Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Audio PlayerDo you consider it your duty to keep the Sabbath holy, or do you regard it as a gift from God? The way you answer this question will impact the way you prepare for the day and how you begin each week. Hear more on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Guaranteed With an Oath
An oath should carry great weight for both the person making it and the person receiving it. It’s a decisive appeal to the highest power available, intended to end all doubt over someone’s word and confirm the reliability of the promise being made. Though people have repeatedly made nonsense of oaths through lying and perjury, they are still meant to demonstrate the integrity of one’s word.
An oath is, of course, only as good as the character of the individual making it. Therefore, we know that God’s promises are trustworthy if for no other reason than the fact that He made them. He didn’t need to guarantee His promise with an oath; the bare promise of God to His people is sufficient to command our belief. Yet He went a step further, swearing by Himself, since He cannot swear by anyone or anything greater.
God has brought us from the realm of hopelessness into the reality of hope, and the anchor of our souls is secure and certain. It is fixed to an immovable object—the promises of God—and fixed in the unseen heavenly realm by the God who cannot lie. These promises are so secure, in fact, that sharing them with others in evangelism is compelling to them, because we live in a world that is full of desperation and a culture that tries to cover its discontentedness with fake smiles, vacations, and material gain.
How wonderful that we can be people who are grounded in faith, anchored by the promises of our God. Jesus Christ is worthy of our trust, and we can know that “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20), whose life, death, resurrection, and ascension have achieved for us a momentous and eternal victory.
Which promises of God to you do you find hardest to trust and to build your life upon? Remember who made those promises. He is the same God who swore to childless, elderly Abraham that his descendants would be as innumerable as the stars in the sky above him—and who kept His promise. He is the same God who swore to His disciples that He would be rejected and killed, and then after three days rise again—and who kept His promise. Remember who has made the promises you find hard to believe. Remember what He is like. That is the anchor for your soul and the hope for your future.
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?
Tell of All His Wondrous Works
1tOh give thanks to the Lord; ucall upon his name;
vmake known his deeds among the peoples!
2Sing to him, sing praises to him;
wtell of all his wondrous works!
3Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4Seek the Lord and his xstrength;
yseek his presence continually!
5Remember the zwondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and athe judgments he uttered,
6O offspring of bAbraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his cchosen ones!
7He is the Lord our God;
his djudgments are in all the earth.
8He eremembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for fa thousand generations,
9gthe covenant that he made with Abraham,
his hsworn promise to Isaac,
10which he confirmed to iJacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11saying, j“To you I will give the land of Canaan
as kyour portion for an inheritance.”
12When they were lfew in number,
of little account, and msojourners in it,
13wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14he nallowed no one to oppress them;
he orebuked kings on their account,
15saying, p“Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16When he qsummoned a famine on the land
and rbroke all supply1 of bread,
17he had ssent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was tsold as a slave.
18His ufeet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19until vwhat he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord wtested him.
20xThe king sent and yreleased him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21he zmade him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22to bind2 his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23Then aIsrael came to Egypt;
Jacob bsojourned in cthe land of Ham.
24And the Lord dmade his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25He eturned their hearts to hate his people,
to fdeal craftily with his servants.
26He gsent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, hwhom he had chosen.
27iThey performed his signs among them
and miracles in cthe land of Ham.
28He jsent darkness, and made the land dark;
they kdid not rebel3 against his words.
29He turned their waters into blood
and lcaused their fish to die.
30Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in mthe chambers of their kings.
31He spoke, and there came nswarms of flies,
oand gnats throughout their country.
32He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery plightning bolts through their land.
33He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and qshattered the trees of their country.
34He spoke, and the rlocusts came,
young locusts without number,
35which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36He sstruck down all the firstborn in their land,
sthe firstfruits of all their strength.
37Then he brought out Israel with tsilver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38uEgypt was glad when they departed,
for vdread of them had fallen upon it.
39He wspread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40xThey asked, and he ybrought quail,
and gave them zbread from heaven in abundance.
41He opened the rock, and awater gushed out;
it flowed through bthe desert like a river.
42For he cremembered his holy promise,
and dAbraham, his servant.
43So he brought his people out with joy,
his dchosen ones with esinging.
44And he fgave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45that they might gkeep his statutes
and hobserve his laws.
iPraise the 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.
When Faith Is Tested
But he did not answer her a word.
Genuine seekers who as yet have not obtained the blessing may find comfort in this story. The Savior did not immediately bestow the blessing, even though the woman had great faith in Him. He intended to give it, but He waited awhile. “He did not answer her a word.” Were her prayers no good? Never better in the world. Was she not needy? Dreadfully needy. Did she not feel her need sufficiently? She felt it overwhelmingly. Was she not sincere enough? She was intensely so. Did she have no faith? She had such a high degree of it that even Jesus wondered and said, “O woman, great is your faith!” Notice then, although it is true that faith brings peace, it does not always bring it instantaneously. There may be certain reasons for faith to be tested rather than rewarded.
Genuine faith may be in the soul like a hidden seed, but so far it may not have budded and blossomed into joy and peace. Silence from the Savior is the painful trial of many a seeking soul, but heavier still is the affliction of a harsh, cutting reply such as, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” Many in waiting upon the Lord find immediate delight, but this is not the case with all. Some, like the jailer, are in a moment turned from darkness to light, but others are plants of slower growth.
A deeper sense of sin may be given to you instead of a sense of pardon, and in such a case you will need patience to bear the heavy blow. Poor heart, though Christ beat and bruise you, or even slay you, trust Him; even if He should give you an angry word, believe in the love of His heart. I urge you, do not give up seeking or trusting my Master because you have not yet obtained the conscious joy that you long for. Cast yourself on Him, and perseveringly depend even when you cannot rejoicingly hope.
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 9
Rehoboam's Folly
1iRehoboam went to jShechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2And as soon as kJeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for lhe was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from1 Egypt. 3And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4m“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5He said to them, n“Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.
6Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11And now, whereas mmy father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, o“Come to me again the third day.” 13And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, m“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15So the king did not listen to the people, for pit was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which qthe Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The Kingdom Divided
16And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. rTo your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17But Rehoboam reigned over sthe people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18Then King Rehoboam sent tAdoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19uSo Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but vthe tribe of Judah only.
21wWhen Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22But the word of God came to xShemaiah the man of God: 23“Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the yrest of the people, 24‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, zfor this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.
Jeroboam's Golden Calves
25Then Jeroboam abuilt Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and bbuilt Penuel. 26And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27If this people cgo up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28So the king took counsel and dmade two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. eBehold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30Then fthis thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.2 31He also made gtemples on high places and happointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like ithe feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel jthe priests of the high places that he had made. 33He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar kto make offerings.
Righteousness Through Faith in Christ
1Finally, my brothers,1 krejoice in the Lord. lTo write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2Look out for mthe dogs, look out for nthe evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3For owe are the circumcision, pwho worship qby the Spirit of God2 and rglory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4sthough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5tcircumcised on the eighth day, uof the people of Israel, vof the tribe of Benjamin, ua Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, wa Pharisee; 6xas to zeal, ya persecutor of the church; zas to righteousness under the law,3 blameless. 7But awhatever gain I had, bI counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of cthe surpassing worth of dknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ehave suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having fa righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but gthat which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10hthat I may know him and ithe power of his resurrection, and jmay share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may kattain the resurrection from the dead.
Straining Toward the Goal
12Not that I have already lobtained this or mam already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: nforgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for othe prize of the upward pcall of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let those of us who are qmature think this way, and if in anything ryou think otherwise, sGod will reveal that also to you. 16Only tlet us hold true to what we have attained.
17Brothers, ujoin in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk vaccording to the example you have in us. 18For wmany, of whom I have often told you and now tell you xeven with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19yTheir end is destruction, ztheir god is their belly, and athey glory in their shame, with bminds set on earthly things. 20But cour citizenship is in heaven, and dfrom it we eawait a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform four lowly body gto be like his glorious body, hby the power that enables him even ito subject all things to himself.
The Temple's Chambers
1Then he led me out into xthe outer court, ytoward the north, and he brought me to xthe chambers that were opposite zthe separate yard and opposite athe building on the north. 2The length of the building whose door faced north was ba hundred cubits,1 and cthe breadth fifty cubits. 3Facing dthe twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court, and facing ethe pavement that belonged to the outer court, was fgallery2 against gallery in three stories. 4And gbefore the chambers was a passage inward, ten cubits wide and ha hundred cubits long,3 and gtheir doors were on the north. 5Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 6For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. 7And ithere was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, jfifty cubits long. 8For the chambers on the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those opposite kthe nave4 were la hundred cubits long. 9Below these chambers was man entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court.
10In the thickness of nthe wall of the court, on the south5 also, opposite othe yard and opposite othe building, there were pchambers 11with qa passage in front of them. They were similar to the chambers on the north, of the same length and breadth, with the same exits6 and arrangements and qdoors, 12as were the entrances of the chambers on the south. There was an entrance at the beginning of the passage, the passage before nthe corresponding wall on the east as one enters them.7
13Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite othe yard are the holy chambers, rwhere the priests who approach the Lord sshall eat the tmost holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings—tthe grain offering, uthe sin offering, and uthe guilt offering—for the place is holy. 14When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court vwithout laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. vThey shall put on other garments before they go near to that which is for the people.”
15Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by wthe gate that faced east, and measured the temple area all around. 16He measured the east side with xthe measuring reed, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. 17He measured the north side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. 18He measured the south side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. 19Then he turned to the west side and measured, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. 20He measured it on the four sides. It had ya wall around it, z500 cubits long and z500 cubits broad, ato make a separation between the holy and the common.
The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
1O Lord, God of pvengeance,
O God of vengeance, qshine forth!
2rRise up, O sjudge of the earth;
repay to the tproud what they deserve!
3O Lord, uhow long shall the wicked,
how long shall vthe wicked exult?
4They pour out their warrogant words;
all xthe evildoers boast.
5They ycrush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6They kill zthe widow and the sojourner,
and murder zthe fatherless;
7aand they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10He who ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who eteaches man knowledge—
11fthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
12hBlessed is the man whom you idiscipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13to give him jrest from kdays of trouble,
until la pit is dug for the wicked.
14mFor the Lord will not forsake his npeople;
he will not abandon his nheritage;
15for ojustice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will pfollow it.
16qWho rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17rIf the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of ssilence.
18When I thought, t“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, uheld me up.
19When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20Can wwicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame2 injustice by xstatute?
21They yband together against the life of the righteous
and condemn zthe innocent to death.3
22But the Lord has become my astronghold,
and my God bthe rock of my crefuge.
23He will bring back on them dtheir iniquity
and ewipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
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