Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Are you a secret Christian? Maybe you’re embarrassed or fearful of telling friends and family that you believe what the Bible teaches? Hear a message that’ll challenge your reluctance to openly affirm your faith. That’s on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
The Hope of the Righteous
There’s a prevailing notion in contemporary Western culture that death is the great equalizer—that no matter what you’ve believed or what you’ve done or haven’t done, it will all be evened out when we die. The Bible says that this is not the case—that it is the righteous alone who can look forward to discovering that in God’s “presence there is fullness of joy” and that at His “right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
In the book of Esther, we can see the contrast between the hope of the righteous and the expectation of the wicked. Following counsel from his wife and friends, Haman decided to build a gallows that could hang the man who annoyed him most, Mordecai (Esther 5:14). The next day, however, Haman went back to his wife and that same group of friends and told them how the king had made him lead Mordecai through the streets to honor him. His confidants quickly went from coming up with an idea that pleased Haman to offering these sobering words: “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him” (6:13). While Haman had expected to be exalted and to see his enemy defeated, his friends seemed to recognize that his wicked plans were failing and that God’s purposes would be fulfilled for His people.
In the night between these conversations, Mordecai was presumably asleep. The threat of death was hanging over his head—but he was blissfully ignorant of his probable doom. Yet even if he had known what Haman had planned for him, Mordecai still had no means of intervening to save himself. His only hope was the providence of God—and that hope alone would have been enough to bring him peace.
It turned out that, in the event, Haman had to unwillingly declare Mordecai’s honor. He wasn’t happy about it. Similarly, the Bible says that on the day of Christ’s return, when every knee will bow before Jesus Christ and declare Him to be Lord (Philippians 2:10-11), some will bow unwillingly while others will bow rejoicing. In other words, as with Haman, “the expectation of the wicked will perish,” but “the hope of the righteous” will carry on for all eternity.
If you have trusted in Christ and received His righteousness as your own, you can bow before Him with great joy as your Savior and friend, as well as your Lord. With this hope, you have every reason to rest peacefully, for you can joyfully look forward—even through tears, pain, disappointment, and regret—to being in God’s presence forevermore.
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?
32pTwo others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33qAnd when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, pone on his right and one on his left. 34And Jesus said, “Father, rforgive them, sfor they know not what they do.”2 And they cast lots tto divide his garments. 35And uthe people stood by, watching, vbut wthe rulers xscoffed at him, saying, y“He saved others; zlet him save himself, aif he is bthe Christ of God, chis Chosen One!” 36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and doffering him sour wine 37and saying, e“If you are fthe King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38gThere was also an inscription over him,3 “This is fthe King of the Jews.”
39hOne of the criminals who were hanged irailed at him,4 saying, “Are you not jthe Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he said, “Jesus, remember me kwhen you come into your kingdom.” 43And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in lparadise.”
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.
Every Day
You have come … To the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Reader, have you come to “the sprinkled blood”? The question is not whether you have come to a knowledge of doctrine or an observance of ceremonies or to a certain form of experience, but have you come to the blood of Jesus?
The blood of Jesus is the life of all vital godliness. If you have truly come to Jesus, we know how you came—the Holy Spirit kindly brought you there. You came to the sprinkled blood with no merits of your own. Guilty, lost, and helpless, you came to take that blood, and that blood alone, as your everlasting hope. You came to the cross of Christ with a trembling and an aching heart; and what a precious sound it was to you to hear the voice of the blood of Jesus!
The dropping of His blood is as the music of heaven to the penitents of earth. We are full of sin, but the Savior bids us lift our eyes to Him; and as we gaze upon His streaming wounds, each drop of blood, as it falls, cries, “It is finished; I have made an end of sin; I have brought in everlasting righteousness.”
Sweet language of the precious blood of Jesus! If you have come to that blood once, you will come to it constantly. Your life will be “looking to Jesus.” Your whole conduct will be epitomized in this—“to whom coming.” Not to whom I have come, but to whom I am always coming. If you have ever come to the sprinkled blood, you will feel your need of coming to it every day. He who does not desire to wash in it every day has never washed in it at all. Believers constantly feel it to be their joy and privilege that there is still a fountain opened. Past experiences are doubtful food for Christians; a present coming to Christ alone can give us joy and comfort. This morning let us sprinkle our doorpost fresh with blood, and then feast upon the Lamb, assured that the destroying angel must pass us by.
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 April 17
Holiness and the Priests
1And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, aNo one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5bThey shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6They shall be holy to their God and cnot profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, dthe bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7eThey shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman fdivorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for gI, the Lord, who sanctify you, ham holy. 9And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; ishe shall be burned with fire.
10j“The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, kshall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11He shall not lgo in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12mHe shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he nprofane the sanctuary of his God, for the oconsecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord. 13And he shall take a wife in her virginity.1 14A widow, por a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin2 of his own people, 15that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for gI am the Lord who sanctifies him.”
16And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17“Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may qapproach to offer the bread of his God. 18For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man rblind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face sor a limb too long, 19or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a rdefect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or tcrushed testicles. 21No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to uoffer the Lord's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22He may eat the bread of his God, both of vthe most holy and of the wholy things, 23but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not xprofane my sanctuaries,3 yfor I am the Lord who sanctifies them.” 24So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.
Psalm 26
I Will Bless the Lord
Of David.
1qVindicate me, O Lord,
for I have rwalked in my integrity,
and I have strusted in the Lord without wavering.
2tProve me, O Lord, and try me;
3For your vsteadfast love is before my eyes,
and I wwalk in your vfaithfulness.
4I do not xsit with men of yfalsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5I zhate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.
6I awash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O Lord,
7proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your bwondrous deeds.
8O Lord, I clove the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
9dDo not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of ebribes.
11But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12My foot stands on flevel ground;
in gthe great assembly I will bless the Lord.
Psalm 27
The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation
Of David.
1The Lord is my hlight and my isalvation;
jwhom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold1 of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me
to keat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
3lThough an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet2 I will be confident.
4mOne thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may ndwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon othe beauty of the Lord
and to inquire3 in his temple.
5For he will phide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will qlift me high upon a rock.
6And now my rhead shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of sjoy;
tI will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7uHear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8You have said, v“Seek4 my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”5
9wHide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
xO God of my salvation!
10For ymy father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will ztake me in.
11aTeach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on ba level path
because of my enemies.
12cGive me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for dfalse witnesses have risen against me,
and they ebreathe out violence.
13I believe that I shall look6 upon fthe goodness of the Lord
in gthe land of the living!
14hWait for the Lord;
ibe strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Evil Under the Sun
1uAgain I vsaw all wthe oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had xno one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2And I ythought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3But zbetter than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
4Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is avanity1 and a striving after wind.
5The fool bfolds his hands and ceats his own flesh.
6dBetter is a handful of equietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
7uAgain, I saw vanity under the sun: 8one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his feyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, g“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy hbusiness.
9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, ibut how can one keep warm alone? 12And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13Better was ja poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how kto take advice. 14For he went lfrom prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. 15I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that2 youth who was to stand in the king's3 place. 16There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is mvanity and a striving after wind.
1oLet all who are under a yoke as bondservants1 regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, pso that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are qbrothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
False Teachers and True Contentment
rTeach and urge these things. 3If anyone steaches a different doctrine and does not agree with tthe sound2 words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching uthat accords with godliness, 4vhe is puffed up with conceit and wunderstands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for xcontroversy and for yquarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5and constant friction among people zwho are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, aimagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6But bgodliness cwith contentment is great gain, 7for dwe brought nothing into the world, and3 we cannot take anything out of the world. 8But eif we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9But fthose who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ginto a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that hplunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of iall kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Fight the Good Fight of Faith
11But as for you, jO man of God, kflee these things. lPursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12mFight the good fight of the faith. nTake hold of the eternal life oto which you were called and about which you made pthe good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13qI charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, rwho in his testimony before4 Pontius Pilate made pthe good confession, 14to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until sthe appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which he will display tat the proper time—he who is uthe blessed and only Sovereign, vthe King of kings and Lord of lords, 16wwho alone has immortality, xwho dwells in yunapproachable light, zwhom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
17As for the rich in athis present age, charge them bnot to be haughty, nor cto set their hopes on dthe uncertainty of riches, but on God, ewho richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18They are to do good, fto be rich in good works, to be generous and gready to share, 19thus hstoring up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may itake hold of jthat which is truly life.
20O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. kAvoid the lirreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
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