After explaining to me her difficult situation, the lady who had stopped me after the service wiped her eyes and looked to the ground.

“It’s just my cross to bear, I guess.”

I understood what she meant and I certainly sympathized with her involuntary suffering she was currently undergoing.

But hers was not a cross to bear. It would be more accurately viewed as a thorn .

If we’re going to handle either one well, we need to understand the difference.

A cross is different than a thorn. To qualify as a “cross” it must be:

1. voluntary (chosen by you)
2. vicarious (on behalf of another)
3. redemptive (bringing the other closer to Christ)

Jesus’ cross was all of these, of course.

What that means for you and me is that when I choose a difficult situation or activity that is beneficial to others over and above myself (vicarious) while having in mind the goal of bringing the one who benefits toward a deeper/higher relationship to God, then that, my friend, is a cross I bear.

However a thorn is different.

A thorn is a difficult situation, circumstance or infirmity that is…

1. given by the Lord Himself,
2. designed to produce a virtue over and against its opposite (a vice),
3. a blessing to the point that were it not for the presence of the thorn and God’s promised accompanying grace, the recipient would be far worse off without it in the areas of life that matter most. (See 2 Corinthians 12)

As spiritual as Paul was, he asked that his thorn be removed. Haven’t you? God only replied, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Paul’s resulting declaration is that he can actually rejoice in this kind of thorn; and that in his weakness he finds God’s ever-present strength.

Bottom line: the presence of the thorn produces more in your life for the Lord than its removal. That’s why God has it there.

Are you wrestling with God over a thorn? It’s a situation you didn’t choose. A problem you didn’t cause nor ask for.

But in God’s sovereign grace and love, He has chosen for you what you would not, and in so doing – with infinite wisdom – He leverages the thorn to produce something in your life, something precious, that would be produced no other way.

Take heart, beloved.

Every cross and every thorn leads to a promised crown.

“Can’t see the forest for the trees.”  Heard that before?

What about this one?

“What you’re living is so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Ouch.

Ghandi said, “I like your Christ.  I do not like your Christians.”

Double ouch.

I am about to misunderstood.  I know that.  But the point is too much worth making to skip it due to that risk.

But we’ve made Christianity in American too much about church and not enough about Jesus.

If you don’t believe me, just go witness to your waiter or waitress at your next meal out.  Say nothing about church, just Jesus.

I can almost guarantee that within 45 seconds she’ll talking about church.

“I grew up in church… I know I ought to get back in church… I’ve been trying to find me a church…”

You’re talking about Jesus.  Instantly, she’s talking about church.

Why?

Because for the last 60 years, we’ve made Christianity more about church than Jesus.

The fact is, so much of the world sees us get more bent out of shape over issues of style more than issues of substance.  We’re far too often either energized or deflated by church-related stuff more than Jesus-related stuff.

And that sends a distinct message to the world about what’s most important.

When people in the church quench the Spirit and starting “walking in the flesh” over things like music styles, order of service and use of technology, something needs to be announced:

The greatest idol in the Church is the church.

We’ve degenerated to worshiping the form rather than the substance.

Don’t get me wrong—church is important.  Enjoy church, go to church, serve at church, but don’t worship church.  The Church is to worship Christ.  He alone is worthy of our worship and followership.

Church is meant to be an organism and organization (yes, I said it) that is the expression of the fullness of Christ, not an entrapment of Him.

Too often Jesus gets trapped in the stained glass of tradition, religious forms and comfort zones… most of which are never mentioned in Scripture and have nothing to do with the Gospel.   He is “dying to get out.”  We should let him.

If we worship forms and traditions all while claiming Jesus, then the world won’t know where one stops and the other starts.  That would be the equivalent of the “adding to” and “taking away” warned against in Revelation 22:18-19.

A dying world needs to see Him through us, not miss Him because of us.  What they see of Jesus is determined by what we the Church does with Jesus and really, what we do with everything else surrounding Him.

We had better be careful about what we get mad, sad and glad about in church.  Because THAT tells what we really worship.

Careful.  The world is watching.

In light of the fact that the church is meant to be the place (rather, the people) where the world finds Jesus, it would be tragedy if the world lost Him there.

“Nice trees.  You seen a forest around here anywhere?”

The word “faith” gets bantered around a lot in Christendom and of course, faith is extremely important (probably far more import it than most people give credence to).

But the Bible also says that something needs to be added to our faith.

Peter said in his second letter, chapter five, add to your faith knowledge.

Jesus said, you shall “know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Judging by Jesus’ equation, the reason that many people are in bondage is not that they lack faith, it’s that they lack knowledge.

Consider the following:

1. Knowledge of what the Scripture actually says and means.

   Biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high, even in some of America’s strongest churches.

   Though led by some of the best Bible preachers in history, those same preachers will readily tell you that there’s never been a day when it seemed that God’s people were more ignorant of what the Scripture actually says and means. The inevitable results is bondage, worldliness and spiritual confusion.

2. Knowledge of what God really thinks and feels about them.

   Whether or not I see a man as a friend or an enemy will directly determine how I relate to him. True, no?

   Your view of God matters, and quite frankly, a corrupted view of God inevitably results in a compromise relationship. You won’t feast at the table if you don’t trust the food.

   Knowledge that you’re the object of God’s passion and the object of his everlasting love will make the difference.

3. Knowledge of what was actually accomplished in salvation.

   Nowhere does the Bible say God cleanses your heart of sin when you come to Christ in salvation. What it does say is that God gives us a brand-new heart in salvation (cf. Ezek. 36:26 & 2 Cor. 5:17).

   If you see yourself as merely a reformed version of your former self, you will live a crippled spiritual life. But if you see yourself as the new creature that God says that you are it will then affect the choices that you make. This knowledge is crucial.

Faith is good and necessary. But faith without works is dead, and faith without knowledge is, quite frankly, no help at all.

Let’s follow Peter’s admonition and add to our faith knowledge and enjoy the freedom that comes by knowing the Truth.

By the way, there’s a lot more to the list (speaking of knowing what the Bible says), so we would all be wise to check them all out in 2 Peter chapter 5.

Why? Because according to verse 8, these “qualities in increasing measure will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Hey, surely none of my readers want to be unproductive. See you on the fruity side.

A mayor who was very proud of his city was asked how the recession had affected them. He answered, “we don’t have a recession here, but I will admit we’re having the worst boom in many years.”

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I know that, for many, the troubles that they are facing in the Great Recession are very real.

I know that morally and spiritually our nation is suffering and that many are concerned about the new directions is taking.

I know that many of us are at odds with the values of the current administration in terms of stewardship, morality and national security. I won’t make light of any of that. ????? ???? ???? ???

But it’s not nearly as bad as it could be. Considering the following: ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????

• That the strains of Christianity in our day still run strong.
• We are still living in the greatest nation in the history of the planet.
• We have more freedoms and opportunities than most other nations can imagine.

For the believer, these freedoms afford the opportunity to live for Christ and share the Gospel every day without fear.

Considering further that:

• churches are being planted throughout this country left and right,
• barely a square inch of this great land escapes the airwaves which carry sermons by Bible-believing preachers,
• bookshelves and blogs are crammed with Christian literature practically free for the taking…

How bad are these times really?

This ministry is seeing a banner year, and we’re taking advantage of the fact that:

• people are more hungry for the word of God than they have been in a long time.
• people are open to a word from God during these times.
• people have begun to wisely return to First Things.

Since Jesus walked the earth there has never been a better time to be a Christian, and on top of that to be living in the greatest nation in the world at the greatest time in history.

Think about it.

This is a time when an individual with a computer can literally have a worldwide internet ministry broadcast base on his $600 laptop. The recession has not taken that ever-growing reality away!

The financial institutions have failed, the housing bubble has popped, and many retirement accounts have been wiped out, all true. I sympathize with anyone caught in the crux of those realities.

But this has left us surrounded by a nation of people groping for something solid on which to rest of their lives and we believers have the Answers for which they are looking.

Yes, times are tough, but it’s simply the worst boom we’ve had in years.