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

Tag: John 6

Unless The Father Draws Him

Unless The Father Draws Him

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No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 

John 6:44 

Salvation is from start to finish, the work of God. In the passage from which our text derives, Christ makes this quite clear. Earlier in the chapter He said, ‘All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.’ In our text, He bluntly declares, ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.’ Thus, the Father has given to Christ a people and the Father draws them to Christ. We know from elsewhere in the Scripture that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate, give repentance, faith and to draw Christ’s people to Him. Every member of the Trinity participates in the completion of redemption. It is also important for us to recognize that this redemption applies to ‘a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, people and tongues.’ That redemption is all of grace and all of God does not mean it is not broad. Rather, the implication is it is a wide salvation encompassing a huge number of people. God the Father is doing this work today. He is drawing people to Christ and Christ will, according to His word, raise them up at the last day.  

Our Glorious Living God, 
we rejoice that You are saving many. 
We praise You that You will not cease 
until all are gathered in. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
I Will

I Will

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And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  

John 6:40 

Christ reserves certain works to Himself. Creation was a work He performed Himself. John tells us, ‘Without Him was not anything made that was made.’ Christ accomplished the work of redemption Himself. He came personally, lived perfectly, died sacrificially, arose powerfully, ascended visibly, is interceding perpetually, and will return gloriously. He delegates other work to His people. He gave the holy men of old the assignment to give witness of Him. He gave the Apostles the responsibility to bear witness of Him over the whole of the ancient world. The resurrection of the dead is something He has not delegated to someone else. Rather, like creation and redemption, He has reserved that work to Himself. There is no question that He will perform it. Like all the other work He has done thus far, it will be complete and perfect. We have His word that He will raise up all who believe in Him at the last day. We live, die, and stake our whole eternity upon the bare word of God. We believe what He has said on every subject including that He will raise His people at the last. 

Our Great God and our Savior, 
we rejoice in Your wonderful works. 
We praise You that the resurrection  
is one of them. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

The Last Day

The Last Day

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This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  

John 6:39-40 

What is the last day of which Christ speaks in our text? The rest of Scripture refers to it in various locations. Later in the gospel of John, Christ says the words He has spoken will judge the one who rejects Him, ‘in the last day.’ Matthew 25 quotes Christ, in reference to His return, as the time when He will judge the whole of humanity. The closing verse of Daniel says, ‘But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.’ Again, we see that from ancient times, it has been clear there will be a last day. Why should this matter to us? Every indicator points to the fact that this last day is coming. Regardless of how much anyone may seek to deny it or relegate it to the realm of mythology, Christ certainly asserts it, as does the rest of Scripture. Therefore we should not lightly dismiss it. Beyond that, the implication is, we will all be part of it. This gives rise to the question of how we have prepared for this last day, and are preparing for it. It may not come in our lifetime, but according to Christ, it will surely come. There was a beginning. There will be an end. 

Our Wise and Sovereign God, 
we rejoice that You have a plan. 
We praise You that You will bring it to pass, 
in due course of time. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
All The Father Gives

All The Father Gives

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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. 

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,  
and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 

Matthew 8:11, John 6:37 

God the Father has given many people to Christ. In the first portion of our text, Christ says many shall come from east and west. On the night before He went to the cross He spoke of shedding His blood for many for the remission of sins. In the second portion of our text, He speaks of all whom the Father has given Him. He declares they will come to Him and goes on to remark that He will not cast out any of these. Thus this matter of many coming to Christ is very certain, at least in the mind of Christ. This is very encouraging for us, because while many bewail the few conversions they see where they are, we can be sure that everyone who is supposed to be embracing Christ is on their way to that saving appointment. According to Christ, they are many and they will come to Him. We have every reason to be confident in the fulfillment of Christ’s word regarding the success of the gospel message. Jesus saves many, all whom the Father gives Him. We have the glorious privilege to point people to Christ knowing that it will be as completely successful as He intends it to be. 

Our Glorious, Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You will accomplish everything that You intend. 
We praise You that You will build Your Church, 
of all those whom the Father has given You. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

To Believe And Know

To Believe And Know

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But Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

John 6:68-69 

Peter had a clear grasp of truth regarding Christ. In answer to Christ’s question, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ Peter answered with the words of our text. His initial response was the question, ‘Lord to whom shall we go?’ He followed with, ‘You have the words of eternal life.’ Building upon the truth of Christ’s message Peter went on to confess greater truth by saying, ‘Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  He was declaring both faith and knowledge in Christ as the manifestation of God in human form. Peter understood the meaning of the term Christ, as the Anointed and the term Son of God, as God in the flesh. Thus Peter got down to the root of the whole matter. Regarding eternal life, it is Christ’s Person, work and message that matter. Christ said as much in His High Priestly Prayer when He affirmed, ‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’ The Apostles reiterated it when they preached Christ by saying, ‘Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ We are not communicating a different message than they were. Christ has the words of eternal life and is the resurrection and the life. Like the disciples, this we believe and know.  

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You are our Savior, 
and have revealed salvation to us. 
We praise You that You have given us the opportunity 
to proclaim You. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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