Break the chains of Bitterness

We will all at certain times be hurt deeply by others, even close friends. If you do not learn to answer the bitterness with forgiveness it can take over your life! We live in a world that celebrates bitterness. How are we supposed to understand bitterness? People who are bitter are victims of their own hate. What does God say about living at peace and not bitterness?

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

Bitterness is a dangerous root. It is something that is hidden that we can’t see. Bitterness is the root problem that leads to anger, resentment, and hate. It establishes control of our actions, attitudes, emotions and decisions. You are held in bondage to the unresolved hurt.

Bitterness contaminates us by:

• Poisoning our relationships and ourselves. Bitter people are critical and become excited when others hurt.
• Moving us away from God. It erodes the joy in a person’s life.
• Keeping us hostage. Bitterness is one of the main goals of Satan to stop growth in a person’s life. “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) but bitterness keeps a detailed list.

What do we do with bitterness? A lot of times we just kick it aside or stuff it away. It is similar to the frustrating  job of removing weeds in the garden. The "quick fix" is to kick over the top of the weed!  It makes it “look” like the weeds are gone, but quickly they come back! Bitterness is a root so we need to dig up!

How to beat bitterness with forgiveness:

-Admit you are bitter Bitter people do not think they are bitter! You might be held down by bitterness against YOURSELF or a failure. Accept God’s forgiveness!

-Release the baggage! (v.15) Ask God to dig deep into the recesses of our soul to remove the bitterness.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" Matthew 6:14,15.

-Replace with the love of Christ - We must make peace with our past if we want freedom.

“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

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

We must see the deep forgiveness and grace of Jesus in our own lives before we can release the bitterness that is keeping us hostage. Who are you bitter against? will you begin to release the bitterness?

We have two choices to make in response to pain in life: 

Go through the door of bitterness that leads to being held hostage

Go through the door of continual forgiveness that leads to freedom

When your wife is pregnant...

We are enjoying the expectations of having our first child! It is fun to talk, pray and look forward to parenting. It is interesting what people come and say during this process. Some say, "your life will never be the same" in a sad tone. Other people give hope and talk about how children are a blessing from God. First, I am actually pumped to have children! We can watch cartoons and play with legos. Why is that so sad and depressing? Second, I am blown away that God has blessed us with a child. We want to prepare ourselves to be all that God wants as parents. I'm really excited, scared, and pumped to be a Dad. Since my wife's been pregnant (or "with child," if you want to go biblical) I have learned a few things:

-It is important to not use the term "we are pregnant." Haha! She reminds me that she will birth the child and eat all the ice cream! -Rubbing feet is important, as well as whatever else hurts at the moment. -Learn to say "yes" to any request, especially to the grocery store. I'm the awkward guy roaming around the store trying to find whatever craving she has at the time. -My wife is more beautiful as a mother. Cassidy will be a great mother! She is already revealing her love in how she talks about the babies health, future and salvation.

I've learned that through the grace and strength of Christ, we can endure through the trials of life. I'm grateful that His grace is what makes it possible to have this blessing of a child on the way. My prayer is that our child will become a servant of God.

Thank you for your prayers!

Surrender the Addiction

Addictions! Webster's Dictionary definition is, "to surrender oneself to something obsessively or habitually." People are addicted to spending money, controlling others, drugs, alcohol, food, internet, sports, gossip, and even social networking! Do you know someone who ruined their life with addictions? What is your addiction? You know and I know that we are addicted to something.  We might say...“I will just be a casual drinker” or “I’ll just look once at the porn and I will be strong enough to say no later.” Addictions usually begin with overconfidence. Some of us would say that we do not struggle with addiction, but we are so addicted, we don’t even realize it. Addiction begins when we are ‘enticed’ by our evil desires. It looks good, smells GOOD and feels good!

But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:14-15

Addictions begin by giving into our selfish desires. It is not just asking for forgiveness, but turning to God instead of the addiction. We must have changed HEARTS before we have changed actions. What we worship leads to addiction.

Where do we begin with surrendering our addictions? We need to admit and repent to God. 

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:19 

Giving into temptation is finding momentary satisfaction in a substance or person for deliverance other than Jesus. Addictions lead us to live in secret. Everyone needs an accountability partner. It is a relationship between two people who share their struggles and mess-ups. Make a commitment and promise to be loyal, trustworthy and confidential.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:1

No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  1 Corinthians 10:13

The Christian life is not a walk, but a battle! Satan’s goal is for us to be destroyed. You cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results. We must surrender to God through repentance and accountability!