Good morning everyone,

James 4:7-8-Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

What I believe we forget to "deal with" many times as we go on our "quest for change" approaching the New Year is what happened in the past. Whether that’s the past year or the past 10, 20 years. I believe all of us on some level are dealing with what has happened rather than preparing ourselves for what will happen. One of the devil’s wise and wicked strategies for Christians is to live bitter and in unforgiveness towards God for allowing us to be hurt. Because Satan knows that if we are living in bitterness we cannot possibly be influential for Christ. We only have one heart, it is either living with the bitter unforgiveness from years past or it is living in the peaceful thanksgiving of forgivness, received from Christ forever, and practiced with people constantly.

Believe it or not all unforgivness and bitterness at the root is towards God. We just keep it at the level of the people we are bitter at because we then can justify ourselves in being "right"(bitter) and them being wrong. But if we break down and be honest, telling God we are mad at Him for what He has done, we know we have no place to indict God and be right as a true Christian (read Job)! So in our sinful pride, no matter if our anger and bitterness seems "justified", in Christ it’s not. Because for anything to happen to us God had to allow it, if we believe He is all powerful and not the devil. So if God allowed it, at the root our bitterness is with God regardless of how angry and bitter we are at people. (1Thessalonians 5 v18).

Because deep down we ask God why did He allow such a thing/person to hurt us? But here is where we must apply the gospel if we ever think to change. Because God’s plan was to give the ultimate hurt (death) to His Son for our sins. So when we ask, "how could God let this happen", the crucifixion of His Son and us becoming like Him is the answer (Romans 8 v29). "No servant is above His master" so like Christ we are to take all offences and forgive by His power (Mattthew 10 v24,25). Because until someone’s heart is changed to live out the gospel, real change will never happen, it will only be external and superficial. If you have experienced God’s forgiveness in Christ, we must stop bitterly asking God (or people) the question why, because they may not be answered until heaven. But to remain ultimately bitter at God, is to think ourselves too good to suffer like Jesus, and then forgive people like He constantly forgives us (Colossians 3 v13). If we want to mature and change we must purge ourselves from all bitterness, and whatever else keeps us from delighting in God and His will for our future.

In His Love, Ld