Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
People sometimes say, “Nature is my church.” But that doesn’t line up with Scripture. So how do we respond biblically? Hear the answer, and learn why society’s morality crumbles when we suppress God’s truth. Listen to 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
God’s Unchanging Word
Life can feel overwhelming. Every day brings new challenges even as old ones continue without resolution. It’s easy to allow our faith to trip on the stumbling block of our own lack of understanding of our circumstances—to take the baton of faith, as it were, and toss it to the ground, saying, “I’m finished. I can’t run any further.” In those moments, God’s word encourages us to remember that Christian faith is an enduring faith that remains resolute. It is possible to remain obedient to God’s commands even when everything around us seems to contradict what He has promised.
Until the cross, perhaps nowhere in Scripture do we find a more overwhelming moment than in the life of Abraham. It was a moment that occurred entirely at the instigation of God: “[God] said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you’ … When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son” (Genesis 22:2, 9-10). God’s command to Abraham was clear—and yet it seemed to contradict God’s promise that through Abraham’s offspring “all the nations of the earth” would “be blessed” and that “through Isaac shall your offspring be named” (Genesis 22:18; 21:12). The fulfillment of God’s promises depended upon Isaac’s survival. If Isaac was to die, how could the promise be fulfilled?
Yet Abraham still obeyed. Even though his circumstances could have led him to doubt and question God’s word, by faith Abraham said, God has a plan in this. His promise is that through Isaac all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Therefore, He must be going to resurrect him—to raise him up from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). This is why earlier, as Abraham had left to perform the commanded sacrifice, he had said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5, emphasis added). What an expression of faith! Do not miss this: when the command was given to Abraham, he obeyed it. Although it seemed to directly contradict the promises God had made, Abraham did his business, and he determined to let God do His.
We can do so too. Do not allow your circumstances, however daunting they may be, to lessen your obedience or cause you to call God’s promises into question. Centuries after Abraham and Isaac climbed up, and down, this mountain, God’s own Son rose from the grave on the side of that same mountain, as the ultimate testimony to the truth that God keeps His promises. So you can face whatever today brings confidently, hopefully, and prayerfully, saying, “I can keep going. I’m not finished. God will do His part, and so I can do mine.”
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 Sacrifice of Isaac
1After these things kGod tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to lthe land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy1 will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and mlaid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8Abraham said, n“God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and olaid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12He said, p“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for qnow I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called the name of that place, r“The Lord will provide”;2 as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”3
15And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, s“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring tas the stars of heaven and uas the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess vthe gate of his4 enemies, 18and win your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, xbecause you have obeyed my voice.” 19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to yBeersheba. And Abraham lived at yBeersheba.
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.
Wear the Badge of Perseverance
Continue in the faith.
Perseverance is the badge of true saints. The Christian life is not only a beginning in the ways of God, but also means continuing in those ways as long as life lasts. It is with a Christian as it was with the great Napoleon: He said, "Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me." So under God, dear believer in the Lord, conquest has made you what you are, and conquest must sustain you. Your motto must be, "Aim higher." The only true conqueror who shall be crowned in the end is he who continues until war's trumpet is blown no more.
Perseverance is, therefore, the target of all our spiritual enemies.
- The world does not object to your being a Christian for a time, if she can tempt you to quit your pilgrimage and settle down to trade with her in Vanity Fair.
- The flesh will seek to ensnare you and to prevent your pressing on to glory. "Being a pilgrim is weary work and makes me wonder: Am I always to be mortified? Am I never to be indulged? Can I not have at least a holiday from this constant warfare?"
- Satan will make many a fierce attack on your perseverance; it will be the target for all his arrows. He will strive to hinder you in service: He will insinuate that you are doing no good and that you need to rest. He will endeavor to make you weary of suffering; he will whisper, "Curse God, and die." Or he will attack your steadfastness: "What is the good of being so zealous? Be quiet like the rest; sleep as others do, and let your lamp go out like the foolish virgins." Or he will assail your doctrinal sentiments: "Why do you hold to these doctrinal creeds? Sensible men are getting more liberal; they are removing the old landmarks: Fall in with the times."
So, Christian, wear your shield close to your armor and cry earnestly to God, that by His Spirit you may endure to the end.
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 26
Cities for the Levites
1The Lord spoke to Moses in sthe plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 2t“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. 3The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts. 4The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits1 all around. 5And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities.
6“The cities that you give to the Levites shall be uthe six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. 7All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be vforty-eight, with their pasturelands. 8And as for the cities that you shall give wfrom the possession of the people of Israel, xfrom the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”
Cities of Refuge
9And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, yWhen you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11zthen you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. 12The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13And the cities that you give shall be your asix cities of refuge. 14bYou shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. 15These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and cfor the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
16d“But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 17And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 18Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 19eThe avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, flying in wait, so that he died, 21or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. eThe avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22“But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him gwithout lying in wait 23or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, 24then hthe congregation shall judge between the manslayer and ethe avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. 25And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it iuntil the death of the high priest jwho was anointed with the holy oil. 26But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, 27and ethe avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. 28For he must remain in his city of refuge iuntil the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 29And these things shall be for ka statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
30“If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the levidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 31Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. 32And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. 33You shall not mpollute the land in which you live, for blood mpollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except nby the blood of the one who shed it. 34oYou shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, pfor I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”
How Long, O Lord?
A Psalm of yAsaph.
1O God, zthe nations have come into your ainheritance;
they have defiled your bholy temple;
they have claid Jerusalem in ruins.
2They have given dthe bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your efaithful to fthe beasts of the earth.
3They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was gno one to bury them.
4We have become ha taunt to our neighbors,
hmocked and derided by those around us.
5iHow long, O Lord? Will you be angry jforever?
Will your kjealousy lburn like fire?
6mPour out your anger on the nations
that ndo not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that odo not call upon your name!
7For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8pDo not remember against us qour former iniquities;1
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are rbrought very low.
9sHelp us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and tatone for our sins,
for your uname's sake!
10vWhy should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let wthe avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
11Let xthe groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those ydoomed to die!
12Return zsevenfold into the alap of our neighbors
the btaunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13But we your people, the csheep of your pasture,
will dgive thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
The Redemption of Israel
1In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong dsword will punish eLeviathan the fleeing serpent, eLeviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay fthe dragon that is in the sea.
2In that day,
g“A pleasant vineyard,1 hsing of it!
3I, the Lord, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest anyone punish it,
I keep it night and day;
4I have no wrath.
iWould that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would march against them,
I would burn them up together.
5Or let them lay hold of my protection,
let them make peace with me,
let them make peace with me.”
6jIn days to come2 Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots
and fill the whole world with fruit.
7kHas he struck them las he struck those who struck them?
Or have they been slain mas their slayers were slain?
8nMeasure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;
ohe removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.
9Therefore by this pthe guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5
qwhen he makes all the stones of the altars
like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
no rAsherim or incense altars will remain standing.
10sFor the fortified city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
there the calf grazes;
there it lies down and strips its branches.
11When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
women come and make a fire of them.
tFor this is a people without discernment;
therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;
he who formed them will show them no favor.
12In that day ufrom the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13And in that day va great trumpet will be blown, wand those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt xwill come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Overcoming the World
1kEveryone who believes that lJesus is the Christ has been born of God, and meveryone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2nBy this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3For othis is the love of God, that we pkeep his commandments. And qhis commandments are not burdensome. 4For reveryone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—sour faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes tthat Jesus is the Son of God?
Testimony Concerning the Son of God
6This is he who came uby water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And vthe Spirit is the one who testifies, because wthe Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9xIf we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God ythat he has borne concerning his Son. 10Whoever believes in the Son of God zhas the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God ahas made him a liar, bbecause he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11And this is the testimony, that God gave us ceternal life, and dthis life is in his Son. 12eWhoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
That You May Know
13I write fthese things to you who gbelieve in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14And this is hthe confidence that we have toward him, that iif we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and jGod1 will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. kThere is sin that leads to death; lI do not say that one should pray for that. 17mAll wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
18We know that neveryone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but ohe who was born of God pprotects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19We know that we are from God, and qthe whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20And we know that the Son of God has come and rhas given us understanding, so that we may know shim who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and teternal life. 21Little children, ukeep yourselves from idols.
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