THORNS - Sinful Ones

There are all kinds of thorns. the most miserable ones are the ones introduced by the serpent, the "father of lies." Jesus says that when the devil lies he "speaks his native language." He did a job on Adam and Eve in the Garden. If you read Genesis 3 he was very crafty. He told Eve that the reason God did not want her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge was that then she would be like Him. It was a half truth, a lie. She would be like God in knowing good and evil - which God had tried to keep out of their lives - but Satan meant she would be Divine, like God. Satan also told Solomon (read Ecclesiastes) since he was King and rich and powerful that he could find the meaning of life with those things and his wisdom. It did not work. Satan told the Pharisees that if they killed Jesus he would no longer threaten their power - it did not work. Satan tells our world that drugs and sex and alcohol and money will enrich them and it doesn't. He tells married couples that if they separate they can solve their problems and that does not work either. He encourages Christians not to pray or go to church or read their bibles and fast and those that listen find out that end up not missing those things at all - so they quit - and then they find out what they missed. The devil tells our society that actors with money and fame can tell us how to live on shows like David Letterman - but they are the ones on drugs who cannot stay married. The devil is a porcupine sticking our world with hurtful lies. Thorns that he gives us never come out and fester and kill our souls. Avoiding him is the only policy.

Thorns- Us and Others

"Thorns," those sometimes pesky sometimes debilitating events in life which crate opportunity to really trust our Father in heaven. Sometimes thorns are placed in our path by the Father. They would neither be sinful nor tempting since James tells us He will do neither. However, thorns are sometimes created by the sinful acts of ourselves or others. Jesus felt the thorn of betrayal by both Judas and Peter. Read 2 Corinthians 11:25-29 and take note of the things others did which caused suffering for Paul. Sin can result in hardship and trial for us. Our sin can also create thorns in our life.
It is faith, trusting in God which enables us to overcome our sin and the sin of others which affects us. Believing enough to obey means we avoid the pitfalls of sin the the thorns which accompany them.