Category: Christian Living

  • Thorns – God’s grace is sufficient

    Hialayan blackberry closeup

    On a recent walk, I got grabbed by the thorns of a Himalayan Blackberry  bush as I passed by. They are mostly dormant now, but the thorns still grab the unwary.

    These blackberry bushes produce delicious, prolific berries, but are highly invasive. They are the bane of many landowners and park operators.

    Kathy and I joke that the blackberries are going to take over the world. They pop up in random spots and thrive. They crawl up and over anything in their path, including trees, cars, and fences. Their long branches hang down to snag on anything that passes by, and wherever those tendrils hit the ground, they root, and a new plant is started.

    Getting grabbed (again) got me thinking about a familiar passage in the Bible. After receiving revelations from God, Paul writes:

    So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:6-10

    There is a lot of speculation about what form that “thorn” from Satan’s messenger actually took. Was it a form of illness, chronic pain, a besetting sin? I don’t know, and scholars much more learned and wiser than I have debated it. If God had thought it crucial that we know, He would have been clearer.

    What is clear is God’s response to Paul’s complaining, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

    God’s grace is sufficient. No matter what thorns or problems we face, God’s grace is sufficient to carry the believer.

    Everyone faces times of suffering and trial. It has been said that Christians face more than non-believers because our faith sets us up as targets. We’re not immune. Being a Christian doesn’t give us a get out of jail free card that allows us to bypass pain and suffering.

    Quite the opposite, in fact. God’s grace allows thorns to strengthen us and make us more like Jesus. Paul writes:  

    “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

    We can go to God for relief from everything, but if it doesn’t happen how or when we want, we can still rejoice. His grace is enough.

    Enough? For what? His grace is sufficient for whatever we face. His grace will outlast any suffering, trials, or thorns we will encounter.

    Rejoice for God’s abundant, merciful, and perfect grace.

    Kevin

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  • Resolve to be more Christ like

    Hapy new year 2026

    With New Year’s Eve being tomorrow and the end of the holiday  and weekend, we will return on Monday, January 5.

    Yesterday, I touched on the celebration of the New Year and looked forward to what was to come. If you missed it, you can see it at https://gleaningsfromtheword.com/?p=3837

    It got me thinking about New Year’s resolutions. People have been making them for about 4000 years. The ancient Babylonians made the earliest known resolutions during a festival called Akitu, held in March (their new year). They resolved to repay their debts and return borrowed items in hopes of gaining the gods’ favor.

    By the fourth century AD, Christians were making resolutions that were more spiritual and reflective. Christians used the new year for self-examination, repentance, and renewal. Watch Night services encouraged believers to reflect on past mistakes and future improvement.

    Even today, many people make resolutions to change their behavior in the coming year. We’re not very good at keeping those resolutions, spiritual or otherwise. Statistics show that 80% of resolutions don’t last until the end of the first month, and only about 8% survive the year.

    We want to make changes solely out of sheer willpower. Yet, our flesh and wills are weak.

    I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

    What if we resolve to be more Christ like? How can we do it?

    We redevote ourselves to Him.

    We can resolve to pray more, love more, read the Bible more, fast, give more, serve, or do whatever we think will make us more like Jesus. The way will look different for all of us, although there will be common elements.

    It’s still going to be a day-by-day, moment-by-moment, and decision-by-decision process to do that. We’re going to fail many times. We have to keep working at it. 

    One source puts it this way, “Becoming more Christ like is the desire of every believer, and it is encouraging to know that God has the same desire for us. In fact, the Bible says that God “predestined [believers] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). Making us Christlike is God’s work, and He will see it through to the end (Philippians 1:6).”

    It is an impossible task on our own, but with the Holy Spirit, it will happen.

    It’s not something that will change overnight; the journey of sanctification (being made holy) is lifelong. We need to stay the course, repenting and turning back when we fall down.

    His goal is to make us more like Jesus. Let’s allow Him to work in us so that the task becomes easier.

    Celebrate the little victories. Turn back from the failures and trust.

    God will have His way. The changes may be incremental, but the results over time will be huge. We can say, “I’m not yet where I want to be, but by His grace I’m not where I used to be.”

    May God richly bless you and may you resemble Jesus more each passing day. Happy New Year, my friends. May you become more Christ like.

    Praise His name.

    Be blessed, 

    Kevin

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