7-22-2017

Good Morning All,

              Hebrews 12:15; “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” 

    Have you ever done one of those really stupid things?  Have you ever sent an email to the wrong person, like the one where you criticize someone to that someone?  It might start off as a way to let off steam, you meant to send it to a friend for advice but instead of “forward” you hit “reply” and now is there hanging with all its problems.  Perhaps you said something that was wrong to say or just heard wrong.  Either way, it is out there now; now what do we do?

    Maybe you were the one on the other end of the events.  How do you respond?  It is easy to get very upset and very offended.  Our self-righteous indignation can hit on all cylinders and rev right out of control in a hurry.  We move along the path of looking out for us sure of the properness of our high road action. 

      In either case, whether you are the “wronger” or the “wrongee”, we need to be careful to follow this verse and not allow the “root of bitterness” to spring up.  This is a great place for the devil to attack the church.  A moment of not thinking by one person can cause bitterness to take root.  And root it takes, it goes deep and disturbs the other plants; it takes moisture, nutrients and reduces the production.  This sin does the same in our life and in our church.  When bitterness takes root, the effectiveness of the church is reduced and the enjoyment of living in God’s family.  Both situations are ripe for the devil to disrupt and attack.

     So what do we do?  First we recognize that this is a sin; a sin that should be repented but also a sin to be forgiven.  Whichever side you are on, forgiveness is always the key.  True forgiveness is what will always drive away the root of bitterness.  True forgiveness is what makes the church function properly.  Too often, we won’t admit what we did was a sin or else we won’t forgive and let it go.  We save it up and trot it out later when it will serve our selfishness the best.  At times like this, we try to deny others God’s grace.

    God calls us to love each other but we are sinners and we will fail each other once and a while.  Don’t let bitterness take root.  Don’t hold onto things that happened 30 or 40 years ago.  Don’t hold onto things that happened 30 or 40 minutes ago.  Let them go, repent when you should and forgive when you should and b quick to do both.  God forgives us and calls on us to forgive each other.  This is what true love is- forgiving one another.  This is what drives away the root of bitterness.  It is the sweet taste of forgiveness.

Dear Father in heaven, too often we are slow to repent and even slower to forgive.  Guide us away from our pride and our arrogance.  Lead us to see that a life of love begins and ends with forgiveness.  Guide us to the unity to which we are called.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret