Imprisoned by Bitterness!

 

Quotation

 

Where does bitterness come from? It usually starts out small. But like the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill it increases until it causes an avalanche in one’s life.

 

Barry Denzil Haney

 

Verse

 

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

 

Ephesians 4:31-32

 

Reflection

 

Bitterness is defined as anger and disappointment at being treated unfairly; resentment. For many, bitterness becomes a way of life. Their worldview is characterized by chronic resentment as they ruminate over how they’ve been victimized. This way of thinking can have severe harmful effects on the psyche such as prolonging mental and emotional pain, lead to long-lasting anxiety and depression, precipitate vengeful acts, create or deepen an attitude of distrust, and undermine your physical health. (Seltzer)

 

What does God think about bitterness?

 

According to Michael Linn, the key elements of bitterness are unresolved anger, the inability to grieve, and a lack of control. In order for us to let go of bitterness we have to accept and forgive. (Linn)

 

In Romans 12:19, Paul is telling us God does not want us to take revenge for perceived wrongs against us, but to show restraint and be peaceable:

 

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

 

We need to eliminate bitterness from our heart. Hatefulness and holiness cannot exist in the same heart. Hebrews 12:14 tells us we cannot have a relationship with God if bitterness is in our heart:

 

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

 

Illustration

 

Leonard Holt was a paragon of respectability. He was a middle-aged, hard-working lab technician who had worked at the same Pennsylvania paper mill for nineteen years. Having been a Boy Scout leader, an affectionate father, a member of the local fire brigade, and a regular church attender, he was admired as a model in his community. Until that image exploded in a well-planned hour of bloodshed one brisk October morning.

 

A proficient marksman, Leonard Holt stuffed two pistols in his coat pockets and drove to the mill. He stalked slowly into his shop and began shooting with calculated frenzy. He filled several co-workers with two or three bullets apiece, firing more than thirty shots, killing some men he had known for more than fifteen years. When the posse found him standing defiantly in his doorway, he snarled, “Come and get me, you….I’m not taking any more of your….!” Bewilderment swept the community.

 

Puzzled policemen and friends finally found a train of logic behind his brief reign of terror. Down deep within the heart of Leonard Holt rumbled the giant of resentment. His monk-like exterior concealed the seething hatred within. The investigation yielded the following facts. Several victims had been promoted over him while he remained in the same position. More than one in Holt’s carpool had quit riding with him due to his reckless driving. The man was brimming with resentment—rage that could be held no longer. Beneath his picture in Time, the caption told the story: “Responsible, Respectable, and Resentful.”

 

 

Prayer

 

Our Heavenly Father,

 

Help me rid myself of bitterness! Help me to

not be resentful of others because of perceived

injustices. Help me to instead see them as Your

creation and strife to love them as You love me!

 

Rid my heart of bitterness and replace it with Your

holiness. Help me accept and forgive. By doing this,

I can bridge the gulf separating me from You and

begin an eternal loving relationship with You!

 

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,

 

Amen!

 

Worship

 

Heal My Broken Heart by Patty Felker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=845hdo6RALM

 

God Bless You,

Barry

 

Seltzer, Leon F. “Don't Let Your Anger ‘Mature’ Into Bitterness.” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, January 14, 2015. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/201501/don-t-let-your-anger-mature-bitterness. 

Green, Michael P. 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000. Print.

 

 

 

 

Please, I Don’t Want to Leave!

  

Quotation

 

When I am swimming laps in the pool, I sometimes imagine I am a fetus, swimming within the amniotic fluid within my mother’s womb. An overwhelming sense of peace overcomes me – worldly thoughts, fears, pains, and temptations are gone, replaced by inexpressible joy. As I rhythmically glide through the water, I imagine the angels in Heaven appearing in the air bubbles caused by my hand entering the water, as the bubbles rise, quickly to the surface. I imagine Jesus at the transfiguration, as the light shimmers, and dances, moving through the depths of the pool. I sense being held in the arms of Jesus, as I glide gracefully through the water of life!

 

Barry Denzil Haney

 

Verse

 

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

 

John 7:38-39

 

 

Reflection

 

Use your imagination and listen to a fetus describe his world inside the mother’s womb.

 

Finally, after eleven weeks of development, I can control my appendages! I love pushing and kicking off the walls enveloping the fluid collection I find myself trapped in. Wow, this is so much fun. Now, I can feel the walls and I didn’t know I had that. – Well, it’s been eighteen weeks since I was conceived and things are sure changing. I now can taste what my mother is eating, and can hear all the strange sounds coming from beyond the walls of the cocoon I find myself trapped in. Wow, whose voice is that? Am I inside this person talking? I really like the voice, so soothing, time to sleep -- Twenty five weeks and counting! It sure is dark in here. I have these two balls on my head, with lids I can move up and down, but they don’t seem to have any use, so I wonder why these long, projections are now growing out of the lids. I have this overwhelming sense to suck on something. What’s that in my mouth! It’s some projection coming from the appendage I have been using to feel things inside this dark fluid collection. I don’t know what it is but I sure do like sucking on it! – Twenty eight weeks have now passed. These days I spend most of my time sleeping. Wow, I have sure grown a lot. And what’s this layer of squishy stuff enveloping my body! Oh, I can hear that pleasant voice and those pleasant sound waves coming from outside my prison. Oh well, back to sleep! – What’s that! Something violent is happening! The walls are closing in on me! The fluid is disappearing.! I am being propelled downward! Please, I Don’t Want To Leave!

 

What is the fluid surrounding a fetus during development. The fluid is called amniotic fluid. This fluid is produced by the amnion and is formed within the amniotic sac the first twelve days of conception. The amniotic fluid is a clear yellow fluid consisting of water from the mother’s body initially, but overtime is largely made up of the baby’s urine. Within the fluid are important nutrients, hormones, and antibodies to protect the growing fetus. In addition it provides a buffer to protect the fetus from bumps. The fluid has many other functions including temperature control, infection control, lung and digestive development, muscle and bone development, lubrication, and umbilical cord support.

 

Is this the living water the Bible speaks of? In John 5:3, Jesus tells Nicodemus in order to enter Heaven, a man must be born of water and of the spirit.

 

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

 

Scholars have debated for many years what Jesus means when he says born of water. Some of the more notable arguments think the water refers to physical birth through amniotic fluid and baptism with water. I invite the reader to read the Bible, meditate about God’s word and listen to what the Holy Spirit reveals to you. I plan to write a book about what I think this verse means after further instruction from the Holy Spirit.

 

Water appears to be very important to God.

 

According to Dwight Tucker the word water is referenced seven hundred twenty two times, more than faith, hope, prayer and worship. (Tucker).

 

St. John Damascene says this about water:

 

Water, then, is the most beautiful element and rich in usefulness, and purifies from all filth, and not only from the filth of the body but from that of the soul, if it should have received the grace of the Spirit. (Damascene)

 

In John 4:14, Jesus tells us this about water:

 

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

 

Thank you Jesus for the physical water that sustains the flesh while we are here on earth, but we also thank you for the living water that sustains the spirit as we undergo transformation to the new spirit man we will become when we get to Heaven.

 

Illustration

 

Years ago I was driving in Orlando, FL, listening to talk radio as I am likely to do. They were interviewing a man who claimed that he had met Ponce De Leon in a bar in Miami. Ponce, who would now be over five hundred years old, had in fact discovered the Fountain of Youth and was ready to make its life giving water available to the world, for a price. Investors could get in on the ground floor of marketing for a mere two thousand dollars per person.

I thought I'd heard everything until that night I was talking with the husband of one of our church members who had heard the same interview and asked me if I'd happened to copy down the guy's phone number because he was interested in investing.

Jesus spoke of a fountain of life-giving water, only His fountain is not a bogus myth or legend. Jesus' fountain is real, it's eternal and it's available. (Jones)

 

 

Prayer

 

Our Heavenly Father,

 

Thank You for creating us in Your image!

Thank You for the physical water to sustain

Our bodies. More importantly thank you for

The living water You provide us to sustain our soul!

 

We are conceived in water, come into this

world in a gush of water, our physical bodies are

sustained by the water You created on earth,

water seems to be very important to You!

Thank You for the transformational power of

the living water you provide preparing our spirit

for an eternal relationship with You in Heaven!

 

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,

 

Amen!

 

Worship

 

Living Waters by Keith and Kristyn Getty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA9UfBEHciY

 

God Bless You,

Barry

 

 

Jones, Steve. “Living Water.” SermonSearch. Accessed April 29, 2021. https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-outlines/18727/living-water-2-of-4/. 

 

Damascene, Saint John. “An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.” An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith by St John Damascene - the Complete Text. Accessed April 29, 2021. http://www.orthodox.net/fathers/exactidx.html.