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

Tag: John 14

Knowing The Truth

Knowing The Truth

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

John 8:32 

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 

John 14:6 

What is truth? Pilate asked Christ this question. It is a question for the ages. What is truth and how can we know it? In the first portion of our text Christ makes a statement which is captivating because He asserts, first, that there is truth, second that we can know truth, and third that knowing that truth will set us free. This is valuable for us in the light of the second portion of our text where He says, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ If we lay these two statements side by side, we arrive at the conclusion that if we want to know the truth, we must know Christ. Herein lies the path to freedom. He follows shortly after the first statement of our text with, ‘Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’ Christ makes the connection for us between knowing the truth, knowing Him, and the freedom He gives to us. This encourages us to contemplate Him constantly and consistently. As we dwell upon Him, we learn what is important in life, in death, and for eternity. What is important to Him becomes our values. He makes us free.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have revealed Yourself to us. 
We praise You that, by knowing You, 
we come to know truth.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Peace Not As The World Gives

Peace Not As The World Gives

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Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27

We want peace. We want it in our world; in our nation; in our city; in our home; and in our soul. Peace in the soul is the antecedent to peace in all those other places.  On the night before He went to the cross, Christ spoke to His disciples and declared, ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’  He sets the peace, which He imparts to His people, in stark contrast to that which the world gives, which is temporal and temporary.  I may find peace in the provision I have made for my future; in my work; my wealth; or my intellectual ability to problem-solve. I may find a form of peace in some practice that takes me to my happy place. I may engage in some activity which gives me a form of peace, for a brief time. All of these may disappear in a moment. None of them can provide lasting peace. By contrast, the peace which Christ gives is transcendent and permanent. It is an eternal peace because its’ Source is the Eternal One. Christ gives peace that earthly circumstances cannot destroy. He holds us, like a loving parent holds a small child, in a warm and secure embrace. From that embrace we can peacefully view all the tumultuous circumstances which occur before us. Christ is the reason we have peace with God, and the peace of God keeping our hearts and minds.  Here is strength for the day.

O, Great and Mighty God,
You are our Fortress, our Strength, and our Helper.
You hold us up, when ‘all around our soul gives way,
You then are all our Hope and Stay.’

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Knowing The Truth

Knowing The Truth

By |

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

John 8:32 

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 

John 14:6 

What is truth? Pilate asked Christ this question. It is a question for the ages. What is truth and how can we know it? In the first portion of our text Christ makes a statement which is captivating because He asserts, first, that there is truth, second that we can know truth, and third that knowing that truth will set us free. This is valuable for us in the light of the second portion of our text where He says, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ If we lay these two statements side by side, we arrive at the conclusion that if we want to know the truth, we must know Christ. Herein lies the path to freedom. He follows shortly after the first statement of our text with, ‘Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’ Christ makes the connection for us between knowing the truth, knowing Him, and the freedom He gives to us. This encourages us to contemplate Him constantly and consistently. As we dwell upon Him, we learn what is important in life, in death, and for eternity. What is important to Him becomes our values. He makes us free.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have revealed Yourself to us. 
We praise You that, by knowing You, 
we come to know truth.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Knowing The Truth

Knowing The Truth

By |

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

John 8:32 

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 

John 14:6 

What is truth? Pilate asked Christ this question. It is a question for the ages. What is truth and how can we know it? In the first portion of our text Christ makes a statement which is captivating because He asserts, first, that there is truth, second that we can know truth, and third that knowing that truth will set us free. This is valuable for us in the light of the second portion of our text where He says, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ If we lay these two statements side by side, we arrive at the conclusion that if we want to know the truth, we must know Christ. Herein lies the path to freedom. He follows shortly after the first statement of our text with, ‘Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’ Christ makes the connection for us between knowing the truth, knowing Him, and the freedom He gives to us. This encourages us to contemplate Him constantly and consistently. As we dwell upon Him, we learn what is important in life, in death, and for eternity. What is important to Him becomes our values. He makes us free.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have revealed Yourself to us. 
We praise You that, by knowing You, 
we come to know truth.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Peace Not As The World Gives

Peace Not As The World Gives

By |

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27

We want peace. We want it in our world; in our nation; in our city; in our home; and in our soul. Peace in the soul is the antecedent to peace in all those other places.  On the night before He went to the cross, Christ spoke to His disciples and declared, ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’  He sets the peace, which He imparts to His people, in stark contrast to that which the world gives, which is temporal and temporary.  I may find peace in the provision I have made for my future; in my work; my wealth; or my intellectual ability to problem-solve. I may find a form of peace in some practice that takes me to my happy place. I may engage in some activity which gives me a form of peace, for a brief time. All of these may disappear in a moment. None of them can provide lasting peace. By contrast, the peace which Christ gives is transcendent and permanent. It is an eternal peace because its’ Source is the Eternal One. Christ gives peace that earthly circumstances cannot destroy. He holds us, like a loving parent holds a small child, in a warm and secure embrace. From that embrace we can peacefully view all the tumultuous circumstances which occur before us. Christ is the reason we have peace with God, and the peace of God keeping our hearts and minds.  Here is strength for the day.

O, Great and Mighty God,
You are our Fortress, our Strength, and our Helper.
You hold us up, when ‘all around our soul gives way,
You then are all our Hope and Stay.’

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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