Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
The spiritual progress of a church’s leaders sets the pace for the rest of the congregation. So what characteristics should be sought when choosing church elders? And what traits need to be avoided? Hear the answers on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Elders: Taking Care of God’s Church
1 Timothy 3:1–7 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 43:08 • ID: 1963
The Downward Spiral of Sin
How did David go from godly king to abusive adulterer? It happened by degrees, as sin tends to.
First, David was all alone. This may appear to be a minor detail, but 2 Samuel 11:1 reveals how it was “the time when kings go out to battle”—yet David, instead of leading his men, had sent Joab to do the fighting in his stead. And so, instead of fulfilling his role as king, David was all alone on the roof of his house.
From the roof, David saw a very beautiful woman bathing. He might have seen Bathsheba accidentally, but he could have prevented himself from staring at her. The problem wasn’t that he unintentionally caught a glimpse; the problem was that he started to gaze. The eye was the point of entry through which temptation came to David, as it so often is.
But David not only saw; he also sent. After seeing Bathsheba, he began to think about her. He could have put that thought away and ended his descent into sin right there. But having failed at this point, his thoughts led to action, and he sent for information about the woman. He learned that she was Bathsheba, the wife of one of his greatest warriors. The realization that Bathsheba was married to Uriah should have ended the matter for David. He knew the commandment of God: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Yet even this did not stop him! When lust grips, conscience fades, and reason is obliterated. And so “David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her” (2 Samuel 11:4). There is no sense that she was given a choice in the matter.
This narrative should serve as a great warning to all of us. Paul warned the Corinthians, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). If David, a man who was greatly loved by God, could fall in this way, then we must never think that we are incapable of such a fall. Complacency is often the mother of sin. If David had taken heed, he would have led his men to war. He would have looked away. He would have stopped his thoughts. He would not have misused his power to sleep with Bathsheba. God has promised that “with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). And he provided David with many opportunities to stop. The tragedy is that David took none of them.
Like David, you will be tempted in this life—but God has promised that there will always be a way out. With which temptations are you particularly struggling at the moment? Thank God for His faithfulness. Pray that He will give you strength to endure temptation and so avoid sin’s downward spiral. Take heed.
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?
12Therefore vlet anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. wGod is faithful, and xhe will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14Therefore, my beloved, yflee from idolatry.
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.
He Begins and Completes
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.
It is clear that the confidence that the psalmist expresses is a divine confidence. He did not say, “I have enough grace to perfect that which concerns me—my faith is so steady that it will not falter—my love is so warm that it will never grow cold—my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it.” No, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we display a confidence that is not grounded on the Rock of ages, our confidence is worse than a dream; it will fall upon us and cover us with its ruins, to our sorrow and confusion.
The psalmist was wise; he rested on nothing less than the Lord’s work. It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is He who has carried it on; and if He does not finish it, it never will be completed. If there is one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness that we must insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence—what the Lord begins, He completes. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do.
Unbelief insinuates: “You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart—you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you—you will be certainly allured by them and led astray.” True, we would certainly perish if left to our own strength. If by ourselves we navigate the most frail vessels of our lives over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but thanks be to God, He will complete that which concerns us and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in Him alone, and never too eager to have such a trust.
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 23
Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead
1Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of vJazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. 2So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, 3w“Ataroth, xDibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, yNebo, and Beon, 4the land zthat the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”
6But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? 8Your fathers did this, awhen I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them. 10bAnd the Lord's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 11‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, cfrom twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give dto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the eKenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for fthey have wholly followed the Lord.’ 13And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them gwander in the wilderness forty years, until hall the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone. 14And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! 15For if you iturn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”
16Then they came near to him and said, j“We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17but kwe will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18lWe will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, mbecause our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” 20So nMoses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, 21and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has odriven out his enemies from before him 22and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and pthis land shall be your possession before the Lord. 23But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and qbe sure your sin will find you out. 24rBuild cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26sOur little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27tbut your servants will pass over, every man who is uarmed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.”
28So vMoses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to wJoshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 29And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the Lord, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 30However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. 32We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”
33And xMoses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. 34And the people of Gad built yDibon, zAtaroth, aAroer, 35Atroth-shophan, bJazer, Jogbehah, 36cBeth-nimrah and Beth-haran, dfortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37And the people of Reuben built eHeshbon, yElealeh, Kiriathaim, 38fNebo, and gBaal-meon (htheir names were changed), and cSibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. 39And the sons of iMachir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40And Moses jgave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. 41And kJair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.1 42And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to yJeduthun. A Psalm of zAsaph.
1I acry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2bIn the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in cthe night my dhand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul erefuses to be comforted.
3When I remember God, I fmoan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4You hold my eyelids open;
I am so gtroubled that I cannot speak.
5I consider hthe days of old,
the years long ago.
6I said,1 “Let me remember my isong in the night;
let me jmeditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7“Will the Lord kspurn forever,
and never again lbe favorable?
8Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his mpromises at an end for all time?
9nHas God forgotten to be gracious?
oHas he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the pright hand of the Most High.”2
11I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will qremember your wonders of old.
12I will ponder all your rwork,
and meditate on your smighty deeds.
13Your way, O God, is tholy.
uWhat god is great like our God?
14You are the God who vworks wonders;
you have wmade known your might among the peoples.
15You xwith your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16When ythe waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17The clouds poured out water;
the skies zgave forth thunder;
your aarrows flashed on every side.
18bThe crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
cyour lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth dtrembled and shook.
19Your eway was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints fwere unseen.3
20You gled your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Judgment on the Whole Earth
1Behold, cthe Lord will empty the earth1 and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2dAnd it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
eas with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
fas with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3gThe earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
hfor the Lord has spoken this word.
4iThe earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5The earth lies jdefiled
under its inhabitants;
for kthey have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6Therefore la curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants msuffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7nThe wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8oThe mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9No more do they drink wine pwith singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10qThe wasted city is broken down;
revery house is shut up so that none can enter.
11sThere is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
tall joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
uas when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.2
15vTherefore in the east3 give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16wFrom the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to xthe Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For ythe traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17zTerror and the pit and the snare4
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18zHe who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For athe windows of heaven are opened,
and bthe foundations of the earth tremble.
19The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20The earth cstaggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
dits transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and ethe kings of the earth, on the earth.
22fThey will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days gthey will be punished.
23hThen the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for ithe Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.
Christ Our Advocate
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ywe have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2zHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but aalso for the sins of the whole world. 3And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we bkeep his commandments. 4Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments cis a liar, and cthe truth is not in him, 5but whoever dkeeps his word, in him truly ethe love of God is perfected. fBy this we may know that we are in him: 6whoever says he gabides in him hought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
The New Commandment
7Beloved, I am writing you ino new commandment, but jan old commandment kthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8At the same time, it is la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because1 mthe darkness is passing away and nthe true light is already shining. 9Whoever says he is in the light and ohates his brother is still in darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him2 there is no pcause for stumbling. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and qwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12I am writing to you, little children,
because ryour sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
13I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know shim who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because tyou have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because uyou know the Father.
14I write to you, fathers,
because you know shim who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because tyou are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World
15vDo not love the world or the things in the world. wIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—xthe desires of the flesh and ythe desires of the eyes and pride of life3—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And zthe world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Warning Concerning Antichrists
18Children, ait is the last hour, and as you have heard that bantichrist is coming, so now cmany antichrists have come. dTherefore we know that it is the last hour. 19eThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for fif they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, gthat it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20But you have been hanointed by ithe Holy One, and jyou all have knowledge.4 21I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but khe who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is bthe antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23lNo one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24Let mwhat you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then nyou too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is the promise that he made to us5—oeternal life.
26I write these things to you about pthose who are trying to deceive you. 27But qthe anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ryou have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and sis true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Children of God
28And now, little children, abide in him, so that twhen he appears uwe may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his vcoming. 29If you know that whe is righteous, you may be sure that xeveryone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Get the Program, Devotional, and Bible Reading Plan delivered daily right to your inbox.