Bitter or Better

[Bob B]

I had such a huge responce when I sent this message to my friends that I felt that it might be a good topic of discussion.
Bitter or Better

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
Without holiness no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one misses the grace of God and
That no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Hebrews 12:14-15

• BITTERNESS HAS A DANGEROUS ROOT.

See to it that…no bitter root grows up…  Hebrews 12:15

o Roots absorb and store and grow.  

• BITTERNESS HAS A POISONOUS FRUIT.

See to it that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.  

Hebrews 12:15

Defile: miaino (me-ah'-ee-no); stain, pollute or contaminate.  

…whenever (the bitter root) springs up, many are corrupted by its poison.  
Hebrews 12:15 NLT
THE FRUIT OF BITTERNESS:

1)We easily see the bad in others.
We disregard our own short comings and magnify the short comings of others

2) We feel justified in criticizing and gossiping.
We feel this special entitlement to criticize others like some special privilege because we were so hurt.
Self pity is satanic and is one of our greatest enemies that we must overcome in our lives.

3) We secretly celebrate their misfortunes.
When you hear things are happening to the other person in the negative, it gives you a strange since of validation and satisfaction.


4) We bring many people down.

WITH WHOM OR AT WHAT ARE YOU BITTER?
CLEAN AND CLEAR THE BITTERNESS

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving
Each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  
Ephesians 4:31-32



KILL THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  
Ephesians 4:32

KILL BITTERNESS WITH COMPASSION.
Be kind and compassionate to one another… 
Ephesians 4:32
KILL BITTERNESS WITH FORGIVENESS.

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 
Ephesians 4:32

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.  
Hebrews 12:14-15

PERSONAL PRAYER

God, I pray that you would forgive me for allowing bitterness to grow.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, would you clean and clear the bitterness from my heart.
Replace the root of bitterness with a heart full of compassion and forgiveness.
I pray you would restore my wounded relationship(s).
In Jesus name, Amen.

[BRONX]

GREETINGS IN JESUS NAME MY DEAR BROTHER

WOW THATS AWESOME STUFF THAT U POSTED AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THIS, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR DAILY LIVES AND WE SIMPLY JUST IGNORE THE WARNING BUT THE ONLY TIME WE REALISE IT IS WHEN IT IS TO LATE FOR US AND WHEN I READ YOUR POST I THOUGHT OF JOB CH 33 IT RELATES OF BECOMING PROUD_WHEN MEN ARE ASLEEP GOD SPEAKS TO THEM IN DREAMS OR IN VISIONS TO STOP THEM FROM SINNING AND BECOMING PROUD

GOD BLESS

[melanny manuputty]

I agree with you Bob.
God has heal me from bitterness through You With A Mission.......1994 in Bali base.
God cut off every bondage inside my life especially in FATHER'S HEART one of our lecture .... I choose to be free from every bitterness from my pass in my parents family.event know when we have struggle with our church....
Anyway I choose to forgive them & bless them.
Without LOVE you can make anything GOD IS LOVE he never have revenges to the people who still rejected HIM. I follow what Jesus done in HIS life until today.
Thank's for your message.
JESUS LOVES YOU
Melanny from Italy

[Carla]

Thank you Bob for this great post. Just the reminder I needed right now!

In Christ, Carla

[Bob B]

Amen, I had a Pastor years ago that use to tell me the life can make you bitter or better, the difference is I.
Your the best Carla!!!
In the love of Jesus.
Bob

[John and Susan]

Dear Bob,

Thank you for sharing this with us all. It sure convicted me! I have been praying about it ever since I read it. As you know, my husband is in a battle with cancer and Jesus is on his side. I know he will be ok. But it is still hard going through the process and I can use all the support I can get.

My parents are very upset with us and are refusing to speak to us. They wanted to come and stay with us (they live in California and we live in Oregon) during the initial part of us finding our something was wrong, but we did not know what we were dealing with yet. So we asked them to please wait til we know more. Well, they did not respect our wishes and came anyway with out even letting us know they were coming. They just showed up. This was very upsetting to John as well as myself. My Mom has made it very clear that she does not like my husband on several occasions. One time when she was visiting us she became upset with John and started telling him what to do in our own home. It got ugly and we called our Pastor who can over right away. He told my Mom that she needed to respect John in his own home. My Mom screamed at the Pastor and told him that she hated John. When I asked that to wait and not come, we were thinking that we did not need any extra stress at this time. I was obeying my husband and trying to protect him too. This is so very upsetting to us right now. I could really use their support during this time, but that is besides the point. I do not want to be bitter. I am in a difficult situation and my heart aches each day that passes. Please pray for me about this. Do you think I have bitterness in my heart? I feel that I was trying to set a boundary. Help!! Please pray about this and let me know what the Lord shows you.

Love in Christ, John and Susan~

[Deborah Sue Schenfeld]

Now that's a cool acorn, (I mean 'nugget'!)