As we continue to serve the Lord, the bitterness of winter leaves us longing for warmer days. Sometimes we come to a place of bitterness in our spiritual lives. Some of the grumpiest and mean-spirited people I have ever known have been Christians! Bitterness takes over when we begin to go through the motions of religion and play church. We begin to notice that some in the church are not as committed as we are, or some have fallen into sin. Then, we begin to feel good about ourselves and our record of commitment. We start becoming critical towards others in the church and even lost people outside the church. This can continue to shape the way we think and ultimately the way we relate to God. Church becomes a duty rather than devotion, and church members become competition rather than partners. The end result is that we are more concerned about our picture of church than we are about God’s.
How do we overcome bitterness in our spiritual life? First, we must recognize our bitterness. This is not as hard as you may think. Just like during the cold of winter we long for warmer days, Christians know when they are outside of God’s will. Do you long for more in your spiritual life? It may be because you have allowed bitterness to take over. Once we recognize it, then we must ask God for help. Get alone with God and pray about your spiritual condition. Open your Bible and ask God to show you your faults. The Bible functions like a mirror with two reflections. When we look into it, we see the reflection of our current condition (the Bible reveals our faults) and the reflection of Jesus (the Bible reveals how the Lord wants us to be). Now that we have a starting point, the next step is obedience. As the Lord shows us our faults, we must be faithful to deal with them and to continue to spend time with Him. I pray that as sure as spring will take away the bitter cold of winter that God will help you to remove the bitterness from your spiritual life!
Next month we will take a look at apathy in the spiritual life. Until then, live a life worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus!
Bro. Anthony
Events
Starting February 2nd there will be a Men’s Prayer breakfast each Monday morning at 6 AM. This meeting will allow men to fellowship, pray, and start the week off with the Lord so that they may more effectively lead their families.
February 1—There will be a business meeting following the evening worship service.
February 7—There will be a preview Potluck dinner to kick off the Easter Choir practice season.
February 8—The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated as part of the regular morning worship service. A potluck lunch will follow.
February 13th and 14th—Student Life Conference at Bellevue Baptist Church.
February 14—Valentine’s Day Banquet at 6 PM.
February 15—Church Council meeting will be held at 4 PM.
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