Calvary - Port Acres

Paul describes a “thorn in the flesh,” a painful struggle that he asked God to remove. Instead of removing it, God responded with a promise: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Paul never tells us exactly what the thorn was, allowing believers in every generation to relate their own struggles to this passage. The focus of the text is not the thorn itself, but the grace of God that sustains us in the middle of weakness.
Suffering can tempt us to believe God has abandoned us, that we are under a curse, or that our hope should be placed in circumstances and outcomes. But Scripture reminds us that in Christ there is no condemnation, the curse has been carried by Jesus, and our hope rests in God’s promises rather than human probabilities.
Suffering also brings clarity. It reminds us that life is temporary and eternity is real, helping us refocus on what truly matters - knowing and trusting Christ.
When God removes the thorn, we praise Him. But when the thorn remains, He gives something just as certain: His sustaining grace. When the thorn won’t leave… grace doesn’t leave either.



www.calvaryportacres.org

In this message, we were reminded that everything begins with who God is. At Mount Sinai, the mountain shook because God came down, and the people trembled when they encountered His holiness. Holiness means that God is utterly unique - set apart, without equal, eternal and unchanging. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up and heard the angels cry, “Holy, holy, holy,” he immediately saw his own unworthiness and cried, “Woe is me.” True holiness reveals both who God is and who we are.
Yet the message does not end with trembling - it moves to redemption. The coal from the altar that cleansed Isaiah pointed forward to the greater altar at Calvary. The cross was not God lowering His holiness or overlooking sin; it was God satisfying His holiness so He could show holy mercy. Jesus absorbed the judgment sin required and declared, “It is finished.” Justice was satisfied, wrath was absorbed, and mercy was released. Because holiness was satisfied in Christ, we no longer stand at a distance like Israel at Sinai - we are invited to come boldly into fellowship with Him.
Through faith in Christ, we are called a “holy nation,” not because we achieved holiness, but because we are united to the Holy One. We do not strive to become holy in our own strength; we live from the holiness He has given us. The same God who made mountains tremble has made a way for sinners to be forgiven and welcomed into His presence.
The question that remains is this: What do we know of the holiness of God? Do we know enough to tremble … and enough to trust?



www.calvaryportacres.org