Category Archives: Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Father’s Role

February 5, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:14

It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not appear without His Father’s permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He was sent by the Father, that He might be the Savior of men.

We are too apt to forget that while there are distinctions as to the persons in the Trinity, there are no distinctions of honor. We are prone to ascribe the honor of our salvation, or at least the depths of its benevolence, more to Jesus Christ than to the Father. This is a very great mistake. Yes, Jesus came, but didn’t His Father send Him? He spoke powerfully, but didn’t His Father pour grace into His lips, that He might be an able minister of the new covenant? Whoever knows the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as they should know them never sets one before another in his love; he sees them together at Bethlehem, at Gethsemane, and on Calvary, all equally engaged in the work of salvation.

O Christian, have you put your confidence in the Man Christ Jesus? Have you placed your trust solely on Him? And are you united with Him? Then believe that you are united with the God of heaven. Since to the Man Christ Jesus you are brother and live in close fellowship, you are in this way linked with God the Eternal, and “the Ancient of days” is your Father and your friend.

Did you ever consider the depth of love in the heart of Jehovah, when God the Father equipped His Son for the great enterprise of mercy? If not, meditate today on this: The Father sent Him! Contemplate that subject. Think how Jesus works what the Father wills. In the wounds of the dying Savior view the love of the great I AM. Let every thought of Jesus be also connected with the Eternal, ever-blessed God, for “It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief.”¹

^{1) Isaiah 53:10}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 5, 2015
* Genesis 38
* Mark 8

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – God’s Vast Love for Us

February 4, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

…even as the Lord loves. Hosea 3:1

Believer, look back through all your experience, and think of the way in which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness, and how He has fed and clothed you every day–how He has suffered your poor behavior–how He has put up with all your murmurings and all your longings after the flesh-pots of Egypt–how He has opened the rock to supply you and fed you with manna that came down from heaven. Think of how His grace has been sufficient for you in all your troubles–how His blood has been a pardon to you in all your sins–how His rod and His staff have comforted you.

When you have then reflected upon the love of the Lord, let faith survey His love in the future, for remember that Christ’s covenant and blood have something more in them than the past. He who has loved you and pardoned you will never cease to love and pardon. He is Alpha, and He shall be Omega also: He is first, and He shall be last.

Therefore, remember when you pass through the valley of the shadow of death, you need fear no evil, for He is with you. When you stand in the cold floods of Jordan, you need not fear, for death cannot separate you from His love; and when you come into the mysteries of eternity you need not tremble, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”¹

Now, soul, is not your love refreshed? Does not this make you love Jesus? Does not a survey of the vastness of God’s loving care stir your heart and compel you to delight yourself in the Lord your God? Surely as we meditate on the love of the Lord, our hearts burn within us, and we long to love Him more.

^{1) Romans 8:38-39}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 4, 2015
* Genesis 37
* Mark 7

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – In Debt to the Attributes of God

February 3, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

So then, brothers, we are debtors. Romans 8:12

As God’s creatures, we are all debtors to Him: to obey Him with all our body and soul and strength. Having broken His commandments, as we all have, we are debtors to His justice, and we owe to Him a vast amount that we are not able to pay.

But of the Christian it can be said that he does not owe God’s justice anything, for Christ has paid the debt His people owed; for this reason the believer is in debt to love. I am a debtor to God’s grace and forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to His justice, for He will never accuse me of a debt already paid. Christ said, “It is finished!” and by that He meant that whatever His people owed was wiped away forever from the book of remembrance. Christ has completely satisfied divine justice; the account is settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given, and we are no longer in debt to God’s justice. But then it follows that since we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we should have been otherwise. Christian, pause and consider for a moment.

What a debtor you are to divine sovereignty! How much you owe to His disinterested love, for He gave His own Son that He might die for you

Consider how much you owe to His forgiving grace, that even after ten thousand offenses He loves you as infinitely as ever.

Consider what you owe to His power; how He has raised you from your death in sin; how He has preserved your spiritual life; how He has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand enemies have surrounded your path, you have been able to hold on your way.

Consider what you owe to His immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once.

You are as deep in debt as you can be to every attribute of God. To God you owe yourself and all you have: Offer yourself as a living sacrifice; it is but your reasonable service.

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 3, 2015
* Genesis 35, 36
* Mark 6

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – The Amazing Gift of Pardon

February 2, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22

This is the voice of unalterable truth. In none of the Jewish ceremonies were sins even typically removed without blood-shedding. In no case, by no means can sin be pardoned without atonement. It is clear, then, that there is no hope for me outside of Christ; for there is no other blood-shedding that is worth a thought as an atonement for sin.

Am I, then, believing in Him? Is the blood of His atonement truly applied to my soul? All men are on the same level in terms of their need of Him. Even if we are moral, generous, amiable, or patriotic, the rule will not be altered to make an exception for us. Sin will yield to nothing less potent than the blood of Him whom God has set forth as a propitiation. What a blessing that there is the one way of pardon! Why should we seek another?

Persons of merely formal religion cannot understand how we can rejoice that all our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. Their works and prayers and ceremonies give them very poor comfort; and their unease is no surprise, for they are neglecting the one great salvation and endeavoring to get remission without blood.

My soul, sit down and recognize that a just God is bound to punish sin; then consider how that punishment all falls upon the Lord Jesus, and fall down in humble joy at the feet of Him whose blood has made atonement for you. It is useless when conscience is aroused to trust in feelings and evidences for comfort; this is a bad and sorry habit. The only cure for a guilty conscience is the sight of Jesus suffering on the cross. “The blood is the life,” says the Levitical law, and let us rest assured that it is the life of faith and joy and every other holy grace.

Oh! how sweet to view the flowing
Of my Savior’s precious blood;
With divine assurance knowing
He has made my peace with God.

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 2, 2015
* Genesis 34
* Mark 5

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – The Forgiven Child of God

February 1, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

They shall sing of the ways of the Lord. Psalm 138:5

The time when Christians begin to sing in the ways of the Lord is when they first lose their burden at the foot of the cross. Not even the songs of the angels seem so sweet as the first song of rapture that gushes from the inmost soul of the forgiven child of God. You know how John Bunyan describes it. He says when poor Pilgrim lost his burden at the cross, he gave three great leaps and went on his way singing,

Blest Cross! blest Sepulchre! blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!

Believer, do you recollect the day when your fetters fell off? Do you remember the place when Jesus met you and said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; none of them shall be remembered against you.”

Oh, what a sweet season it is when Jesus takes away the pain of sin. When the Lord first pardoned my sin, I was so joyful that I could barely refrain from dancing. I thought on my road home from the house where I had been set at liberty that I must tell the stones in the street the story of my deliverance. So full was my soul of joy that I wanted to tell every snowflake that was falling from heaven of the wondrous love of Jesus, who had blotted out the sins of one of the chief of rebels. But it is not only at the commencement of the Christian life that believers have reason for song; as long as they live they discover cause to sing in the ways of the Lord, and their experience of His constant loving-kindness leads them to say, “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”¹ See to it, Christian, that you magnify the Lord this day.

Long as we tread this desert land,
new mercies shall new songs demand.

^{1) Psalm 34:1}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 1, 2015
* Genesis 33
* Mark 4

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – The Value of Righteousness

January 31, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The Lord is our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6

It will always give a Christian the greatest calm, quiet, ease, and peace to think of the perfect righteousness of Christ.

How often are the saints of God downcast and sad! I do not think they ought to be. I do not think they would be if they could always see their perfection in Christ. There are some who are always talking about corruption and the depravity of the heart and the innate evil of the soul. This is quite true, but why not go a little further and remember that we are perfect in Christ Jesus.

It is no wonder that those who are dwelling upon their own corruption should wear such downcast looks; but surely if we call to mind “Christ Jesus, whom God made . . . our righteousness,”¹ we shall be of good cheer. What though distresses afflict me, though Satan assault me, though there may be many things to be experienced before I get to heaven, those are done for me in the covenant of divine grace; there is nothing wanting in my Lord–Christ has done it all. On the cross He said, “It is finished!” and if it be finished, then am I complete in Him and can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”²

You will not find on this side of heaven a holier people than those who receive into their hearts the doctrine of Christ’s righteousness. When the believer says, “I live on Christ alone; I rest on Him solely for salvation; and I believe that, however unworthy, I am still saved in Jesus,” then there rises up as a motive of gratitude this thought: “Shall I not live to Christ? Shall I not love Him and serve Him, seeing that I am saved by His merits?” “The love of Christ controls us,”³ “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”⁴ If saved by imputed righteousness, we shall greatly value imparted righteousness.

Only be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale for want of preparation for it. Seek help from God, that you may be more earnest in duty when made more strong in faith, that you may be more constant in prayer when you have more liberty at the throne, that you may be more holy in your conversation while you live more closely with Christ.

^{1) 1 Corinthians 1:30 2) Philippians 3:9 3) 2 Corinthians 5:14 4) 2 Corinthians 5:15}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 31, 2015
* Genesis 32
* Mark 3

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – Be Prepared

January 30, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself. 2 Samuel 5:24

The members of Christ’s Church should be very prayerful, always seeking the unction of the Holy One to rest upon their hearts, that the kingdom of Christ may come, and that His “will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”¹ But there are times when God seems especially to favor Zion; such seasons ought to be to them like “the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees.”

We ought then to be doubly prayerful, doubly earnest, wrestling more at the throne than we have been used to do. Action should then be prompt and vigorous. The tide is flowing–now let us pull manfully for the shore. O for Pentecostal outpourings and Pentecostal labors.

Christian, in yourself there are times “when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees.” You have a peculiar power in prayer; the Spirit of God gives you joy and gladness; the Scripture is open to you; the promises are applied; you walk in the light of God’s countenance; you have peculiar freedom and liberty in devotion, and more closeness of communion with Christ than before. Now, at such joyous periods when you hear the “sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees,” is the time to rouse yourself; now is the time to get rid of any evil habit, while God the Spirit helps your infirmities. Spread your sail; but remember what you sometimes sing…

I can only spread the sail;
But God must breathe the auspicious gale.

Only be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale for want of preparation for it. Seek help from God, that you may be more earnest in duty when made more strong in faith, that you may be more constant in prayer when you have more liberty at the throne, that you may be more holy in your conversation while you live more closely with Christ.

^{1) Matthew 6:10}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 30, 2015
* Genesis 31
* Mark 2

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – Look Forward

January 29, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

…the things that are unseen… 2 Corinthians 4:18

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith.

Looking into the future we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect and fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which stands the celestial city. He sees himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with Him, and made to sit together with Him on His throne, even as He has overcome and has sat down with the Father on His throne. The thought of this future may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth.

Hush, hush, my doubts! Death is but a narrow stream, and you shall soon have forded it. Time, how short–eternity, how long! Death, how brief–immortality, how endless! The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there.

When the world my heart is rending
With its heaviest storm of care,
My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,
Find a refuge from despair.
Faith’s bright vision shall sustain me
Till life’s pilgrimage is past;
Fears may vex and troubles pain me,
I shall reach my home at last.

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 29, 2015
* Genesis 30
* Matthew 28

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – Maturity in Christ

January 28, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

…mature in Christ. Colossians 1:28

Do you not feel in your own soul that maturity is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear that trickles from your eye weeps “imperfection”; every harsh word that proceeds from your lip mutters “imperfection.” You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you–you are perfect or “mature in Christ.” In God’s sight you are complete in Him; even now you are “blessed in the Beloved.”¹

But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, that is just as sure. Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure that not even the eye of Omniscience will see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious that Hart did not go beyond the truth when he said–

With my Savior’s garments on,
Holy as the Holy One.

Then shall we know and taste and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, complete in Christ. Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus.

Does not your heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Filthy as you are, you shall be clean. Oh, it is a marvelous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a dirty and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in His glory, peerless in His beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of maturity in Christ.

^{1) Ephesians 1:6}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 28, 2015
* Genesis 29
* Matthew 28

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – A Fullness in Christ

January 27, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

And from his fullness we have all received. John 1:16

These words tell us that there is a fullness in Christ. There is a fullness of essential Deity, for “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”¹ There is a fullness of perfect manhood, for in Him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fullness of atoning efficacy in His blood, for “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”² There is a fullness of justifying righteousness in His life, for “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”³ There is a fullness of divine prevalence in His plea, for “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”⁴ There is a fullness of victory in His death, for through death He destroyed him that had the power of death–that is, the devil. There is a fullness of efficacy in His resurrection from the dead, for by it “he has caused us to be born again to a living hope.”⁵ There is a fullness of triumph in His ascension, for “when he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”⁶ There is a fullness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fullness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fullness at all times; a fullness of comfort in affliction, a fullness of guidance in prosperity. A fullness of every divine attribute–of wisdom, of power, of love; a fullness that it is impossible to survey, much less to explore. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”⁷

Oh, what a fullness must this be of which all receive! Fullness, indeed, must there be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as rich, as full as ever. Come, believer, and get all your need supplied; ask largely, and you will receive largely, for this “fullness” is inexhaustible and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel–God with us.

^{1) Colossians 2:9 2) 1 John 1:7 3) Romans 8:1 4) Hebrews 7:25 5) 1 Peter 1:3 6) Ephesians 4:8 7) Colossians 1:19}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 27, 2015
* Genesis 28
* Matthew 27

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – Our Father in Heaven

January 26, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

…your heavenly Father… Matthew 6:26

God’s people are doubly His children. They are His offspring by creation, and they are His sons by adoption in Christ. Hence they are privileged to call Him, “Our Father in heaven.”

Father! Oh, what a precious word is that. Here is authority: “If I be a Father, where is My honor?” If you are sons, where is your obedience? Here is affection mingled with authority; an authority that does not provoke rebellion; an obedience demanded that is most cheerfully rendered–which would not be withheld even if it might. The obedience that God’s children yield to Him must be loving obedience.

Do not go about the service of God as slaves to their taskmaster’s toil, but run in the way of His commands because it is your Father’s way. Yield your bodies as instruments of righteousness, because righteousness is your Father’s will, and His will should be the will of His child.

Father! Here is a kingly attribute so sweetly veiled in love that the King’s crown is forgotten in the King’s face, and His scepter becomes, not a rod of iron, but a silver scepter of mercy–the scepter indeed seems to be forgotten in the tender hand of Him who wields it.

Father! Here is honor and love. How great is a Father’s love to his children! That which friendship cannot do, and mere benevolence will not attempt, a father’s heart and hand must do for his sons. They are his offspring, and he must bless them; they are his children, and he must show himself strong in their defense. If an earthly father watches over his children with unceasing love and care, how much more does our heavenly Father?

Abba, Father! He who can say this has uttered better music than cherubim or seraphim can reach. There is heaven in the depth of that word–Father! There is all I can ask, all my necessities can demand, all my wishes can desire. I have all in all to all eternity when I can say, “Father.”

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 26, 2015
* Genesis 27
* Matthew 26

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – The Steadfast Love of the Lord

January 25, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us. Isaiah 63:7

And can you not do this? Are there no mercies that you have experienced? What! Though you are gloomy now, can you forget that blessed hour when Jesus met you and said, “Come unto me”? Can you not remember that rapturous moment when He snapped your fetters, dashed your chains to the earth, and said, “I came to break your bonds and set you free”? Or if the love of your conversion be forgotten, there must surely be some precious milestone along the road of life not quite grown over with moss, on which you can read a happy memorial of His mercy toward you. What! Did you never have a sickness like that which you are suffering now, and did He not restore you? Were you never poor before, and did He not supply your wants? Were you never in difficulties before, and did He not deliver you?

Arise, go to the river of your experience and pull up a few bulrushes and fashion them into an ark, in which your infant-faith may float safely on the stream. Forget not what your God has done for you; turn over the book of your remembrance, and consider the days of old. Can you not remember the hill Mizar? Did the Lord never meet with you at Hermon? Have you never climbed the Delectable Mountains? Have you never been helped in time of need? I know you have.

Go back, then, a little way to the choice mercies of yesterday, and though all may be dark now, light up the lamps of the past–they shall glitter through the darkness, and you shall trust in the Lord till the day break and the shadows flee away. “Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.”¹

^{1) Psalm 25:6}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 25, 2015
* Genesis 26
* Matthew 25

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – A Brother in Heaven

January 23, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I have exalted one chosen from the poeple. Psalms 89:19

Why was Christ chosen out of the people? Speak, my heart, for heart-thoughts are best. Was it not that He might be able to be our brother, in the blest tie of kindred blood? Oh, what relationship there is between Christ and the believer! The believer can say, “I have a Brother in heaven. I may be poor, but I have a Brother who is rich and is a King, and will He allow me to be in want while He is on His throne? Oh, no! He loves me; He is my Brother.”

Believer, wear this blessed thought, like a necklace of diamonds, around the neck of your memory; put it, as a golden ring, on the finger of recollection, and use it as the King’s own seal, stamping the petitions of your faith with confidence of success. He is a brother born for adversity–treat Him as such.

Christ was also chosen out of the people that He might know our wants and sympathize with us. “Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”¹ In all our sorrows we have His sympathy. Temptation, pain, disappointment, weakness, weariness, poverty–He knows them all, for He has felt all.

Remember this, Christian, and let it comfort you. However difficult and painful your road, it is marked by the footsteps of your Savior; and even when you reach the dark valley of the shadow of death and the deep waters of the swelling Jordan, you will find His footprints there. Wherever we go, in every place, He has been our forerunner; each burden we have to carry has once been laid on the shoulders of Immanuel.

His way was much rougher and darker than mine.
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, and shall I repine?

Take courage! Royal feet have left a blood-red track upon the road and consecrated the thorny path forever.

^{1) Hebrews 4:15}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 23, 2015
* Genesis 24
* Matthew 23

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – What are You without Grace?

January 22, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Son of Man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? Ezekiel 15:2

These words are for the humbling of God’s people; they are called God’s vine, but what are they by nature more than others? They, by God’s goodness, have become fruitful, having been planted in a good soil; the Lord has trained them upon the walls of the sanctuary, and they bring forth fruit to His glory. But what are they without their God? What are they without the continual influence of the Spirit, begetting fruitfulness in them?

O believer, learn to reject pride, seeing that you have no ground for it. Whatever you are, you have nothing to make you proud. The more you have, the more you are in debt to God; and you should not be proud of that which renders you a debtor. Consider your origin; look back to what you were. Consider what you would have been but for divine grace. Look upon yourself as you are now. Does not your conscience reproach you? Do not your thousand wanderings stand before you and tell you that you are unworthy to be called His son? And if He has made you anything, are you not taught thereby that it is grace that has made you to differ?

Great believer, you would have been a great sinner if God had not made you to differ. O you who are valiant for truth, you would have been as valiant for error if grace had not laid hold upon you. Therefore, do not be proud, though you have a large influence–a wide domain of grace, for once you did not have a single thing to call your own except your sin and misery. Oh, strange infatuation that you, who has borrowed everything, should think of exalting yourself–a poor, dependent pensioner upon the bounty of your Savior, one who has a life that dies without fresh streams of life from Jesus, and yet is proud! Fie on you, O silly heart!

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 22, 2015
* Genesis 23
* Matthew 22

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – The Joy of Safety

January 21, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

And in this way all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:26

When Moses sang at the Red Sea, it was his joy to know that all Israel was safe. Not a drop of spray fell from that solid wall until the last of God’s Israel had safely planted his foot on the other side of the flood. That done, immediately the floods dissolved into their proper place again, but not till then. Part of that song was, “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed.”¹ In the last time, when the elect shall sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb, it shall be the boast of Jesus, “Of all whom you have given me, I have lost none.”

In heaven there shall not be a vacant throne.

For all the chosen race
Shall meet around the throne,
Shall bless the conduct of His grace,
And make His glories known.

As many as God has chosen, as many as Christ has redeemed, as many as the Spirit has called, as many as believe in Jesus shall safely cross the dividing sea. We are not all safely landed yet:

Part of the host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now.

The vanguard of the army has already reached the shore. We are marching through the depths; we are at this day following hard after our Leader into the heart of the sea. Let us be of good cheer: The rearguard shall soon be where the vanguard already is; the last of the chosen ones shall soon have crossed the sea, and then shall be heard the song of triumph, when all are secure. But oh, if one were absent–oh, if one of His chosen family should be cast away, it would make an everlasting discord in the song of the redeemed and cut the strings of the harps of paradise, so that music could never be extorted from them.

^{1) Exodus 15:13}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 21, 2015
* Genesis 22
* Matthew 21

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – A Foreshadowing of Christ

January 20, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Abel was a keeper of sheep. Genesis 4:2

As a shepherd Abel sanctified his work to the glory of God and offered a sacrifice of blood upon his altar, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering. This early type, a foreshadowing of our Lord, is exceedingly clear and distinct. Like the first streak of light that tinges the east at sunrise, it does not reveal everything, but it clearly manifests the great fact that the sun is coming. As we see Abel, a shepherd and yet a priest, offering a sacrifice of sweet fragrance unto God, we discern our Lord, who brings before His Father a sacrifice to which Jehovah ever has respect.

Abel was hated by his brother–hated without a cause; and even so was the Savior. The natural and carnal man hated the accepted man in whom the Spirit of grace was found, and did not rest until his blood had been shed. Abel fell and sprinkled his altar and sacrifice with his own blood, and therein sets forth the Lord Jesus slain by the enmity of man while serving as a priest before the Lord. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”¹

Let us weep over Him as we view Him slain by the hatred of mankind, staining the horns of His altar with His own blood. Abel’s blood speaks. “And the LORD said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.'”²

The blood of Jesus has a mighty tongue, and the import of its prevailing cry is not vengeance but mercy. It is precious beyond all preciousness to stand at the altar of our Good Shepherd–to see Him bleeding there as the slaughtered priest, and then to hear His blood speaking peace to all His flock–peace in our conscience, peace between Jew and Gentile, peace between man and his offended Maker, peace all down the ages of eternity for blood-washed men. Abel is the first shepherd in order of time, but our hearts shall ever place Jesus first in order of excellence.

Great Keeper of the sheep, we, the people of Your pasture, bless You with our whole hearts when we see You slain for us.

^{1) John 10:11 2) Genesis 4:10}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 20, 2015
* Genesis 21
* Matthew 20

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – Look Where You Lost Him

January 19, 2015 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

I sought him, but found him not. Song of Solomon 3:1

Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find Him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? Then it is there you must seek and find Him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will find Christ in no other way but by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust dwells. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the Scriptures? You must find Christ in the Scriptures. It is a true proverb, “Look for a thing where you dropped it–it is there.” So look for Christ where you lost Him, for He has not gone away.

But it is hard work to go back for Christ. Bunyan tells us that the pilgrim found the piece of the road back to the Arbor of Ease, where he lost his roll, the hardest he had ever traveled. Twenty miles onward is easier than to go one mile back for the lost evidence. Take care, then, when you find your Master, to cling close to Him.

But how is it you have lost Him? One would have thought you would never have parted with such a precious friend, whose presence is so sweet, whose words are so comforting, and whose company is so dear to you! How is it that you did not watch Him every moment for fear of losing sight of Him? Yet, since you have let Him go, what a mercy that you are seeking Him, even though you mournfully groan, “O that I knew where I might find Him!”

Go on seeking, for it is dangerous to be without your Lord. Without Christ you are like a sheep without its shepherd, like a tree without water at its roots, like a withered leaf in the storm–not bound to the tree of life. With your whole heart seek Him, and He will be found by you. Only give yourself thoroughly up to the search, and truly you shall yet discover Him to your joy and gladness.

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 19, 2015
* Genesis 20
* Matthew 19

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003,

Alistair Begg – Help Me to Serve You

January 18, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Hebrews 4:9

How different will be the state of the believer in heaven from what it is here! Here he is born to toil and suffer weariness, but in the land of the immortal, fatigue is never known. Anxious to serve his Master, he finds his strength unequal to his zeal; his constant cry is, “Help me to serve You, O my God.” If he be thoroughly active, he will have much labor; not too much for his will, but more than enough for his power, so that he will cry out, “I am not wearied of the labor, but I am wearied in it.”

Ah, Christian, the hot day of weariness does not last forever. The sun is nearing the horizon; it shall rise again with a brighter day than you have ever seen upon a land where they serve God day and night, and yet rest from their labors. Here rest is but partial; there it is perfect. Here the Christian is always unsettled; he feels that he has not yet attained. There all are at rest; they have attained the summit of the mountain; they have ascended to the bosom of their God. Higher they cannot go.

Ah, toil-worn laborer, only think of when you shall rest forever! Can you conceive it? It is a rest eternal; a rest that “remains.” Here my best joys bear “mortal” on their brow. My fair flowers fade; my dainty cups are drained to dregs; my sweetest birds fall before Death’s arrows; my most pleasant days are shadowed into nights; and the flood tides of my bliss subside into ebbs of sorrow. But there everything is immortal. The harp remains in tune, the crown unfading, the eye undimmed, the voice unfaltering, the heart unwavering; and the immortal being is wholly absorbed in infinite delight. Happy day when mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and the Eternal Sabbath shall begin!

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 18, 2015
* Genesis 19
* Matthew 18

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Alistair Begg – The Chief Object of Contemplation

January 17, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb. Revelation 14:1

The apostle John was privileged to look within the gates of heaven, and in describing what he saw, he begins by saying, “I looked, and, behold, . . . the Lamb.” This teaches us that the chief object of contemplation in the heavenly state is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”¹ Nothing else attracted the apostle’s attention so much as the person of that Divine Being who has redeemed us by His blood. He is the theme of the songs of all glorified spirits and holy angels.

Christian, here is joy for you; you have looked, and you have seen the Lamb. Through your tears your eyes have seen the Lamb of God taking away your sins. Rejoice then. In a little while, when your eyes shall have been wiped from tears, you will see the same Lamb exalted on His throne. It is the joy of your heart to hold daily fellowship with Jesus. You shall have the same joy to a higher degree in heaven; you shall enjoy the constant vision of His presence; you shall dwell with Him forever. “I looked, and, behold, . . . the Lamb.” Why, that Lamb is heaven itself; for as good Rutherford says, “Heaven and Christ are the same thing.” To be with Christ is to be in heaven, and to be in heaven is to be with Christ.

That prisoner of the Lord very sweetly writes in one of his glowing letters, “O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven without you, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have you still, it would be a heaven to me, for you are all the heaven I want.” It is true, is it not, Christian? Does not your soul say so?

Not all the harps above
Can make a heavenly place
If God His residence remove,
Or but conceal His face.

All you need to make you blessed, supremely blessed, is to be with Christ.

^{1) 1 John 1:29}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 17, 2015
* Genesis 18
* Matthew 17

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003,

Alistair Begg – What! Not Help You?

January 16, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord. Isaiah 41:14

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help you.”

“It is but a small thing for Me, your God, to help you. Consider what I have done already. What! Not help you? Why, I bought you with My blood. What! Not help you? I have died for you; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help you! It is the least thing I will ever do for you; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose you. I made the covenant for you. I laid aside My glory and became a man for you; I gave up My life for you; and if I did all this, I will surely help you now. In helping you, I am giving you what I have bought for you already. If you had need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it to you; you require little compared with what I am ready to give. It is much for you to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. Help you? Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of your granary asking for help, it would not ruin you to give him a handful of your wheat; and you are nothing but a tiny insect at the door of My all-sufficiency. I will help you.”

O my soul, is this not enough? Do you need more strength than the omnipotence of the united Trinity? Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring here your empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Hurry, gather up your wants, and bring them here–your emptiness, your woes, your needs. Behold, this river of God is full for your supply; what else can you desire? Go forth, my soul, in this your might. The Eternal God is your helper!

Fear not, I am with you, oh, be not dismay’d! I, I am your God, and will still give you aid.

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 16, 2015
* Genesis 17
* Matthew 16

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

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