Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
An eternal perspective dramatically changes the way we view everything about life, including the surrounding culture, possessions, happiness—even death and the way we mourn. Find out why it transforms our thinking, on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
To Marry or Not to Marry? — Part One
1 Corinthians 7:25–40 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 41:12 • ID: 1642
The Prophet’s Burden
The significance of true prophets was never found in who they were but in the message they proclaimed. It should be the same for us, too.
Take Habakkuk, for example. Biographical content about him is virtually nonexistent. All that we know of him is derived from the book of prophecy that bears his name, and that tells us very little; you can’t find him anywhere else in the Old Testament. However, this silence is significant. Habakkuk’s credentials were to be found entirely in his call.
We encounter this same perspective throughout biblical prophecy. We know more about some prophets than others—but even the things we know are not profound or compelling. Amos, for example, was simply “a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs” before God laid His hand upon him (Amos 7:14). Similarly, when John the Baptist was pressed for information about who he was, he testified, I’m a voice crying in the wilderness. I’m a light that is shining for a little while, but Jesus is the Light of the World. I am a finger pointing to Christ; He must increase, and I must decrease (see John 1:23; 5:35; 3:30).
In this opening verse of Habakkuk, the word for “oracle” is sometimes translated “burden.” What was the burden? It was the burden the prophet felt in seeing things according to the insight God had given, of looking at circumstances that others had seen but didn’t understand, and of bringing God’s wisdom and designs to bear upon those who listened.
Despite our modern preoccupations with personalities and credentials, in gospel preaching, teaching, and sharing it is the message that should always be the main focus. Every sermon preached and lesson taught and gospel conversation held eventually withers like grass. Its only worth is found insofar as the unerring truth and reliability of God’s word anchors itself in the listener’s soul. As David Wells writes, preaching—and any form of communication of God’s truth, based on God’s word, for that matter—“is not a conversation, a chat about some interesting ideas … No! This is God speaking! He speaks through the stammering lips of the preacher where that preacher’s mind is on the text of Scripture and his heart is in the presence of God.”[1]
Whether we are called to preach, teach, or share God’s word with a neighbor, there is an important lesson here: in our very core, there should be a genuine humility that comes from understanding the compelling nature of God’s call upon our lives. There should also be an excitement about it, though, for what would we rather give our lives to than this message that is so much bigger than ourselves, whose effects in the lives of others will last for eternity? Today, do not be too concerned with the messenger’s aptitudes and abilities; rather, make your concern the sharing of the message, however and with whomever you have been called to do it.
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?
11For the Scripture says, p“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12qFor there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; rfor the same Lord is Lord of all, sbestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13For t“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him uof whom they have never heard?3 And how are they to hear vwithout someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, w“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16But xthey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, y“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17So zfaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
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.
In the Wilderness
For the Lord … Makes her wilderness like Eden.
In my mind's eye I see a howling wilderness, a great and terrible desert, like the Sahara. I perceive nothing in it to relieve the eye; all around I am wearied with a vision of hot and arid sand, on which are ten thousand bleaching skeletons of wretched men who have expired in anguish, having lost their way in the pitiless waste. What an appalling sight! How horrible! A sea of sand without boundary and without an oasis, a cheerless graveyard for a forlorn race.
But look and wonder! All of a sudden, springing from the scorching sand I see a well-known plant; and as it grows it buds, the bud expands—it is a rose, and at its side a lily bows its modest head—and, miracle of miracles, as the fragrance of those flowers is diffused, the wilderness is transformed into a fruitful field, and all around it blossoms abundantly like the glory of Lebanon, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. Do not call it Sahara; call it Paradise. Do not refer to it any longer as the valley of death, for where the skeletons lay bleaching in the sun, a resurrection is proclaimed, and up spring the dead, a mighty army, full of life immortal. Jesus is that well-known plant, and His presence makes everything new.
The wonder is no less in each individual's salvation. I can see you, dear reader, cast out, an infant, unclothed, unwashed, defiled with your own blood, and left to be food for beasts of prey.
But look, a jewel has been thrown into your bosom by a divine hand, and for its sake you have been pitied and guarded by divine providence; you are washed and cleansed from your defilement; you are adopted into heaven's family; the fair seal of love is upon your forehead, and the ring of faithfulness is on your hand—you are now a prince to God, though once an orphan and a castaway. Cherish then the matchless power and grace that changes deserts into gardens and makes the barren heart sing for joy.
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 June 1
The Ten Commandments
1And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2xThe Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3yNot with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4The Lord spoke with you zface to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5awhile I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For byou were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
6c“‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7“‘You shall have no other gods before1 me.
8“‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10but showing steadfast love to dthousands2 of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11“‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
12“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but ethe seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, fthat your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15gYou shall remember that you were a slave3 in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there hwith a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, ithat your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
18j“‘And you shall not commit adultery.
19“‘And you shall not steal.
20“‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21“‘And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.’
22“These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly kat the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And lhe wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23And mas soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and ngreatness, and owe have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man pstill live. 25Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. qIf we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26pFor who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and rspeak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’
28“And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. sThey are right in all that they have spoken. 29tOh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, uthat it might go well with them and with their descendants5 forever! 30Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31But you, stand here by me, and vI will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. wYou shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33xYou shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and ythat it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
I Cry Out Day and Night Before You
A Song. A Psalm of zthe Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to aMahalath Leannoth. A Maskil1 of bHeman the Ezrahite.
1O Lord, cGod of my salvation,
I dcry out day and night before you.
2Let my prayer come before you;
eincline your ear to my cry!
3For my soul is full of troubles,
and fmy life draws near to gSheol.
4I am counted among those who hgo down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom iyou remember no more,
for they are jcut off from your hand.
6You have put me in kthe depths of the pit,
in the lregions dark and mdeep.
7Your wrath nlies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with oall your waves. Selah
8You have caused pmy companions to shun me;
you have made me qa horror2 to them.
I am rshut in so that I cannot escape;
9smy eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I tspread out my hands to you.
10Do you work wonders for the dead?
uDo the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12Are your vwonders known in wthe darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of xforgetfulness?
13But I, O Lord, cry yto you;
zin the morning my prayer comes before you.
14O Lord, why ado you cast my soul away?
Why bdo you hide your face from me?
15Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.3
16Your wrath has swept over me;
your cdreadful assaults destroy me.
17They dsurround me like a flood eall day long;
they fclose in on me together.
18You have caused gmy beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.4
O Lord, Be Gracious to Us
1lAh, you destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed,
you traitor,
whom none has betrayed!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.
2O Lord, be gracious to us; mwe wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
3nAt the tumultuous noise peoples flee;
when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,
4and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
oas locusts leap, it is leapt upon.
5pThe Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
6qand he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zion's1 treasure.
7Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;
rthe envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8sThe highways lie waste;
the traveler ceases.
tCovenants are broken;
cities2 are despised;
there is no regard for man.
9uThe land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10v“Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
“now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
11wYou conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;
your breath is xa fire that will consume you.
12And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
xlike thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
13Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
y“Who among us can dwell zwith the consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15aHe who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
band shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
16he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
chis bread will be given him; his water will be sure.
17dYour eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
ethey will see a land that stretches afar.
18fYour heart will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is ghe who weighed the tribute?
Where is hhe who counted the towers?”
19iYou will see no more the insolent people,
the people jof an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
20Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
kYour eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an limmovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of mbroad rivers and streams,
nwhere no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
22For the Lord is our ojudge; the Lord is our plawgiver;
the Lord is our qking; he will save us.
23Your cords hang loose;
they cannot hold the mast firm in its place
or keep the sail spread out.
rThen prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even sthe lame will take the prey.
24And no inhabitant will say, t“I am sick”;
uthe people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
To the Church in Sardis
1“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him iwho has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation jof being alive, kbut you are dead. 2Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works lcomplete in the sight of my God. 3mRemember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, nI will come olike a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not psoiled their garments, and they will walk with me qin white, for they are rworthy. 5sThe one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never tblot his name out of uthe book of life. vI will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
To the Church in Philadelphia
7“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of wthe holy one, xthe true one, ywho has the key of David, zwho opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
8“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you aan open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9Behold, I will make those of bthe synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, cI will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that dI have loved you. 10eBecause you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try fthose who dwell on the earth. 11gI am coming soon. hHold fast what you have, so that no one may seize iyour crown. 12jThe one who conquers, I will make him ka pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him lthe name of my God, and mthe name of the city of my God, mthe new Jerusalem, nwhich comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own onew name. 13pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
To the Church in Laodicea
14“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the pAmen, qthe faithful and true witness, rthe beginning of God's creation.
15“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. sWould that you were either cold or hot! 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17tFor you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, ublind, and naked. 18I counsel you vto buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and wwhite garments so that you may clothe yourself and xthe shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, uso that you may see. 19yThose whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and zknock. aIf anyone hears my voice and opens the door, bI will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21cThe one who conquers, dI will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as eI also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
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