Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Does it surprise you that demons demonstrate a solid understanding of the Bible? Scripture is clear that they actually believe in Jesus! So how is their belief different from ours? Find out on Truth For Life as Alistair Begg continues a study in Mark.
From the Sermon
A Day in the Life of Jesus — Part One
Mark 1:21–39 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 42:51 • ID: 2677
Now and Forevermore
What do we know about Jesus Christ’s return? The Bible tells us certain facts that are straightforward. We know that Jesus is going to return personally, physically, visibly, and gloriously. We also know that the timing of His reappearance will be secret, it will be sudden, and it will bring separation between those who are waiting for Him and those who are rejecting Him.
Further, what was declared to the suffering saints in the first century in the book of Revelation is still being declared to us: no one should be alarmed at our world’s troubles because Jesus is in control. Christ’s reigning power will be established when His kingdom comes in all its permanent fullness, and His return will usher in a new heaven and a new earth.
This idea that heaven can come to earth—that one day the “new Jerusalem” will come “down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2)—is one echoed imperfectly in so many other modern views of the world, especially in the West. Our culture is by nature confident, and so it attempts to restore our world with a little more education, a little more social welfare, and a little more consideration for everyone. No man-made agenda can ever truly accomplish the restoration that our world needs, though. Human effort can improve things, but it cannot perfect things. Heaven will not come to earth until Christ does. Creation is presently held in sin’s grip, and only God, at the end of all things, can and will fix it, as His people bow down before the Lamb and declare His praises.
For the time being, you and I live as exiles in a foreign land. We live in a world that’s hostile to Christ, hostile to His word, and hostile to a life lived in obedience to Him. The temptation for us, as believers, is to run away and hide, to gather into a little holy huddle and not to concern ourselves with the world. But, as Jeremiah told the exiles in Babylon to seek the welfare of the city they were in (Jeremiah 29:7), so we are to seek the welfare of the world we are in. That requires us to be in this world though not of it, living lives and speaking words that point to a different place.
Rejoicing in the triumphant story of Christ crucified, risen, reigning, and one day returning is what gives us the confidence to point beyond this world. Hope for His return and eternal life in His presence is the perfect motivation for a life of both sustained holiness and zealous evangelism in His name. Look forward now with the eye of faith to His return—and then go and live for the welfare of those around you today.
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?
Mystery and Victory
50I tell you this, brothers: qflesh and blood rcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold! I tell you a mystery. sWe shall not all sleep, tbut we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For uthe trumpet will sound, and vthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and wthis mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
x“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55y“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and zthe power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, awho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58bTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in cthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord dyour labor is not in vain.
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.
A Right to Lead
And they follow me.
We should follow our Lord as unhesitatingly as sheep follow their shepherd, for He has a right to lead us wherever He pleases. We are not our own, we are bought with a price—let us recognize the rights of the redeeming blood. The soldier follows his captain, the servant obeys his master, and so we must follow our Redeemer, to whom we are a purchased possession. We are not true to our profession of being Christians if we question the summons of our Leader and Commander.
Submission is our duty; quibbling is our folly. Our Lord may say to us what he said to Peter, “What is that to you? You follow Me!”1 Wherever Jesus may lead us, He goes before us. If we do not know where we go, we know with whom we go. With such a companion, who will dread the dangers of the journey? The road may be long, but His everlasting arms will carry us to the end. The presence of Jesus is the assurance of eternal salvation; because He lives, we will live also. We should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He leads us all end in glory and immortality. It is true that they may not be smooth paths—they may be covered with sharp, flinty trials; but they lead to “the city that has foundations, whose designer and maker is God.”2 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His covenant.
Let us put our complete trust in our Leader, since we know that in prosperity or adversity, sickness or health, popularity or contempt, His purpose will be worked out, and that purpose will be pure, unmingled good to every heir of mercy. We will find it sweet to go up the bleak side of the hill with Christ; and when rain and snow blow into our faces, His dear love will make us far more blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world's fire. When Jesus draws us, we will run after Him. No matter where He leads us, we follow the Shepherd.
1) John 21:22
2) Hebrews 11:10
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 September 18
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
1Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew uthat the king's heart went out to Absalom. 2And Joab sent to vTekoa and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning garments. wDo not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead. 3Go to the king and speak thus to him.” So Joab xput the words in her mouth.
4When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, yshe fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, z“Save me, O king.” 5And the king said to her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, a“Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6And your servant had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him. 7And now the whole clan has risen against your servant, and they say, ‘Give up the man who struck his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.’ And so they would bdestroy the heir also. Thus they would quench my coal that is left and leave to my husband neither name nor cremnant on the face of the earth.”
8Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.” 9And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, d“On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father's house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.” 10The king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again.” 11Then she said, “Please let the king invoke the Lord your God, that ethe avenger of blood kill no more, and my son be not destroyed.” He said, f“As the Lord lives, gnot one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”
12Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” He said, “Speak.” 13And the woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against hthe people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring ihis banished one home again. 14We must all die; we are jlike water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means kso that the banished one will not remain an outcast. 15Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant. 16For the king will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from lthe heritage of God.’ 17And your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is mlike the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”
18Then the king answered the woman, “Do not hide from me anything I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” 19The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, n“As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who commanded me; oit was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant. 20In order to change the course of things your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of mthe angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.”
21Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22And Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage pand blessed the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.” 23So Joab arose and went to qGeshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24And the king said, “Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king's presence.
25Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. rFrom the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he scut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels1 by the king's weight. 27There were born tto Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.
28So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king's presence. 29Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come. 30Then he said to his servants, “See, Joab's field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom's servants set the field on fire.2 31Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from qGeshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, uand if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’” 33Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.
1Since we have these promises, beloved, jlet us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body1 and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Paul's Joy
2kMake room in your hearts2 for us. lWe have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that myou are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4I am acting with ngreat boldness toward you; oI have great pride in you; pI am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.
5For even qwhen we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—rfighting without and fear within. 6But sGod, who comforts the downcast, tcomforted us by the coming of Titus, 7and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8For ueven if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though vI did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but wbecause you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10For xgodly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas yworldly grief produces death. 11For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, zwhat zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one awho did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13Therefore bwe are comforted.
And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit chas been refreshed by you all. 14For dwhatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you ewas true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers fthe obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16I rejoice, because I have complete gconfidence in you.
The Lord Has Drawn His Sword
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 2t“Son of man, uset your face toward Jerusalem and vpreach against the sanctuaries.2 Prophesy against the land of Israel 3and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: wBehold, I am against you and will draw xmy sword from its sheath and ywill cut off from you both righteous and wicked. 4Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5zAnd all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn xmy sword from its sheath; ait shall not be sheathed again.
6“As for you, son of man, bgroan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, cgroan before their eyes. 7dAnd when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news ethat it is coming. fEvery heart will melt, and gall hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and gall knees will be weak as water. hBehold, it is ecoming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord God.
8And the word of the Lord came to me: 9t“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say:
i“A sword, a sword is sharpened
and also polished,
10jsharpened for slaughter,
jpolished to flash like lightning!
(Or kshall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, lwith everything of wood.)3 11So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished mto be given into the hand of the slayer. 12nCry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. oStrike therefore upon your thigh. 13For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise pthe rod?”4 declares the Lord God.
14“As for you, qson of man, prophesy. rClap your hands and let the sword come down twice, syes, three times,5 the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, 15that their hearts may melt, and many stumble.6 At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; tit is taken up7 for slaughter. 16Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. 17I also will rclap my hands, uand I will satisfy my fury; vI the Lord have spoken.”
18The word of the Lord came to me again: 19“As for you, son of man, mark two ways for wthe sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make xa signpost; make it xat the head of the way to a city. 20Mark a way yfor the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified. 21For the king of Babylon stands zat the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults athe teraphim;8 he looks at the liver. 22Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, bto set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, cto cast up mounds, to build siege towers. 23But to them it will seem like a false divination. dThey have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, ethat they may be taken.
24“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, fyou shall be taken in hand. 25And you, O profane9 gwicked one, prince of Israel, hwhose day has come, ithe time of your final punishment, 26thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. jExalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. 27A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. kThis also shall not be, luntil he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.
28“And you, mson of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God nconcerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, oA sword, a sword pis drawn for the slaughter. oIt is polished to consume and to flash like lightning— 29while qthey see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, rwhose day has come, the time of their final punishment. 30pReturn it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, sI will judge you. 31And tI will pour out my indignation upon you; uI will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of vbrutish men, skillful to destroy. 32You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. wYou shall be no more remembered, xfor I the Lord have spoken.”
God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1eGod shall arise, his enemies shall be fscattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2As gsmoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
has wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3But ithe righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
4Sing to God, jsing praises to his name;
klift up a song to him who lrides through mthe deserts;
his name is nthe Lord;
exult before him!
5oFather of the fatherless and pprotector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6God qsettles the solitary in a home;
he rleads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but sthe rebellious dwell in ta parched land.
7O God, when you uwent out before your people,
vwhen you marched through wthe wilderness, Selah
8xthe earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God,1 the God of Israel.
9yRain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10your flock2 found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you zprovided for the needy.
11The Lord gives athe word;
bthe women who announce the news are a great host:
12c“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home ddivide the spoil—
13though you men lie among ethe sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on fZalmon.
15O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God gdesired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17hThe chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18iYou ascended on high,
jleading a host of captives in your train
and kreceiving gifts among men,
even among lthe rebellious, mthat the Lord God may dwell there.
19Blessed be the Lord,
who daily nbears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20Our God is a God of salvation,
oand to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21pBut God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22The Lord said,
“I will bring them back qfrom Bashan,
rI will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23that you may sstrike your feet in their blood,
that tthe tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24Your procession is4 seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25uthe singers in front, vthe musicians last,
between them wvirgins playing tambourines:
26x“Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you5 who are of yIsrael's fountain!”
27There is zBenjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of aZebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall cbear gifts to you.
30Rebuke dthe beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of ebulls with the calves of the peoples.
fTrample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.7
31Nobles shall come from gEgypt;
hCush shall hasten to istretch out her hands to God.
32jO kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33to him kwho rides in lthe heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he msends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34nAscribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose opower is in pthe skies.
35qAwesome is God from his8 rsanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives spower and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
Get the Program, Devotional, and Bible Reading Plan delivered daily right to your inbox.