Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Author: Tomm

Unless The Father Draws Him

Unless The Father Draws Him

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No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 

John 6:44 

Salvation is from start to finish, the work of God. In the passage from which our text derives, Christ makes this quite clear. Earlier in the chapter He said, ‘All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.’ In our text, He bluntly declares, ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.’ Thus, the Father has given to Christ a people and the Father draws them to Christ. We know from elsewhere in the Scripture that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate, give repentance, faith and to draw Christ’s people to Him. Every member of the Trinity participates in the completion of redemption. It is also important for us to recognize that this redemption applies to ‘a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, people and tongues.’ That redemption is all of grace and all of God does not mean it is not broad. Rather, the implication is it is a wide salvation encompassing a huge number of people. God the Father is doing this work today. He is drawing people to Christ and Christ will, according to His word, raise them up at the last day.  

Our Glorious Living God, 
we rejoice that You are saving many. 
We praise You that You will not cease 
until all are gathered in. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
I Will

I Will

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And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  

John 6:40 

Christ reserves certain works to Himself. Creation was a work He performed Himself. John tells us, ‘Without Him was not anything made that was made.’ Christ accomplished the work of redemption Himself. He came personally, lived perfectly, died sacrificially, arose powerfully, ascended visibly, is interceding perpetually, and will return gloriously. He delegates other work to His people. He gave the holy men of old the assignment to give witness of Him. He gave the Apostles the responsibility to bear witness of Him over the whole of the ancient world. The resurrection of the dead is something He has not delegated to someone else. Rather, like creation and redemption, He has reserved that work to Himself. There is no question that He will perform it. Like all the other work He has done thus far, it will be complete and perfect. We have His word that He will raise up all who believe in Him at the last day. We live, die, and stake our whole eternity upon the bare word of God. We believe what He has said on every subject including that He will raise His people at the last. 

Our Great God and our Savior, 
we rejoice in Your wonderful works. 
We praise You that the resurrection  
is one of them. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
I Will Raise Him Up

I Will Raise Him Up

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And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  

John 6:40 

Christ is the Master of the categorical statement. Our whole text is one. For our purpose today we will concentrate on one portion of it. Christ  says of those who believe in Him, ‘I will raise him up at the last day.’ This is an authoritative statement regarding the resurrection. It is by no means the only instance when He affirms it. He used almost the same phraseology in His previous remark. When He spoke to the sister of Lazarus He said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ Paul, in writing of the last day says, ‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.’ Paul writes extensively about the resurrection in I Corinthians 15, as does John in Revelation 20. These abound with confirmations of the resurrection of the last day. Why does this matter? It matters because we will be part of it. Christ will raise His people from the dead. We have His word He will. Therefore our confidence in Him is for things far beyond our present circumstances or even the end of our current mode of existence. The resurrection is coming and Christ will raise us on the last day.  

Our Glorious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are  
the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 
We praise You that You will keep all Your promises. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

The Last Day

The Last Day

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This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  

John 6:39-40 

What is the last day of which Christ speaks in our text? The rest of Scripture refers to it in various locations. Later in the gospel of John, Christ says the words He has spoken will judge the one who rejects Him, ‘in the last day.’ Matthew 25 quotes Christ, in reference to His return, as the time when He will judge the whole of humanity. The closing verse of Daniel says, ‘But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.’ Again, we see that from ancient times, it has been clear there will be a last day. Why should this matter to us? Every indicator points to the fact that this last day is coming. Regardless of how much anyone may seek to deny it or relegate it to the realm of mythology, Christ certainly asserts it, as does the rest of Scripture. Therefore we should not lightly dismiss it. Beyond that, the implication is, we will all be part of it. This gives rise to the question of how we have prepared for this last day, and are preparing for it. It may not come in our lifetime, but according to Christ, it will surely come. There was a beginning. There will be an end. 

Our Wise and Sovereign God, 
we rejoice that You have a plan. 
We praise You that You will bring it to pass, 
in due course of time. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

These Three Men

These Three Men

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Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. 

Ezekiel 14:14

When God chooses to use particular individuals as examples of righteous people, whom does He choose? According to our text, He chooses Noah, Daniel, and Job. In the context God is speaking of bringing judgment on Israel for their persistent unfaithfulness. He says, ‘Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.’ Having said that, He follows with the words of our text. His point is, these three men are most notable for their righteousness, so when God brought judgment, ‘they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.’ What is worthy of our consideration is that these men all had great afflictions and endured much to bring them to deep knowledge of God. Each of them encountered Christ in one form or another. God spoke to Noah to build the ark. He interacted extensively with him throughout the whole process. Daniel testifies it was the Messenger of Jehovah, the pre-incarnate Christ, Who shut the mouths of the lions. God spoke to Job from the whirlwind, another Christophany. Thus these three knew God through Christ and are for us examples of how various hard experiences lead us to a greater knowledge of God as Christ reveals Him to us.  

Our Great and Sovereign God, 
we rejoice that You are the God of truth and righteousness. 
We praise You that as you reveal Yourself to us, 
we know more of Christ. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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