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

Tag: Genesis
Pleading the Case

Pleading the Case

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Pleading the Case

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?… Then Abraham answered and said, Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord….

Genesis 18:25&27

In the scene before us, Christ is operating under the title of, ‘The Judge of all the earth.’ As the Judge, He is hearing a case which Abraham is pleading before Him. Because Christ is Himself an Advocate, He is eminently qualified to hear, and wisely judge, the arguments put before Him. Abraham is both advocate and Intercessor for his nephew, Lot. Herein lies something of value for us. Christ is ready and willing to hear our intercession on behalf of those who cannot plead for themselves. This affords us a great privilege and opportunity to come before the throne of Grace. There is a spiritually organic unity in the Body of Christ. One portion of the Body cares for the other. This is why the Lord gives us this ministry of intercession. As members one of another, so we pray for one another. Christ hears those prayers. We may intercede once, or several times, or daily for years. All of those prayers have value, and are to the purpose of pleading these cases before, ‘the Judge of all the earth.’ He will infallibly ‘do right.’ Our prayer life as an intercessor is the foundation of any other ministry we may ever have. Think today of all the other people whom you will encounter, some of whom are utterly incapable of pleading for themselves. You know, and converse with ‘the Judge of all the earth.’ Will you plead for them?

O, Christ, our High and Holy Intercessor,
we rejoice that You utterly prevail for us,
at the Throne of Grace.
Teach us, O Lord, to powerfully plead for those around us
in their hour of deepest need.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
A Grand Company

A Grand Company

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A Grand Company

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Genesis 49:10

Who are the ‘people’ who shall be ‘gathered’ unto the ‘Shiloh,’ to Whom our text for the last few days refers? The portion upon which we will concentrate today is, ‘shall the gathering of the people be.’ Who are they? The Scripture is quite clear. They are God’s elect. They are those who were ‘chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.’ They are ‘those whom the Father has given me,’ to whom Christ refers in John 6. They are His ‘people’ who ‘shall be willing, in the day of your power,’ from Psalm 110. They are the Church of Jesus Christ, that is, all of the redeemed of all ages. This is that grand company. This is that great multitude which no man can number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. How shall they be gathered unto Him?  Romans 8 declares, ‘For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.’  Here is how Christ gathers unto His Own Great Self this grand company of the Redeemed. He does the work. The Holy Spirit grants them regeneration, repentance unto life, gives them faith to believe, and effectually calls them unto Christ. They, by the Spirit, answer with joy and rejoicing and become the willing subjects of King Jesus. Yes, ‘unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.’ What an exciting prospect! What a cause for peace and unutterable joy. ‘All the ransomed Church of God shall be saved to sin no more.’ Come and join us. ‘We are going home to glory soon. We want you over there.’

Our Great King and our Savior,
we count it a high privilege, to be members of that great company,
Whom You are gathering unto Yourself.
We praise You, that in all Your redemptive efforts, You shall never fail.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Preparing for Worship

Preparing for Worship

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Sunday Worship

9:30 am 

650 Kennedy Drive

Northglenn, CO

Scripture:  Genesis 49:10

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.  Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be . Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Sermon:  The Triumph of King Jesus – Tomm Tice

  1. Jacob affirms Christ’s Divine Sovereignty
  2. Jacob utters a great certainty.
  3. Jacob alludes to a great company.

Catechism:  Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 61

What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?

The fourth commandment forbid death the omission, or careless performance, of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments or recreations.

1 Nehemiah 13:15-22. In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. Isaiah 58:13-14. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Amos 8:4-6. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

Worship:

Jesus, Thank You

You Are My All in All

Holy, Holy, Holy (traditional)
Great Certainty

Great Certainty

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Great Certainty

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Genesis 49:10

When it comes to eternal matters, we want certainty. We want more than ‘hope so’ or ‘maybe.’ When it comes to eternal matters, we want promises that are rock-ribbed and ironclad. Our concentration today is on but one word of our text; it is upon the word, ‘shall.’ ‘And unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.’ Taken in terms of the Person of Christ, and His ‘so great salvation,’  here is where it leads us. The gathering of His people to Christ in salvation, is a matter of great certainty. ‘Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.’ Why is this important? Simply for this reason.  God the Father has given unto Christ a people. Christ has lived for them; died for them; been raised for them; intercedes for them; promised to come for them; and to house them in His Presence for all eternity. This salvation shall not fail. The Holy Spirit will apply this redemption unto all for whom it is intended. Not one soul shall perish for whom Christ died. What Christ has accomplished, the Holy Spirit cannot fail to apply. ‘Your people shall be willing in the day of Your Power.’ Therefore, we declare the Gospel with great confidence. Therefore, we call upon you who are, as yet, out of Christ that you should repent and believe the Gospel. Therefore, we call upon You to embrace Christ, for ‘all that the Father gives me shall come to me and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.’

Our Gracious Master and Our God,
we rejoice in You the Utterly Successful God.
We praise You and thank You, that Your Grand Purpose shall never be subverted,
and that You will gather unto Christ all His ransomed people.

Tomm Tice
Where The Bush is Burning

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