Thorns

When God Intervenes

It’s easy to trust God when prayers are answered exactly the way we hoped. But what about when life doesn’t make sense? When tragedy strikes, prayers seem unanswered, or you’re walking through a season of painful waiting? How do we continue to trust God’s goodness and sovereignty when His plans look different than our own? Join us as we wrestle with these honest questions and discover the hope found in God’s unchanging character. Together, we’ll explore how God is at work in every circumstance, even the ones we don’t understand, and how He faithfully uses every season for His glory and our good.

The Test

The Bible encourages believers to test the spirits of teachers to see if they are of God. They are to be tested by Jesus, as anyone who denies Jesus as coming in the flesh is not of God. They are to be tested by the Holy Spirit in that the Spirit gives power to discern truth and error. They are to be tested by the Word of God. A false teacher cannot accurately proclaim the Word nor can an unredeemed hearer receive its truth. Until a soul is made alive by the Spirit, the Word of God cannot be fully understood. Have you been made alive so as to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

The Tyrants

Clouds without water are often found to be the tyrants among the people of God. A tyrant is a terrorist, not a shepherd. They care nothing for the sick, broken, scattered, and lost. Those they do encounter, they seek to dominate with force and severity rather than compassion. Tyrants would rather enslave people to systems of dependency and control than see them set free in Jesus. Tyrants ultimately are seeking to make disciples of themselves rather than Jesus. Like the Pharisees long ago, the modern-day tyrants actually view the grace of Jesus as a threat to their position and power. Are you under the influence of a tyrant? Have you come to the place of walking in the freedom that only the true Savior can give?

The Liars

Jeremiah gave clear warning about lying, false prophets among the people. Those who are liars will give false comfort. They coddle people in their sin rather than expose their iniquity that they may be free. They make false predictions. Often claiming to know the end of the world, or God’s will for a person, they lead people astray in appearing to be uniquely enlightened. Liars are what people want. Their very existence is evidence of what the masses crave. People want a voice to entertain them, confirm their bias and promise them the realization of their desires. What do you want? The true God calls for repentance from sin and faith in Jesus?

The Heretics

A heretic is someone appearing to teach truth while planting deception and falsehood. The bible gives several warnings about heretics. They creep into the assembly of believers unnoticed. They deny the truth about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the true gospel. A heretic can be recognized by their fruit. They will ultimately show themselves by exploitation, adultery, greed, and corruption. Have you believed in the true Jesus or a portrayal of a false Jesus? Will you pray for discernment about what and who you are allowing to have spiritual influence in your life?