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

Category: Devotional

All Peoples

All Peoples

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And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. 

John 12:32 

Christ saves people from all different times, locations, and cultures throughout history. Salvation is a wide affair. In our text He declares that if He is lifted up, He will draw all peoples unto Himself. The word ‘peoples’ has been supplied by the translators to clarify His reference. We might say, ‘all sorts of people,’ or ‘all types of people.’ That this is a correct understanding of His meaning is clear when we look at the scene John describes in Revelation 7 where he writes, ‘After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.’ This demonstrates that Christ redeems a wide and varied host of people. John’s description would hardly be more diverse and inclusive. Within the context of our text there is another scene which illustrates what Christ has said. John describes it by saying, ‘Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Thus John gives an illustration within the immediate context that shows us how pertinent Christ’s remark was. God is not small and Christ’s redemption is not only for the few. The Holy Spirit is doing a great work to attract many to the altogether lovely Christ.  

Our Great God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are doing a great work of redemption. 
We praise You that it extends 
over the course of human history. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Before Abraham Was

Before Abraham Was

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Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM. 

John 8:58 

Christ is eternal. As He spoke with His enemies regarding His identity, they challenged Him about His remark, ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’  They said, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ He replied with the words of our text, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’ The title He uses, in reference to Himself is the name I AM. This was the name by which He identified Himself in Exodus 3 as He spoke with Moses at the burning bush. It is the name of the Self-Existent One. By logical inference this means He is eternal. Micah, the Old Testament prophet, speaking of Christ said of Him, ‘Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.’ At a certain point in history Christ took unto Himself a true body and a reasonable soul, but that was by no means the beginning of His existence. Because He is the Son of God, the Second Member of the Trinity, He is as eternal as the Father and the Spirit. Therefore, when His enemies challenged Him, He could say, ‘Before  Abraham was, I AM.’ The man we call Jesus is the essential, eternal Son of the Living God.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are from eternity. 
We praise You that from everlasting to everlasting, 
You are God.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Free Indeed

Free Indeed

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And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

John 8:32  

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 

John 8:36

How does knowing the truth make us free? The second portion of our text answers that question. As Christ is speaking to the Jews who believed in Him, He says. ‘You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.’ After that, He explains that to commit sin is to be a slave to it and that such a person is not a member of the household of God as a son of the family would be. He follows that explanation with the second portion of our text. Thus He ties knowledge of the truth and freedom to Himself. In the most straightforward manner He links these things together. If we want to know truth, we must know Christ. If we know Christ, Who is the embodiment of truth, we will be free. This is true freedom, and not some delusion. Many people believe that freedom means being able to indulge in what satisfies our natural desires. Christ frees us from the addictive dependency we have on those things. We become no longer slaves to those things. Instead, He makes us free with our knowledge of Him which He equates with our knowledge of the truth. We are then free indeed.  

Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. 
We praise You that, as we know You, 
You make us truly free.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

All The People

All The People

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Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery…. 

John 8:2-3 

What did all the people who witnessed the exchange between Christ, the woman and her accusers see on that day? It is most important that we understand this because we are the inheritors of their experience. We are observers as they were. They saw a woman who was guilty, shamed, embarrassed and terrified. Perhaps some of them identified with her because they also were guilty and had their sin been exposed as hers was, they would have been just as terrified. They also saw self-righteousness and hypocrisy in all its’ ugly reality, devoid of compassion and full of venom. They saw Christ’s response to that self-righteousness. From His response they would have learned His attitude toward the moral aristocracy. They also would have seen the ever-loving, overwhelming compassion of Christ Himself. Everything about Him was attractive. He was an utterly winsome, engaging character. The exchange between Him and the woman was tender and kind. Here is a Christ worth knowing. Here is a Person worth imitating.  

Our Good and Gracious God, 
we rejoice that You continue to show us Christ. 
We praise You that as we observe Him, 
we learn to follow Him.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Be Anxious For Nothing

Be Anxious For Nothing

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Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.  

Philippians 4:6-7  

How should we understand the tenor of this statement? From the mouths of some it has all the comfort of a swinging baseball bat. It is very much like having someone scream, ‘I love you!’ with a rage-contorted face, only inches from yours. By contrast, if God is our Father, and by His Holy Spirit He is speaking in this verse, is that how He communicates this phrase? Consider this scenario: A father carries his small girl up to bed. He tucks her in, gives her, her favorite stuffed toy, and makes his way to the door.  As he turns out the light, the wee child says, ‘Daddy, I’m scared.’ He responds, ‘What are you afraid of, Baby Girl?’ She says, ‘I’m afraid of the dark.’ He says, ‘I understand, so I will pull up a chair and sit with you.’ She says, ‘but I’m afraid of the monsters.’ He says, ‘I will deal with the monsters. I won’t leave you alone. Don’t worry about anything.’ What did the father say? He said, ‘Be anxious for nothing, don’t worry about anything.’ These are words of genuine comfort from the mouth of a loving father. They carry with them a real peace which comes from the Giver of peace.  

Our Gracious God and our Heavenly Father,  
we rejoice in Your words of comfort and encouragement   
to Your anxious people.  
We praise You that we receive these words   
as children from a loving Father. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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