Bitterness: May 13, 2014

TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY MAY 13, 2014.

BITTERNESS

DEFINITION:

Anger; disappointment at being treated unfairly; resentment.

SCRIPTURE:

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 12:15

For I see that you are full of bitterness, and captive to sin.  Acts 8:23.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Bitterness is one of the most destructive of human emotions. Bitterness stems from the greedy desire for something that we feel has been unfairly denied to us. Bitterness results in anger and resentment that can lead us to do sinful things and can lead to our downfall.

There are many situations in life today that causes bitterness. They include economic concerns, losing a job, a home breakup, family disagreements, jealousy of others, coveting what someone else has, etc. When we feel others are the blame we hold grudges that grow into bitterness.

The writer of Hebrews 12:15 advises us to see to it that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile us. When bitterness becomes implanted in our heart it is like a little root that grows into a mighty tree.

There are two warnings in this verse. We are warned that bitterness will defile us. Bitterness can lead to jealousy and anger which can lead to evil thoughts and actions. Bitterness will eat away at us until it destroys us.

The other warning is that bitterness can cause us to miss the grace of God. When we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, He will heal our hurt and take away our bitterness.

In the eighth chapter of Acts (verses 5-25), we read about Philip, a disciple of Jesus, who became an evangelist in Samaria. Philip, like many of the followers of Jesus had left Jerusalem to escape persecution. He continued, wherever he went, to preach the gospel message. Philip was preaching to people that were listening to false prophets who were teaching a false religion and urging false confessions.

Among them was a man named Simon, who used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria by claiming that he was the great power of God. The people followed him because he amazed them with his magic. The scripture tells us that when Simon heard Philip preach and saw him perform great miracles he was amazed and believed in Jesus and was baptized.

Peter and John came to Samaria to help Philip and to pray for him in this revival. When Peter and John laid hands on the believers they received the Holy Spirit. Simon was envious and wanted to buy this ability and he offered them money so he could perform the same miracles.

It was Peter who saw that Simon’s heart was not right in the sight of God. He told Simon that he needed to repent and ask God to forgive him of his wickedness. Peter told Simon that he saw that he “was full of bitterness and a captive of sin.”  Simon was still tied up in the bond of iniquity even though he had made the pretense of being a believer. Like Simon, many people today claim to be saved but still cannot get free of their sinful ways because they have not sincerely repented.

The point is made very clear in this incident with Simon. Simon’s life was filled with hypocrisy, trying to fool people that he was something that he was not. He wanted to be known as the great man of God but for his own selfish purpose.

As so often happens, Simon became bitter because he was denied what he thought he should have. In Ephesians 4:30-31 we are told to get rid of all bitterness and anger because it grieves the Holy Spirit.

Where do you stand in your life? Are you bitter because of circumstances in your life that are not going well? If you are, it is sin in God’s sight and now is the time to ask for forgiveness as Peter told Simon to do. God is willing and waiting to forgive you. You are the one that needs to take that step and the Lord will change your bitterness to joy.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is the tenth commandment found in Exodus 20:17.

You shall not covet.

PRAYER:

Help me to get rid of any bitterness in my life. Help me to realize that bitterness serves as a divide between You and me. May our family be an example to others, never showing bitterness but always showing the love of God through our words and deeds.