There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:14–15

None of us, of course, are guaranteed to know the date of our death. But we know something just as certain: unless Christ returns first, that day will come. Until then, Scripture says, we will inhabit a creation that is subject to futility, with evil around us, sin within us, and chaos seeming to prevail more often than not. We will see the wicked prosper and the godly struggle. These truths are poignantly expressed in the words of the Preacher of Ecclesiastes: “There is a vanity that takes place on earth.”

By itself, that observation could send us into a spiral of sorrow, sullenness, and despair. But the writer of Ecclesiastes does not leave us there. Instead, he makes a rather surprising recommendation: “I commend joy … to eat and drink and be joyful.” Observation: life is unmanageable. Recommendation: enjoy life’s simple pleasures!

How can anyone know genuine enjoyment of such pleasures when life is futile and unjust and comes with an expiration date? This is something that is only possible for those who know the truth. We can freely and guiltlessly enjoy the pleasures God gives because we know God; indeed, it honors the Giver of such gifts to enjoy what He gives. The apostle Paul describes God as the one “who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). The fact that simple pleasures offer no ultimate satisfaction does not mean they offer no satisfaction. It is knowing that there is life beyond the sun that frees us to enjoy our life “under the sun.” As the hymn writer puts it:

Heav’n above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen.^[1]

When was the last time you asked someone, “Are you enjoying yourself?” When did you last ask yourself that question? It is a good, Christian thing to ask! We know both that the world is broken and that every good gift comes from God. So honor Him by enjoying your next cup of coffee, your next day with your spouse, your next day at work, the next thing that makes you smile, as a gift from Him. He’s given these blessings to you for your God-honoring enjoyment, so that you can say with the psalmist, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

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 4:1–5

Topics: Contentment Giving Joy

FOOTNOTES

¹ Wade Robinson, “I Am His, and He Is Mine” (1876).

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.”

Joshua 14:8–9

Many people get off to a flying start in life only to later lose whatever it was that once made them successful. Perhaps they were well known as a young man or woman. At the age of 40, their life was one of prominence, influence, and status. In the church, we can see such individuals—indeed, we can see ourselves—as supremely useful to God. But too often we are then tempted to become masters of yesterday, frequently looking back to the “good years” and grumbling about the way things have become.

Although it’s true of so many, this was not at all true of Caleb, who fled from potential apathy and kept on in faith. He spent his middle years in a less than desirable environment. From the age of 40, he was stuck wandering around the wilderness for four decades because the people around him had failed to have faith in God. Yet during this time of frustration and wanderings, Caleb remained free of embitterment and disgruntlement.

In fact, things eventually got so bad that the people began to look for a leader to take them back to the good old days (Numbers 14:4). Yet no one really needs a leader to go backward; you can just go back! We need leaders to push us forward. There is a tomorrow. There are generations yet to come. There are purposes yet to be unfolded in God’s plan for our world.

Caleb reveals this spirit. The apparent commitment of his early life was matched by his consistency in the middle years. He was committed and consistent not only at 40 but also at 50 and 60 and 70. Throughout the decades, he “wholly followed the LORD.”

For many, marriage, the establishment of a home, business concerns, health issues, and so on are often accompanied by a loss of spiritual ardor and effectiveness. Many are those who have great resources, energy, and wisdom to offer but who decide instead to chill out, leaving the work of ministry to the next generation. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, they settle for disinterest, criticism, and cynicism, failing to see the disintegration in their own spiritual lives.

What about your commitment, your conversations, and your spiritual edge? Are they the same as they once were? There is a great need in the church today, as there was in Israel’s wilderness generation, for experienced men and women of faith who live lives marked by consistent commitment, in good times and bad, in season and out, as through the years they walk toward the inheritance that the Lord has promised His faithful followers. What will that look like for you today—and in ten years?

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

Judges 1:1–20

Topics: Biblical Figures Christian Life Faith Faithfulness of God

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

James 3:10–12

In the course of our lives we are confronted by unfairness, by unkindness, by disagreeable circumstances, and often by disagreeable people. Before offering a verbal response in these situations, we would do well to recall this truth learned from our Lord: our words reflect our hearts (Matthew 12:34). If our words are not Christlike, we must look first not to our mouths but to our hearts. Equally, it is an indication of our Lord’s work within us when we respond to conflict and challenge with words that help rather than those that harm.

Our tongues contain immense power, and we may leverage them to help, to encourage, to affirm, to enrich, to reconcile, to forgive, to unite, to smooth, and to bless. It is not by accident that so many of the Old Testament proverbs address the words we speak. According to Solomon, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 10:11). He compares this use of words to lovely earrings that adorn the beauty of the wearer and to beautiful ornaments that enhance the loveliness of a home (25:12). Perhaps his most classic statement about the power of speech is his observation that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (v 11).

What is it that makes for such life-giving language? How can our mouths be those that bring blessing to others? Words of blessing are marked by honesty, by “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). They are thoughtful, spoken by one who “ponders how to answer” (Proverbs 15:28). They are often few and marked by reason: “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (17:27).

And, of course, helpful words will be gentle words. Though it may be hard to remember in the throes of difficult circumstances, it remains true that “a soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). Indeed, a gentle response wells up from moral strength; it takes far more self-control to respond in gentleness than to give way to unbridled passion and anger.

What will mark your words? Will you commit yourself to using your tongue—that small but immensely powerful member of your body—to bless rather than curse, to give life rather than tear it down, and to help rather than harm?

Resolve today to use your words for the good of those with whom you interact, honoring Christ in your heart and letting His sweet aroma fill your speech. Then humbly acknowledge that you cannot do this yourself (James 3:8), and ask Him to fill you with His Spirit—the Spirit who grows peace, gentleness, and self-control both in your heart and in your speech (Galatians 5:22-23).

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 5:16–25

Topics: Self-Control Speech

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:34

In the days of the prophet Jeremiah, God refused to break the covenant He had made with His people. Despite His steadfast love, though, God’s people continued to sin. This presented a problem: how could God fulfill the promises He had made to bless His people when they continually demonstrated their unfaithfulness to Him?

As a part of His great plan, God pledged a new covenant—a work of inner re-creation. As the theologian Alec Motyer writes, “When his people could not rise to the height of his standards, the Lord does not lower his standards to match their ability; he transforms his people.”^[1]

This new covenant is the purpose and promise of God to regenerate hearts through the blood of the Lord Jesus. He takes our hearts and He makes them the perfect shape—like fitting a piece in a jigsaw puzzle—so that His law becomes a delight to us.

In God’s declaration of this new covenant, the verb “know” is key. In the original Hebrew, its meaning is clear from the very beginning in Genesis: the straightforward statement that Adam “knew” his wife and they bore children (Genesis 4:1) demonstrates the level of intimacy it conveys. God is saying that when His people come to an understanding of His love, they won’t simply be doing Bible studies at arm’s length; they’ll be people who truly know Him.

What Jeremiah spoke of in the future tense, we are able to enjoy in the present; for in between his prophecy and our time, the Lord Jesus held up a cup of wine the night before He died and announced, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). By God’s grace, you and I may know the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Not only this, but He also knows each of our names, individually; and He knows our needs and is committed to our well-being. Jesus bears our names before the Father—and because of all He is and all He’s done, those names are written in the Book of Life.

What kind of King is this? The answer is beyond our ability to fully comprehend. Someday, we will see Him face-to-face and understand far more than we do today. But still, today you can go about with the confidence that comes from knowing that you know the God who redeemed you through His Son, who dwells in and works in you by His Spirit, and in whose throne room you will one day stand.

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

Jeremiah 31:31–40

Topics: God’s Covenants New Birth

FOOTNOTES

¹ Look to the Rock: An Old Testament Background to Our Understanding of Christ (Kregel, 1996), p 58-59.

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you.

Mark 10:42–43

One of the great lies in almost every generation is that God’s people will reach their unbelieving neighbors better if they look, sound, act, and live as much like them as possible. The New Testament doesn’t support that, nor does church history. Instead, history bears out what the Bible teaches—namely, that God’s people are always most effective in an alien culture when, both by their life and lifestyle, they are clearly counter-cultural (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Just prior to these words of Jesus, James and John, the “Sons of Thunder,” went to Jesus to ask a favor: they wanted places of honor in His kingdom (Mark 10:35-45). This desire, however, was not born of loyalty but of raw ambition, similar to that of the Roman rulers during that time, who sought self-promotion.

Jesus didn’t pull any punches in His response. His language was radical. The disciples were His followers, and they were to be different. They needed to understand that in God’s kingdom, the way up is actually down. Honor is found in giving it, not in receiving it. Greatness is displayed in serving, not in being served. The greatest example of this principle is Jesus Himself, who “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

This is challenging, because we live in a culture that is preoccupied with self-esteem, self-aggrandizement, and self-made status. Yet if we profess to be Jesus’ followers, His words here remind us that we are not to be marked by the culture but by Him.

We tend to have an unhealthy preoccupation with being regarded as significant, intellectually sensible, and socially acceptable. When has that ever been an effective strategy for the work of the gospel? The choice is clear: either we’re going to do what Jesus says or we’re going to do what the culture says.

We must not diminish the force of Jesus’ words nor the scale of His challenge. But neither do we need to despair, for we can find encouragement in the fact that John eventually got it right. Near the end of his life, he wrote, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). Hear this word of uncomfortable grace—“it shall not be so among you”—and be conformed to the image of Jesus, willing to lay down your rights and your reputation in service and love.

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

Philippians 2:1–11

Topics: Discipleship Humility Service

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.

Philippians 4:6–7

If I told you to write down all that you’ve been anxious about this week, or even today, I imagine you would have a substantial list. I know I would. And yet the word of God says to us, “Do not be anxious about anything.” How, then, are we to respond when we find ourselves feeling choked in a battle with anxiety?

Paul says that the antidote to suffocating anxiety is prayer and thanksgiving. This response isn’t natural. In fact, it goes directly against the tendencies of our sinful hearts. Most of us find it considerably easier to retreat into a corner and complain, or to chew over worrying circumstances in an effort to control them, rather than to bring anxiety-inducing matters before God in prayer. How easy—and how fruitless—it is to choose to sit and stew, allowing anxiety to paralyze us instead of getting down on our knees and crying out to Him.

Prayer swallows up the question “How am I going to cope with this?” by pointing us away from ourselves and to God’s provision. Prayer turns our focus toward God, who is totally competent, who knows our needs intimately, and who will give us either what we ask or something better than we can imagine. And a thankful heart helps us confront without bitterness the question “Why has this happened to me?” by helping us remember God’s promises. He always acts with purpose, fulfills His plan, and knows exactly what He’s doing.

Some of us had parents who would act as our alarm clocks when we lived at home. When we needed to wake up at a certain time in the morning, all we had to do was tell our father or our mother, and we were confident they would wake us. All that was left for us to do was sleep! This is the kind of response Paul wants from us in the face of anxiety. We are to go directly to our heavenly Father and say, “Will you take care of this for me?” And God always answers, I’ve got this. Trust Me.

When we understand that God is in control of all things, we’ll bring all of our struggles and challenges to Him. The peace He provides will be a stronghold for our hearts.

Though troubles assail and dangers affright,
Though close friends should fail us and foes all unite,
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,
The promise assures us, “The Lord will provide.” ^[1]

So why not write out that list of things you’ve been anxious about this week? Then pray about them, taking those situations to the throne of heaven and leaving them there. And then next to each item you can write what God says to you: I’ve got this. Trust 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

1 Peter 5:6–11

Topics: Anxiety Faith Peace Prayer

FOOTNOTES

¹ John Newton, “Though Troubles Assail” (1775).

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

The people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled.

Numbers 11:1

There should be no place for grumbling in the Christian life.

That was a lesson that Israel learned the hard way (and learned slowly). After God freed them from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites received His law, were given His commands, and knew their destination. They eagerly set out to reach the promised land, but they hadn’t gone very far at all—barely around the first bend in the road—before they began to complain. They wanted meat to eat instead of manna, and they even wished they were back in Egypt (Numbers 11:4-6). Where once they had thought God’s daily provision of manna was a wonderful indication of His love for them, now they complained about having to eat the same old thing.

Grumbling seems to be a small thing, but it is a sign that gratitude is missing. Whenever unbelief and a lack of thankfulness mark the lives of God’s children, consequences are inevitable. We may not end up like the Israelites, who wandered in the desert for 40 years, but our own grumbling is not without a cost.

Do you remember when you first felt the excitement of your newfound faith? Maybe you bought your first copy of the New Testament and thought all you were discovering was fantastic. You read it everywhere. Then, perhaps, something happened along the journey; now it seems to be just “the same old Bible,” and you wish God would do something more dramatic, something better? Do you remember a time when sharing your faith seemed to be an exciting privilege—but now it feels like a burden and a duty? Do you remember a time when you were overflowing in gratitude for the cross—but now you find you focus more on the ways that God has not led you along the paths or to the places you would have preferred?

When the apostle Paul wrote to the early church, he reminded them of Israel’s story as a warning: “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Corinthians 10:9-11).

If we have faith in Christ, we’ve been set free from slavery to sin—even our complaining! We’ve been liberated by a sacrifice: the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross. And we too have set out on a journey, not to Canaan but to heaven. In light of that, God has given us both wonderful promises and necessary warnings. Do not presume upon His provision or grumble about the route He leads you on, but instead be filled with gratitude for all He has provided materially and spiritually. The cross lies behind you, heaven lies before you, and the Spirit dwells within you. There is no need, or excuse, for grumbling.

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 95

Topics: Sin Thanksgiving

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

Leviticus 17:11

When God rescued the Israelites from Egypt, their redemption led to a relationship with Him. Living under God’s rule, the people enjoyed His presence in the tabernacle. But from the very beginning, the Israelites could not keep the law of God. This introduced a dilemma: how could a holy God live with a sinful people?

On a specific day of each year—the Day of Atonement—the high priest of Israel was instructed by God to enter the Most Holy Place—the place in the tabernacle where God’s presence dwelled—to offer sacrifices for the people’s sins. The high priest would take two unblemished goats. The first he would sacrifice as a sin offering for the people and then sprinkle its blood on the atonement cover, also known as the mercy seat. The Israelites deserved death for their sin, but God graciously provided this goat as a substitute to die in their place. The people could live because the animal had died. And the result of that atonement was seen in what happened to the second goat: the priest would place his hands on its head, confess the people’s sins over it, and then drive it out far into the wilderness. The high priest was then able to appear before the people, saying, in effect, Your sins are atoned for. The blood has been shed, and by the shedding of blood there is remission for sin. The other goat I have driven out into the wilderness, and in the same way you need not be concerned about your sins anymore nor bear them as a burden on your back. In a very specific way, God was establishing this essential truth: He is willing to do what is necessary to bring sinful people into His presence. Since His people were (and still are!) unruly, He had to provide a sacrifice for their sinfulness, allowing them to approach Him based on the actions of another. And each sacrifice pointed beyond itself to the perfect sacrifice that Christ would offer by His death on the cross, dealing with sin once and for all. As a result, we can enjoy utter confidence before God. But this confidence is not in ourselves; rather, “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20).

When you are tempted to vacillate, doubt, and look at your own works as the basis of assurance, remember those two goats, both pointing you to the work of Jesus on the cross. Your sin has been paid for and your sin has been removed. Your performance neither adds to nor detracts from your status before our holy God. Here is where you find your confidence:

Upon a life I have not lived,
Upon a death I did not die,
Another’s life, another’s death,
I stake my whole eternity.^[1] 

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

Hebrews 10:11–25

Topics: Atonement The Cross Holiness of God

FOOTNOTES

¹ Horatius Bonr, “Christ for Us” (1881).

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

There was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

Acts 9:10

Every day, you are shaping your reputation. And as a Christian, every day you are shaping Christ’s reputation too. What do our lives say about Christ as we walk around as His disciples?

Ananias may be a lesser-known Bible character, but he had a profound influence on Paul’s life and therefore on all of church history. This resulted from his daily devoted faithfulness as a disciple of Christ. Three traits of his discipleship can help to shape our own character and commitment to Christ as we seek to be used in God’s kingdom.

First, Ananias was, as the KJV puts it, “a certain disciple” (emphasis added): one who was specifically chosen. Even before bringing Paul (then known as Saul) to Damascus or calling upon Ananias, God sovereignly orchestrated the spread of the church after the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem to reach at least 200 miles north to Damascus, where a group of believers, including Ananias, were then established. Then, out of this group, God specifically chose Ananias to reach out to Paul after his conversion. This profound display of God’s sovereignty should inspire and encourage us to trust that God may be working in ways yet unseen to prepare and use us to accomplish His will.

Next, Ananias was a bold disciple. He identified himself as a follower of the Lord—part of the very group in Damascus that Paul was on his way to persecute before his conversion (Acts 9:1). Ananias’s loyalty wasn’t simply to a local church, a denomination, or a theological view but to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Similarly, if Jesus has taken hold of our lives and changed us then we cannot keep this life-altering fact to ourselves either. Just as we say no to sin when we receive Christ’s salvation, we must also say no to secrecy about our faith. Either our discipleship will destroy our secrecy, or our secrecy will destroy our discipleship.

Finally, Ananias was a committed disciple. Later, Paul would remember Ananias as a “devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived” in Damascus (Acts 22:12). A reputation like this is not gained in five minutes, or even five days, but slowly, in the steady ebb and flow of life. Ananias developed such a reputation by committing his whole life to following God and His word—a commitment that he surely displayed through his daily business and interactions with others.

Ananias’s life challenges us to be faithful in seemingly small ways on apparently ordinary days. Perhaps one day we will be called to do something extraordinary for the Lord—but we are not to wait until then before we live wholeheartedly for Him. This is what disciples do: boldly, devotedly, and humbly they pursue God and trust Him completely. Whether you are in the midst of studies, raising children, pursuing a career, or facing retirement and old age, seek to do it all faithfully to the glory of God. Make it your aim to be known simply as Ananias was: as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

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

Acts 9:1–19

Topics: Biblical Figures Discipleship

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you.”

Isaiah 42:5–6

In 1932, Albert Einstein observed, “Our situation on this earth seems strange. Every one of us appears here involuntarily and uninvited for a short stay, without knowing the whys and the wherefore.”^[1] Indeed, you won’t have to listen too long before you hear people say that we live in a world of chance, where history merely repeats itself and there is no overarching purpose in the universe. If this is true, it is hard to find significance in life. There is nothing to do but live, and then die.

God speaks into the absence of purpose resulting from this view of reality. He proclaims the ultimate reality that changes everything: Himself. God introduces Himself, revealing His identity: “I am the LORD.” God’s name (here, “the LORD”) is not simply what we call Him; it expresses His being. God’s many names in the Bible give significant information about who He is: eternal, self-sustaining, sovereign… and much more!

As God speaks, He also reveals His power. The heavens are His design, and He is the one who spread out the earth and gives form and life to all that comes from it. Creation’s stability and productivity are grounded in the Creator. We are not the product of some self-existing evolutionary surge but of the direct act of a Designer. We cannot make sense of our existence apart from God. We were never meant to.

And what is God’s purpose now for everything that He has made? To bring about righteousness on the earth through salvation. “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations.” He is speaking here not to us but to His Son, the Servant whom Isaiah introduces. When we are in need of counsel, in need of friendship, in need of forgiveness, in need of salvation, God has said, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold” (Isaiah 42:1, NIV).

We will never be as satisfied in life as when we discover our ultimate reality in Christ. Flowing from that reality we find our purpose: “to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”^[2] If you wish to know purpose and fulfillment in life, you have only to embrace and rejoice in the Lord’s Servant, glorifying God just as Simeon did: “My eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32).

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

Isaiah 42:1–13

Topics: Character of God Creation Jesus Christ

FOOTNOTES

¹ “My Credo,” quoted in Michael White and John Gribbin, Einstein: A Life in Science(Free Press, 2005), p 262.

² Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q.1.

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:22

When someone comes to Christ by faith, the transformation of their identity is comprehensive. In the language Paul employs in Ephesians 2, the dead sinner is now alive in Christ; the child of wrath becomes a child of God. But the new identity is not merely individual. We are not each of us alone in Christ; we are in Him with all of God’s people. This is why Paul, in Ephesians 2, moves from our individual experience of grace to the corporate work that God’s grace accomplishes. Paul tells us, “You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (v 19). The “one new man” (v 15) that Christ is making is gloriously crowded with fellow heirs of grace. This is not to say that our individual human identity becomes irrelevant. Our background and our makeup—our sex, ethnicity, and personal history—are not obliterated in Christ. We are who we are, made in God’s image, fashioned according to His purposes. But what unifies us in Christ—our union with Christ—transcends everything else.

We must beware the temptation to forget the reason for our unity. No one is immune from turning elements of their identity into barriers—barriers of status, of color, of class, of personality type, or personal preferences. As Christians, we must be prepared to acknowledge how easy it is to get this wrong. We must be prepared, if we find ourselves guilty of such wrong, to repent from and grieve over that which displeases God.

The key to Christian unity is the gospel. Paul recognized that only God can soften hard hearts, only God can open blind eyes, and only God can bring disparate people together and form something truly, gloriously united. God is making “one new man,” and He is making that new man in His church. In Christ, God is building a “holy temple” (Ephesians 2:21) that is “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Partiality based on race, class, or status has no place in the place where God dwells by His Spirit. One day you will experience the fullness of your union with Christ and His people for eternity; but that can, and should, begin now. You have the privilege of fostering that unity today in the way you use your time and in the way you think of, pray for, and speak to your brothers and sisters in your church.

We are building day by day,
As the moments glide away,
Our temple, which the world may not see;
Every victory won by grace
Will be sure to find its place
In our building for eternity.^[1]

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 13

Topics: The Church Gospel Union with Christ Unity

FOOTNOTES

¹ Fanny J. Crosby, “We Are Building” (1891).

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened … If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Luke 11:10, Luke 11:13

When a teenager who has just gotten her driver’s license asks her mom or dad for the car keys, it’s not typically a vague, half-hearted request. Instead, her mind is engaged and her will is focused: “Please can I have the car keys? I want the car. I’d like to use the car. I’m asking you for it now.”

Similarly, the verbs that Jesus uses to teach His disciples how to make requests to God in prayer—ask, seek, knock—convey urgency, consistency, and clarity. It’s as if He’s saying, I want you to pray in a way that involves humble, persistent determination. I want you to seek and to go on seeking, and I want you to knock with an urgent sincerity.

He is inviting you and me to come before our heavenly Father and simply to ask.

We must be careful about what we ask for, though. When we present our petitions before the Lord, they need to be tempered by the Spirit through what John Calvin calls the “bridle of the word of God.”^[1] In other words, the Bible teaches that we can ask in total confidence for the things that God says are good and right—things like His help so that we can present our bodies as living sacrifices, grow as witnesses to the gospel, or increase our desire to worship. But we must not think that we can manipulate God, demanding that He gives us whatever will make our life easier or wealthier. It is possible to “ask and … not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3).

So we are to ask boldly, but we are also to ask humbly. We are to ask God to do great things, and then we are to accept His answer. There are good reasons why God will not always give us what we ask, even when what we ask is in itself good and godly. Our prayers are not always in accordance with His good and sovereign will. We cannot always determine what’s good for us—but God always knows what’s best for His children. Therefore, when we bring our requests before God, we must look to His word as our roadmap and remember that He is working to bring about His purposes for our lives and to conform us to the image of His Son.

So come before God and just ask. Your requests can be specific, and bold, and shaped by God’s word—and then you can expect, and indeed desire, God to answer them exactly as He sees fit.

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 1:9–12

Topics: God’s Will God’s Word Prayer

FOOTNOTES

¹ Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, trans. William Pringle (Calvin Translation Society, 1846), Vol. 3, p 19.

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Lead us not into temptation.

Luke 11:4

The Bible clearly teaches that God is not the author of sin and temptation: He does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). That being the case, why would we pray and ask God not to lead us into temptation? What exactly are we asking God to do, or not to do?

We find our answer in the subtle distinction between testing and tempting. When we pray “Lord, lead us not into temptation,” what we’re really saying is “God, help us so that we do not let the testing which comes from you become a temptation from Satan to do evil.” We are likewise asking Him not to lead us into trials without His presence and power, which are what will keep us walking through them in faith and joy instead of sinking in despair or faithlessness.

This phrase from the Lord’s Prayer is therefore important because it reminds us, and necessarily so, of temptation’s reality and proximity. In Genesis 4 God warns Cain, “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but”—and here comes the exhortation—“you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7, NIV). Sadly, Cain did not respond by asking God to give him all he needed to rule over it instead of letting it rule, and ruin, him. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us not to make the same mistake.

Given sin’s propensity to consume us, we cannot simply ask God not to lead us into temptation and then believe the issue is handled. No, our actions must correspond with our prayers. If we are genuinely asking the Lord for help not to violate His holy commands, then we must not put ourselves heedlessly, needlessly, or willfully within sin’s reach.

God is both willing and perfectly able to help us battle temptation. He is fully committed in His covenant of love to ensuring that none of His children will fall into sin’s grip. There will never be an occasion in our lives when the temptation to sin is so strong that God’s grace and power cannot enable us to bear it; as Scripture reminds us, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Nor will there ever be a failure to resist temptation that cannot be covered over by the blood of Christ. Therefore, in every situation and in the face of every temptation, remember this: in Christ we’re “on the victory side.”^[1] You can resist, for you have the Spirit to guide and guard you. What regular temptations to disobedience are you facing at the moment? At what places or in what moments do your trials turn to temptations? Ask God for His help right now—for you need it, and He stands ready to supply it.

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 4:1–13

Topics: Temptation Victory

FOOTNOTES

¹ Fanny Crosby, “On the Victory Side” (1894).

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

Luke 11:4

At a quick glance, this request may sound like a quid pro quo—that our forgiveness of others somehow earns us the right to be forgiven. If we allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves, however, we will recognize that the opposite is true. God forgives only the penitent—those who feel godly sorrow and repent of their sins. And what is one of the chief evidences of being penitent? A forgiving spirit! In other words, when we forgive one another, we don’t earn forgiveness; we show that we have already been transformed by God’s forgiving grace.

Jesus taught that it is inconceivable that we who have been forgiven so much should refuse to forgive the debts of others against us (Matthew 18:21-35). Yet we’re still tempted to hold grudges, stay angry, to “forgive but not to forget.” D.L. Moody is said to have compared that idea to somebody who buries the hatchet but leaves the handle sticking out.

An unforgiving spirit is perhaps the greatest killer of genuine spiritual life. We shouldn’t claim to be seeking God if we actively harbor enmity in our hearts against our brothers and sisters. It will extinguish the flame of Christian joy and make it nearly impossible to benefit from the Bible’s teaching. It is no surprise, then, that Jesus essentially says, What I’m saying about a forgiving spirit is a fundamental element of believing prayer. Check your life for it.

Are you bearing a grudge or replaying someone’s wronging of you in your mind? Is there someone you have failed to forgive? Reflect on the forgiveness you have received, and ask God to teach and enable you to forgive—for in your forgiveness of the sins of others against you, you reveal that you understand His grace and have been truly forgiven by Him.

How can Your pardon reach and bless
   The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let
   Old bitterness depart?
In blazing light Your cross reveals
   The truth we dimly knew,
How small the debts men owe to us,
   How great our debt to You.
Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls,
   And bid resentment cease;
Then, reconciled to God and man,
   Our lives will spread Your peace.^[1]

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

Matthew 18:21–35

Topics: Forgiveness Grace Grace of God

FOOTNOTES

¹ Rosamond Herklots, “Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive” (1969).

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Give us each day our daily bread.

Luke 11:3

If bread has represented anything throughout history, it’s daily sustenance. Other foods are certainly pleasant additions to our existence, but when we think of bread, most of us think of one of life’s most basic needs being fulfilled.

This kind of thinking is consistent with God’s unique provision for His people. In the Old Testament, the Israelites’ experience of wandering in the wilderness required their total dependence on God to meet their daily needs. One of the most tangible ways they learned this lesson was through God’s provision of manna from heaven.

God made it clear to His people that, each day, He would supply enough manna for one day and one day only. They were not to leave any of it over until the morning (Exodus 16:19). His purpose in supplying one day’s worth of bread at a time was to teach His people to trust His provision. Sadly, some Israelites doubted that He would do what He had promised and disobeyed Him, keeping some manna for the next day (for doubting God’s promises always leads to disobeying God’s commands). They awoke in the morning to be confronted by a stinking, worm-infested mass of leftover manna (v 20). God was teaching them to rely on Him to provide for them. It was a lesson that they would take a long time to learn.

When we take this Old Testament example and consider the words “Give us each day our daily bread,” we realize that, in this line of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus is underscoring a timeless reality: in every age, God teaches His people to trust not in the provision itself, which leaves us longing for more, but in the Provider, who satisfies our every need.

God desires for us to wake up and discover afresh His daily provision. This is why He instructed the Israelites to keep a small measure of manna for posterity, saying, “Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness” (Exodus 16:32). In following this instruction, one generation could speak to the next concerning the reality and wonder of His ongoing, daily provision.

The Father, whom we come to know through Jesus, cares about our personal, practical, and material needs. Perhaps you awoke this morning beleaguered by and feeling anxious about ongoing problems or upcoming events in your life. Remember this: you are God’s personal concern, and you may approach Him in confidence, asking Him to give you all that is necessary for today. And then you can trust Him to give you exactly what you need today, and then tomorrow, and ever onwards. You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, because He cares for you and provides for you (1 Peter 5:7).

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

Exodus 16

Topics: Dependence on God Prayer Trusting God

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

Luke 11:1

Our fellowship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ is principally expressed through our prayers. They give evidence of our relationship with Him. He not only speaks with us through His word but has also entrusted us with the amazing privilege of communicating with Him in prayer.

Scripture provides us with multiple accounts of Jesus’ own prayer life. The better acquainted we are with these records, the more we realize that Jesus treated prayer as a holy habit. He regularly prayed in the early-morning hours to lay the day’s plans before His Father. Praying in a quiet and solitary place enabled Jesus to then follow His Father’s voice over the noise of the crowds and even the requests of His disciples. Prayer formed the context or framework of all the decisions He made.

Jesus’ prayer routine prompted His disciples to plead, “Lord, teach us to pray.” They were apparently struck by His intensity and focus, which created a hunger in their hearts for similar intimacy with the Father.

In response to their request, Jesus instructed His disciples not to “heap up empty phrases” or to “think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). In other words, in praying we are not to babble or drone on. Instead, in the example that Jesus then gave—namely, the Lord’s Prayer—we discover that God’s spiritual children are free to address God simply and directly as their heavenly Father.

And what are we to pray for? To begin with, we are to ask for God’s name to be rightly honored, for Him to bring His kingdom in us and around us, and for Him to supply our daily needs. We are to admit our need for daily repentance, the necessity of extending forgiveness to others, and our dependence on God for dealing with temptation. In our prayers, Jesus explained, we are to seek and ask to see God’s glory and grace in the midst of everyday life.

In our Christian pilgrimage, there is arguably nothing more important—or more difficult to maintain—than a meaningful prayer life. But here is help. If Jesus, the divine Son of God, needed to pray, then so do you and I. That humbling thought should drive us to our knees. And once there, we can freely employ the Lord’s Prayer as an aid in our own prayer. God has given you the great privilege of approaching Him in prayer and addressing Him as Father. He stands ready to listen and to help. Be sure to treat prayer as a holy habit and never as an optional extra.

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 11:1–13

Topics: Jesus Christ Prayer

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3

The book of Psalms has been described as a medicine chest for our souls. In it we can find laments for the downtrodden, cries to God in trying times, and offerings of praise and thanksgiving. Whatever ails you, you will find balm in the Psalter.

Woven throughout the psalms of praise in particular is this foundational truth: the Lord is God and we are His. Our very existence as God’s people is an indication of who He is. Once we weren’t a people, but now we are a people. Once we hadn’t received mercy, but now we receive mercy daily (1 Peter 2:10).

The truth of the matter is that we are not our own. We never were. We are image-bearing creatures formed by a mighty Creator. He is the Potter who fashioned us, and “we are his.” Further, we are redeemed sinners, “bought with a price” by a loving Savior (1 Corinthians 6:20). He is the Shepherd who gave His life for us and now tends to us (John 10:11-15), and “we are his.” We are twice-bought: in creation and in redemption, we are His.

Therefore, what is now ours in the Lord Jesus Christ is not an occasion for pride but for praise. Knowing that the Lord is God and that we are His will prompt us to praise and thank Him (Psalm 100:3).

Praise is the spontaneous acknowledgment of what is valuable. People naturally praise what they treasure. God is our Maker and our Redeemer, and He is therefore entitled to and worthy of our praise. No one and nothing deserves your praise more than Him.

Even in less-than-ideal circumstances, we still have reason to praise God simply because of who He is. When we bid farewell to a loved one or we lose a job that provides our earthly comforts, we can still choose to praise Him. When our voices are choked with tears, when our hearts fail us, when our circumstances frustrate us, when life seems to let us down—we may still find in God’s “steadfast love” that “endures forever” (Psalm 100:5) endless reason for joyful worship and thankful praise. He is never less than your mighty Creator and loving Savior.

A thankful heart is a distinctive mark of the Christian experience. Let it mark you today.

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 148

Topics: Thanksgiving Worship

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Ephesians 4:31

Most if not all of us know what it is like to wake up with the thought that life isn’t anywhere near what we would like it to be. Perhaps you felt like that when you woke up today. Physically, emotionally, relationally, financially, and even spiritually, we may be facing especially difficult days, and as a result, we’re tempted to become disillusioned. What are we to do?

One helpful place to start is by asking God for His protection from three powerful sources of spiritual trouble: the “silent killers” of bitterness, resentment, and self-pity. These three will slowly strangle our faith and spill over into envy and malice toward those who have what we so want. So in the situations we face, perhaps known only to us and to God, we need His help in responding with soft hearts instead of harsh spirits.

In his letter to the believers in Ephesus, Paul encouraged—in fact commanded—them to put away all bitterness, wrath, and anger. While it’s easier said than done, Paul’s command itself is that straightforward. In fact, there’s never a command in the word of God that we cannot obey, no matter how difficult it seems, for God always empowers what He commands. So if He says, Get rid of something, you and I can be certain that He can apply the power of the Spirit within our lives to enable us to do what He’s commanded. When we live with bitterness, resentment, or self-pity filling our hearts, then we have only ourselves to blame. Much as I may want to, I can’t put the responsibility on God.

One individual who could have argued that her circumstances legitimized these three poisonous feelings is Hannah, whose story we read of at the beginning of 1 Samuel. She must have battled each one as another month passed by without her falling pregnant, and as another day brought the taunts of her husband’s other wife and the sight of the children God had given to that woman. But she took her frustrations and sadness and she did something good with them: she prayed. She poured her heart out to God. And, knowing she was heard, she walked away at peace. Although at that point her body remained infertile and her circumstances remained unchanged, her spirit had been freed by her heavenly Father.

God protected Hannah from the silent killers of bitterness, resentment, and self-pity—and He will protect us too. You don’t need to stay awake at night, then, trying to ensure that your life works out how you want it to. And you don’t need to be dominated by that sinking feeling upon awakening to another day of unwanted circumstances. Rather, you can use those moments to learn the value of leaving your heart’s questions and the situations you don’t understand in God’s care—which, after all, is exactly where they belong.

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 Samuel 1

Topics: Anger Obedience Prayer Trials

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

http://www.truthforlife.org