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

Tag: Hebrews 1:3

That Great Shepherd

That Great Shepherd

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Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

Hebrews 13:20-21 

Christ is that Great Shepherd of the sheep. He said of Himself, ‘I am the good shepherd.’ Our text declares Him to be the Great Shepherd. Peter would describe Him as ‘the Chief Shepherd.’ These terms conjure in our minds images of the middle eastern shepherd, leading his flock to water, pasture and safety. It reminds us of kind, familiar interaction and loving care. We think of the one who leaves the ninety and nine to seek the one who is lost, and who lays down his life for the sheep. David speaks of Christ in a most personal way saying, ‘The LORD is my shepherd. I shall not want.’ Aside from any other way we may describe Him, Christ, is our Shepherd. He has sought us, bought us, laid down His life for us, and done all that is necessary to secure us for time and for eternity. He has proven Himself in every way to be ‘that Great Shepherd of the sheep.’ When God raised Him from the dead He guaranteed the eternal welfare of all His flock for all eternity. He is made to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. He is that Great Shepherd.   

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You care for us in every way. 
We praise you that You will gather us all together, 
into the place You have prepared for us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Up From The Dead

Up From The Dead

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Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

Hebrews 13:20-21 

God raised up Christ from the dead.  It is practically impossible to make too much of this fact. A serious examination of the preaching and writing of the Apostles of the New Testament era rapidly leads us to the conclusion that the resurrection of Christ permeates all their communications. From Peter’s message on the Day of Pentecost, through Paul’s defense of the resurrection in I Corinthians 15, to John’s declaration of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the unswerving testimony of the people of God is ‘He is risen indeed.’ This is the message of the writer of Hebrews as well. At the beginning of his work he speaks of the living Christ sitting down at the right hand of God after having purged our sins. At the end of his work, he proclaims that God is, ‘the God of peace, who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead.’ Everywhere in between he proclaims the virtue and value of the work of Christ as the Living Representative of His people. We cannot, must not, will not move from this simple, sublime message, Christ is risen from the dead. If that is true, then all else He has promised is true as well.  

Our Great God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have risen from the dead. 
We praise You that, because You live,  
we shall live also.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
The God Of Peace

The God Of Peace

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Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.  

Hebrews 13:20-21 

We have arrived at the closing benediction of the book of Hebrews. The writer begins with ‘the God of peace.’ and takes us straight to Christ. God is indeed the God of peace. He does what He does after the counsel of His Own will to bring peace to the world. The psalmist declares, ‘He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.’ He defeats His enemies in order to establish a lasting peace. Speaking of Christ, the ‘Rod from the stem of Jesse,’ Isaiah says, ‘But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.’ The end result of His work is, ‘They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.’ These passages, and others like them relate God’s being the God of peace directly to Christ. It is Christ Who is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His Person. Christ is the agent by Whom God demonstrates that He is the God of peace. Isaiah refers to Christ as the Prince of peace. When the angels announced His incarnation, they proclaimed, ‘Peace on earth. Good will toward men.’ We cannot think of God as being the God of peace without looking to Christ. Therefore in all of our discussions of peace we must involve Him.  

Our God of Grace and Glory, 
we rejoice that You are sovereign. 
We praise You that You bring peace in the earth, 
according to Your own plan.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

I AM

I AM

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Hebrews 13:8  

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.  

Revelation 22:16 

What is the last message from the lips of Christ He gives to the world? We find it in the second portion of our text. “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.’ This is the last thing He wants us to remember about His identity. This is a continuation and harmonization of the first portion of our text. That tells us He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If Christ is the Root of David, then He is his Originator. From the root comes the tree. If He is the Offspring of David, then He is the Christ, the Son of David, and also David’s Lord, as the discussion from the gospel makes clear. If He is the Bright and Morning Star, then He is the promise of the future. Wrap these together and you have Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. All those self-descriptions tie together with the truth of the changelessness of Christ. He cannot be what He describes Himself to be and be less than the immutable God. We look to Him Who is from of old, Who is now, and Who shall ever be the same, yesterday, today and forever.  

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice at the assurance of Your Word. 
We praise You that You show us Yourself, 
from the beginning to the end.  
Never

Never

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Hebrews 13:8 

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 

Hebrews 13:5-6  

If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever that has direct implications for us in our experience of Him. The second portion of our text utters one of the implications. Because Christ does not change, He will never leave us or forsake us. If He has said it, then He, being the same yesterday, today and forever, will be as good as His word. This means we need not covet what others have, because being always with us, He will meet our needs as the Shepherd. David said, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.’ David’s Shepherd is our Shepherd. If he did not want then neither shall we. If Christ is ever  with us, and is the same yesterday, today and forever, then we need not fear what man shall do to us. If they go so far as to end our earthly life, they only promote us into His presence. This puts into perspective the power and presence of Christ in contrast to the power of man. Christ is for His people and with His people. He is the never-changing God, Who ever cares for those whom He has redeemed by free and sovereign grace.  

Our Glorious, Living Savior, 
we rejoice that You are always with us. 
We praise You that You will never abandon us, 
and that we are utterly secure. 

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