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

Tag: John 10
Other Sheep

Other Sheep

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  

Matthew 8:11  

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.   

John 10:16  

Christ indicated the broadness of His plan of salvation on more than one occasion. The first portion of our text lies within the account of His healing of the centurion’s servant. The second portion lies within the general context of His public ministry in Jerusalem shortly after He had healed the man who was born blind. Christ says, in the first portion, ‘many will come from east and west.’ In the second portion He speaks of ‘other sheep I have which are not of this fold.’ He came primarily to Israel, knowing that the gospel would ultimately expand far beyond Israel to a host of people of every stripe and variety. The end result would be the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, the father of the faithful, to make his descendants as many ‘as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore.’ This was a promise of spiritual descendants, not simply physical ones. We see in the book of Acts the beginning of the expansion of Christ’s kingdom to the gentiles and ultimately over the whole earth. The end is not yet. Christ is still drawing souls unto Himself. He shall continue to do it until all His sheep are gathered in and His saving work is complete. We have the privilege to point all and sundry to Him. It is always worthwhile to make much of Christ.   

Our Great God and our Savior,
we hope in You and in Your grand redemption.
We praise You that you will save many
and that all whom the Father has given You shall come to You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Called By Name

Called By Name

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To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 

John 10:3  

Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to Him, Rabboni! (which is to say, Teacher). 

John 20:16 

Christ says He calls His Own by name. In the broad sense, we can apply this to His call of His redeemed unto salvation. In the narrow sense, we can say He calls His Own by name in specific instances and on special occasions. He spoke to Saul of Tarsus by name on the Damascus Road. He spoke to Peter by name to convince him to take the gospel to the gentiles. In our text, He spoke to Mary by name to reveal to her that He had risen from the dead. This was a wonderful moment for Mary. She loved Him deeply; had followed Him faithfully; seen Him die horrifically; mourned Him thoroughly; and now sought to bury Him properly. What she was not expecting was to hear Him audibly call her by name. The recognition that came with Christ calling her by name thrilled her thoroughly. It gave her hope, faith, and joy. She turned to embrace the One she loved most. When we are at our lowest, have lost our sight of Christ, and are grieving deeply, it restores our faith, hope and joy to hear Him call us by name. By the power of His Holy Spirit, He still does.  

Our Gracious and Loving Savior, 
we praise You that You know us by name. 
We rejoice that when we are at our lowest, 
You call us and turn our eyes to You. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
By His Knowledge

By His Knowledge

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He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. 

Isaiah 53:11 

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 

John 10:14-15 

By His knowledge, Christ, God’s Righteous Servant, justifies many. What is this knowledge? Christ indicates that it exists in two ways. In the second portion of our text, taken from John’s Gospel, Christ says, ‘I  know my sheep.’ Thus, because Christ knows His sheep, the first portion of our text makes sense in saying, ‘By His knowledge shall Christ justify many.’ He knows them and justifies them. The other aspect is also true in the light of the verses from John, where Christ says, ‘and am known of mine.’ He elaborates on the spiritual work of conversion later in the chapter when He says, ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.’ Christ speaks to His sheep through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit effectually calls them to Christ. Thus, they come to know Him. By faith, they receive the justification that He has accomplished for them. Christ knows His people first and they come to know Him in time. This is eternal life. As Christ remarked in His High Priestly Prayer, ‘and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’ Christ knows His people, has borne their iniquities, justifies them, and brings them to know Him in due course of time. ‘By His knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many for He shall bear their iniquities.’ 

O, Great Shepherd of the sheep, 
we rejoice that You know us. 
We praise You that in due course of time, 
by your Spirit, You bring us to know you.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Eternal Life

Eternal Life

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And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 

John 10:28 

Christ gives His people eternal life. When His enemies asked Him to tell them plainly if He was the Christ, He answered by pointing to His works. He elaborated by saying He calls His sheep, knows His sheep, and leads His sheep. To make the final and most telling point He declared, ‘I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish.’ If there was any doubt as to Jesus being the Christ this would remove it. Out of the mouth of anyone else it would be a most outrageous and arrogant assertion; however, Christ made it in a calm and factual manner. This is the definitive answer to the identity of Christ. It is a glorious prospect for all who are Christ’s. This means that the life we are living is the prelude to eternity. The life we live is the antecedent to life that never ends. It is the gift which Christ gives to all who are His. This gives us every reason to hear the voice of Christ, to recognize Christ, to follow Christ and to make much of Christ. He gives us eternal life and we shall never perish. We are secure in Him. 

O, Great Shepherd of the sheep, 
we rejoice at how You lead us. 
We praise You that You will continue 
until we see Your face in God’s eternal day. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
The Works Of My Father

The Works Of My Father

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If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me. 

John 10:37 

Christ proved Who He is in both words and deeds. When He spoke, ‘he spoke as one having authority.’ What He did was miraculous. The combination of these bore eloquent testimony to His identity as the Son of God. This challenged the pretentions of the religionists. They sought continually to discredit Him and were miserably unsuccessful. Eventually they would decide that since they could not succeed against Him in any other way, they would kill Him. Christ responded to their accusations that He was committing blasphemy by claiming to be the Son of God, with the words of our text. Beyond anything He said, His works bore testimony that He was God, and of God, His Father. The thought here is that deeds prove where connections lie. If we are Christ’s, what we do will make it very clear. Christ redeems us, and the Holy Spirit renews us in the whole person after the image of Christ. This means that our actions imitate His, not as miracles, but as deeds which remind others of Him. 

Our Glorious Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You have done all things well. 
We praise You that You have set before us a pattern that we may follow, 
to learn to do well. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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