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
The Father’s Will
When parents and grandparents coo over a newborn member of their family, they often share hopes and plans for what this little girl will accomplish or who this little boy might become. It would be quite remarkable, however, if young children were to declare their own intentions and purposes in life. Yet this is one more way in which Christ is unique: He did enter the world declaring, “I have come to do your will, O God.”
When Jesus was twelve, His parents found Him conversing in the temple with the religious leaders and teachers. Mary and Joseph had been looking for Him for three days without thinking to look there, and were baffled; but He replied, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). He understood His express purpose from His earliest days.
What was the will of the Father that Christ came to accomplish? The Bible tells us that in sending Jesus, God gave His people the one who would satisfy all the law’s demands through full submission and who would then suffer the penalty of sin to set men and women free from its bondage. The coming of the Savior had been planned from all of eternity and promised through all of the Old Testament, the “scroll of the book.” Jesus—who entered the world as a baby in a manger—is the very fulfillment of our salvation.
Every moment of His life, whether He was being tempted by Satan or experiencing agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew and remembered His purpose. He understood that He was there according to the Father’s will. Though He pleaded for His cup of suffering to pass, He submitted to the Father in perfect obedience. As any human would have been, He was tempted to shrink from the Father’s will, yet still He prayed, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39-46).
Jesus was not vague concerning the reason for His arrival—and because He lived according to the Father’s will, we will join Him in eternity, rejoicing in all He accomplished on our behalf.
Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.[1]
Today, you and I can live to do God’s will, not in fear of punishment if we do not obey but with faith that we are already blessed in Christ. Because He always obeyed, we are forgiven for our failures to do likewise and freed joyfully to pursue our Father’s will—not because we must but because we desire to.
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?
Death in Adam, Life in Christ
12Therefore, just as tsin came into the world through one man, and udeath through sin, and vso death spread to all men5 because wall sinned— 13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but xsin is not counted where there is no law. 14Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ylike the transgression of Adam, zwho was a type of athe one who was to come.
15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for bmany. 16And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For cthe judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought djustification. 17For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness ereign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18Therefore, as one trespass6 led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness7 leads to justification and life for fall men. 19For as by the one man's gdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's hobedience the many will be made righteous. 20Now ithe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, jgrace abounded all the more, 21so that, kas sin reigned in death, lgrace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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.
We Are Saved
… Who saved us and called us to a holy calling.
The apostle uses the perfect tense and says, "who saved us." Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. They are not looked upon as people who are in a hopeful state and may ultimately be saved, but they are already saved. Salvation is not a blessing to be enjoyed upon our dying bed and to be sung of in a future state above, but a matter to be obtained, received, promised, and enjoyed now.
The Christian is perfectly saved in God's purpose; God has ordained him to salvation, and that purpose is complete. He is saved also as to the price that has been paid for him: "It is finished" was the cry of the Savior before He died. The believer is also perfectly saved in His covenant Head, for as he fell in Adam, so he lives in Christ.
This complete salvation is accompanied by a holy calling. Those whom the Savior saved upon the cross are in due time effectually called by the power of God the Holy Spirit to holiness: They leave their sins; they endeavor to be like Christ; they choose holiness, not out of any compulsion, but from the power of a new nature, which leads them to rejoice in holiness just as naturally as when previously they delighted in sin. God neither chose them nor called them because they were holy, but He called them that they might be holy, and holiness is the beauty produced by His workmanship in them.
The excellencies that we see in a believer are as much the work of God as the Atonement itself. In this way the fullness of the grace of God is beautifully displayed. Salvation must be of grace, because the Lord is the author of it: And what motive but grace could move Him to save the guilty? Salvation must be of grace because the Lord works in such a manner that our righteousness is forever excluded. Such is the believer's privilege—a present salvation; such is the evidence that he is called to it—a holy life.
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 12
1j“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.
2k“If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, lin transgressing his covenant, 3and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or mthe sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, nwhich I have forbidden, 4and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire odiligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, 5then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you pshall stone that man or woman to death with stones. 6qOn the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7rThe hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So syou shall purge1 the evil2 from your midst.
Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges
8“If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to tthe place that the Lord your God will choose. 9uAnd you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and vthey shall declare to you the decision. 10Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the Lord will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you. 11According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left. 12The man who wacts presumptuously by not obeying the priest xwho stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So syou shall purge the evil from Israel. 13And all the people yshall hear and fear and not act presumptuously again.
Laws Concerning Israel's Kings
14“When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, z‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15you may indeed set a king over you awhom the Lord your God will choose. One bfrom among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16Only he must not acquire many chorses for himself or cause the people dto return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, e‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17And he fshall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, gnor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
18“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, hhe shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, iapproved by3 the Levitical priests. 19And jit shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, kthat he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he lmay not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, mso that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
O Lord My God, You Are Very Great
1lBless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are mvery great!
nYou are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2covering yourself with light as with a garment,
ostretching out the heavens plike a tent.
3He qlays the beams of his rchambers on the waters;
he makes sthe clouds his chariot;
he rides on tthe wings of the wind;
4he umakes his messengers winds,
his vministers wa flaming fire.
5He xset the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6You ycovered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7At zyour rebuke they fled;
at athe sound of your thunder they btook to flight.
8The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you cappointed for them.
9You set da boundary that they may not pass,
so that they emight not again cover the earth.
10You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11they fgive drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13gFrom your lofty abode you hwater the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14You cause ithe grass to grow for the livestock
and jplants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth kfood from the earth
15and lwine to gladden the heart of man,
moil to make his face shine
and bread to nstrengthen man's heart.
16The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
othe cedars of Lebanon pthat he planted.
17In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18The high mountains are for qthe wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for rthe rock badgers.
19He made the moon to mark the sseasons;1
the sun knows its time for setting.
20tYou make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21uThe young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their vdens.
23wMan goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In xwisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25Here is the sea, great and wide,
ywhich teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26There go the ships,
and zLeviathan, which you formed to aplay in it.2
27These ball look to you,
to cgive them their food in due season.
28When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you dopen your hand, they are filled with good things.
29When you ehide your face, they are fdismayed;
when you gtake away their breath, they die
and hreturn to their dust.
30When you isend forth your Spirit,3 they are created,
and you jrenew the face of the ground.
31May the glory of the Lord kendure forever;
may the Lord lrejoice in his works,
32who looks on the earth and it mtrembles,
who ntouches the mountains and they smoke!
33I will sing to the Lord oas long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34May my pmeditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35Let qsinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
rBless the Lord, O my soul!
sPraise the Lord!
Israel the Lord's Chosen
1“But now hear, bO Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
2Thus says the Lord who made you,
cwho formed you from the womb and will help you:
dFear not, O Jacob my servant,
eJeshurun whom I have chosen.
3fFor I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4They shall spring up among the grass
glike willows by flowing streams.
5hThis one will say, ‘I am the Lord's,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord's,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”
Besides Me There Is No God
6Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and ihis Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
j“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7kWho is like me? Let him proclaim it.1
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
8Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
lAnd you are my witnesses!
mIs there a God besides me?
There is no nRock; I know not any.”
The Folly of Idolatry
9oAll who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10pWho fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11qBehold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
12pThe ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.2 He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. rHe shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14sHe cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. tHe prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an uabomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20vHe feeds on washes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not xa lie in my right hand?”
The Lord Redeems Israel
21Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are ymy servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
zO Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22aI have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23bSing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O cdepths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
dand will be glorified3 in Israel.
24Thus says the Lord, eyour Redeemer,
fwho formed you from the womb:
g“I am the Lord, who made all things,
hwho alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
iwho turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26jwho confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
kand of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
27lwho says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
28who says of mCyrus, ‘He is nmy shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
oand of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
The Lamb and the 144,000
1Then I looked, and behold, on vMount Zion wstood the Lamb, and with him x144,000 who yhad his name and his Father's name written zon their foreheads. 2And I heard a voice from heaven alike the roar of many waters and blike the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of charpists playing on their harps, 3and they were singing da new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. eNo one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for fthey are virgins. It is these gwho follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as hfirstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5and iin their mouth no lie was found, for they are jblameless.
The Messages of the Three Angels
6Then I saw another angel kflying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to lthose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7And he said with a loud voice, m“Fear God and ngive him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and oworship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the psprings of water.”
8Another angel, a second, followed, saying, q“Fallen, fallen is rBabylon the great, sshe who made all nations drink tthe wine of the passion1 of her sexual immorality.”
9And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone uworships the beast and its image and receives va mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10he also will drink wthe wine of God's wrath, xpoured full strength into the cup of his anger, and yhe will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11And zthe smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and athey have no rest, day or night, these uworshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12bHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who ckeep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.2
13And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: dBlessed are the dead ewho die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, f“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
The Harvest of the Earth
14Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one glike a son of man, hwith a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15And another angel icame out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, j“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for kthe harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, lthe angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, mfor its grapes are ripe.” 19So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great nwinepress of the wrath of God. 20And othe winepress was trodden poutside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as qa horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.3
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