Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Continuing the ‘Encore 2022’ series, Alistair Begg urges the children of God to wake up, step up, and speak up! Find out what he means and what that entails when it comes to getting our spiritual bearings. Join us on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Getting Our Spiritual Bearings
Philippians 2:14–15 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 45:16 • ID: 3500
Remembering God’s Mercy
God delights to save people.
When God commanded His servant Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it because of its wickedness, the reluctant prophet recognized that the people might repent of their evil ways and that God would respond in mercy (see Jonah 4:2). He knew that God is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6-7). He knew the truth that God would one day speak through the prophet Jeremiah: “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it” (Jeremiah 18:7-8).
Jonah knew that God’s heart is a heart of mercy—so Jonah refused to obey God’s command. Why?! Apparently, he simply didn’t like the people of Nineveh, and understandably so, for the Ninevites were aggressive, vicious, and violent pagans and were feared enemies of Israel. Jonah did not want the Lord to spare them—so later, when the people of Nineveh turned from their wickedness, “it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry” (Jonah 4:1). Jonah felt they were deserving of God’s judgment. And he was right! But thankfully, God’s ways of dealing with nations and cities and individuals are not our ways. God’s desire is to show mercy, and not to bring judgment.
God’s compassion on Nineveh is a reminder to us that He does not wish that any should perish and that He delights in saving people, especially those who appear least deserving (2 Peter 3:9). Jonah wanted to preach only where he wanted to preach and to whom he wanted to preach. But the gospel message is for everyone, everywhere. Today the good news of Jesus is not limited to “nice” people, to people who look and act and think like us. Indeed, Jesus commanded His followers, “Go … and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19, emphasis added).
What immense mercy! God is passionate in His pursuit of the proud, the stubborn, and the defiant—people just like me, people just like you. He calls us to be zealous to “rescue the perishing, care for the dying,” to “tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.”[1] The triune God desires to save sinful people—He desires their salvation enough to come and die for them. Do you share His heart? If you do, you will desire the salvation of those around you—whoever they are and whatever they have done—enough to go and share Christ with them.
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?
19For hthough I am free from all, iI have made myself a servant to all, that I might jwin more of them. 20kTo the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To lthose outside the law I became mas one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but nunder the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22oTo the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. pI have become all things to all people, that qby all means I might save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, rthat I may share with them in its blessings.
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.
All is Possible!
All things are possible for one who believes.
Many professed Christians are always doubting and fearing, and they forlornly think that this is the inevitable state of believers. This is a mistake, for “all things are possible for one who believes”; and it is possible for us to arrive at a place where a doubt or a fear shall be like a migrant bird flitting across the soul but never lingering there. When you read of the high and sweet communions enjoyed by favored saints, you sigh and murmur in the chamber of your heart, “Sadly, these are not for me.”
But, climber, if you exercise your faith, you will before long stand on the sunny pinnacle of the temple, for “all things are possible for one who believes.” You hear of exploits that holy men have done for Jesus—what they have enjoyed of Him, how much they have been like Him, how they have been able to endure great persecutions for His sake—and you say, “But as for me, I am useless. I can never reach these heights.”
But there is nothing that one saint was that you may not be. There is no elevation of grace, no attainment of spirituality, no clearness of assurance, no place of duty, that is not open to you if you have but the power to believe. Lay aside your sackcloth and ashes, and rise to the dignity of your true position; you are impoverished not because you have to be but because you want to be. It is not right that you, a child of the King, should grovel in the dust. Rise! The golden throne of assurance is waiting for you! The crown of communion with Jesus is ready to adorn your brow. Wrap yourself in scarlet and fine linen, and eat lavishly every day; for if you believe, you can eat the royal portion, your land will flow with milk and honey, and your soul shall be satisfied in God. Gather golden sheaves of grace, for they await you in the fields of faith. “All things are possible for one who believes.”
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 August 8
Naomi Widowed
1In the days awhen the judges ruled there was ba famine in the land, and a man of cBethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were dEphrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth's Loyalty to Naomi
6Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that ethe Lord had visited his people and fgiven them food. 7So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord gdeal kindly with you, as you have dealt with hthe dead and with me. 9The Lord grant that you may find irest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb jthat they may become your husbands? 12Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that kthe hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” 14Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to lher gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. mYour people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. nMay the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18oAnd when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Naomi and Ruth Return
19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, pthe whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi;1 call me qMara,2 for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21rI went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem sat the beginning of barley harvest.
Paul's Defense Before Agrippa
1So lAgrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
2“I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today magainst all the accusations of the Jews, 3especially because you are familiar with all the ncustoms and ocontroversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4p“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among qmy own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that raccording to the strictest sparty of our treligion I have lived as ua Pharisee. 6And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in vthe promise made by God to our fathers, 7wto which xour twelve tribes hope to yattain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope zI am accused by Jews, O king! 8Why is it thought aincredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9b“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of cJesus of Nazareth. 10dAnd I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority efrom the chief priests, but fwhen they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11And gI punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them hblaspheme, and iin raging fury against them I jpersecuted them even to foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion
12“In this connection kI journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me lin the Hebrew language,1 ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16But rise and mstand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, nto appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17odelivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—pto whom I qam sending you 18rto open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from sthe power of Satan to God, that they may receive tforgiveness of sins and ua place among those who are sanctified vby faith in me.’
19“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to wthe heavenly vision, 20but declared first xto those in Damascus, ythen in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also zto the Gentiles, that they should arepent and bturn to God, performing deeds cin keeping with their repentance. 21For this reason dthe Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22eTo this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so fI stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what gthe prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23hthat the Christ imust suffer and that, jby being the first kto rise from the dead, lhe would proclaim mlight both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
24And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, nyou are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, omost excellent Festus, but I am speaking ptrue and qrational words. 26For rthe king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be sa Christian?”2 29And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day tmight become such as I am—except for uthese chains.”
30Then the king rose, and vthe governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, w“This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32And Agrippa said to Festus, x“This man could have been set yfree if he had not appealed zto Caesar.”
Jeremiah 36
Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's Scroll
1In the ffourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Take ga scroll and hwrite on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and iJudah jand all the nations, kfrom the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3lIt may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, mso that every one may turn from his evil way, and nthat I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4Then Jeremiah called oBaruch the son of Neriah, and oBaruch wrote on ga scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. 5And Jeremiah ordered oBaruch, saying, p“I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, 6so you are to go, and qon a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord's house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. 7lIt may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, mand that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” 8And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.
9rIn the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, sin the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem tproclaimed a fast before the Lord. 10Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in uthe chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord's house.
11When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of vShaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12he went down to the king's house, into the secretary's chamber, and wall the officials were sitting there: xElishama the secretary, yDelaiah the son of Shemaiah, yElnathan zthe son of Achbor, yGemariah the son of zShaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. 13And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of aShelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. 16When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, b“We must report all these words to the king.” 17Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” 18Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, cwhile I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” 19Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”
20So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in dthe chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. 21Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. 22It was ethe ninth month, and the king was sitting in fthe winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. 23As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. 24Yet gneither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, hnor did they tear their garments. 25Even when iElnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah jurged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26And the king commanded Jerahmeel the kking's son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and lShelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize mBaruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.
27Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28“Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, n“Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” 30Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: oHe shall have none pto sit on the throne of David, qand his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31rAnd I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”
32Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to sBaruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who twrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
Jeremiah 45
Message to Baruch
1The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to sBaruch the son of Neriah, twhen he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, uin the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3You said, v‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. wI am weary with my groaning, xand I find no rest.’ 4Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: yBehold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5And zdo you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, aI am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you byour life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”
I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds
1 To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.2 A Psalm of David.
1I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your gwonderful deeds.
2I will be glad and hexult in you;
I will ising praise to your name, jO Most High.
3When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before3 your presence.
4For you have kmaintained my just cause;
you have lsat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
5You have mrebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have nblotted out their name forever and ever.
6The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
8and he ojudges the world with righteousness;
he pjudges the peoples with uprightness.
9The Lord is qa stronghold for rthe oppressed,
a stronghold in stimes of trouble.
10And those who tknow your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11Sing praises to the Lord, who usits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his vdeeds!
12For he who wavenges blood is mindful of them;
he xdoes not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13yBe gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from zthe gates of death,
14that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of athe daughter of Zion
I may brejoice in your salvation.
15The nations have sunk in cthe pit that they made;
in dthe net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16The Lord has made himself eknown; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.4 Selah
17The wicked shall freturn to Sheol,
all the nations that gforget God.
18For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and hthe hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19iArise, O Lord! Let not jman prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
20Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but jmen! Selah
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