Truth For Life Blog

Stand in Awe: How Reverence Transforms Our Worship and Our Lives

TFL — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 05:00:00 GMT

We don’t use the word reverence much anymore. For many, it suggests hushed voices, stern looks, or a list of rules about how to behave. Yet throughout Scripture, we’re called to worship God with reverence and wonder at His power, grace, and majesty. What does reverence actually look like, and how can our worship give God the glory He deserves?

Worship leader and singer/songwriter Laura Story explores this question in Stand in Awe: How Reverence Transforms Our Worship and Our Lives. As she explains, reverence is more than just respect; it begins with seeing God as He truly is.

Laura writes, “Reverence toward God is more than mere respect. It involves fundamental humility and self-forgetfulness—a sense that God is more important and greater than we are.”

Stand in Awe teaches that worship isn’t just about the songs we sing on Sunday morning; it’s a response to God’s character that shapes every aspect of our lives. Whether we’re having time alone with God, gathering at church, or serving others, we are to live with an attitude of humility that recognizes God’s greatness and authority.

Along the way, Laura helps readers recognize common misunderstandings about reverence and offers practical guidance for worship that keeps God—not ourselves—at the center.

Whether you’re leading worship, serving in the church, or desiring to glorify God more fully, Stand in Awe will help you cultivate a life of greater devotion and reverence for God and His Word.

Request your copy of Stand in Awe when you donate to Truth For Life.

Introducing Habakkuk: From “O Lord, How Long?” to “I Will Rejoice”

TFL — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 04:59:59 GMT

Among the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament is the book of the prophet Habakkuk. His book is not “Minor” because it is unimportant; it is “Minor” because, as many modern readers will appreciate, it has only three brief chapters, which take about ten minutes to read—that is, if it doesn’t make you stop to think!

When it comes to obscure Old Testament books with funny names, we may be tempted to say the circumstances are so distant in time and space that they will have very little relevance to us. The truth, though, is that we are far closer than we realize when it comes to thinking about the moral and the spiritual conditions of the people of God as Habakkuk describes them. Few who have paid any attention to our modern world will not resonate with the prophet’s opening words:

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted. (Hab. 1:2–4)

Those of us who are troubled by violence and injustice in the world today will do well to read the book of Habakkuk and consider how God answers the prophet and addresses his problem.

The Prophet

You won’t find anything about Habakkuk anywhere else in the Old Testament. All we know of him personally—which is not much—we derive from these three chapters. Of course, as with all true preaching, the significance of the prophet is to be found not in who he is but in what he says. His biography is subservient to his “burden” (Hab. 1:1 KJV)—that is, his “oracle” (ESV).

Despite our preoccupations in twenty-first-century America with personalities, the message is always more significant than the man. We know more about some biblical prophets than others, but even when we do know, we don’t know much. What we know for certain is that when God spoke through them, their words were powerful and true.

Habakkuk had witnessed the kingdom of Judah, ruled from Jerusalem by King David’s heirs, degenerate from its godly origins and embrace myriad evils. Its northern neighbor, the kingdom of Israel, had already followed the same path, and it was ultimately overrun by the Assyrian Empire; its people were deported, and its future was blotted out. Now, as Habakkuk preached, Assyria’s day in the sun had passed, and another Near Eastern empire had arisen to take its place.

Habakkuk’s Problem

The problem that Habakkuk addressed was the discrepancy between revelation and experience. How could he reconcile what he knew of the character and purpose of a good and powerful God with all the evil he saw around him? He asked, in effect, “How can it possibly be that You, O God, are good and powerful, and yet violence, moral ineptitude, and chaos confront us at every point?” Where is God in the face of a collapsing economy, diminishing productivity, food shortage, violence, social injustice, and a wholesale disregard for God’s law? (“Wow!” someone says. “Maybe this isn’t as far removed from where we live as I thought.”)

This wasn’t an external problem but an internal one. Habakkuk saw that it was those who were within God’s family who were causing the trouble. When God had called them out of Egypt and established them, He’d intended to make them “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). They were far, far away from living up to this ideal!

Given the bad things happening and God’s apparent inaction, Habakkuk asked, “Why do You make me look at injustice?” and “Why do You tolerate wrong?” These are questions that will be on the lips of every thoughtful believer today. “How long will this go on?” we ask. “And why is it that this good, moral, all-powerful God that we serve tolerates declension and moral rot among those who profess to be the followers of His Son?”

God’s Answer

God’s answer to Habakkuk was not what the prophet expected. God was not idly watching Judah descend into chaos. He was already at work, raising up the powerful and ruthless Babylonians to bring judgment upon His rebellious people (Hab. 1:5–11). The events that seemed to Habakkuk to be spinning out of control were actually unfolding under God’s sovereign hand.

That answer only raised another question: How could a holy God use a nation even more wicked than Judah to accomplish His purposes? Again, God assured Habakkuk that He remained in control. Babylon’s violence, injustice, and idolatry would not go unanswered. In time, the proud would fall, “the righteous” would “live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4), and “the earth” would “be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (v. 14).

Habakkuk received no promise that his circumstances would immediately improve. Instead, he received something better: a clearer vision of the God who ruled over His people and His world. And that changed his posture entirely. The prophet who began by crying impatiently, “How long?” ended by declaring that even if the crops failed and the fields produced no food, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. 3:18).

God’s Eternal Purpose

The history of Habakkuk’s era was under God’s control—and that is true in every age. The events of our world are all tied to God’s eternal purpose in relationship to His kingdom. If we will keep our gaze there—focused on the Gospel, focused on King Jesus—then all of our cares and cancers, our disappointments and failures, our heartaches and heartbreaks and confusions may be brought under the all-embracing security of God’s sovereign purpose.

God understands when, like Habakkuk, we cry out, “How long, and why?” And the answer of His Word is finally given to us expressly in Jesus and in the triumph of revelation. On a Monday morning in our morbid world, we can sing with the hymn writer,

God is still on the throne,
And He will remember His own;
Though trials may press us and burdens distress us,
He never will leave us alone.
God is still on the throne,
He never forsaketh His own;
His promise is true; He will not forget you;
God is still on the throne.¹

This article was adapted from the sermon “How Long and Why?” and the series A Study in Habakkuk by Alistair Begg.

Kittie Louise Suffield, “God Is Still on the Throne” (1929). ↩︎

25 Years Later: Remembering 9/11

TFL — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 04:45:00 GMT

On September 11, 2001, the world watched in disbelief as a day of unimaginable tragedy unfolded. The terrorist attacks on the United States claimed thousands of lives, reshaped global events, and left a lasting mark on a generation. Twenty-five years later, the memories remain vivid, and the questions raised by that day continue to confront us: Where is God when evil strikes? How should we respond when our sense of security is shaken? And what hope is there in a world marked by suffering and uncertainty?

In the aftermath of 9/11, Alistair Begg turned to Scripture to consider these questions. Rather than offering easy answers, these messages point us to the unchanging character of God, the reality of sin and suffering, and the sure hope found in Jesus Christ.

As we mark the anniversary of 9/11, we are reminded that the fears and uncertainties exposed that day have not disappeared. The world remains a place of tragedy, loss, and unanswered questions. Yet the same God who was present in the midst of our grief then is present with us now. We invite you to revisit The Day That Changed the Modern World and consider the comfort and wisdom found in the unchanging truth of Scripture.

Wallpaper: Blessings

TFL — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 05:00:00 GMT

“When we receive Him, God the Father pours out all of the blessings and benefits of His fatherhood upon His adopted sons and daughters.”
—Alistair Begg

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What Jesus Wants from the Overachiever

TFL — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 04:59:59 GMT

Among the pitfalls of which Christians should be wary, surely one of the most prevalent in our day is the trap of a performance-driven life. For certain high achievers, contentment is hard to come by. Nothing is ever finished, done, or good enough—and it never will be. And while that sort of approach may lead to apparent success in academics, business, and so on, when we try to adopt it in the Christian life, we quickly make our faith little more than a long list of activities to do, lacking in life or spiritual health.

If we wish to have a vital faith, we need to think less in terms of achievement for Christ and more in terms of commitment to Christ. The story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38–42 is helpful in this regard, challenging those of us who are overachievers to sit down and rethink our priorities.

Looking at Martha

Martha was an achiever, and for good reasons. She was a woman of hospitality. She loved the Lord Jesus and “welcomed him into her house” (v. 38). What a wonderful service to be involved in! This story reveals, though, that there is a point where the blessing of service becomes a liability without the proper attitude.

Martha was, on the one hand, distracted: “Martha was distracted with much serving” (v. 40). It wasn’t necessarily that the task of serving Jesus was too much for her; it was that she made more of it than was warranted. She wanted to do something special for Jesus—and her commitment kept her from acting like her sister Mary, who “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching” (v. 39).

At the same time, Martha was disgruntled. Seeing Mary at Jesus’ feet, she gave voice to her frustration, asking Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (v. 40). Many of us know this attitude in our own homes, where we’re not content simply to be busy at a task; we also need to find fault in someone less busy.

In endeavoring to serve her Master, Martha meant well. But she had got her priorities wrong—and her misguided zeal disturbed the harmony that should have been enjoyed between her, Mary, and the Lord Jesus.

Learning with Mary

While Martha busied herself with serving, Mary, we read, sat at the Lord’s feet. This should surprise us! Women typically did not sit at rabbis’ feet. But Jesus, the great rabbi, disregarded that convention and was perfectly happy to teach Mary.

When Jesus indicated He had something to impart to her, Mary turned from everything else. A purple passage from an old commentator is illuminating: “By her attentive hearing Mary helped to make the seat of Jesus a pulpit, her own humble place at his feet a pew, and the whole room a chapel in which the mercy of Jehovah was proclaimed.”

The spirit of the servant of Christ must always be a spirit that longs to hear the voice of Christ.

Mary was determined to listen to the Lord’s words. Every teacher knows that children can hear your voice without actually listening to what you’re saying. Mary was not that kind of student. She was listening to Jesus. The spirit of the servant of Christ must always be a spirit that longs to hear the voice of Christ. As He said of Himself as Shepherd, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:3–4). By her willingness to still herself and listen to Jesus’ voice, Mary evidenced the fact that she was a member of His flock, one of the sheep of His pasture.

Listening to Jesus

In light of these two sisters’ differing postures, the sensitivity of Jesus’ reply to Martha’s complaint is striking. Where Martha is frank and rude, Jesus does not respond in kind.

We can almost hear the sympathy with which Jesus addresses Martha as He speaks her name: “Martha, Martha…” “I know what you’re trying to do,” we might imagine Him saying. “And I know why you’re trying to do it. And Martha, I love you for it. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you want to serve Me.” And yet He tells her, “You are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42). In other words: “Martha, you need to get your priorities straight.”

Jesus would later tell His disciples to “provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33). Martha had laid intense value on her labors. Mary, on the other hand, had given her attention to something of everlasting value.

Martha had laid intense value on her labors. Mary, on the other hand, had given her attention to something of everlasting value.

Commenting on Martha’s busy effort, Charles Spurgeon writes, “A fly on St. Paul’s Cathedral might as well imagine that all the traffic at his feet was regulated by his presence, and would cease should he remove.”² When we adopt the overbusy posture of Martha, we can create the impression that the world would cease if we didn’t finish our checklist. We communicate, perhaps unwittingly, that we earn our value and God’s favor through activity when in fact, what Christ seeks for and from us is so much more: the total abandonment of ourselves to Him.

The story of Mary and Martha reminds us that a strong work ethic can be a great virtue—but at the end of the day, it has its limits. Today, as God’s children, instead of looking to our labors to justify us, may we make a priority of sitting at Jesus’ feet, under His Word, in simple, attentive devotion.

This article was adapted from the sermon “First Things First” by Alistair Begg.

R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1946), 612. ↩︎
C. H. Spurgeon, “Martha and Mary,” The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit 16, no. 927, 235. ↩︎

Alistair Begg on the Contribution of John Witherspoon

TFL — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 05:00:02 GMT

Dear Friends,

By the time this letter reaches you, the events of this week will be gone but not forgotten. If we can celebrate Christmas in July, then why not the Fourth of July in September!

I am writing in the early part of the week which contains our July 4 celebrations. Along with my family, I am keenly anticipating the fireworks, the food, and the fun. We will sing, as citizens of “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” of a “patriot dream that sees beyond the years,” asking for God to continue to shed His grace upon our nation.

I don’t recall ever writing about this in previous years, but I do not want to miss this opportunity on the occasion of our 250th anniversary.

This morning, as I led the Truth For Life team in our weekly devotion time, we considered the part John Witherspoon played in advancing the cause of the Gospel in the formative years of America. He was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who sailed from his homeland in 1768 to accept the presidency of the College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University. Witherspoon participated in the Continental Congress and was the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence.

It was Scripture, however, and not politics that shaped his worldview, and there is no doubt that he was a Gospel man. Consider this quote: “Nothing is more plain from Scripture, or better supported by daily experience, than that man by nature is, in fact, incapable of recovery [from his sinful state] without the power of God specially interposed.” At his death in 1794, John Adams described him as “a true son of liberty, but first he was a son of the cross.”

In direct contrast, loud voices today are quick to suggest that at some stage in the future, science will be able to explain everything and answer all our needs. Theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner Steven Weinberg speaks for more than himself when he declares, “Putting God ahead of humanity is a terrible thing.”

Os Guinness has described what we’re living through now as a “civilizational moment.” We either build on the rock by hearing God’s Word and putting it into practice, or we neglect it, build on the sand, and prepare for the long decline that will inevitably follow. In my youth, as Britain’s proud empire was crumbling, we sang,

Kingdoms will rise,
kingdoms will fall
Nations refuse to heed God’s call,
But the Word of the Lord
Endures forevermore.

This morning I reminded our team that our focus can never change. Truth that sets us free is found only in Jesus, and the life He offers is abundant in every way.

Thank you for being such a vital partner in this adventure as together we declare, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.” We plant and water, but only God gives growth—and we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

So as we arrive at Labor Day weekend recalling the celebrations of the Fourth, let’s echo the words of the psalmist, saying together, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Ps. 85:6).

With my love in the Lord Jesus,

Alistair

Brand-New from Alistair Begg! We Will Be Changed: 9 Inner Glories the Spirit Is Cultivating in You

TFL — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 04:45:00 GMT

We know that God has promised to complete the good work He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6). But how do we know that we are truly growing spiritually? And what role do we play in this process?

These are questions that Alistair Begg explores in his new book, We Will Be Changed: 9 Inner Glories the Spirit Is Cultivating in You. In this exploration of the fruit of the Spirit described by Paul in the book of Galatians, Alistair looks at nine defining characteristics that God is faithfully at work to develop in the lives of believers—even when growth feels slow.

Each chapter in this book focuses on one of these nine “inner glories.” For example, you’ll learn how love is the foundation of all the other characteristics, how Christian joy differs from mere happiness, and how God’s peace takes deep root in our lives. Together, these attributes, along with the other six, present a vibrant picture of Christian character nurtured by the Spirit in every believer.

This book will remind you that spiritual growth isn’t about trying harder; it’s about God’s faithfulness to conform us to Christ’s image. Whether you’re discouraged by seemingly slow progress or longing to see greater fruit in your life, We Will Be Changed will renew your confidence in the Spirit’s ongoing work.

As Alistair writes, “My prayer is that this book will encourage you to pursue the nine inner glories of the fruit of the Spirit and to depend with humility and confidence on the Spirit to effect that change in you.”

Request your copy of We Will Be Changed when you donate to Truth For Life today.

Wallpaper: Prayer Life

TFL — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:59:59 GMT

“There is nothing more important, and there is nothing more difficult to establish and maintain, than a healthy, meaningful prayer life.”
—Alistair Begg

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John Owen: Five Qualities Every Preacher Should Have

TFL — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Faithful preaching has never been measured merely by eloquence, personality, or even theological precision. Throughout church history, the men God has most powerfully used have recognized that preaching is more than delivering information; it is the work of shepherding souls with the crook of God’s Word.

That conviction shaped the ministry of seventeenth-century pastor and theologian John Owen. In his sermon “The True Nature of a Gospel Church and Its Government,” Owen considers the qualities that should mark every faithful preacher. While his language reflects another era, his concerns remain current, reminding us that effective ministry requires personal holiness, spiritual wisdom, pastoral care, and genuine love for God’s people.

“Sundry things,” Owen writes, “are required unto this work and duty of pastoral preaching.” Here are the specific requirements he mentions, along with part of his explanation for each:

“Spiritual wisdom and understanding in the mysteries of the gospel, that they may declare unto the church ‘all the counsel of God’ and ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ[.]” … The generality of the church, especially those who are grown in knowledge and experience, have a spiritual insight into these things … and if those that instruct them, or should do so, have not some degree of eminency herein, they cannot be useful to lead them on to perfection.”
“Experience of the power of the truth which they preach in and upon their own souls. Without this they will themselves be lifeless and heartless in their own work, and their labour for the most part will be unprofitable towards others. … A man preacheth that sermon only well unto others which preacheth itself in his own soul. And he that doth not feed on and thrive in the digestion of the food which he provides for others will scarce make it savoury unto them.”
“Skill to divide the word aright …; and this consists in a practical wisdom, upon a diligent attendance unto the word of truth, to find out what is real, substantial, and meet food for the souls of the hearers,—to give unto all sorts of persons in the church that which is their proper portion.”
“A prudent and diligent consideration of the state of the flock over which any man is set, as unto their strength or weakness, their growth or defect in knowledge (the measure of their attainments requiring either milk or strong meat), their temptations and duties, their spiritual decays or thrivings; and that not only in general, but, as near as may be, with respect unto all the individual members of the church. Without a due regard unto these things, men preach at random, uncertainly fighting, like those that beat the air.”
“All these, in the whole discharge of their duty, are to be constantly accompanied with the evidence of zeal for the glory of God and compassion for the souls of men.” Where these are not in vigorous exercise in the minds and souls of them that preach the word, giving a demonstration of themselves unto the consciences of them that hear, the quickening form, the life and soul of preaching, is lost.”¹

Whether you regularly stand behind a pulpit or simply benefit from the preaching of God’s Word each week, Owen’s reflections invite careful consideration. They encourage pastors to examine their own hearts and practices while reminding congregations what faithful shepherding truly looks like. May his words deepen our gratitude for those who labor to preach Christ faithfully—and prompt us to pray that God would continue to raise up ministers whose lives and message bear the unmistakable marks of His grace.

This article was adapted from the sermon “Practical Issues of Pastoral Ministry — Part Two” by Alistair Begg.

John Owen, “The True Nature of a Gospel Church and Its Government,” in The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold (London: Johnstone and Hunter, 1853), 16:75–77. ↩︎

Wallpaper: God's Purpose

TFL — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 04:59:59 GMT

“It was God’s purpose from all of eternity that His Son would be the atoning sacrifice for sins.”
—Alistair Begg

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Who Wrote the Bible, Really?

TFL — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 05:00:00 GMT

To paraphrase Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is expired.”

“What!” says someone. “Does Scripture have an expiration date? I thought Scripture was inspired by God.”

That is traditionally the way the passage has been translated—in the King James Version, for example. Of course, people also say that Mozart was inspired, or that he was inspiring for those who hear him. They mean that there is a certain liveliness to his music, or perhaps that some creative force from outside of him empowered him as he wrote.

That’s not what we mean when we’re talking about the Bible. What Paul says is that all Scripture is theopneustos, “God-breathed” (NIV) or “breathed out by God” (ESV)—expired by Him. It is not that God took a writer or a body of writing and empowered them. No, God Himself breathed the Bible out. It has its origin in Him, no less than our own words emerge from within us on our breath.

But what does this mean, then, when we speak of Paul writing 2 Timothy or Moses writing the Law? Who can we say really wrote the Bible?

Dual Authorship

When we say God breathed out the Scriptures, we shouldn’t imagine that God made man into a mechanism, like a typewriter or a laptop—as if Jeremiah somehow or another went into a strange psychological neutrality, and before he knew what had happened, he had written a book. Nor is it a kind of fifty-fifty split, where God gave the outline and Jeremiah fleshed out the details, or where Jeremiah drafted and God edited. No, God wrote it, one hundred percent; and Jeremiah wrote it, one hundred percent.

Theologians call this the dual authorship of Scripture. William Hendriksen describes this process excellently: “The human authors were powerfully guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. As a result, what they wrote is not only without error but of supreme value for man. It is all that God wanted it to be.”¹ In other words, God, operating through His Spirit, guided the writing of the words of Scripture in such a way that every Word, without reservation, can be said to be His.

God, operating through His Spirit, guided the writing of the words of Scripture in such a way that every Word, without reservation, can be said to be His.

Yet Henriksen also explains that “the Spirit … did not suppress the personality of the human writer, but raised it to a higher level of activity …. And because the individuality of the human author was not destroyed, we find in the Bible a wide variety of style and language.”² Thus, the psalmist wrote the Psalms, and he wrote them from the depths of personal experience; and James wrote the epistle of James, leaning on and repeating the teachings of his older brother, Jesus. The individuality of the individuals involved comes through because they wrote organically. Yet, in a way that is true of no other book, they also wrote exactly what God intended them to write.

Concurrence

B. B. Warfield writes, “If God wished to give His people a series of letters like Paul’s, He prepared a Paul to write them, and the Paul He brought to the task was a Paul who spontaneously would write just such letters.”³ In other words, God, who is sovereign over all things, can bring about exactly the circumstances that will prepare His people to write His Word.

Through His sovereign ordaining of people and circumstances, God acted to write His own words to us in the Scriptures. The prophets and apostles indeed wrote them, but more importantly, God wrote them.

God, who is sovereign over all things, can bring about exactly the circumstances that will prepare His people to write His Word.

The theological term for this is concurrence. The life of Joseph in the book of Genesis gives us a clear picture of this concept. Speaking to his brothers, after all has been revealed, he says, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20). The human activity was commitment on their part to the destruction of Joseph. Yet they were actually fulfilling the purpose of God, who was active in it all to save many people. In the same way (but without the evil intent), in the authorship of Scripture, human authors were completely active in writing out the Scriptures, and God was completely active in composing—breathing out—the book of salvation through them.

This means that Luke, as he was writing his Gospel, didn’t hear a voice and write down what it said. No, he testifies that “it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account” (Luke 1:3). His Gospel comes from the mind, desires, and motivations of Luke. Yet God had prepared Luke, with all of his historical acumen, with all of his medical input, with all of his eye for detail, to write exactly the Gospel he wrote.

The Spirit’s Work

Finally, God is actually superintending the process. As Hendriksen says, God “suggested to the mind of the human author that language (the very words!) and that style, which would be the most appropriate vehicle for the interpretation of the divine ideas for people of every rank and position, age and race.”⁴ In other words, “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). God actively worked in and through them as they spoke or wrote.

It was the work of the Spirit of God to advance the truth of God in the lives of the apostles of God and then through them to others.

In John 14:26, as He was preparing to leave His disciples and return to the Father, Jesus told them, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” In 16:13 He adds, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” It was the work of the Spirit of God to advance the truth of God in the lives of the apostles of God and then through them to others.

Jesus received the words that He spoke from His Father (John 17:7–8). Jesus in turn gave them to the apostles. The apostles, under the invisible direction and jurisdiction of the Spirit like the prophets before them, spoke those words to those who would come to believe in Jesus. And they wrote them down.

What the Bible Tells Us

Sinclair Ferguson writes, “The Scriptures do not tell us everything about everything.”⁵ You can’t go in the Bible and find out how to improve your golf swing. You won’t find the name of person you’re meant to marry. You won’t find a recipe for overnight oats. Those things aren’t in there. They’re not supposed to be.

But Ferguson reminds us, “Scripture teaches us something about everything.”⁶ When you go in the Bible, you discover—from dozens of authors over thousands of years—one compelling story showing that salvation belongs to the Lord and explaining the why of it all. It tells us about the origin and ultimate destiny of humankind. It tells us about the world that God made. It tells us about God. It tells us what we must do to be saved.

God tells us. The Bible is a book breathed out by God. This is why the Bible is the priority, authority, and sufficiency of all Gospel ministry. May we learn, then, to say with the disciples, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

This article was adapted from the sermon “Scripture: God-Breathed” by Alistair Begg.

William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1957), 302. ↩︎
Hendriksen, 302. ↩︎
Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, ed. Samuel G. Craig (Philadelphia:: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1948), 155. ↩︎
Hendriksen, Exposition, 302. ↩︎
Sinclair B. Ferguson, From the Mouth of God: Trusting, Reading, and Applying the Bible, rev. and enlarged ed. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2014), 37. ↩︎
Ferguson, 37. ↩︎

The Language of Rivers and Stars: How Nature Speaks of the Glories of God

TFL — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 05:00:00 GMT

There are few experiences as refreshing as stepping outside and being reminded of the beauty, power, and wonder of God’s creation. The Language of Rivers and Stars extends a compelling invitation not only to simply admire the natural world but also to discover how creation itself points to the glory of its Creator. You’ll be encouraged to view rivers, mountains, animals, skies, and stars as part of God’s ongoing testimony to His greatness.

Drawing on Scripture and everyday encounters with nature, The Language of Rivers and Stars explains how God’s creation speaks a meaningful language that reveals His character, wisdom, and power. Whether you’re a gardener, hiker, birdwatcher, or simply someone who enjoys a walk outdoors, this book provides a fresh perspective on the relationship between God’s Word and God’s world.

What makes The Language of Rivers and Stars especially engaging is its combination of theological depth and accessible, engaging prose. The author, Seth Lewis, writes with warmth, wonder, and a contagious enthusiasm for both Scripture and creation. You’ll find yourself challenged to look more carefully, think more deeply, and worship more fully as you encounter familiar aspects of nature through a biblical lens.

If you’ve ever sensed that there is something profound being communicated through a sunset, a flowing river, or a star-filled sky, The Language of Rivers and Stars will help you understand why. This thoughtful and inspiring book is an invitation to rediscover the wonder of God’s creation and to hear, more clearly, the message it has been declaring all along.

“This is unlike any book I have ever read. Seth is a great writer, and this work of poetic theology is as beautiful as it is faithful. It has impacted me to the extent that even walking in the park is a new experience—one of awe and wonder.”
—Alistair Begg

Request your copy of The Language of Rivers and Stars when you donate to Truth For Life today.

Wallpaper: Illumination

TFL — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 04:59:59 GMT

“The Spirit of God … opens our eyes to understand the truth about Him. … All of a sudden, the Bible becomes to us light and illumination. And then the Spirit of God enables us to put our trust in Jesus.”
—Alistair Begg

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What Does It Mean for a Christian to Grow Up?

TFL — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Growing up is no little deal. As children make the transition to adolescence, as adolescents make the transition to adults, and as graduations send kids out of the home to colleges, universities, training programs, and places of work, the question of what it means to grow up becomes a pressing one. Particularly, we might ask: What would it mean to grow up as a Christian?

Paul offers us an answer to this question in Ephesians 4:11–16. If we are not merely to grow into physical, emotional, and social maturity but also into spiritual maturity, there are resources to take hold of, a model to follow, and responsibilities to take up.

The Resources to Take Hold Of

Maturity means, in one sense, that we no longer act like children. Children wobble. They totter around the place, setting their parents’ hair on end: “Don’t go there! Hang on! Don’t do that!” They are easily distracted, always responding to what is most immediately appealing.

Paul says that God gives preachers and teachers to His people “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (v. 14). In other words, as we grow up, instead of being wobbly, we ought to be marked by doctrinal stability. We need feet that stand firmly on solid ground.

So many people never stop being children. They are forever changing their minds about what they believe, like the man in the song by the Kinks: “One week he’s in polka dots, the next week he’s in stripes, ’cause he’s a dedicated follower of fashion.”¹ You meet them one Sunday, and they seem to be on track, but then they read another book or attend another seminar, and they’re off on another side track, because they’ve never actually been grounded in the Scriptures.

As we grow up, instead of being wobbly, we ought to be marked by doctrinal stability.

The stabilizing influence in a Christian’s life is the ongoing, persistent, faithful exposition of Scripture rightly understood and applied. It’s God’s Word being taught, believed, meditated on, and acted on that saves us from the immaturity that simply follows the next cultural or theological trends. This, indeed, is why God “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (v. 11): so that they might equip the saints and help them to grow up into Christ.

A Model to Follow

This is the second thing to notice in the passage: Maturity has mold. We are to be cast in the image of Jesus when we “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (v. 15). We are, in other words, to attain “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (v. 13).

The center, the object, the goal of the church is found in its union with Christ. United with Christ, we’re brought into union with one another. To grow up is to grow in Christlikeness, becoming increasingly marked by the characteristics of the Lord Jesus. And the process that’s involved is “speaking the truth in love” (v. 15).

That is a familiar phrase. Ironically, it is most often used as a justification for an immature comment, excusing overly frank personal criticism as biblical. In fact, the “truth” referred to isn’t just any old true statement; is the truth of the Gospel, which is needed to counter the waves and winds of doctrine that toss the immature to and fro. To be a loving teacher, we might say, means to represent God’s truth faithfully.

There is a way to proclaim the Gospel that is not in love. Some people live for a fight, and they will nail you down on every little point of doctrine you have never heard of. Yet at the opposite extreme is the “loving” group who won’t venture to offend by being certain about anything. Truth becomes hard if it’s not softened by love, and love becomes soft if it’s not strengthened by truth. As we grow up into Christ, we need both to help us.

Doing Our Part Properly

Finally, when we are no longer wobbly children but are instead growing up into Christ, we will begin to do our part properly. In Christ, “the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (v. 16).

In other words, each part of the body, in its own particular God-ordained way, exists to help the other parts. And it is from the head that the harmonious functioning of a body takes place. The harmony of Christ’s body is under His headship, held together by all of the joints that He has graciously provided.

The harmony of Christ’s body is under His headship, held together by all of the joints that He has graciously provided.

The effective functioning of the body of Christ needs all the moving parts to be united in Gospel ministry. The church is not a clubhouse in which we sit back and relax. It is a joint venture in which we all put in labors to see Christ’s name exalted at home and among the nations. Maturity comes with responsibilities—and having grown up into Christ, it will be our responsibility to help the body grow.

Show Up, Grow Up, Step Up

We might put the task before young people today simply: Show up, grow up, and step up. If you want to grow into spiritual maturity, make sure you show up when the Word of God is preached, when the people of God gather, when the sacraments are celebrated, and when the opportunity to invite friends and neighbors is there for you. Along the way, don’t forsake a regular nourishing diet of God’s Word. With that you will grow up—not just into anything but into Christ. And then it will be your responsibility to step up— to take your place, nourished by the Word of God, equipped and enabled.

The online church can’t do any of this. So many today want to create a highly privatized understanding of the Christian faith for themselves, with no involvement, no opportunity for service, no accountability, and no pastoral care. That is not maturity! But when the people of God take seriously the need to grow up together into Christ, we will be able to say that we’re paying attention to the Bible as we have it and that we have every reason to believe that God will honor His Word and use us as He sees fit.

This article was adapted from the sermon “Time to Grow Up” by Alistair Begg.

Ray Davies, “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” (1966). ↩︎

Wallpaper: God's Plan

TFL — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:00:00 GMT

“God’s plan is not limited simply … to human beings. God’s plan, as Creator, is for everything. He’s determined to completely undo the effects of the fall and to renew the whole world.”
—Alistair Begg

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No Passive Defense in the Christian Life

TFL — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:59:59 GMT

In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter issues two incisive imperatives: “Be sober-minded; be watchful.” We have a duty of personal vigilance, since, as Peter goes on to explain, “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” There can be no passive defense in the Christian life. The moment we let our minds wander, the moment we get lazy, unguarded, or slothful, we are immediately in a spiritual danger zone.

The Necessity of Action

The British evangelist Alan Redpath used to ask young people, “Do you have blanket victory?” He wasn’t using “blanket” in the sense of “total” or “all-covering.” He simply meant the blankets on their bed! Were they, he was asking, resisting the urge to be lazy with the God-given gift of their daily lives?

In the book of Proverbs we find a clarifying picture of the cost of the lazy life:

I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man. (Prov. 24:30–34)

The world reassures us, “There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of laziness.” But the Bible responds, “Yes, there really is!” And this is all the more true and pressing when, as Peter reminds us, predatory spiritual forces are hot on our heels. In such circumstances, we have to stay awake and alert—and we’ve got to act.

The story is told of a chaplain on the South Coast of England. The sailors to whom he ministered said to him once, “Chaplain, if you were in the real world like the rest of us, you would know that it’s not so easy. When we sin, we are just swept along by the wind.” In response, the chaplain pointed out over the bay at the sailing ships crossing this way and that, and he said,

One ship drives East, one ship drives West
By the self-same wind that blows;
It’s the set of the sails, and not the gales,
That determines the way it goes.¹

Nothing could be more obvious in life than that the winds and currents push us where God says not to go. But just as the skillful sailor sets sail to beat windward, we may choose to move against the currents of the world, the flesh, and the devil, hard going as it may be.

The Path of Resistance

The reason that we must be alert, the reason that we must be awake, is in order to mount this resistance movement. The Bible warns us to flee all kinds of things—sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:18), idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14), false doctrine (Rom. 16:17), greed (1 Tim. 6:10–11), and so on. But we are never, ever told to run away from the devil; instead, we’re told to resist him (1 Peter 5:9; James 4:7), and to do so in the assurance that God’s Word will actually take care of all things necessary in relation to his malignant designs.

How are we to do this? We may “stand against” his schemes by taking up the armor of God (Eph. 6:11), being “firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9 NIV). The definite article there, “the faith,” tells us we’re talking about the truth of the Gospel, not the strength of our own belief. It means that we need to have a theological underpinning for dealing with our sinful desires, as in the hymn:

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.²

In other words, we stand firm in the doctrine of the atonement and in our union with Christ.

We are never, ever told to run away from the devil; instead, we’re told to resist him.

We might easily imagine the Evil One coming to us and asking, “Have you been reading your Bible the way you should?”

If we’re honest, most of us would likely reply, “No, no—but I’m going to do a better job soon, I promise. Perhaps starting Monday.”

“And what about the matter of Christian love?” he might then ask. “Are you loving people the way that Jesus said to love?”

“Well, no,” we’d perhaps reply, “I’m not. I haven’t been doing real good on that either. I’ll get it sorted out, though. I’m going to redress the balance.”

And so on it would go, with the devil targeting our failings each in turn, until eventually we feel ourselves being crushed under the weight of all the endeavor necessary to measure up to God’s perfect standard.

There’s only one answer that we can give that offers freedom and hope, and that is to look to Jesus. Jesus is all our righteousness.

That answer, the Bible affirms, only leads to despair. There’s only one answer that we can give that offers freedom and hope, and that is to look to Jesus. Jesus is all our righteousness. We set Him before the Evil One, and then we can say, “You can go back to hell where you belong, because it’s checkmate. I am in Christ. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation’” (Rom. 8:1). Then our resistance will be grounded on something firm and final.

The Source of Our Help

If we stand amidst this battle distracted, disengaged, disinterested, what will become of us? We will be easy prey. Our vigilance is necessary so that when the hour of trial comes, we may be ready to look away to the cross, to set our minds on things above, where Christ is, seated in victory at God’s right hand (Col. 3:1–2). Then we can remember the promise that Peter, after he has issued his imperatives, goes on to declare: “The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).

This article was adapted from the sermon “Security” by Alistair Begg.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “’Tis the Set of the Sails,” paraphrased in Derek Prime, From Trials to Triumphs, A Bible Commentary for Laymen (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1982), 32. ↩︎
Charitie Lees Bancroft, “Before the Throne of God Above” (1863). ↩︎

Alistair Begg Shares Memories of How “Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow”

TFL — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Dear Friend,

August 3, 1983, was a day I will never forget.

Forty-three years on, it remains etched indelibly in my memory. The previous evening had been spent with family and friends at my father’s home just outside Glasgow. I recall the laughter, the stories, and the sense of wishing to make the evening last, because when we said goodnight, we knew that the dawn would mean a parting, and “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” The following morning, Susan, I, and our three wee ones (ages four, two, and ten months) walked across the tarmac and boarded a Northwest Orient Airlines 747, which would take us to Boston to connect with a flight to Cleveland.

In writing about this now, I realize, to my shame, how little thought I gave to another parting eight years before, when, newly married, Susan and I sailed out of New York for London, leaving her family behind. She was only twenty! I don’t remember ever asking her just what that parting meant for her, her mum, and dad but simply swept her off to a new world and a new life! It surely didn’t help her father, as he filmed our departure, to see the hammer and sickle flying above the Russian ship that would be our passage to London. Before you enquire: It was the least expensive way to get ourselves and our few belongings to the UK. Incidentally, our ship, the Mikhail Lermontov, later sank off the coast of New Zealand in 1986.

The sadness of separation was softened by the sweet anticipation of what the new day would bring. Perhaps one day, if we have time and you are interested, we can have coffee, and I will tell you of the warm welcome we received from our new church family in Cleveland and of the beginnings of the great adventure which continues to this day.

The privileges and challenges of raising our children are behind us now, and, like so many of you, we have graduated to the noble, fascinating, enjoyable role of grandparenthood. We were young, and now we are old, able to tell our stories and share the hymns that helped establish our faith, hoping that our grandchildren will also be strengthened by them. We have a unique opportunity to field questions they might not care to ask their parents and to provide insights and guidance for them as we drive them to school or to sporting events. I don’t recall my grandparents ever “preaching” to me, and certainly not at me, but their down-to-earth godly goodness influences my life to this day.

Susan is much better than I am at being intentional about these matters. On a recent trip with two of our nine grandchildren, we used the occasion to reinforce the importance of personal faith and the blessings of family—and together had tons of fun!

A recent study shows that children and young people’s enjoyment of reading has risen for the first in recent years time since 2021. One of my grandmothers was a great reader, and she encouraged me to follow her example. Our book offers this month might help us to do the same. The Language of Rivers and Stars helps us to speak of the wonders of God in creation, and The Story of God and Us invites us to ponder God’s faithfulness from generation to generation.

Thank you always for your faithful partnership as we seek to fulfill our mission, not least of all in seeking to see our grandchildren become committed followers of the Lord Jesus.

With my love in the Lord Jesus,

Alistair

Psalm 71:17–18

Wallpaper: Trinity

TFL — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 05:00:00 GMT

“There was never a time when God did not exist. … God existed always as a Trinity—God the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit.”
—Alistair Begg

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Past Resources from Truth For Life

TFL — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:45:00 GMT

At Truth For Life, we take great care to select books each month that cover a diverse range of topics and that will help you grow in your faith. Below, you’ll find a list of our past recommended resources. While we don’t currently have all of the titles in stock, you’re welcome to browse to find new titles for your personal library.

The Story of God and Us: Finding Our Place in God’s Plan for the World

TFL — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT

Have you ever wished you could see how the entire Bible fits together as one cohesive story? In The Story of God and Us, pastor and theology professor Jonathan Murphy retells the grand narrative of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. You’ll begin with creation and trace the line of God’s unfolding plan of redemption through the fall, the patriarchs, the kings, the prophets, and then the coming of the Messiah in the Gospels. You’ll continue the storyline of God’s faithfulness from generation to generation in Acts and the Epistles and finally anticipate all to come as revealed in Revelation. This captivating book connects all the dots for those who’ve never read the Bible in its entirety or those unsure of how all the people and events tell one unified story.

Rather than treating the Bible as a collection of disconnected stories, Murphy demonstrates how every part of Scripture points to God’s faithfulness, His covenant promises, and, ultimately, His Son, Jesus Christ. Along the way, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of God’s character and discover how you fit within His greater story.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its ability to combine theological depth with practical application. Murphy pauses routinely to point out important lessons we must not miss from those who trusted in God’s promises and those who failed and reverted to their own understanding. Murphy’s warnings and encouragements are a great help as you aim to live faithfully, trusting in God even when He appears not present.

The Story of God and Us is a highly recommended book to use for a group Bible study with those who are new to learning the story of the Bible.

Request your copy of The Story of God and Us when you donate to Truth For Life today.

“Jonathan Murphy’s overview of the greatest story ever told is understandable, accessible, and wonderfully encouraging.” — Alistair Begg