction.
Believer, you wonder at Jesus’ love; you admire it—are you imitating it? In your domestic relationships, is the rule and measure of your love “even as Christ loved the church”?
1) John 17:9
2) Romans 8:39
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 March 20
Oholiab and Bezalel
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“See, I have called by name xBezalel the son of Uri, son of yHur, of the tribe of Judah, 3and I have zfilled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6And behold, I have appointed with him aOholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men bability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7cthe tent of meeting, and dthe ark of the testimony, and ethe mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8fthe table and its utensils, and gthe pure lampstand with all its utensils, and hthe altar of incense, 9and ithe altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and jthe basin and its stand, 10and kthe finely worked garments,1 the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11and lthe anointing oil and the fragrant mincense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”
The Sabbath
12And the Lord said to Moses, 13“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. nWhoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15oSix days shall work be done, but pthe seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. nWhoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17qIt is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that rin six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and son the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
18And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the ttwo tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with uthe finger of God.
I Am the Good Shepherd
1“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5yA stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6This figure of speech Jesus zused with them, but they adid not understand what he was saying to them.
7So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, bI am the door of the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, che will be saved and will go in and out and dfind pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and ekill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11fI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd glays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is ha hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ileaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and jscatters them. 13He flees because khe is a hired hand and lcares nothing for the sheep. 14mI am the good shepherd. nI know my own and omy own know me, 15pjust as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and qI lay down my life for the sheep. 16And rI have other sheep that are not of this fold. sI must bring them also, and tthey will listen to my voice. So there will be uone flock, vone shepherd. 17wFor this reason the Father loves me, xbecause yI lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18zNo one takes it from me, but yI lay it down aof my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and bI have authority to take it up again. cThis charge I have received from my Father.”
19dThere was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20Many of them said, e“He has a demon, and fis insane; why listen to him?” 21Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. gCan a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
I and the Father Are One
22At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was walking in the temple, hin the colonnade of Solomon. 24So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are ithe Christ, jtell us plainly.” 25Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. kThe works that I do lin my Father's name bear witness about me, 26but myou do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27nMy sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28oI give them eternal life, and pthey will never perish, and qno one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, rwho has given them to me,1 sis greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of tthe Father's hand. 30uI and the Father are one.”
31vThe Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but wfor blasphemy, because you, being a man, xmake yourself God.” 34Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in yyour Law, z‘I said, you are gods’? 35If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be abroken— 36do you say of him whom bthe Father consecrated and csent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because dI said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37eIf I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38but if I do them, feven though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that gthe Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39hAgain they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
40He went away again across the Jordan to the place iwhere John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but jeverything that John said about this man was true.” 42And kmany believed in him there.
Warning Against the Adulteress
1hMy son, keep my words
and htreasure up my commandments with you;
2ikeep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as jthe apple of your eye;
3kbind them on your fingers;
kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.
4Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5to keep you from lthe forbidden1 woman,
from lthe adulteress2 with her smooth words.
6For at mthe window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7and I have seen among nthe simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man olacking sense,
8passing along the street pnear her corner,
taking the road to her house
9in qthe twilight, in the evening,
at rthe time of night and darkness.
10And behold, the woman meets him,
sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.3
vher feet do not stay at home;
12now in the street, now in the market,
and wat every corner she xlies in wait.
13She seizes him and kisses him,
and with ybold face she says to him,
14“I had to zoffer sacrifices,4
and today I have apaid my vows;
15so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16I have spread my couch with bcoverings,
colored linens from cEgyptian linen;
17I have perfumed my bed with dmyrrh,
aloes, and ecinnamon.
18Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
19For fmy husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
20he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”
21With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with gher smooth talk she compels him.
22All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast5
23till an arrow pierces its liver;
as ha bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24And inow, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
26for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are ja mighty throng.
27Her house is kthe way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
Bear One Another's Burdens
1Brothers,1 oif anyone is caught in any transgression, pyou who are spiritual should restore him in qa spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2rBear one another's burdens, and sso fulfill tthe law of Christ. 3For uif anyone thinks he is something, vwhen he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4But let each one wtest his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5For xeach will have to bear his own load.
6yLet the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7zDo not be deceived: God is not mocked, for awhatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8For bthe one who sows to his own flesh cwill from the flesh reap corruption, but dthe one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9And elet us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, fif we do not give up. 10So then, gas we have opportunity, let us hdo good to everyone, and especially to those who are iof the household of faith.
Final Warning and Benediction
11See with what large letters I am writing to you jwith my own hand. 12kIt is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh lwho would force you to be circumcised, and only min order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14But far be it from me to boast nexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which2 the world ohas been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15For pneither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but qa new creation. 16And as for all who walk by this rule, rpeace and mercy be upon them, and upon sthe Israel of God.
17From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18tThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be uwith your spirit, brothers. Amen.
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