Keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:18

Almost every Christian finds prayer hard at some time (or most of the time). Why is that?

One of the reasons why we’re tempted to give up on prayer is that we don’t always receive an immediate response from God. In a world that so highly exalts instant gratification, this is a real difficulty. It’s the same issue as in trying to maintain a proper exercise regimen or diet: we want to see results now, today. If our new approach does not quickly show its benefits, most of us are unlikely to persevere.

Our tendency to lack endurance is one reason that Jesus told the parable about the persistent widow, who was relentless in seeking out justice from the judge. Luke makes the editorial comment that Jesus was encouraging his listeners to understand that they “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). In other words, Jesus wants us to pray—and then to keep on praying.

When Paul tells us to “keep alert” and to pray “with all perseverance,” he is echoing Jesus’ words to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before He died: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Paul spoke similarly to the Ephesian elders, telling them to “be alert” (Acts 20:31). In a world embroiled in a cosmic spiritual battle, the stakes are too high to give up on prayer.

As we keep coming to God with prayer and supplication, we will all have to learn to be content with trusting that God will answer us in His good timing, and we will all need to remember that Satan would love to persuade us that prayer makes no difference and that God does not listen or act. You may not see an answer to a desperate prayer on this side of eternity. Sometimes persistence may appear to be met with silence. But in due time, God will show you that “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promises” (2 Peter 3:9). He answers all your prayers exactly when He knows it is right to and in precisely the manner that is always best for you. God is always doing far more than we can ask or even imagined. Sometimes we can glimpse some of His purposes, but sometimes we are asked to live by faith, not by sight.

Are there people or situations that you have given up praying for because you have had no clear and positive response? Remember, you have not had such a response yet. One day, you will see what God was doing in directing matters differently than how you would have chosen. Until that day, you can persevere in prayer, because it is what He commands and because He has promised to work for the good of His people. Why not begin today to pray with perseverance for something you have quit speaking to God about?

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Ephesians 1:15-23

Topics: Patience Prayer Temptation

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

… Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

Ephesians 6:18

The Bible is replete with commands like this, urging us to pray without pause. This might sound like an overwhelming expectation, and we may wonder whether we could ever meet it, or even desire to. But perhaps if we see our need more clearly, we will be motivated to pray more consistently.

Our need for prayer becomes most obvious when we understand that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself believed in the absolute necessity of prayer. At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, we have this account of Jesus: “Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Even for the Son of God, prayer was important enough business to attend to early and not to allow the demands of the day to intrude upon.

Jesus knew that “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed” (Matthew 16:21). Even so, in the Garden of Gethsemane we overhear Him praying for the cup of God’s wrath to pass from Him if it is His Father’s will (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42). The Son of God clearly knew that He needed to go before His Father. The writer to the Hebrews summarizes it perfectly for us: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (Hebrews 5:7).

Surely it cannot be that prayer was a necessity for Jesus and yet is simply optional for us. If anything, it must be the very reverse! If the Son of God Himself needed to spend time concentrated on prayer to His Father, then how much more does the one who follows after Christ! Prayer is simply too great a privilege for any Christian to ignore and too great a necessity for any of us to neglect. So, ask His Spirit to show you the wonder of prayer and to help you enter into it. When you recognize that there is no end to God’s capacity to help or His willingness to do so, and that there is no moment in which you do not need His help, you will find yourself “praying at all times.”

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Ephesians 3:14-21

Topics: Christian Living Prayer Son of God

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

Take the … sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

The devil knows the Bible. He knows what it says, and he can quote it with ease—better than most of us, undoubtedly. Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus when He was fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11)—though notice that Satan also twisted what the Bible says for his own deceitful schemes. This shouldn’t surprise us, since the best lies usually have at least a bit of truth in them.

In that encounter, when Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, he enticed Him with an appeal to a spectacular, angelic rescue. But the devil misused Psalm 91 by taking it out of context (Matthew 4:5-6), and Jesus rebuked him by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.” The Son of God repeatedly quoted Scripture to Satan, and he eventually fled (Matthew 4:11).

Our best defense against Satan, then, is Scripture rightly understood and rightly applied. This is why Paul tells us that in order to stand firm against “all the flaming darts of the evil one,” we must “take up … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16). There is no better tool to resist temptation and devilish ploys than the Bible. God’s word is what we use to resist the devil, and the overwhelming spiritual power of that word is precisely why he flees (James 4:7).

Psalm 119:11 encourages God’s people to store up God’s word in their hearts in order that we might not sin against Him. This might sound like a nice, gentle invitation at first—but while it may prove true that the Bible can be consumed and meditated upon in the comfortable company of a warm beverage and a cozy chair, the call to memorize Scripture is in fact a call to arms. Every soldier needs a weapon. Every Christian needs the word of God. Think about the temptations to sin that you regularly face (and, perhaps, give in to). What verses of Scripture do you need to deliberately memorize and then deploy against the devil’s half-truths and lies? Think about the times when the Evil One suggests that you are not really a child of God, not really forgiven. What parts of Scripture will you fling back at him in those moments? The word of God is your sword against Satan. Take it up today, and make him flee.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Psalm 119:9-16

Topics: God’s Word Satan Spiritual Warfare

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:16

You are under attack.

We might not feel as though this is the case, but in reality we face a spiritual onslaught in which the Evil One daily employs any tactic in his arsenal to undermine our identity and our unity in Jesus Christ. His fiery arrows are constantly being loosed against the people of God. What is a Christian to do in the face of such assaults?

When warfare reaches us—and it will—we must reach for our shields. We are to “take up the shield of faith.” The shield Paul’s readers would have imagined when they heard these words was no small shield, for in Roman times a soldier’s shield was four feet long by two and a half feet wide. Wielding one would have been like walking around with a door. It was not a Frisbee-like toy but a formidable piece of armor.

The key to understanding the proper use of our shields is that when we come to trust in Christ, He grants to us gospel armor. Having died in our place, He clothes us with His righteousness. So when we take up the shield of faith, we are actively trusting the gospel to shield us from Satan’s lies. The only way we can deal with the hostilities of ongoing spiritual warfare is to find our strength—our spiritual weapons and armor—in the Lord Jesus.

John Newton, in a seldom-sung hymn, pictures an encounter with the devil like this:

When Satan appears to stop up our path
And fills us with fears, we triumph by faith;
He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried,
The heart-cheering promise, “The Lord will provide.” ^[1]

Christ has already triumphed and, by faith, He invites us to share in His spoils. This victory is what led one of the Westminster Divines, William Gouge, to pen in his diary, “When I look upon myself, I see nothing but emptiness and weakness; but when I look upon Christ, I see nothing but fullness and sufficiency.”^[2] The Evil One is a defeated foe, though still a powerful one. When we seek to fight him in our own strength, we will find ourselves defeated. But God has provided all the armor we need. Our faith is our shield, for our faith tells us that we are forgiven children of the living God, empowered by His Spirit to obey Him and enjoying the certain hope of eternal life with Him.

You will come under attack today. Where in your life might the battle rage? Be sure to look to your faith in those moments, for it will shield you against temptation, and you will stand in victory against the devil’s darts.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

1 Peter 5:6-11

Topics: Faith Satan Spiritual Warfare

FOOTNOTES

¹ John Newton, “The Lord Will Provide” (1775).

² Quoted in James Reid, Memoirs of the Lives and Writings of Those Eminent Divines, Who Convened in the Famous Assembly at Westminster, in the Seventeenth Century (Stephen and Andrew Young, 1811), p 357.

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:14-15

When we picture soldiers on the frontlines of battle, we often imagine firearms, artillery, and other tactical equipment. But there’s a piece of gear we often overlook, without which a soldier would be utterly ineffective: his boots. Without appropriate footwear, no soldier, and therefore no army, can hope to defend a position.

The apostle Paul calls believers to stand firm in our gospel shoes, so to speak—to be at the ready with appropriate footwear. When in his first letter to the Corinthian church he writes his great chapter on the resurrection, he begins, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand” (1 Corinthians 15:1, emphasis added). The gospel provides us with firm footing. Even when everything else around us is shaking, we always have a place to stand. Even when temptation is fierce, we never need to retreat.

What was it that empowered Martin Luther to stand against the tide, nail his theses to the church door at Wittenberg, and then proclaim before an emperor, “Here I stand; I can do no other”? Gospel shoes. What was it that enabled the English Protestants Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley to face with courage the horror of being burnt at the stake for their faith? Gospel shoes. What is it that sees our brothers and sisters in so many places around the world joyfully proclaim their faith in Christ even as they are threatened with death? Gospel shoes.

When you go to your workplace, to your school, to your unbelieving family and friends, or into your local community, what will give you the power to stand for Jesus? Only the gospel shoes that Christ provides. If you try to stand on your own strength, you will inevitably stumble and fall. But when you enter each new day with your feet rooted in the hope, peace, forgiveness, and assurance of the gospel, then you will find yourself able to stand firm, even through the fiercest opposition from the world and temptation from the devil. So before you go and get on with your day, rehearse the gospel to yourself. Enjoy its truths. Praise your Savior. Or, to put it a different way: put your shoes on.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Topics: Courage Gospel Spiritual Warfare

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.

Ephesians 6:13-14

Western culture is confused about many things—but it’s certainly confused about truth. We often trade in vague platitudes that sound great at first but which crumble under closer examination. “Just be a good person,” we hear. “It doesn’t really matter what you believe, just as long as you lead a good life and do your best.” That all sounds quite pleasant, and we ought to thank God for the common grace that prevents our world from tearing itself apart. But it’s not enough—because the obvious question is this: Who gets to define good? What does it really mean to live a good life or to be a good person? When we have competing visions for what exactly good means and can’t agree on the fundamentals, we find ourselves in all sorts of trouble—not unlike the present state of affairs in much of the West.

We all feel the pressure to cave in to our society’s relativization of truth, in which “you decide your truth and I’ll decide mine.” The Bible, however, calls us to find a firm foothold on God’s truth—a truth that is objective and is not up for debate. Paul instructs us, “Stand … having fastened on the belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14). When we embrace our culture’s confusion about truth, we are left to be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (4:14). We simply have no solid ground to stand on. But when we plant ourselves in God’s truth, we can firmly hold our ground and be ready to face whatever comes our way (Luke 12:35; 1 Peter 1:13).

Standing for truth won’t prove easy. People might consider us hopelessly old-fashioned, dogmatic, or worse. But in reality, to stand on and advocate for truth is one of the most loving things we can do—for it is to call people to live in line with reality, and to call them away from building on falsehoods that, sooner or later, will crumble beneath them. As Paul writes elsewhere, love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). What might it take for you to rejoice with the truth today in your own thinking and in your conversations with others? However high the cost may seem, you can stand and speak with confidence, knowing that Christ has sent His Spirit to “guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13).

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

John 8:31-36

Topics: False Teachers Postmodernism Truth

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

The Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

1 Samuel 8:7-9

Have you ever wanted something, worked for it and secured it, and then realized that you were worse off than before? Sooner or later, most of us discover that all that glitters is not gold—and so we should be careful what we aim for, work for, and wish for.

The people of Israel were, by the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, very sure of what they needed. And so they asked for and insisted on “a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). But in doing so, the people of Israel had essentially rejected God as King. They no longer wanted to be known as a holy people and a distinctive nation. Instead, they wanted to be free of God’s perfect rule and absorbed into the surrounding culture.

To this entreaty God gave a solemn warning: Be careful what you ask for! He would give the people what they wanted—but His willingness to grant them a king would turn out to be an act of judgment for their foolish, faithless request. A king would take their children as soldiers and servants (1 Samuel 8:11-14). He would take their best possessions (v 15). Worse of all, He said, “You shall be his slaves” (v 17).

In the book of Romans, Paul recounts the folly of humanity that courses from the Garden of Eden through the whole history of the world: though we recognize there is a God, we don’t honor Him and instead exchange His glory for idols we deem to be better (Romans 1:21-23). “And since [we] did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave [us] up” to live according to our passions and desires—and to suffer the natural outcome of our choices (v 28-31). God’s present judgment is seen not in withholding from humanity what we want but in letting us have it. Sin is its own punishment.

How easy it is to declare, whether with our lips or by our decisions and our deeds, that we no longer want to live under God’s kingship—that we want to be free to be our own person and make our own decisions about who we are, what we have, and what we believe. But God’s kindness is seen in not giving us what we think we need. Having shown them in King Saul the insecurity and disappointment that the king they wanted would bring, God brought Israel the kind of king they had not asked for but truly needed—David. And He offers us today the Savior and Lord who we would never have asked for but who we desperately need. So, as you consider what you want in life, remember this: God has already given you what you most need in giving us His Son. And His kindness is seen not just in what He gives but what He withholds, for He knows better than you do what you truly need in your life.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Romans 1:18-32

Topics: Greed Idolatry Son of God

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her.

2 Samuel 11:4

David’s affair with Bathsheba is one of the most awful moments of Old Testament history. It is an account of unhindered lust, adultery, treachery, and murder. Perhaps we would rather not think about it—yet the Bible does not cast a veil of silence over it. We are actually provided with far more than we would ever want to know about David—and far more than we want to face about ourselves.

David was the great king of Israel. For most of his life, he was a man of exemplary character. He had built a magnificent reputation by triumphing over God’s enemies, showing kindness to those who did not deserve it, and ruling with justice. By 2 Samuel 11, David was at the pinnacle of his power. He was able to command and to control every-
one and everything, it would seem—everyone and everything, that is, except himself. And so he used—in fact, abused—his power to compel a woman to break her marriage vow, as well as breaking his own, and then to cause a man to lose his life (v 14-15).

And yet, even with this great failure, David remained chosen of God. The prophet Samuel had been sent by God with the instructions, “I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1). David was God’s designated king—and remained so. The promises of God had been given to him, and through him the purposes of God for His people were being set forward. David’s heinous sin did not alter that.

Is it really possible that God’s purpose in history could have been accomplished through this man? Yes. The Lord Jesus, the one man in history who exercised perfect self-control, who always protected women, and who came to bring life, was the descendant of great, flawed, repentant David. And so the story of David teaches us that God’s grace triumphs even over the greatest failures. God doesn’t only use those who are morally spotless—for, apart from His own Son, no human matches that description. In fact, God uses very sinful people like David; He uses very sinful people like me and like you.

Maybe you, like David eventually was, are very aware of your sins, and you are wondering if you are too filthy for God to forgive or to use. Be reassured and be encouraged. Though your sins have real consequences, they are utterly incapable of putting you beyond the reach of God’s grace. Nothing can. There is no one who does not need His forgiveness and there is no one who is beyond the reach of His forgiveness. The blood of Christ cleanses even the deepest stains, so long as you humble yourself and repent. And, cleansed by that blood, as a repentant sinner you are in that place where God is delighted to work in and through you—not for your glory but for His.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Topics: Forgiveness Grace of God Repentance

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Colossians 3:14

For quite some time now, Western culture has been enamored with the idea that love will solve all our problems. “All you need is love,” we sing.^[1] “Love conquers all,” we say.^[2] Now, there is some truth to that. God’s love could indeed fix quite literally everything if we all submitted ourselves to Him on His terms. But the problem is that by nature we do not submit to Him in this way; and, moreover, society at large tends to have a notion of what love is that bears little resemblance to real love as seen in and defined by its source—God Himself.

Often, what binds people together in “love” is shared interests or natural instincts. People who are like us or to whom we are attracted are those we instinctively are drawn toward and care for. In the church, however, our mutual love and affection is anchored in something outside of ourselves—namely, Jesus Christ. Ultimately, we are not bound together by some inherent characteristic or shared interest or even mutual attraction but by God, who has acted through Jesus Christ to tear down “the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14)—any barrier between people, such as race, class, gender, language, or nationality.

Despite what our culture desires, so long as we base our idea of love subjectively on whatever we choose and however we feel, a society defined by true love will remain an impossibility. Only an objective, unchanging love—the love of God for us in Christ—can bind “everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14). Only the steadfast love of God for us, through His Son and by His Spirit, can fill us enough so that we actually love one another in the way He has intended us to from the beginning.

Without God’s love as their soil, the seeds of love we plant in this life can never grow and flourish to their fullest eternal potential. So, as you seek God and His truth today, ask Him to fill you with mercy, kindness, compassion, grace—and, yes, love! And make sure that what matters most to your heart is not how others feel about you, or how you feel about others, but how your Father feels about you because, by faith, you are united with His Son, the Lord Jesus. Knowing that “this is love … that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10, emphasis added)—knowing that you could not be more loved by God than you already are—is what both shows you how to love others and frees you from needing anything from them so that you are able simply to give to them. So, “put on love”; for your loving Father in heaven will be more than pleased to sustain you as you seek to love Him and others more and more.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Colossians 3:5-14

Topics: Jesus Christ Love of God Unity

FOOTNOTES

¹ John Lennon, “All You Need Is Love” (1967).

² Virgil, Eclogues X.69.

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5

True godliness grows in the soil of humility. We may have great giftings, wonderful abilities, great aspirations, tremendous passion, and the utmost diligence, and we may even apparently be successful and useful—but all of that amounts to nothing if we lack humility.

So, what is humility? Genuine humility reveals itself in keeping short accounts in regard to sin: coming continually to God with a repentant heart and recognizing ourselves to be in desperate need of God’s help every day and for every occasion. It lies in understanding that our need of Jesus and His transforming power in our lives is not partial; it’s total. As Jesus Himself told us, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Humility recognizes that the very breath we breathe, all that we possess, and all that we are result from God’s grace and goodness to us.

Humility means serving rather than being served. It means giving rather than taking. It means responding to the leadership of others rather than always insisting upon our own. It means fitting into others’ arrangements rather than demanding that everyone fit into ours.

Yet the humility of those who serve Christ is not merely an absence of pride or an awareness of our limitations. The opposite of self-love is not self-denigration but love for God. The answer to our being puffed up is not to hate ourselves or to deny the gifts God has given us; it is to steel our focus on the Lord Himself, recognizing, as the psalmist says, that God has exalted above all things His name and His word (Psalm 138:2).

The only people whom God will ultimately lift up are humble people—those who have recognized who they are, what they are, and how great their need of God is. Through the prophet Isaiah God declared, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit” (Isaiah 57:15, emphasis added). Later, He added, “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2).

Keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus, and He will look to you. You did not make yourself. You did not save yourself. You did not gift yourself. You are utterly dependent upon God’s grace. Look to Him, and He will lift you up. And when you know yourself to be lifted up in His loving sight, then you are ready to serve His people with all that He has given you.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Luke 1:46-55

Topics: Dependence on God Humility Service

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org

They went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot … When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Mark 6:32-34

Christian, you have a Shepherd.

Jesus had a pattern of slipping away from time to time to rest, refresh himself, and talk with His heavenly Father. He also encouraged His disciples to take up this same practice in Mark 6, after they had labored in ministry, telling them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Yet on this occasion, just as Jesus and the disciples arrived at their destination to rest, a great crowd formed. If this crowd was not necessarily unwanted, it was certainly unsought. There would be no possibility of rest. But Jesus did not lash out in frustration, seeing these people as an intrusion. Instead, He “had compassion on them.” Literally, as the Greek puts it, His bowels churned. We might say our stomach lurched.

Jesus was stirred to the very core of His being by this crowd. Why? “Because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Indeed, they may literally have looked like sheep: thousands of people in their light-colored Middle Eastern clothing, scattered against the landscape. But, more importantly, they were in need of a shepherd for their souls. They needed help navigating safely through life and securely through death. Jesus had come to be that Shepherd, looking for the lost sheep—looking for you and for me.

Jesus went on to feed the crowd, physically and spiritually, proving Himself to be the Shepherd who makes us lie down in green pastures, leads us beside still waters, and restores our souls (Psalm 23:1-3). Here is the King inviting people into His kingdom, the Shepherd inviting sheep into His fold. Where the disciples said, Send them away, Jesus said, Sit them down (Mark 6:36, 39). This is what Jesus does for us: He sees us, hungry and thirsty, straying and lost, and He welcomes us, even at the cost of His own life. Where else can we find a love so true?

Souls of men, why will ye scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts, why will ye wander
From a love so true and deep? ^[1]

Today, see the leading of your Shepherd not as an imposition on your life but as an act of grace toward you. If you are confused about your way forward, trust Him to guide you through, in this life and to the next. When you struggle to love others, ask Him to give you His heart of compassion for fellow lost sheep in need of a heavenly Shepherd. Christian, you have a Shepherd.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Psalm 23

Topics: Jesus Christ Love of God Restoration

FOOTNOTES

¹ Frederick William Faber, “Souls of Men, Why Will Ye Scatter” (1854).

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24

We live in a culture of self-promotion which encourages us to trust in ourselves instead of our Creator. Aware of our need to battle against self-reliance, God speaks to us through His word, encouraging us to boast—to find our confidence—in Him alone.

In an attempt to find wisdom apart from God, some pursue instead education and knowledge. Some are prone to rely primarily on physical strength or beauty, ignoring the reality that our bodies will decay and eventually fail us. Still others are enticed to look to money and riches rather than God as their ultimate provider.

It’s a delusion, though, says Jeremiah, to think even for a nanosecond that we can boast in an agile mind, a healthy body, or a fat portfolio. Where, then, are we to place our confidence? The prophet’s answer is clear: we are to place our trust in God Himself.

We can trust God because He is a God of justice. He rules in equity, He deals in truth, and He is not arbitrary in what He does. We can have full assurance that His actions are always in keeping with His character.

We can trust God because He is characterized by His steadfast covenant love for His people—a love made known to us in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And because of the depth of the Father’s love for us, we are “called children of God” (1 John 3:1)! Therefore, we are to take refuge in His righteousness, not our own. Our confidence rests in Jesus, who fulfilled the Father’s will so that we may know Him and love Him as our Creator and Sustainer, as our Savior and King.

A biblical worldview does not denigrate people’s aspirations in the pursuit of wisdom, the exercise of physical prowess, or the ability to earn. But it does stand against the idea that our identity, satisfaction, or salvation can successfully be based on any of these things. There is still a glory that outshines these lesser lights. Our lives should proclaim purposefully, graciously, and straightforwardly that God created us to give Him glory by our walking humbly before Him and enjoying Him into eternity. Where is your confidence for today, for tomorrow, and forever? What do you look to to get you through difficult days? Let it be the loving, just, righteous Lord of all, and know that as you trust Him, He delights in you.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Galatians 6:12-16

Topics: Character of God Humility Materialism

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24

What’s the most important part of your job? Whether you punch in at a factory, report to an office, labor in a field, or work at making a home, what’s most significant about your work? If you’re a Christian, then the answer is this: that you “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

Work is an inevitable part of life. It is something we were created to do (Genesis 1:28; 2:15). But our view of our work is transformed, rescuing us both from idleness in it and idolatry of it, when we understand this truth: that we don’t ultimately work for our bosses or bank accounts; we work for Jesus. It is Him we aim to honor above all else. When we understand this, then our every occupation is instilled with dignity, and we can abound in the work of the Lord in whatever we do (1 Corinthians 15:58). Raising children is the Lord’s work. Selling paint is the Lord’s work. Managing staff is the Lord’s work. Realizing that we work for the Lord Jesus first and foremost can make a big difference every morning as we rise to our labors and every evening as we rest from them.

Of course, it’s easy to be discouraged in our work and frustrated by our work. The thorns, thistles, and cursed ground of Genesis 3 are all too apparent some days. But
1 Corinthians holds out the hope to us that when we labor for the Lord, our work is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). No work done for Him is ever wasted. God weaves all that we do in His sight, and for His glory, into the great story of what He is doing in His world.

Paul reminds us, though, that evidence of success in the Lord’s work may never be fully apparent in this life. In fact, the things that we think indicate success may just be hoodwinking us! We can see an annual bonus given, a promotion secured, or a sales target hit; we cannot see the eternal reward to be given when we reach our inheritance, nor all that God is doing through us. So we must live by faith, trusting that He is watching all our labors and is pleased when we serve Him, and that He is at work in all our labors and is using what we do to further His purposes.

In whatever vocation God has called you to at present, then, make it your highest aim to honor Jesus in how you do your job. Aim to please your boss and your clients, certainly—but when each new workday begins, don’t forget who is really to be honored by your effort. Labor “by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). For, whatever it is that you will be doing today, you can be serving the Lord Christ as you do it—and that is where real job satisfaction is to be found.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Ephesians 6:5-9

Topics: Effects of Sin Work Worship

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

John 9:33-34

When the blind beggar in John 9 encountered Jesus, not only did he receive physical sight, but his spiritual eyes also were opened so that he came to believe in Him as Lord. Unfortunately, though, his troubles weren’t over. When he encountered the religious leaders, he discovered that, unwilling as they were to accept this man’s physical transformation and newfound faith, they were determined to discredit him by challenging both the miraculous sign and his personal testimony.

The Pharisees were such an intimidating presence that when questioned, the man’s parents refused to answer for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. Instead, they redirected the Pharisees to their son, saying, “He is of age; ask him” (John 9:23). But when the man was duly summoned for his second round of questioning and intimidation at the hands of the religious leaders, he did not waver. In the face of their opposition, his newfound faith made him fearless.

The Pharisees repeatedly asked the same questions and made the same accusations because there was nothing left for them to say. They were confronted with irrefutable evidence. And what did they have by way of response? Nothing. So they began to do what people usually do when the weakness of their argument becomes evident: they resorted to insults. “You were born in utter sin,” they said to the man, “and would you teach us?” In other words, You are a miserable sinner and we are righteous people. How dare you lecture us?! Don’t you realize that we’ve gone to school for this? And you, some upstart beggar from the streets, think you can come in and confront us! The Pharisees were challenged and, because it did not fit with their own assumptions nor their own view of themselves, they couldn’t handle it. So they cast out the man who could have led them to the truth.

As fellow followers of Jesus in a world that is hostile to God and His ways, we ought not to be surprised when our friends and neighbors want to throw us out too. Frankly, we should probably get thrown out a lot more than we do! The reason many of us are under no such threat may be that we are more like the fearful parents than their faithful son, keeping quiet rather than speaking up.

Your faith in Christ does not guarantee that you will have an easy path in life. In fact, faith in Christ will almost certainly lead you to be opposed by others. Are you afraid of how others may respond to your faith? Does fear cause you to keep quiet instead of telling others, “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see”?^[1] Has your faith led you to be bold in the face of opposition like this blind man? And if not, will you pray right now that God will grant you that kind of faith so that you would speak these kinds of words?

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

John 9:18-38

Topics: Evangelism Fear Persecution

FOOTNOTES

¹ John Newton, “Amazing Grace” (1779).

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

1 Corinthians 15:5-8

Have you ever felt a little shaky in your faith? Maybe while saying your prayers at night you’ve experienced the unwanted and unwelcome thought that you’re merely talking into the darkness. Or perhaps you get an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach as you wonder if the only reason why you are professing faith at all is because you’re just following the crowd on a Sunday.

1 Corinthians 15:5-8 was written to address these sorts of concerns and feelings. The apostle Paul refers us to the witnesses of Jesus’ real, physical appearances following His resurrection. Cephas (Peter), James, Paul, the apostles, and 500 others physically saw the risen Lord Jesus with their very own eyes. Paul points us to these eyewitnesses to help us see that their faith, and ours, rests on facts.

What facts? The fact of the empty tomb, for one; there has to be an explanation for it. There also has to be a reason for why the disciples changed from hiding in a house in Jerusalem for fear of the Jews (John 20:19) to standing on the streets of the same city and boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2:14-40). And there has to be something that accounts for the existence of the church. The Scriptures are clear: the explanation is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Through history, attempts to explain these realities on any basis other than the fact of the resurrected Christ have fallen flat.

The resurrection of the Son of God is the pivotal event of world history and the foundation stone of our faith, and Paul recognized that we need a reasonable basis to believe it. He names eyewitnesses so that when we examine the record of Scripture, even 2,000 years removed from the events it describes, we find that it was not, as skeptics claim, faith that concocted evidence for the resurrection, but rather it was the evidence of the resurrection that created faith.

So when you are feeling shaky in your faith, when you’re feeling a little unsettled, remember: there is a reasonable, historical basis to Christianity. God has poured out His Spirit and revealed His Word for your assurance. Pray that God will meet all your doubts with the gift of faith, and look to the resurrection, for there you will find your faith bolstered by fact and your confidence founded on reality.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

1 Corinthians 15:14-28

Topics: Apologetics Christ’s Resurrection Doubt

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

The Lord is king forever and ever … you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed.

Psalm 10:16-18

The pages of the Psalms express most, if not all, emotions known to the human heart. These divinely inspired songs show full awareness that life this side of the fall will involve not only joy and exaltation but also pain, disappointment, and confusion. We can all relate to the psalmist and find comfort when we encounter questions of God like “Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1) and “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). We are clearly not the first people to face hardship!

The Scriptures respond to these realities with neither abject hopelessness nor optimistic platitudes. Rather, hope is offered and found in the character and promises of God Himself.

This hope can come from different angles. From one, there is the wonderful truth that God sees the distress of His people, as when the Israelites were in Egypt and the Lord assured them, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people” (Exodus 3:7). If you are in the midst of trouble and grief, know that God sees, knows, and is able and willing to save—even if it’s not exactly the sort of salvation you have in mind.

Those who are victims of mistreatment of any kind, meanwhile, are met with the promise that God will settle all accounts. Sometimes justice comes in this life, fully or in part; but some matters will have to wait to be settled until this life is over. We can rest assured, though, that they will be settled. God “has a day” when every wrong will be made right and every tear wiped dry (Isaiah 2:12; 25:8).

Yet another way to find hope in God is to consider that “the LORD is king forever and ever.” He lifts up nations and brings them down. He exalts rulers and humbles them. Indeed, the power of life and death belongs to Him.

Why is this a comfort? Because we know who is in charge. Who would you rather have in charge? Who else is infinite in power and might, with an equal measure of love and wisdom? Who else knows the end from the beginning and the thoughts of all? Only our God, and it is He alone who reigns.

Whatever circumstances you find yourself in right now, the Psalms invite you prayerfully to soak your soul in them and fill your heart with a vision of God’s grace and grandeur. Doing so may not make your particular difficulties disappear—but it will put them into proper perspective. Casting the eyes of our hearts on the God of glory reminds us that He is the greatest reality in our lives, greater even than the struggles we face. He sees, He will make things right, and He reigns. Look to Him and, when facing difficult days and confusing and conflicting emotions, resolve to do as the psalmist does: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:11).

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Topics: Hope Justice Suffering

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Dramatic displays tend to draw our attention. Think about a hole in one on the golf course or the buzzer-beater on the basketball court. The steady putts and consistent lay-ups or free throws get overshadowed by the sensational moments.

The same thing that happens on the green or between the hoops can happen inside the church with spiritual gifts: we can end up focusing all our attention on the more visible, obvious gifts—perhaps like teaching or leadership—and neglect to see gifts that can be a little harder to glimpse, like helping or administrating. But what we must understand is that spiritual gifts are not valuable just because they are dramatic. The body of Christ needs every part, from head to toe, and every gift of each member (1 Corinthians 12:14-20). Every gift is important. Every gift matters.

Our external expressions of spirituality do not prove that we are pleasing God, nor do they guarantee our salvation. That’s a sobering thought! It is easy to focus on what we do as the evidence of what we are. As we teach, help, give, speak, sing, create, or heal, we can be tempted to look to those deeds as the only necessary evidence of our spiritual life. But according to Jesus, even great performances of seemingly good works do not necessarily indicate that we truly know Him or that He truly knows us (Matthew 7:21-23).

So is there anything we can look to as evidence for faith? The apostle Paul offers us a simple yet profound criterion in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” As you serve God and exercise your gifts, what is your aim? What is your intention? We can’t expect to have perfectly pure motives on this side of heaven, but as we recall the great purchase God has made, we can make it our goal to glorify Him in all that we do. And this is reliable evidence of real faith: for a Christian is someone who knows they have been bought from sin and death at the price of Christ’s blood and who now seeks to serve God with all that they are—to “do all to the glory of God.”

This applies as much to the outgoing, well-known leader as it does to the quiet, unnoticed laborer. Whatever your gifts, whatever your role, whatever your situation, make it your goal to glorify God in all that you do. When that is your aim, you’ll not only serve Him better, but you’ll find yourself experiencing the great, counterintuitive truth that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Make it your goal today to ask yourself at every moment: “What would it look like, here and now, to do all for the glory of the God who loves me and gave Himself for me?”

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Micah 6:6-8

Topics: Glory of God The Local Church Spiritual Gifts

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

2 Timothy 2:7

It is not unusual—in fact, it’s quite common—for Christian faith to be regarded as a kind of illogical belief in improbable events. For some, faith is seen as a crutch to prop up less rational people as they navigate life’s challenges. Such critics may be surprised to learn that in reality, Christianity calls its followers not to neglect their minds but to critically engage them.

When we read the Bible, we discover that it never invites us simply to feel things; it never attempts merely to sweep us up in an emotional surge. God never once asks for or endorses the disengagement of our thinking processes. Instead, God’s word repeatedly shows us that Christianity is actually a call to think rightly and deeply about God, His world, and our place in it.

When the apostle Paul addressed the Ephesians, we read that he was “reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus,” which was likely a school for philosophy or rhetoric (Acts 19:9). Paul wasn’t just singing songs or attempting to stir up some emotional experience. No, he essentially said, Citizens of Ephesus, I want you to think and reason with me today. In Thessalonica, too, Acts tells us that Paul “reasoned” with the people, “explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead” (17:2-3). The book of Isaiah begins with a similar call to think earnestly: “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD” (Isaiah 1:18).

This exhortation to think and reason isn’t just for proclaiming the gospel but for growth in Christian maturity too. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul said, “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking” (1 Corinthians 14:20). He wanted the church to think intently and intensely about the issues they were facing. Paul was even more direct when he wrote to Timothy: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” We do need God’s Spirit to be at work in order to think rightly (Luke 24:45; 1 Corinthians 12:3), for our intellects are as affected by sin as every other part of ourselves (Ephesians 4:17). But it is as we expend mental energy to consider the wisdom of the Scriptures that God will give us greater and greater understanding.

To follow Christ, then, is not to take a step of blind faith into the darkness but to have your eyes opened to the light of rigorous truth. It will take a lifetime—and more!—to unearth the riches of the truth you encounter in God’s word about His Son, but one thing is sure: today, as every day, God wants you to love Him and honor Him with all your mind.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Psalm 1

Topics: Apologetics Christian Thinking Truth

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:5

“Wisdom” has fallen rather out of fashion. Did you encounter the word with any frequency over the past week or so? Most likely, you didn’t read it in any articles or hear about it from schoolteachers. Wisdom has become almost an old-fashioned word, neglected in favor of terms like insight, information, and intelligence. But none of these words, individually or combined, still do not add up to wisdom.

Wisdom is not mental; it is moral. It is knowing how to live God’s way in God’s world and acting on that. Jesus memorably talked about wisdom in terms of the wise and the foolish builders (Luke 6:46-49). The wise man built his house upon the rock, and the waves came tumbling round, and the house stood firm. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, and it collapsed. The difference between the two types of people this story represents is that while both hear Jesus’ words, only the wise put them into practice, building their lives upon them, allowing their decisions to be directed and their desires to be shaped by what He says.

By nature, we lack such wisdom. But the invitation to wisdom in this verse from James is gracious and inclusive. To accept it, we first must recognize our need of wisdom; humility is always wisdom’s precursor (Proverbs 1:7). Once we acknowledge that need, James then encourages us to simply ask God, who abides in faithfulness and provides “every good gift and every perfect gift” (James 1:17). Jesus has likewise told us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

If we come to God sincerely, He promises to give His wisdom generously without making us feel guilty or foolish. We often repeat our requests and concerns because the trials are real and the hills are steep, but God is not annoyed or dismissive. He is eager to help!

James understood that through life’s joys and sorrows we may be tempted to think differently than from God’s perspective. With wisdom, though, we are able to act in the light of God’s revelation of Himself, walking through life with sure footsteps as we seek to obey His commands and trust that He will be guiding our steps. Through His wisdom, you can act simply and properly, with thankfulness that God is so generous and gracious. All you need do is to accept that you need it and to ask for it—and then get on with your day, secure in the knowledge that, once you’ve asked, “it will be given” to you.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Proverbs 1:1-8

Topics: God’s Word Humility Wisdom

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

Proverbs 10:28

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.

Questions for Thought

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?

Further Reading

Luke 23:32-43

Topics: Hope Justice Sovereignty of God

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org