Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
While we can’t know everything about God, He continually reveals His eternal power and divine nature throughout the earth—even to those who’ve never read the Bible. So why do some people fail to see it? Hear the answer on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg!
From the Sermon
An Exposition of Psalm 19 — Part One
Psalm 19:1–6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 38:54 • ID: 3239
Preparing for Death
None of us know what a day will bring. Indeed, we all live with a measure of uncertainty; we cannot be prepared for every trial that comes our way. In fact, as many have pointed out, the only certainty of life is that it will end. We live in a fallen world, and we know “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Dying, therefore, is one reality for which we must prepare.
Any consideration of death and dying that doesn’t pay careful attention to Jesus’ words is incomplete. A great place to start, then, is the solid instruction that Jesus provided just after his friend Lazarus died.
Understandably, Lazarus’s mourning sisters were deeply concerned about what had happened to their brother. In response, Jesus said that Lazarus was going to rise again. Martha, not fully understanding this declaration, said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” At that point, Jesus took the conversation one step further, saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
And then came the challenge for Martha: “Do you believe this?”
Your answer to that question affects both how you live and how you deal with death. Jesus has not only conquered death but also made a way for you to conquer death too. Even though your physical frame will fail you, when you believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life, death simply becomes a transition, a passing from one realm of life into another.
One challenge which faces believers regarding death is not simply to prepare ourselves for its imminence but also to learn how to help others face it. No matter the situation, though, Jesus’ words provide the foundation for loving counsel. We are to speak both biblically and honestly, explaining the reality of eternity and the hope that is found in Him. Our words, echoing Christ’s own, should not be abrupt or unfeeling but filled with wisdom and grace.
You cannot know how to live until you’ve settled the question of how to die. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, but eternity is guaranteed to every follower of the one who is the resurrection and the life. You can prepare yourself—and your friends and loved ones—to meet the day of death with calm and confidence rather than with fear and uncertainty by holding these precious words close: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Yes, we believe this.
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?
The Death of Lazarus
1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of lMary and her sister Martha. 2mIt was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, nhe whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it he said, o“This illness does not lead to death. It is for pthe glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5Now qJesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when he heard that Lazarus1 was ill, rhe stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7Then after this he said to the disciples, s“Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to him, t“Rabbi, uthe Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9Jesus answered, v“Are there not twelve hours in the day? wIf anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But xif anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not xin him.” 11After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus yhas fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16zSo Thomas, called the Twin,2 said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, athat we may die with him.”
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb bfour days. 18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles3 off, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary cto console them concerning their brother. 20dSo when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21Martha said to eJesus, “Lord, fif you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, gGod will give you.” 23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24hMartha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ithe resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, j“I am the resurrection and kthe life.4 Whoever believes in me, lthough he die, myet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me nshall never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; oI believe that pyou are the Christ, the Son of God, qwho is coming into the world.”
Jesus Weeps
28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, r“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews swho were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, t“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he uwas deeply moved5 in his spirit and vgreatly troubled. 34And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35wJesus wept. 36So the Jews said, “See xhow he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he ywho opened the eyes of the blind man zalso have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus
38Then Jesus, adeeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ba cave, and ca stone lay against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for dhe has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, e“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see fthe glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus glifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42hI knew that you always hear me, but I said this ion account of the people standing around, jthat they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44kThe man who had died came out, lhis hands and feet bound with linen strips, and mhis face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
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.
Declare Great Things
And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. … Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them.
When the two disciples had reached Emmaus and were refreshing themselves at the evening meal, the mysterious stranger who had so enchanted them on the road took bread and broke it, made Himself known to them, and then vanished out of their sight. They had constrained Him to stay with them because the day was far spent; but now, although it was much later, their love was a lamp to their feet, indeed wings also. They forgot the darkness, their weariness was all gone, and immediately they headed back the seven miles to tell the wonderful news of a risen Lord who had appeared to them on the road. They reached the Christians in Jerusalem and were received by a burst of joyful news before they could tell their own tale.
These early Christians were all on fire to speak of Christ's resurrection and to proclaim what they knew of the Lord; they happily shared their experiences. This evening let their example impress us deeply.
We also must bear our witness concerning Jesus. John's account of the sepulcher needed to be supplemented by Peter; and Mary could speak of something further still; the combined accounts provide us with a complete testimony from which nothing necessary is missing. Each of us has peculiar gifts and personal experiences; but the one object God has in view is the maturing of the whole Body of Christ. We must, therefore, bring our spiritual possessions and lay them at the apostles' feet, that we may share all of what God has given to us.
Withhold no part of the precious truth, but speak what you know and declare what you have seen. Do not allow the toil or darkness or possible unbelief of your friends to dissuade you. Let us rise and march to the place of duty, and there declare what great things God has shown to our soul.
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 25
Boundaries of the Land
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter athe land of Canaan b(this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), 3cyour south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of dthe Salt Sea on the east. 4And your border shall turn south of ethe ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to eHazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. 5And the border shall turn ffrom Azmon to gthe Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.
6“For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its1 coast. This shall be your western border.
7“This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to hMount Hor. 8From Mount Hor you shall draw a line ito Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at jZedad. 9Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at kHazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.
10“You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11And the border shall go down from Shepham to lRiblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of mthe Sea of Chinnereth on the east. 12And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at nthe Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”
13Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, o“This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. 14pFor the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers' houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers' houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. 15The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
List of Tribal Chiefs
16The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17“These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: qEleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18You shall take one rchief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance. 19These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.
38Yet he, being ocompassionate,
patoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39He qremembered that they were but rflesh,
sa wind that passes and comes not again.
40How often they trebelled against him in the wilderness
and ugrieved him in vthe desert!
41They wtested God again and again
and provoked xthe Holy One of Israel.
42They ydid not remember his power5
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43zwhen he performed his asigns in Egypt
and his bmarvels in cthe fields of Zoan.
44He dturned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45He sent among them swarms of eflies, which devoured them,
and ffrogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave their crops to gthe destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hhail
and their sycamores with frost.
48He gave over their icattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of jdestroying angels.
50He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51He struck down every kfirstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of lHam.
52Then he led out his people mlike sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53nHe led them in safety, so that they owere not afraid,
but pthe sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54And he brought them to his qholy land,
rto the mountain which his right hand had swon.
55He tdrove out nations before them;
he uapportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56Yet they vtested and wrebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like xa deceitful bow.
58For they yprovoked him to anger with their zhigh places;
they amoved him to jealousy with their bidols.
59When God heard, he was full of cwrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60He dforsook his dwelling at eShiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61and delivered his fpower to captivity,
his gglory to the hand of the foe.
62He hgave his people over to the sword
and ivented his wrath on his heritage.
63jFire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no kmarriage song.
64Their lpriests fell by the sword,
and their mwidows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord nawoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66And he oput his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67He rejected the tent of pJoseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he qloves.
69He rbuilt his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70He schose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71from tfollowing the nursing ewes he brought him
to ushepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his vinheritance.
72With wupright heart he shepherded them
and xguided them with his skillful hand.
You Keep Him in Perfect Peace
1In that day ethis song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up fsalvation
as walls and bulwarks.
2gOpen the gates,
that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3hYou keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
4Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
5iFor he has humbled
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
6The foot tramples it,
the feet of jthe poor,
the steps of jthe needy.”
7The path of the righteous is level;
kyou make level the way of the righteous.
8In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we wait for you;
are the desire of our soul.
9My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
mFor when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10nIf favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
11O Lord, oyour hand is lifted up,
but pthey do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
Let qthe fire for your adversaries consume them.
12O Lord, you will ordain rpeace for us,
for you have indeed done for us all our works.
13O Lord our God,
sother lords besides you have ruled over us,
tbut your name alone we bring to remembrance.
14They are dead, they will not live;
they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15uBut you have increased the nation, O Lord,
you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
vyou have enlarged all the borders of the land.
16O Lord, win distress they sought you;
they poured out a whispered prayer
when your discipline was upon them.
17xLike a pregnant woman
who writhes and cries out in her pangs
when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
18xwe were pregnant, we writhed,
but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19yYour dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For zyour dew is a dew of light,
and the earth will give birth to the dead.
20Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves afor a little while
until the fury has passed by.
21bFor behold, the Lord is coming out from his place
to punish the inhabitants of cthe earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
and will no more cover its slain.
Test the Spirits
1Beloved, tdo not believe every spirit, but utest the spirits to see whether they are from God, for vmany wfalse prophets xhave gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: yevery spirit that confesses that zJesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit athat does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and bnow is in the world already. 4Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for che who is in you is greater than dhe who is in the world. 5eThey are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and fthe world listens to them. 6We are from God. gWhoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know hthe Spirit of truth and ithe spirit of error.
God Is Love
7Beloved, jlet us love one another, for love is from God, and kwhoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8lAnyone who does not love does not know God, because mGod is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that nGod sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, onot that we have loved God nbut that he loved us and sent his Son to be pthe propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12qNo one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and rhis love is perfected in us.
13sBy this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And twe have seen and testify that uthe Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of vthe world. 15wWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So xwe have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. yGod is love, and zwhoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this ais love perfected with us, so that bwe may have confidence for the day of judgment, because cas he is so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but dperfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not abeen perfected in love. 19eWe love because he first loved us. 20fIf anyone says, “I love God,” and ghates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot1 love God hwhom he has not seen. 21And ithis commandment we have from him: jwhoever loves God must also love his brother.
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