Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
Charles Stanley paints a mental picture of a crazed evil scientist concocting a deadly elixir in his lab. As the wild-haired doctor menacingly mixes the ingredients he cackles at the possibilities of mayhem and pain this potion will inflict.
And once finished, the scientist is seen holding the test tube of poison high in the air gloating over what he has created. It is then inexplicably the scientist brings the tube to his lips and ingests the deadly poison himself.
That is strange twist huh?
Charles was painting this picture to make the point about a very particular poison in our lives that we create and often quickly ingest.
It is the poison of BITTERNESS.
Yesterday I was in Grandview (a millennial's mecca 
) spending some time with a new partner, DW. DW is a passionate and amazing young lady. She is a game changer for the CAUSE OF CHRIST in Franklin County. (http://www.igniteourcity.com)
) spending some time with a new partner, DW. DW is a passionate and amazing young lady. She is a game changer for the CAUSE OF CHRIST in Franklin County. (http://www.igniteourcity.com)
She and I are working with a IBM partner to try to create an advanced way for folks to find the addiction assistance they need. Think “Amazon Prime” for Treatment and Recovery. Be in prayer for this.
It is a DAUNTING task, but so needed!
I believe GOD is knitting the right team together to see it through!
But as with most of my partner relationships, what started as a “work” session quickly migrated into a “sharing session”. And we got on the topic of bitterness.
You see my sweet and deeply passionate friend had been hurt by the same CHURCH she now sought to connect and promote. She shared a very difficult journey of trying to forgive a deep offense and that it was still a work in progress, one in which she was daily doing her best to not become bitter.
And while a struggle, DW has the heart of Jesus and that heart was daily reminding her:
...if you forgive other people their failures, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you will not forgive other people, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your failures.
Matthew 6:14-15 (PH)
Yet that is some “TOUGH TRUTH" for MANY of us STRUGGLE in this area of life.
We are often flummoxed by forgiveness.
We even say things like,
“If you knew how they hurt me, you wouldn’t forgive them.”
“Until they admit what they did was wrong I am not forgiving them.” “I gave my best and for what? Rejection? Dismissal?”
But if we don’t embrace FORGIVENESS, we are just a “crazy” as that scientist who concocts a potion designed to hurt someone only to ingest it ourselves. For when we fail to forgive we are opting to CHOOSE BITTERNESS and the only person that hurts is us.
It is true.
The more DW and I talked, the more I could tell she was truly on a path to healing and the LORD even brought back to mind a wonderful message that I had embraced some time ago for when the “bitterness bug” bites me.
So, the question for us today is obvious, right?
Are you harboring some bitterness this morning?
Is there an OLD hurt that you continue to cling to or a bitter pill you are opting to take with your morning vitamins? Is there an old hurt or a time of rejection that continues to cling?
I will be honest, in my ministry, I have folks who continue to shoot heroin, drink alcohol to excess, use sex as a crutch etc. all to ease the pain of bitterness.
It is a double portion of deadly.
That sound like you?
Then put down the test tube.
FORGIVE those offenses.
Grab the blessing of forgiveness.
Hatred stirs old quarrels, but love (and forgiveness) overlooks insults. Proverbs 10:12 (TLB)
And remember:
Bitterness is cancer - it eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the object of its displeasure. - Maya Angelou
Forgive.
Have a blessed and bitterness free day!
I love you all
OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE
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