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

Tag: I peter 1

Revealed For You

Revealed For You

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Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

I Peter 1:20

We have been dwelling upon what Christ has done ‘for you.’  Because we have centered our thoughts upon the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood we have concentrated upon the substitutionary nature of what Christ has done for us.  We want to expand our thinking to include the wider range of what Christ has done for us.  This brings us to our text for today, ‘Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.’  This brings us to consider that Christ, revealed by His incarnation, came for us.  This points out to us, in a very specific manner, the self-sacrificial character of Christ.  Because God is Sovereign, He could have chosen not to redeem anyone.  He could have chosen not to elect, predestinate, or send Christ to live in humility and die sacrificially.  The redemption of any and all of us is entirely voluntary on the part of God.  Christ voluntarily revealed Himself in the incarnation ‘for you.’  This evokes from us an overwhelming gratitude.  All that Christ endured, simply by coming to earth as the babe in the manger, the youth in Nazareth, and the prophet of Galilee,  He underwent ‘for you.’  This brings us to Him over and over again.  Christ has been revealed for us and therefore becomes our All-in-All.

Our Holy and Wise God,
we rejoice that You have revealed Christ unto us.
We praise You that the manifestations of Him
have been for us and all Your people.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

A Reserved Inheritance

A Reserved Inheritance

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The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you….
I Peter 1:4

The inheritance we have ‘in Christ’ is an inheritance which God Himself has reserved for us.  We would not declare it so boldly if He had not confirmed it so definitely.  The second portion of our text, which derives from the writings of Peter, adds this to the end as a seal.  This is a concept which brings to us great encouragement.  All that we have dwelt upon thus far has brought us here.  Our inheritance is incorruptible, because it is of Divine origin.  It is undefiled, because it rests upon the Sovereign decree of God and the righteousness of Christ.  It does not fade away, because it comes to us from the Eternal, Immutable God and His Christ, Who is ‘the same, yesterday, today, and forever.’  It is reserved for us, because God has made the reservations and Christ has confirmed them.  Therefore, ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.’  There is for each of us whom God has saved by Free and Sovereign Grace, a dwelling place which no one else can inhabit.  There is a crown that will fit no other head but yours.  There is a robe that will rest on no one else’s shoulders.  All of this, and more, is part of the inheritance which is ‘reserved in heaven for you.’

Our Kind and Generous God,
we rejoice at this inheritance which You have reserved for us.
We praise You that we will see it in all its glory,
 on the day that we behold the living Christ, Face-to-face.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
An Unfading Inheritance

An Unfading Inheritance

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The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you….
I Peter 1:4

The inheritance we have in Christ is an unfading inheritance.  It is eternal and unchanging.  This makes it fundamentally different than any earthly inheritance.  Eventually, all that is of earth fades.  It cannot do otherwise because this earth, and all that is in it is transitory.  Our inheritance is unfading because it comes to us from the Eternal Unchanging God, and rests upon Christ, Who is ‘the same, yesterday, today, and forever.’  Our inheritance cannot fade unless God ceases to be eternal; unless Christ’s righteousness ceases to be of value; and unless we lose our status as the adopted children of God.  None of these things can ever be.  God is, and shall ever be, eternal.  Christ is and can never be less than wholly righteous.  What God has done in Christ to make us His children is irreversible.  Therefore, we have an unfading inheritance.  In an insecure world, this gives us great security.  This enables us to endure the contradiction of all of the enemies of Christ, who have become our adversaries because we are in Him.  All eternity will not change our inheritance in Christ.  We may go forward today with confidence born of our unchanging God and His unalterable work. 

Immortal, Invisible God, only Wise.
We rejoice that You are forever the same.
We praise You that what You have given us in Christ,
will never fade away.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
An Undefiled Inheritance

An Undefiled Inheritance

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The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you….
I Peter 1:4

The inheritance which we have in Christ is undefiled.  There is nothing that has marred it, and there is nothing which can mar it.  Once again, how can we make this statement with such firmness?  We can do so on the basis that the inheritance we have in Christ rests upon the Sovereign Decree of God and the perfect righteousness of Christ.  Because of the Decree of God, election, predestination, and adoption are all unchangeable realities.  The adoption is connected to the concept of our obtaining this inheritance.  All of this rests upon the righteousness of Christ which God imputs to us.  Justification makes our adoption possible.  God could not adopt us as His children without our being robed in the perfect righteousness of Christ.  Because our inheritance rests upon these unalterable things, nothing can mar it.  It is ‘an inheritance…undefiled.’  We joy and rejoice that what we have as an inheritance is due completely to the Sovereignty of God and the work of Christ.  We rejoice that nothing in heaven, earth or hell can defile it.  It is, in every respect, an undefiled inheritance.

Our Wise and Wonderful God,
we rejoice that no one and nothing can defile
what You have given us in Christ.
We praise You that this inheritance shall remain
 unchanged for time and for eternity.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
An Incorruptible Inheritance

An Incorruptible Inheritance

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The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you….
I Peter 1:4

The inheritance which we have in Christ is incorruptible.  How can we make such an authoritative statement?  We can make it on the basis that God has said so.  Our second text for today makes this a categorical statement.  Why is our inheritance ‘incorruptible?’  It is incorruptible because it is an inheritance of Divine origin, not of earthly origin.  Because this is a Divinely originated inheritance, it is not subject to the influences of anything that is earthly.  Christ spoke of the earthly treasures, ‘where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.’  Because the inheritance which we have in Christ is from God, through Christ, and all of Him, it is untouchable by the corrupting influences of earth.  This is encouraging to us in every way.  It encourages us that our status as children of God by adoption, is of God.  It is encouraging that all the rights and privileges which we enjoy as children are of God.  It is further encouraging that the inheritance which we have is ‘incorruptible’ because it is of God.  Today, we may go forth to encounter a world that will stop at nothing to beat us down and rob us of our hope and joy.  We may rise above all of that, know that we have an inheritance that is incorruptible.

Our Gracious and Generous God,
We rejoice that You have given to us this
incorruptible inheritance.
We praise You that it is ours, in Christ,
and that things of earth can never corrupt it.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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