Titus 2 Men And Women

"Looking diligently, lest any man fall in the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness

springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." (Hebrews 12:15)

The house that we moved in to last summer developed a pervasive sour odor after we closed it up to run the air conditioner. I shampooed the carpets, used cans of Lysol spray, bottles of Pine Sol, even Clorox bleach, but nothing took the odor away for any length of time. We soon realized that our trying to clean the surface would never get to the root of the problem. A carpenter was called to remove the odor by tearing out and then replacing a rotten bathroom wall with a new one.

From personal experience I know that the root of bitterness has the same effect in a child of God that the seeping water had in our home: Bitterness eventually rots the walls of the heart and the air in God’s earthly dwelling place gets permeated with an unpleasant sour odor / disposition and unrest.

For many years after I was saved I did everything that I was supposed to do---and went many extra miles---for my family and for my local church. I fulfilled every responsibility well. Others, and myself for a time, perceived me as "having all things together" and doing all because I loved the Lord. (I later realized that much of my "doing" was done to apply fresh smelling cleaners in an attempt to eradicate the odor from an undiscovered rotting heart wall.) With time the "something" that remained just below the surface of my life after I was saved became so unbearable that I had to stop and fervently seek God’s help.

During the last several years I have noted in my Bible the following truths about bitterness. These truths came from pulpit sermons and a medical doctor.

---"Bitterness can be defined as profound grief accompanied by suppressed hostility towards unbearable circumstances."

---"Bitterness is a form or anger and when anger is unresolved it takes root In the personality and gradually turns in to bitterness. Like a cancer it silently spreads throughout the personality leading to emotional disease and spiritual damage. Failure to weed out the root of bitterness ensures torment."

---"Bitterness grieves the Holy Spirit. "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness...be put away from you..." (Ephesians 4: 30-31)

---"Bitterness and anger come forth because people do not believe that God cares."

"I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness,..." (Acts 8:31) This was the verse that gripped my soul and drove me to search the" yellow" pages of my Bible until I found multiple listings for the only carpenter that guaranteed His work to be free for the asking, perfect, and beautiful. When I finally bowed my heart and called Jesus Christ came at once to begin a patient, merciful, loving job to remove what turned out to be two rotten walls from my heart.

The first wall was the result of bitterness. I sat still with God long enough to realize that this bitterness was not for my mother (that was removed/healed when I knelt at the altar as a young teen to receive Christ as my personal Saviour). This first wall was bitterness for the deeds done to me when I was a child.

The second rotten wall was buried behind the first one and the Lord revealed it to me as I read through the Book of Romans. When I could not get past chapter eight and verse twenty-eight I asked God so many questions before He literally broke my heart and sat me free with the answers. To explain I would like to share part of my journal entry from that day:

"Father, Abba Father, I am horrified and heart broken. For other Christians I have always believed, and I have taught others, that You are the Master and not the Author of the "all things" in our lives. I now realize that I never settled that matter in my own life. Father, You have helped me see that as a hurting child I accepted that You, by not stopping the hurt, were abusing me too. And buried way down inside that bitterness towards You fed my acceptance that You just could not love me like You loved everyone else. This thinking has distorted much understanding and especially the relationships in my life. Father I ache all over...please forgive me.

I know that You are the Master of all things---seemingly good or bad. I now believe and even "see" a little of how You have used some of the unpleasant happenings in my life for my training and my refining...worked them for my good. For the first time in my life I can say "thank You" for being in control and for keeping me and teaching me in those times."

Those hours with God---that sweet and painful tent of meeting was the culmination of God’s very patient twenty-three year struggle to remove the bitterness from my life. When the Lord healed this rotting process it was a wonderful turning point in my relationship with my Lord, myself, my husband, my children, and my parents.

I only wish that I could say that I am bearing my heart just to give a testimony of victory over an unusual personal problem. Unfortunately I cannot say that because the Lord has allowed me to recognize that same sour odor/disposition and unrest in others. I have seen others discover rotting walls in their hearts...hearts that had a desperate need. In every situation that need, like mine, was not for a medical doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, psychology book, or a radio doctor of psycho-theology. Rather, the need for all hurting hearts is the same need that I had: The need is for Jesus Christ (The Great Carpenter) and God's Holy Words (His tool box). It is only Jesus Christ and the Words of God that contain every tool needed to reveal and tear out all of the rotten problems that we can have and fill the void with clean right thinking and understanding.

OUR CARPENTER...............Mark 6:3

What a perfect Name---for---our---Lord Jesus Christ

The ONE who made the Heavens and Earth---and man;

"Without Him---was nothing made---that---was made"

Who was In the Godhead---before---time---began!!

Our Heavenly Carpenter---has three parts-in work-

"To make"----"To repair"---and---"To beautify";

He will fix all our broken---ideals and resolves---

Then when it is over-"wipe a tear-from our eye"!

IF we uncomplainingly-accept and trust our Maker

then---as we look back---ore the path we traveled;

We’ll wee these things---in the right perspective

And the full plan of God-will be plain-unraveled.

To burn out the dross---or to burn in the promise

Regardless of which---it comes---from---God’s Hand;

So I’ll gladly accept it-&-glory in it---besides

I need no explanations---In Heaven-I’ll understand!

lula b. claycomb

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