Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
The devil is often portrayed as a fairly innocuous troublemaker. Scripture, however, reveals him as a formidable foe! So how do we battle a fierce and cunning enemy that we can’t see? Find out when you listen to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
An Ear Open, a Will Ready
In the Bible, there is no mention of Ananias before his appearance in Acts 9, and there is only one brief mention of him after that (Acts 22:12). By all accounts, he was not a tremendous man who had done great things by the world’s standards. Even so, God saw a faithful heart within him and chose to use him in a tremendous way in the conversion of Saul (who subsequently became known as Paul).
Like Ananias, you may not have done tremendous things in your life, gone to amazing places, or gained any sort of great popularity. But God is in the business of setting His hand upon certain individuals and using them to accomplish His will. Our part is simply to be like Ananias, with ears open and wills ready to hear and obey our God.
The emphasis in this verse is not on the way in which God spoke to Ananias but on the way in which Ananias responded: “Here I am, Lord.” His ear was tuned to hear God. What about yours? Do you hear God speak through His word? Is the posture of your heart such that whatever it is He is calling you to do, that you will say, “Here I am, Lord”?
Ananias’ response to God is remarkable when we consider what God was calling him to do, and for whom. He had “heard from many about this man [Saul], how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem,” and he knew that in Damascus Saul had “authority … to bind all who call on your name” (Acts 9:13-14). Yet he willingly chose to obey God’s call despite any fear or resentment he had of Saul and his reputation. He heard, and he acted. How often do we make excuses for our own inaction in response to God’s call? How often do we hide behind our fear or live with excessive caution, forgetting that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7)? Ananias displayed this powerful spirit through his obedience.
Our culture values big names, big accomplishments, and big ratings. God does not have the same preoccupations. Ananias had no great name or huge fanfare; he simply had an ear open to God’s voice and a will obedient to His command. This resulted in a life sacrificed for usefulness in God’s service. And on this day, it meant that he was the first to tangibly extend God’s love and grace to Saul as he reached out and called him “brother” (Acts 9:17). And so, though he may be a small character in the Bible, there is much you and I can learn from him. You may receive little to no recognition for your faithfulness to Christ in this life. You may take risks and make sacrifices in service to Him and feel that not much changes and no one notices. But far better than anything this world can give, you can look forward to hearing God’s “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21) as you enter the kingdom of heaven. No good work done in His service is ever wasted. He weaves it all into the great story of salvation.
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?
Isaiah's Vision of the Lord
1In the year that sKing Uzziah died I tsaw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train1 of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had usix wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said:
u“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
vthe whole earth is full of his glory!”2
4And wthe foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and xthe house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! yFor I am lost; zfor I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the aKing, the Lord of hosts!”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7And he btouched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Isaiah's Commission from the Lord
8And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for cus?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
d“‘Keep on hearing,3 but do not understand;
keep on seeing,4 but do not perceive.’
10eMake the heart of this people fdull,5
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
glest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11Then I said, h“How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until icities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
12and the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13jAnd though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned6 again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump kremains
when it is felled.”
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.
No Condemnation
There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
Our Redeemer's glorious cry of "It is finished" was the death-knell of all the adversaries of His people, the breaking of "the weapons of war." Behold the hero of Golgotha using His cross as an anvil, and His wounds as a hammer, dashing to pieces bundle after bundle of our sins, those poisoned "flashing arrows," trampling on every indictment and destroying every accusation. What glorious blows the mighty Breaker gives with a hammer far more powerful than the fabled weapon of Thor! How the diabolical darts break in pieces, and the infernal swords are broken like old clay pots! Consider how He draws from its sheath of hellish workmanship the dreadful sword of satanic power! He snaps it across His knee as a man breaks dry sticks and throws it into the fire.
Beloved, no sin of a believer can now be an arrow bringing death, no condemnation can now be a sword to kill him, for the punishment of our sin was borne by Christ, and a full atonement was made for all our iniquities by our blessed Substitute and Surety. Who now accuses? Who now condemns? Christ has died, yes, has risen again. Jesus has removed the weapons of hell, has quenched every fiery dart, and has broken the head off every arrow of wrath; the ground is covered with the splinters and relics of the weapons of hell's warfare, which are only visible to us to remind us of our former danger and of our great deliverance.
Sin no longer has dominion over us. Jesus has made an end of it and put it away forever. Our enemy's destructions have come to a perpetual end. Declare all the wonderful works of the Lord, all you who make mention of His name; do not be silent, neither by day, nor when the sun goes down. Bless the Lord, O my 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 June 11
Passover
1“Observe the imonth of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for jin the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or kthe herd, lat the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3You shall eat no leavened bread with it. mSeven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt nin haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4oNo leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, pnor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, 6but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8For qsix days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be ra solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.
The Feast of Weeks
9s“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10Then you shall keep tthe Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with uthe tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give vas the Lord your God blesses you. 11And wyou shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12xYou shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
The Feast of Booths
13y“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14zYou shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15For aseven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
16b“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. cThey shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17Every man dshall give as he is able, vaccording to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
Justice
18“You shall appoint ejudges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19fYou shall not pervert justice. gYou shall not show partiality, hand you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Forbidden Forms of Worship
21“You shall not plant any tree as ian Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make. 22And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates.
Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Of David.
1yBless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2yBless the Lord, O my soul,
and zforget not all his benefits,
3who aforgives all your iniquity,
who bheals all your diseases,
4who credeems your life from the pit,
who dcrowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5who esatisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like fthe eagle's.
6The Lord works grighteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7He made known his hways to Moses,
his iacts to the people of Israel.
8The Lord is jmerciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9kHe will not always chide,
nor will he lkeep his anger forever.
10He does not deal with us maccording to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11For nas high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his osteadfast love toward pthose who fear him;
12as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he qremove our transgressions from us.
13As ra father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion pto those who fear him.
14For he knows our frame;1
he sremembers that we are dust.
15As for man, his days are like tgrass;
he flourishes like ua flower of the field;
16for vthe wind passes over it, and wit is gone,
and xits place knows it no more.
17But ythe steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on pthose who fear him,
and his righteousness to zchildren's children,
18to those who akeep his covenant
and bremember to do his commandments.
19The Lord has cestablished his throne in the heavens,
and his dkingdom rules over all.
20Bless the Lord, O you ehis angels,
you fmighty ones who gdo his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21Bless the Lord, all his hhosts,
his iministers, who do his will!
22jBless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
kBless the Lord, O my soul!
Israel's Only Savior
1But now thus says the Lord,
mhe who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
n“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
oI have called you by name, you are mine.
2pWhen you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
pwhen you walk through fire qyou shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3For rI am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
sI give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and tSeba in exchange for you.
4Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5uFear not, for I am with you;
vI will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring wmy sons from afar
and wmy daughters from the end of the earth,
7everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
8Bring out xthe people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
9yAll the nations gather together,
and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
and let them hear and say, It is true.
10z“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and amy servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
bBefore me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
11cI, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
12I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and zyou are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.
13Also dhenceforth I am he;
there is none who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can turn it back?”
14Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
e“For your sake I send to Babylon
and fbring them all down as fugitives,
geven the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
15I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.”
16Thus says the Lord,
hwho makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17who ibrings forth chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
jthey are extinguished, kquenched like a wick:
18l“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
19mBehold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
nI will make a way in the wilderness
oand rivers in the desert.
20The wild beasts will honor me,
pthe jackals and the ostriches,
qfor I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21the people whom I formed for myself
rthat they might declare my praise.
22“Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but syou have been weary of me, O Israel!
23tYou have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
sor wearied you with frankincense.
24You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25“I, I am he
uwho blots out vyour transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
26Put me in remembrance; wlet us argue together;
set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
27xYour first father sinned,
and yyour mediators transgressed against me.
28Therefore zI will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
and adeliver Jacob to utter destruction
and Israel to reviling.
The First Beast
1And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, owith ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and pblasphemous names on its heads. 2And the beast that I saw was qlike a leopard; its feet were like ra bear's, and its mouth was like sa lion's mouth. And to it tthe dragon gave his power and uhis throne and great authority. 3One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and vthe whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, w“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5And the beast was given xa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for yforty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,1 that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7Also it was allowed zto make war on the saints and to conquer them.2 And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8and all awho dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in bthe book of life of cthe Lamb dwho was slain. 9eIf anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10fIf anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
gif anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
hHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Second Beast
11Then iI saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,3 and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, jwhose mortal wound was healed. 13kIt performs great signs, even lmaking fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of4 the beast mit deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast nthat was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not oworship the image of the beast pto be slain. 16Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,5 qto be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, rthe name of the beast or sthe number of its name. 18tThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number uof a man, and his number is 666.6
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