Bitterness

How to Tear Down The strongholds of bitterness.
Our Souls
The problem-
-Bitterness defiles our souls
In our pursuit of "peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord," We are to watch diligently that no one resists the grace of God. Otherwise, there can very easily spring up in us roots of bitterness. By this means "many be defiled." (Hebrews 12:14-15)
The Consequence
-Bitterness weakens our souls
If we pursue that which is evil, God may allow us to have the evil desires of our hearts but send "leanness into our souls." (Psalm 106:15) Leanness decreases the capacity of our souls to respond to God and to follow his ways.
The Solution-
-Lost ground can be regained
The promise of Psalm 23:3 is especially significant: "He restoreth my soul." As our shepherd, the Lord leads us in the "paths of righteousness" and "prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies." (Psalm 23:3,5)
"Ground"
The definition-
A jurisdictional area of our souls-
We are warned that bitterness will "Give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27). The word place in the Greek means "an area of legal control." In a kingdom, the jurisdiction is determined by the ground under the authority of the king.
The Problem-
-Surrendered ground brings torment
When the devil is given ground in a person's soul, he has the legal right to build strongholds on that ground and use it as a base of operations to torment other areas of the soul.
The Solution-
-Ground is regained one step at a time
Every time we allow the sun to go down upon our wrath, we give more ground to Satan, according to Ephesians 4:26-32. There may be many individuals toward whom we are bitter. In warfare, ground that is surrendured to the enemy must be regained a foot at a time.
Strongholds
The Definition-
-A false patterb of thinking
God warns us not to be deceived by vain philosophies which are "after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Believing these philosophies will allow Satan to "spoil" (plunder) our souls. (Colossians 2:8)
The Consequence-
-Decisions contrary to God's Will
When Satan constructs a line of reasoning in our minds that is contrary to scripture, he then influences our wills to make wrong decisions. Wrong decisions produce distructive emotions such as fear, anger, depression, and worry.
The Solution-
-Strongholds can be pulled down
We have been given weapons that are "mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Corinthians 10:4). These weapons of truth are designed to cast down every false philosophy and every deceptive imagination and bring every thought into line with the truth of Christ's teaching.
Examples of Strongholds
-My offender will never change
Jeremiah 32:27
1 Peter 3:1-2
Ephesians 5;25-33
-I must punish my offender
Romans 12:19
Tormentors
The definition-
-powers of evil that afflict our souls
When the servant who had been forgiven the huge debt refuse to forgive one who owed him a little debt, he was rebuked by his lord and delivered over "to the tormentors" (Matthew 18:23-34)
The Problem-
-God sends tormentors to bitter people
In the parable of the unjust steward, the lord rebuked the servant who refuse to forgive an offender: "I forgive thee all that debt. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on they fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delievered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him" (Matthew 18:32-34)A bitter person becomes a prisoner of his own making.
The Solution-
-Understand the meaning of mercy.
In the parable of the unjust steward, the debtor did not plead for mercy he simply asked for an extension of time. (Matthew 18:26). The lord delivered him to the tormentors so he could come to the realization that he would never be able to pay back his debt.
Steps of Action
1. Confess the sin of bitterness
2. Ask God to regain surrendured ground
3. Tear down strongholds with truth
4. Show mercy by forgiving your offender

A Missionary Story We can All Learn from!

~This isn't a very well known name but this woman was truly incredible! She many not be the one we think of when someone says a great Christian woman from the past, but she was just as important as Mary Slessor, Amy Carmichael, or Susanna Wesley! This is a little bit from the life of Sabina Wurmbrand.
~Sabina grew up as a jew in the 1920's. As Jews they didn'tbelieve in saying the word Christ, so therefore, they didn't have a CHRISTmas. They didn't believe that Jesus was the Messiah either. In 1936 Sabina married Richard Wurmbrand. Richard was a Jew also and he grew up with the same beliefs as Sabina. Not long after they had been ,married Richard became a Christian and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour! When Sabina found out she was so mad. Soon after their marriage became dead. Finally Richard was able to lead Sabina to Christ.
By 1943 World War 2 had broken out and was raging. Sabina had already lost both her parents, her sisters, and her brother to death in the Nazi concentration camps. "May God forgive them" she prayed. "I'll pray that prayer until I really mean it". And that is exactly what she did. Each week for Sabina was packed full of ministry. One week she might be helping in the soup kitchen. The next she might be smuggling food to refugees. She might be trying to get salt into Buddapest. She was a busy woman serving the Lord.
In 1948 her hardest trial yet came. Richard had disappeared!! Even though she went through many trials through the next 21 years that Richard was gone she kept helping other people and serving the Lord!
~Think about it. Sabina went through so much persecution but she never strayed from God. She continyed to serve Him. She forgave the people that had caused her these hard trials and she suffered much more than many of us. God teaches us to to forgive our enemies and to love those that hurt us!
Dear God, make me like Sabina Wurmbrand.

~God Bless!