THISTLES AND THE BIBLE

MUSK THISTLE

According to the Utah Weed Control Association there are 27 noxious weeds.
What does the Bible say about Thorns and Thistles?




Class A weeds have a relatively low population size within the State and are of highest priority being an Early Detection Rapid Response weed.

• Black Henbane
• Diffuse Knapweed
• Johnson grass
• Leafy Spurge
• Medusahead
• Oxeye Daisy
• Purple Loosestrife
• St. Johnswort
• Spotted Knapweed
• Sulfur Cinquefoil
• Yellow Starthistle
• Yellow Toadflax

Class B weeds have a moderate population throughout the State and generally are thought to be controllable in most areas.

• Bermudagrass
• Dalmatian Toadflax
• Dyer's Woad
• Hoary Cress
• Musk Thistle
• Perennial Pepperweed
• Poison Hemlock
• Russian Knapweed
• Squarrose Knapweed
• Scotch Thistle

Class C weeds are found extensively in the State and are thought to be beyond control. Statewide efforts would generally be towards containment of smaller infestations

• Canada Thistle
• Field Bindweed
• Houndstongue
• Quackgrass
• Saltcedar better known as the Tamarix

THORNS AND THISTLES ARE A RESULT OF MAN's FALL
"Then to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it';  Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.  Both THORNS and THISTLES it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."  Genesis 3:17-19 NAS

"For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.  For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields THORNS and THISTLES, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned."  Hebrews 6:4-8 NAS

CONCLUSION:
Thorns, thistles and noxious weeds are a result of the fall of Adam and Eve.   Most noxious weeds are difficult to control because of their deep roots, and abundance of seeds.   Noxious weeds take over grazing fields, drain water from streams and rivers, and even poison livestock.
From the THORN bush a crown of thorns was  made for Jesus Christ.  

WANT FRIENDS?

Why is it so easy for some to make friends, while others struggle?

FELLOWSHIP:  If you stay home watching TV all the time how are you going to make friends?  The Bible says,  "...let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as it is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."  Hebrews 10:24-25 NAS

REGARD others as greater than you.    You won't find many friends if you think more highly about yourself than others.   Do you always talk about yourself?
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;" Philippians 2:3 NAS

INITIATES friendships.   It is up to you to initiate friendships, whether meeting people for the first time, or staying in contact of those who you know.
"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."  Proverbs 18:24 NKJV

ENCOURAGER.   You need to be the encourager in all relationships.
"Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."  I Thessalonians 5:11 NAS

NEAR to God.   People are attracted to Godly people.
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..."  James 4:8 NAS

DOES NOT keep accounts of all the bad things that people did to me.
"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all thing."  I Corinthians 13:4-7 NAS

SERVES one another.   Christ has set the example to serve others.
"But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Mark 10:43-45 NAS

CONCLUSION
If you want friends, you must show your faith by your actions.