Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
The Bible says that Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Does that mean that we can just do whatever we want? Hear the answer when you join us on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Devoted to the Word of God
While the Spirit-filled events of Pentecost and the resulting ministry were extraordinary, the apostles and their followers did not begin saying afterward, Well, now the Spirit of God teaches me; therefore, I don’t need to listen to anybody else. Instead, when filled with the Holy Spirit, they were all ears for the authoritative preaching and teaching of God’s word. This teaches us an important lesson: the Spirit of God always leads the people of God to devote themselves to the word of God.
This is why the book of Acts is full of the centrality of preaching. The apostles recognized that God’s supreme instrument for renewing His people in the image of His Son was and is through His word, as His Spirit works through it. Here in Acts 6 we see an example of the priority and protection the apostles gave to those called and equipped to teach. The apostles recognized the sobering importance of being entrusted as servants to bring before the people the very words of God Himself.
The Old Testament books refer to the “oracles” of the prophets; this word can also be translated as “burden” (see, for instance, Isaiah 13:1, KJV). It describes a weight upon the heart and mind that comes about because of the awesome responsibility of speaking God’s truth to people. Back in the nineteenth century C.H. Spurgeon acknowledged this burden by declaring his pulpit to be more influential than the throne of the king of England, for he brought a message from the throne of God to that pulpit and delivered the truth of Christian doctrine.
We must pray for and protect those called to teach the truths of Scripture, whether to a congregation, or to little children, or in any other context. It is no small thing to stand regularly between a holy God and His people, declaring His word. It is a heavy burden as well as a wonderful privilege.
In addition to praying for our teachers and preachers, we must also be humble and eager to sit and learn under the authoritative teaching of God’s word. Such an example of devotion was set by the early church in their dedication to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). Contemporary devotion ought to look the same; we must be committed to teaching that is based on the New Testament truths revealed to the apostles and built upon the foundations of Old Testament doctrine. We must not be spending all our time snacking on the fast food of box sets that soak up our time, TV networks that confirm what we already think, and books or video games that offer escape from the real world. Instead, we need to feast on the word of God. Let that be your spiritual food and you will find each day that the Spirit of God leads you deeper into the truths and the joys within it.
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?
Kaph
81My soul alongs for your salvation;
I bhope in your word.
82My ceyes long for your promise;
I ask, d“When will you comfort me?”
83For I have ebecome like a fwineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84gHow long must your servant endure?7
hWhen will you judge those who persecute me?
85iThe insolent have jdug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to your law.
86All your commandments are ksure;
they persecute me lwith falsehood; mhelp me!
87They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88In your steadfast love ngive me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.
Lamedh
89Forever, O Lord, your oword
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90Your pfaithfulness endures to all generations;
you have qestablished the earth, and it rstands fast.
91By your sappointment they stand this day,
for all things are your servants.
92If your law had not been my tdelight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have ugiven me life.
94I am yours; save me,
vfor I have sought your precepts.
95The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your testimonies.
96I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly wbroad.
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.
Come to Your Tempted Savior
He himself has suffered when tempted.
It is a common thought, and yet it tastes like honey to the weary heart—Jesus was tempted as I am. You have heard that truth many times, but have you grasped it? He was tempted by the very same sins into which we fall. Do not separate Jesus from our common humanity. If you are going through a dark room, remember Jesus went through it before you. If you are engaged in a sore fight, remember that Jesus has stood foot to foot with the same enemy. Let us be encouraged—Christ has borne the load before us, and the blood-stained footsteps of the King of glory can be seen along the road that we travel at this hour.
There is something sweeter yet—Jesus was tempted, but Jesus never sinned. My soul, it is not necessary for you to sin, for Jesus was a man, and if one man endured these temptations without sin, then in His power His followers may also flee from sin. Some new believers think that they cannot be tempted without sinning, but they are mistaken; there is no sin in being tempted, but there is sin in yielding to temptation. Here is comfort for those who are greatly tempted. There is still more to encourage them if they recall that the Lord Jesus, though tempted, gloriously triumphed; and as He overcame, so may His followers also, for Jesus is the representative man for His people.
The Head has triumphed, and the members share in the victory. Fears are unnecessary, for Christ is with us, armed for our defense. Our place of safety is the embrace of the Savior. Perhaps we are tempted just now in order to drive us nearer to Him. Blessed be any wind that blows us into the harbor of our Savior's love! Happy the wounds that make us seek the beloved Physician. Tempted ones, come to your tempted Savior, for He can sympathize with your weaknesses and will comfort every tried and tempted one.
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 October 3
Solomon Builds the Temple
1yIn the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, zhe began to build the house of the Lord. 2aThe house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits1 long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. 3The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. 4And bhe made for the house windows with recessed frames.2 5cHe also built a structure3 against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and dthe inner sanctuary. And he made eside chambers all around. 6The lowest story4 was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.
7When the house was built, fit was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
8The entrance for the lowest5 story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third. 9gSo he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. 10He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
11Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, 12“Concerning this house that you are building, hif you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, iwhich I spoke to David your father. 13And jI will dwell among the children of Israel kand will not forsake my people Israel.”
14lSo Solomon built the house and finished it. 15He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, mand he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16nHe built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as othe Most Holy Place. 17The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. 18The cedar within the house was carved in the form of pgourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. 19The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20The inner sanctuary6 was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid7 an altar of cedar. 21And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. qAlso the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
23rIn the inner sanctuary she made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. tAnd the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. 28And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.
31For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.8 32He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, 34and two doors of cypress wood. uThe two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36vHe built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.
37wIn the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed
1For this reason I, Paul, oa prisoner of Christ Jesus pon behalf of you Gentiles— 2assuming that you have heard of qthe stewardship of rGod's grace that was given to me for you, 3show the mystery was made known to me tby revelation, uas I have written briefly. 4vWhen you read this, you can perceive my insight into wthe mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6This mystery is1 that the Gentiles are xfellow heirs, ymembers of the same body, and zpartakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7aOf this gospel I was made ba minister according to the gift of cGod's grace, which was given me dby the working of his power. 8To me, ethough I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, fto preach to the Gentiles the gunsearchable hriches of Christ, 9and ito bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery jhidden for ages in2 God, kwho created all things, 10so that through the church the manifold lwisdom of God mmight now be made known to nthe rulers and authorities oin the heavenly places. 11This was paccording to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have qboldness and raccess with sconfidence through our tfaith in him. 13So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering ufor you, vwhich is your glory.
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom wevery family3 in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to xthe riches of his glory yhe may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit zin your inner being, 17aso that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being brooted and cgrounded in love, 18may have strength to dcomprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and eheight and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ fthat surpasses knowledge, that gyou may be filled with all hthe fullness of God.
20iNow to jhim who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, kaccording to the power at work within us, 21lto him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel
1“And you, ison of man, prophesy to jthe mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2Thus says the Lord God: Because kthe enemy said of you, l‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient mheights have become our possession,’ 3therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because nthey made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and oyou became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to pthe mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, qthe desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ra prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in smy hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and tagainst all Edom, who ugave my land to themselves as a possession vwith wholehearted joy and wutter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to jthe mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: xBehold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ythe reproach of the nations. 7Therefore thus says the Lord God: zI swear that the nations that are all around you yshall themselves suffer reproach.
8“But you, O mountains of Israel, ashall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for bthey will soon come home. 9For cbehold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and dyou shall be tilled and sown. 10And eI will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. fThe cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11And I will multiply on you gman and beast, and hthey shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in iyour former times, and jwill do more good to you than ever before. kThen you will know that I am the Lord. 12I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. lAnd they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer mbereave them of children. 13Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, n‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,’ 14therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God. 15And I will not let you hear anymore ythe reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God.”
The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name
16The word of the Lord came to me: 17o“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, pthey defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were qlike the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18So rI poured out my wrath upon them sfor the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols twith which they had defiled it. 19uI scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. vIn accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, wthey profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ 21But I had concern xfor my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.
I Will Put My Spirit Within You
22“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: yIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, wwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23zAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. aAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24bI will take you cfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and dbring you into your own land. 25eI will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from fall your uncleannesses, and gfrom all your idols hI will cleanse you. 26And I will give you ia new heart, and ia new spirit I will put within you. iAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27jAnd I will put my Spirit within you, iand cause you to walk in my statutes and kbe careful to obey my rules.1 28lYou shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and myou shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29And nI will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And oI will summon the grain and make it abundant and play no famine upon you. 30qI will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, othat you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31Then ryou will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32yIt is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
33“Thus says the Lord God: On the day that sI cleanse you from all your iniquities, tI will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like uthe garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36Then vthe nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and wreplanted that which was desolate. xI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
37“Thus says the Lord God: This also yI will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: zto increase their people like aa flock. 38Like the flock for sacrifices,2 blike the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so tshall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. cThen they will know that I am the Lord.”
Great Is Your Steadfast Love
iA Prayer of David.
1jIncline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am kpoor and needy.
2Preserve my life, for I am lgodly;
save your servant, who mtrusts in you—you are my God.
3nBe gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4Gladden the soul of your servant,
for oto you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5For you, O Lord, are good and pforgiving,
qabounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6rGive ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7In sthe day of my trouble I call upon you,
tfor you answer me.
8There is unone like you among the gods, O Lord,
vnor are there any works like yours.
9wAll the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10For xyou are great and ydo wondrous things;
zyou alone are God.
11aTeach me your way, O Lord,
that I may bwalk in your truth;
cunite my heart to fear your name.
12I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13dFor great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have edelivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14O God, insolent men have frisen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15But you, O Lord, are a God gmerciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16hTurn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to iyour servant,
and save ithe son of your maidservant.
17jShow me a sign of your kfavor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
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