Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
To win a battle, whether physical or spiritual, we need to know our enemy and recognize his tactics. So what are Satan’s most common lines of attack? And what is our best line of defense? Find out when you listen to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Viewing Ourselves Rightly
No one is immune to the sin of self-exaltation. To find evidence of this, simply enter any kindergarten classroom. In this little group of children, soon enough somebody will be singing their own praises about building the tallest block tower or drawing the best family portrait—in other words, thinking of themselves more highly than they ought.
Constantly comparing ourselves with other people is a worldly way to think. An exaggerated view of ourselves is a dreadful problem—one that puts others down and ignores our place before God. The answer, though, is not found in self-denigration, which is the opposite and equal error to self-exaltation. This self-disparagement is also the product of pride because it still surfaces from comparison. It is still self-focused.
The Christian’s view of self should be grounded in a mind renewed by God (Romans 12:2). With this perspective, we find our value in God’s mercy and grace. Our significance, identity, worth, and role all find their foundation in who God is and what He has done for us, not on account of who we are or what we’ve done for Him.
We are reminded of this proper perspective of self when we sing the lines “When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died.”[1] To survey the cross is to focus on the gospel—the truth that another has died in our place and borne our punishment. In doing this, we realize that “my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” The cross raises us and lowers us at the same time, and this frees us from needing to push ourselves forward in life and enables us to acknowledge ways in which God has gifted us. This is thinking of ourselves with “sober judgment.”
The church, then, is to be noticeably different from the world in the way we view ourselves and each other. When we come together, united by the gospel, all else that relates to our identity, though not irrelevant, loses its primary significance, and we use our gifts not to please ourselves but to serve others.
Look at the cross, where your Savior bled and died for your sins because He loves you. There is no room for you to feel proud. There is no need for you to compare yourself to others. Instead, you can use all that He has given you in selfless, joyful service of others.
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 Ministry of Apostles
1This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and nstewards of the mysteries of God. 2Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4oFor I am not aware of anything against myself, pbut I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5Therefore qdo not pronounce judgment before the time, rbefore the Lord comes, swho will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. tThen each one will receive his commendation from God.
6I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,1 that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may ube puffed up in favor of one against another. 7For who sees anything different in you? vWhat do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
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.
The Garden of Christ
I came to my garden, my sister, my bride.
The heart of the believer is Christ's garden. He bought it with His precious blood, and He enters it and claims it as His own. A garden implies separation. It is not the open field; it is not a wilderness; it is walled around or hedged in. If only we could see the wall of separation between the church and the world made broader and stronger. It is sad to hear Christians saying, "Well, there is no harm in this; there is no harm in that," and by this approach getting as near to the world as possible. Grace is at a low ebb in the soul that is always inquiring about how far it may go in worldly conformity.
A garden is a place of beauty; it far surpasses the wild uncultivated lands. The genuine Christian must seek to be more excellent in his life than the best moralist, because Christ's garden ought to produce the best flowers in all the world. Even the best is poor compared with what Christ deserves; let us not disappoint Him with withering and feeble plants. The rarest, richest, choicest lilies and roses ought to bloom in the place that Jesus calls His own.
The garden is a place of growth. The believer must not remain undeveloped, just mere buds and blossoms. We should grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Growth should be rapid where Jesus is the gardener and the Holy Spirit the dew from heaven.
A garden is a place of retirement. So the Lord Jesus Christ would have us reserve our souls as a place in which He can show Himself, in a way that He does not to the world. As Christians we should be far keener to keep our hearts closely shut up for Christ! We often worry and trouble ourselves, like Martha, with much serving, and like her we do not have the room for Christ that Mary had, and we do not sit at His feet as we ought. May the Lord grant the sweet showers of His grace to water His garden today.
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 18
Those Excluded from the Assembly
1“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
2j“No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.
3k“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4lbecause they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they mhired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of nMesopotamia, to curse you. 5But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned othe curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6You pshall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7“You shall not abhor an Edomite, for qhe is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because ryou were a sojourner in his land. 8Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9“When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10“If any man among you becomes sunclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11but when evening comes, he shall tbathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.
12“You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14Because uthe Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15v“You shall not give up to his master a slave1 who has escaped from his master to you. 16He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
17“None of the wdaughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none xof the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog2 into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
19y“You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, zinterest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20aYou may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, bthat the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
21c“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24“If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, dyou may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.
Psalm 112
The Righteous Will Never Be Moved
iBlessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who jgreatly delights in his commandments!
2His koffspring will be mighty in the land;
lthe generation of the upright will be blessed.
3mWealth and riches are in his house,
and his nrighteousness endures forever.
4Light dawns in the darkness ofor the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and prighteous.
5It is well with the man who qdeals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6For the righteous will rnever be moved;
she will be remembered forever.
7He is not tafraid of bad news;
his uheart is firm, vtrusting in the Lord.
8His heart is steady;2 he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9He has wdistributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his xhorn is exalted in honor.
10The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he ygnashes his teeth and zmelts away;
athe desire of the wicked will perish!
Psalm 113
Who Is like the Lord Our God?
1bPraise the Lord!
cPraise, O dservants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
2eBlessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
3fFrom the rising of the sun to its setting,
gthe name of the Lord is hto be praised!
4The Lord is ihigh above all nations,
and his jglory above the heavens!
5kWho is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
6who llooks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7He mraises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8to make them nsit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9He ogives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
bPraise the Lord!
Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
1Thus says the Lord:
“Where is gyour mother's certificate of divorce,
with which hI sent her away?
Or iwhich of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
jBehold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2kWhy, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
lIs my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
mBehold, by my rebuke nI dry up the sea,
oI make the rivers a desert;
ptheir fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3qI clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering.”
4The Lord God has given rme
the tongue of those who are taught,
that sI may know how to sustain with a word
thim who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5uThe Lord God has opened my ear,
vand I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6wI gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
7But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
xtherefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8yHe who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9zBehold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
10Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys athe voice of his servant?
bLet him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
cThis you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
The Thousand Years
1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, nholding in his hand the key to othe bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2And he seized pthe dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and qbound him for a thousand years, 3and threw him into othe pit, and shut it and rsealed it over him, so that she might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
4Then I saw tthrones, and useated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw vthe souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those wwho had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. xThey came to life and yreigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6zBlessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such athe second death has no power, but they will be bpriests of God and of Christ, and they cwill reign with him for a thousand years.
The Defeat of Satan
7And when the thousand years are ended, dSatan will be released from his prison 8and will come out eto deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, fGog and Magog, gto gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9And hthey marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded ithe camp of the saints and jthe beloved city, but kfire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10and the devil lwho had deceived them was mthrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where nthe beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence oearth and sky fled away, and pno place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and qbooks were opened. Then another book was opened, which is rthe book of life. And sthe dead were judged by what was written in the books, taccording to what they had done. 13And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, uDeath and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, taccording to what they had done. 14Then uDeath and Hades vwere thrown into the lake of fire. This is wthe second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, xhe was thrown into the lake of fire.
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