Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
What’s your favorite commercial? Can you recall popular jingles? A good commercial is remembered; a great one makes you want the product. On Truth For Life, Alistair Begg explains how and why Christian families are to be great endorsements for the Gospel.
From the Sermon
The Christian Family — Part Two
Colossians 3:18 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 36:59 • ID: 3506
The Valley of Decision
There are moments throughout life that demand a decision. And, as pastor and author Rico Tice says, “We are the choices that we make.”[1]
After being struck by the triple tragedy of burying her husband and her two sons in Moab, Naomi decided to go back to her hometown, Bethlehem. Yet instead of forcing her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to return with her, Naomi urged them to remain in their own homeland of Moab, return to their families, remarry, and live full lives (Ruth 1:8-9). Ruth and Orpah were suddenly faced with a life-altering decision.
The lives of these three women were interwoven. They had lived with one another, experienced loss together, mourned together, and wept together. Ultimately, Orpah chose to remain behind, and Ruth decided to journey to Bethlehem with Naomi. Essentially, Orpah did what was expected and sensible. Ruth, on the other hand, abandoned the known for the unknown. She gave up the likelihood of remarriage to cling to her aged, helpless mother-in-law.
Ruth understood that her decision should not be guided by familiarity, security, or relational prospects. This moment would shape her life and her destiny. Remaining in Moab would mean remaining with the false gods of her upbringing and turning her back on everything she had presumably discovered from Naomi about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Naomi’s God had become Ruth’s God. That is why she decided to stay by Naomi’s side.
Ruth’s decision on the road to Bethlehem points forward to the valley of decision that Jesus calls each of us to stand in: Do you want to be my disciples, or do you want to return to the life you’ve known? Who is there who will forsake his or her father and mother and everything they know—all that represents stability and security—for my sake? (see Luke 14:26). Can we confidently say to Christ, “Where you go I will go”? Can we declare, “Though the way ahead is unfamiliar and unpopular, still I will follow”?
This is not a decision we make just at the moment of salvation. We make it every day of our lives: Will we go back to our old, sinful ways, or are we going to follow the way of truth? Will we make sacrifices and take risks in order to follow God and serve His people?
Ruth’s bold, faithful response to this pivotal choice sets an example for us as we consider what degrees to earn, what careers to pursue, how we spend our time and who we spend it with, how much money we have and how we’re going to steward it, or where we’re going to live and serve. Such decisions, made rightly, will mark us out as different—as unreservedly committed to following Jesus Christ, the one in whom we truly find abundant life (John 10:10).
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 Confesses Jesus as the Christ
27oAnd Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28And they told him, p“John the Baptist; and others say, qElijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, r“You are sthe Christ.” 30tAnd he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31uAnd he began to teach them that vthe Son of Man must wsuffer many things and xbe rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and yafter three days rise again. 32And he said this zplainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, a“Get behind me, Satan! For you bare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him cdeny himself and dtake up his cross and follow me. 35For dwhoever would save his life4 will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake eand the gospel's will save it. 36fFor what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37For gwhat can a man give in return for his soul? 38For hwhoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this iadulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed jwhen he comes in the glory of his Father with kthe holy angels.”
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.
Dangerous to Linger
Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again.
Jacob must have shuddered at the thought of leaving the land of his fathers to live among heathen strangers. It was a new scene, and likely to be a trying one: Who shall venture among citizens of a foreign power without some anxiety? Yet the way was evidently appointed for him, and therefore he resolved to go.
This is frequently the experience of believers; they are called to face perils and temptations. At such times let them imitate Jacob's example by offering sacrifices of prayer to God and seeking His direction. Let them not take a step until they have waited upon the Lord for His blessing: Then they will have Jacob's companion to be their friend and helper.
How blessed to feel assured that the Lord is with us in all our ways and condescends to enter into our humiliations and banishments! Even at such times we may bask in the sunshine of our Father's love. We need not hesitate to go where He promises His presence; even the darkest valley grows bright with the radiance of this assurance. Marching onward with faith in their God, believers shall have Jacob's promise. They will be brought up again, whether it be from the troubles of life or the chambers of death. Jacob's offspring came out of Egypt in due time, and so shall all the faithful pass unscathed through the tribulations of life and the terror of death.
Let us exercise Jacob's confidence. "Do not be afraid" is the Lord's command and His divine encouragement to those who at His bidding are launching upon new seas; God's presence and preservation forbid so much as one unbelieving fear. Without our God we would be afraid to move; but when He bids us to, it would be dangerous to linger.
Reader, go forward, and do not be afraid.
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 May 12
Arad Destroyed
1When wthe Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in xthe Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2yAnd Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”1 3And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called zHormah.2
The Bronze Serpent
4From Mount Hor athey set out by the way to the Red Sea, bto go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5And the people cspoke against God and against Moses, d“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ewe loathe this worthless food.” 6fThen the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and gthey bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7hAnd the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. iPray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9So jMoses made a bronze3 serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
The Song of the Well
10And the people of Israel set out and kcamped in Oboth. 11kAnd they set out from Oboth and kcamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12From there they set out and camped in lthe Valley of Zered. 13From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the mArnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
15and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the seat of nAr,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
16And from there they continued oto Beer;4 that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that pI may give them water.” 17Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
18the well that the princes made,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with qthe scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah rthat looks down on the desert.5
King Sihon Defeated
21Then sIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22t“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King's Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23uBut Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and vcame to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24wAnd Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the xJabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. 27Therefore the yballad singers say,
“Come to zHeshbon, let it be built;
let the city of Sihon be established.
28For afire came out from zHeshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured nAr of Moab,
and swallowed6 the heights of the Arnon.
29aWoe to you, O Moab!
You are undone, O people of bChemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters captives,
to an Amorite king, Sihon.
30So we overthrew them;
Heshbon, as far as cDibon, perished;
and we laid waste as far as Nophah;
fire spread as far as dMedeba.”7
King Og Defeated
31Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32And Moses sent to spy out eJazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. 33Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle fat Edrei. 34gBut the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And hyou shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” 35So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.
Psalm 60
He Will Tread Down Our Foes
To the choirmaster: according to fShushan Eduth. A gMiktam1 of David; hfor instruction; when he istrove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
1O God, jyou have rejected us, kbroken our defenses;
you have been angry; loh, restore us.
2You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
mrepair its breaches, for it totters.
3nYou have made your people see hard things;
oyou have given us pwine to drink that made us stagger.
4You have set up qa banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it rfrom the bow.2 Selah
5sThat your tbeloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6God has spoken uin his holiness:3
“With exultation vI will divide up wShechem
and portion out the Vale of xSuccoth.
7yGilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Judah is my bscepter.
8cMoab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I dcast my shoe;
over ePhilistia I shout in triumph.”4
9Who will bring me to the fortified city?
fWho will lead me to Edom?
10Have you not grejected us, O God?
You hdo not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for ivain is the salvation of man!
12With God we shall jdo valiantly;
it is he who will ktread down our foes.
Psalm 61
Lead Me to the Rock
To the choirmaster: with lstringed instruments. Of David.
1Hear my cry, O God,
mlisten to my prayer;
2from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is nfaint.
Lead me to othe rock
that is higher than I,
3for you have been pmy refuge,
a strong qtower against the enemy.
4Let me rdwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under sthe shelter of your wings! Selah
5For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6tProlong uthe life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint vsteadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I wperform my vows day after day.
Judgment on Arrogant Assyria
5Woe to Assyria, ethe rod of my anger;
the staff in their hands is my fury!
6Against a fgodless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take gspoil and seize plunder,
and to htread them down like the mire of the streets.
7But he idoes not so intend,
and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few;
8for he says:
j“Are not my commanders all kings?
9kIs not lCalno like mCarchemish?
pIs not qSamaria like Damascus?
10As my hand has reached to rthe kingdoms of the idols,
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11shall I not do to Jerusalem and sher idols
tas I have done to Samaria and her images?”
12uWhen the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, vhe1 will punish the speech2 of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13wFor he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
and plunder their treasures;
like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing
or opened the mouth or chirped.”
15Shall xthe axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16Therefore the Lord God of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his ystout warriors,
and under his glory za burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
17aThe light of Israel will become a fire,
and bhis Holy One a flame,
and cit will burn and devour
his thorns and briers din one day.
18The glory of ehis forest and of his ffruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.
The Remnant of Israel Will Return
20gIn that day hthe remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more ilean on him who struck them, but jwill lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, kto the mighty God. 22lFor though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, monly a remnant of them will return. nDestruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.
24Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, owho dwell in Zion, pbe not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as qthe Egyptians did. 25For rin a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26And sthe Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck tMidian uat the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it vas he did in Egypt. 27And in that day whis burden will depart from your shoulder, and xhis yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”3
28He has come to Aiath;
he has passed through yMigron;
at Michmash he stores zhis baggage;
29they have crossed over athe pass;
at bGeba they lodge for the night;
cRamah trembles;
dGibeah of Saul has fled.
30Cry aloud, O daughter of eGallim!
Give attention, O Laishah!
O poor fAnathoth!
31Madmenah is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32This very day he will halt at gNob;
he will shake his fist
at the mount of hthe daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33Behold, the Lord God of hosts
iwill lop jthe boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
34He will cut down jthe thickets of the forest with an axe,
and kLebanon will fall by the Majestic One.
Warning Against Worldliness
1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions1 are yat war within you?2 2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask zwrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4aYou adulterous people!3 Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? bTherefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit cthat he has made to dwell in us”? 6But dhe gives more grace. Therefore it says, e“God opposes the proud but dgives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. fResist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8gDraw near to God, and he will draw near to you. hCleanse your hands, you sinners, and ipurify your hearts, jyou double-minded. 9kBe wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10lHumble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11mDo not speak evil against one another, brothers.4 The one who speaks against a brother or njudges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is only oone lawgiver and pjudge, he who is able to save and qto destroy. But rwho are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
13Come now, you who say, s“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For tyou are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, u“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance. vAll such boasting is evil. 17wSo whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Get the Program, Devotional, and Bible Reading Plan delivered daily right to your inbox.