Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Wealthy individuals are often given preferential treatment in the hopes that they will in turn share their riches and influence. But that’s not what Jesus taught! Find out how to prevent favoritism in your church, on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
A Timely Prayer
When we feel that our culture is more determinedly turning its back on the gospel and opposing more fiercely the claims of the Scriptures, the natural question is: What do we do? Our answer should not be based on what feels comfortable but on what the Bible says.
The early church was no stranger to social upheaval. Knowing that hope and salvation could be found in Christ’s death and resurrection, Peter fearlessly preached at Pentecost, just a few weeks after he had denied knowing Jesus and being His follower (Acts 2:1-41). The bold preaching of Peter and the other apostles led to the rapid growth of the church—but it also led to tumult and persecution for the believers (v 1-22).
It’s no surprise, then, when we read that they lifted their voices to God. They knew the opposition they faced, and they prayed—knowledgeably, biblically, and boldly.
“And now, Lord…” If we were asked to finish that prayer, we’d probably ask God to remove the threats, stifle the opposition, or keep us from persecution. That was not the prayer of the early believers, though. Instead, they prayed that they would declare the gospel “with all boldness.”
Theirs remains a timely prayer. Surely the great need of the hour in the church of Jesus Christ is simply this: for Spirit-filled, Christ-centered courage. We’re living in a culture shaped by an incoherent mix of opinions and tensions. In that context, God calls us to go out and say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). As we do so, we would do well to remember that at the very heart of the gospel is the cross. If we are going to speak the word with boldness, then we will declare, in the words of Isaiah, that on the cross Jesus “was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). As Rico Tice points out, this will require us to be brave enough to press through the pain barrier and risk the hostility of those who disagree in order to find hunger among those in whom the Lord is already at work.[1]
The whole gospel has been given to the whole church to reach the whole world. Whether you’re a musician, engineer, farmer, or pharmacist, it doesn’t matter; the charge of God to each of us is to speak His word, the mystery of the gospel.
So are you willing to be bold enough to pray for boldness? Not for an easy or comfortable or healthy or admired life but for a life of witness? Will you daily make the prayer of the early church your own, asking that by God’s Spirit you would be filled and emboldened to share His gospel, whatever the cost, with a world that is desperate for truth?
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?
Peter and John Before the Council
1And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and lthe captain of the temple and mthe Sadducees came upon them, 2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming nin Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3And they arrested them and oput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4But many of those who had heard the word believed, and pthe number of the men came to about five thousand.
5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6with qAnnas the high priest and rCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, s“By what power or tby what name did you do this?” 8Then Peter, ufilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today vconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that wby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, xwhom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11yThis Jesus1 is the stone that was zrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.2 12And there is asalvation bin no one else, for cthere is no other dname under heaven given among men3 by which we must be saved.”
13eNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14But seeing the man who was healed fstanding beside them, gthey had nothing to say in opposition. 15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16saying, h“What shall we do with these men? For that ia notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them jto speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered them, k“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20for lwe cannot but speak of what mwe have seen and heard.” 21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, nbecause of the people, for all were praising God ofor what had happened. 22For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
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.
Spiritual Doctor
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed.
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him.
It is the sole prerogative of God to remove spiritual disease. Natural disease may be instrumentally healed by men, but even then the honor is to be given to God who grants wisdom to doctors and bestows power to enable the human frame to cast off disease. As for spiritual sicknesses, these remain with the Great Physician alone; He claims it as His prerogative: “I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal”;1 and one of the Lord's choice titles is Jehovah-Rophi, “the Lord who heals you.” “I will heal your wounds” is a promise that could not come from the lips of man but only from the mouth of the eternal God.
On this account the psalmist cried unto the Lord, “Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled,”2 and again, “Heal me, for I have sinned against you!”3 For this also the godly praise the name of the Lord, saying, “[He] heals all your diseases.”4 He who made man can restore man; He who was at first the creator of our nature can re-create it. What a transcendent comfort it is that in the person of Jesus “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”5
My soul, whatever your disease may be, this Great Physician can heal you. If He is God, there can be no limit to His power. Come then with the blind eye of darkened understanding; come with the limping foot of wasted energy; come with the disabled hand of weak faith, the fever of an angry temper, or the fit of shivering despondency; come just as you are, for He who is God can certainly restore you. No one can restrain the healing power that proceeds from Jesus our Lord. Legions of devils have attempted to overcome the power of the beloved Physician, and never once has He been hindered. All His patients have been cured in the past and shall be in the future, and you may be counted among them, my friend, if you will but rest yourself in Him tonight.
1) Deuteronomy 32:39
2) Psalm 6:2
3) Psalm 41:4
4) Psalm 103:3
5) Colossians 2:9
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 30
David Saves the City of Keilah
1Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against eKeilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2Therefore David finquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3But David's men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4Then David finquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, gfor I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6hWhen Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, i“Bring the ephod here.” 10Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, j“They will surrender you.” 13Then David and his men, kwho were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went lwherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country mof the wilderness of nZiph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
Saul Pursues David
15David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. oSaul my father also knows this.” 18pAnd the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
19qThen the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of rJeshimon? 20Now come down, O king, according to all your heart's desire to come down, sand our part shall be to surrender him into the king's hand.” 21And Saul said, t“May you be blessed by the Lord, ufor you have had compassion on me. 22Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. 23See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
Now David and his men were vin the wilderness of Maon, win the Arabah to the south of rJeshimon. 25And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.” 28So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.1 292 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of xEngedi.
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?
8Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, wlike men sentenced to death, because we xhave become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10yWe are fools for Christ's sake, but zyou are wise in Christ. aWe are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11To the present hour bwe hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and cbuffeted and dhomeless, 12and we elabor, working with our own hands. fWhen reviled, we bless; gwhen persecuted, we endure; 13when slandered, we entreat. hWe have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ithe refuse of all things.
14I do not write these things jto make you ashamed, but to admonish you kas my beloved children. 15For lthough you have countless2 guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For mI became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16I urge you, then, nbe imitators of me. 17That is why oI sent3 you Timothy, pmy beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,4 qas I teach them everywhere in every church. 18Some are rarrogant, sas though I were not coming to you. 19But tI will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20For uthe kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21What do you wish? vShall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
Ezekiel's Call
1And he said to me, c“Son of man,1 dstand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2And as he spoke to me, ethe Spirit entered into me and fset me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to gnations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. hThey and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4The descendants also are iimpudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5And jwhether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ga rebellious house) kthey will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man, lbe not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, mthough briers and thorns are with you and you sit on nscorpions.2 Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7And you shall speak my words to them, jwhether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
8“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. oBe not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and peat what I give you.” 9And when I looked, behold, qa hand was stretched out to me, and behold, ra scroll of a book was in it. 10And he spread it before me. And it had writing son the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord
A Psalm of David, lfor the memorial offering.
1O Lord, mrebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2For your narrows have sunk into me,
and your hand ohas come down on me.
3There is pno soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my qbones
because of my sin.
4For my riniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6I am sutterly bowed down and tprostrate;
all the day I ugo about mourning.
7For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is pno soundness in my flesh.
8I am feeble and crushed;
I vgroan because of the tumult of my heart.
9O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my wsighing is not hidden from you.
10My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and xthe light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11My yfriends and companions zstand aloof from my aplague,
and my nearest kin bstand far off.
12Those who seek my life clay their snares;
those who seek my hurt dspeak of ruin
and meditate etreachery all day long.
13But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like fa mute man who does not open his mouth.
14I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no grebukes.
15But for hyou, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16For I said, “Only ilet them not rejoice over me,
who jboast against me when my kfoot slips!”
17For I am lready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
18I mconfess my iniquity;
I am nsorry for my sin.
19But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me owrongfully.
20Those who prender me evil for good
qaccuse me because I rfollow after good.
21Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not sfar from me!
22tMake haste to help me,
O Lord, my usalvation!
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