Thorns????????

Good morning friends. It has been a very busy week so far and I have to work the whole weekend. But, what can you say momma needs a new pair of shoes (flip flops too!). I would like to share with you a little from my sermon Wednesday night. We have all heard the parable of the four soils. If not check it out in Mark 4. Well, I truly believe that the majority of churchgoers are the thorny soil. I know that is hard to hear and you are probably thinking about not reading the rest but, read on and I will explain. Let's dig into the good stuff......

Bible Verse: Mark 4:3-9 "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

When I say we are like the thorny soil. I don't say the with a lite heart. I say it with a heavy heart because I worries me. I used to have thorns all around me and I still have thorn bushes sprout up overnight. So, what are the thorns in our lives. Maybe money, sin, our favorite ball team, possible commitments that we make, or maybe activities. See, we want a relationship with Christ and then we want to pile all the other stuff on top. And we wonder why our relationship with God doesn't grow. Duh! it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Someone asked me "Tony, can the devil use good things to distract us from God?" Boy, he sure can. I think he is becoming very good at it too!

I must ask you a question. Was there a time in your life that you were more in love with Jesus than right now? You prayed more? You went to church more? You felt God more? You read your Bible more? So, what has changed? Know this, God has not changed. He is the same now and always will. He loves you! Examine yourself and see what has changed. Now, let's get to work to fix it. Let's get rid of the thorns. I pray you have a blessed day, I love you, and God bless.