Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
What personal attributes endure long after physical beauty fades? How do we discern if those characteristics are genuine in an individual? Join us on Truth For Life as Alistair Begg offers biblical, practical advice on what to look for in a husband or wife.
From the Sermon
Vengeance Is the Lord’s
When Jesus uttered these familiar words, to whom was He speaking? Who was Jesus telling to endure evil and resist retaliation?
It may seem simple, but this question gets at an important distinction that was in the mind of the apostle Paul as he penned his letter to the Romans. In chapter 12, he exhorts his readers to “repay no one evil for evil” (Romans 12:17) and to “overcome evil with good” (v 21), echoing the Lord’s teaching: that we should turn the other cheek. And yet, just a few verses later in Romans 13, he says that God has established civil authorities as His servants for the purpose of approving what is good and punishing what is evil (13:1-4). Sometimes, then, evil is repaid, and at other times it is not—at least not immediately.
Both Paul and Jesus recognized an important distinction that we must remember between the way individual Christians ought to respond to evil done to them (dealt with in Romans 12) and the execution of the rule of law (dealt with in Romans 13).
Christians are not to take justice into their own hands. Rather, we are to entrust the repayment of evil to the authorities God has put in place. Civil authorities are one example. When they fulfill their roles rightly, they serve as a terror to bad conduct but not to good. They are there to faithfully execute the rule of law and to punish those who violate it.
Understanding that God is perfectly just will free us to obey Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek. This is not a call to pretend that the evil done to us is not evil or to embrace a despairing outlook that says there is no justice. Nor it is a call to accept, when we are victims, that we must not make recourse to the civil authorities. No, Christians are called to and can endure evil because vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19). On occasion, He permits that vengeance to be carried out in this life as He authorizes human governments to “bear the sword” (13:4). But on the day of the Lord, He will be the one directly carrying out justice, and every evil done in His world will be repaid in full.
You and I, then, are free to seek justice from the authorities that God has instituted to protect people and punish wrongdoing. Equally, we are free to turn the other cheek, resisting the all-too-natural urge to take matters into our own hands and enact our own vengeance. Justice will come, and not from our hands.
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?
Retaliation
38h“You have heard that it was said, y‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I say to you, zDo not resist the one who is evil. But aif anyone bslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And zif anyone would sue you and take your tunic,8 let him have your cloak as well. 41And if anyone cforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42dGive to the one who begs from you, and edo not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Love Your Enemies
43f“You have heard that it was said, g‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, iLove your enemies and jpray for those who persecute you, 45kso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and lsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46mFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers,9 what more are you doing than others? Do not even nthe Gentiles do the same? 48oYou therefore must be pperfect, qas your heavenly Father is perfect.
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.
Be Filled with Zeal
Be zealous.
If you want to see souls converted, if you want to hear the cry that "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord,"1 if you want to place crowns upon the head of the Savior and see His throne lifted high, then be filled with zeal. For under God, the way the world will be converted is by the zeal of the church. Every element of grace will do its work, but zeal will be first; prudence, knowledge, patience, and courage will follow in their places, but zeal must lead the charge. It is not the extent of your knowledge, though that is useful, it is not the extent of your talent, though that is not to be despised, it is your zeal that will do great exploits.
This zeal is the fruit of the Holy Spirit: It draws its vital force from the continued operations of the Holy Spirit in the soul. If our inner life dwindles, if our heart beats slowly before God, we will not know zeal; but if everything inside is strong and vigorous, then we cannot but feel a loving urgency to see Christ's kingdom come, and His will done on earth, even as it is in heaven.
A deep sense of gratitude will nourish Christian zeal. When we reflect on the miry pit from which we were lifted, we find plenty of reason for spending ourselves for God. And zeal is also stimulated by the thought of the eternal future. It looks with tearful eyes down to the flames of hell, and it cannot sleep: It looks up with anxious gaze to the glories of heaven, and it cannot stay still. It feels that time is short compared with the work to be done, and therefore it devotes all that it has to the cause of its Lord. And it is continually strengthened by remembering Christ's example. He was clothed with zeal as with a cloak. How swift the chariot-wheels of duty went with Him! He never loitered on the way. Let us prove that we are His disciples by displaying the same spirit of zeal.
1) Revelation 11:15
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 7
Love and Serve the Lord
1e“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and fkeep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2And consider today (since I am not speaking to gyour children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline1 of the Lord your God, hhis greatness, ihis mighty hand and his outstretched arm, 3jhis signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, khow he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, 5and lwhat he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6and mwhat he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. 7For your eyes have seen nall the great work of the Lord that he did.
8“You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may obe strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9and pthat you may live long in the land qthat the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, ra land flowing with milk and honey. 10For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it,2 like a garden of vegetables. 11sBut the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12a land that the Lord your God cares for. tThe eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, uto love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14vhe3 will give the rain for your land in its season, wthe early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15xAnd he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and yyou shall eat and be full. 16Take care zlest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and aserve other gods and worship them; 17then bthe anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he cwill shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and dyou will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.
18e“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and fyou shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20gYou shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21hthat your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, ias long as the heavens are above the earth. 22For if jyou will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and kholding fast to him, 23then the Lord lwill drive out all these nations before you, and you will mdispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24nEvery place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be ofrom the wilderness to4 the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25pNo one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay qthe fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, ras he promised you.
26s“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27tthe blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28and uthe curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, vto go after other gods that you have not known. 29And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set wthe blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the xArabah, opposite Gilgal, beside ythe oak5 of Moreh? 31For you are zto cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32you shall be careful ato do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.
Psalm 95
Let Us Sing Songs of Praise
1Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us fmake a joyful noise to gthe rock of our salvation!
2Let us hcome into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us fmake a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3For the Lord is ia great God,
and a great King jabove all gods.
4In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5The sea is his, for khe made it,
and his hands formed kthe dry land.
6Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us lkneel before the Lord, our mMaker!
7For he is our nGod,
and we are the people of his opasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
pToday, if you qhear his voice,
8rdo not harden your hearts, as at sMeribah,
as on the day at tMassah in the wilderness,
9when your fathers put me to the utest
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my vwork.
10wFor forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known xmy ways.”
11Therefore I yswore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter zmy rest.”
Psalm 96
Worship in the Splendor of Holiness
1aOh sing to the Lord ba new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
ctell of his salvation from day to day.
3Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4For dgreat is the Lord, and egreatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above fall gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord gmade the heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are before him;
hstrength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O ifamilies of the peoples,
jascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord kthe glory due his name;
bring lan offering, and mcome into his courts!
9Worship the Lord in nthe splendor of holiness;1
otremble before him, all the earth!
10Say among the nations, p“The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will qjudge the peoples with equity.”
11Let rthe heavens be glad, and let sthe earth rejoice;
let tthe sea roar, and all that fills it;
12let uthe field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all vthe trees of the forest sing for joy
13before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes wto judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Envoys from Babylon
1sAt that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, tsent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, uthe silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. vThere was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6wBehold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7xAnd some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, y“There will be peace and security in my days.”
1And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and qI saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given rthe key to the shaft of sthe bottomless pit.1 2He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft trose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and uthe sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3Then from the smoke came vlocusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4They were told wnot to harm xthe grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have ythe seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were allowed to torment them zfor five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6And in those days apeople will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7bIn appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: con their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were dlike human faces, 8their hair like women's hair, and etheir teeth like lions' teeth; 9they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was flike the noise of many chariots with ghorses rushing into battle. 10They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people hfor five months is in their tails. 11They have ias king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is jAbaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.2
12kThe first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
13Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from lthe four horns of the golden altar before God, 14saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release mthe four angels who are bound at nthe great river Euphrates.” 15So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released oto kill a third of mankind. 16The number of pmounted troops was qtwice ten thousand times ten thousand; rI heard their number. 17And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire3 and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were slike lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
20The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, tdid not repent of uthe works of their hands nor give up worshiping vdemons wand idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21nor did they repent of their murders or their xsorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
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