In 2006, there was a woman by the name of Edith Macefield. She made her way into the headlines, and you can see her on the screen there, along with her house. In 1952, she purchased the house that you see there on the screen. Check this out, $3,750 she paid for that house. Two years, she had it paid off. Well, in 2006, developers approached her with an offer. They wanted to buy her house so that they could build a shopping mall. She said, I'm not selling my house. Well, they continued to make offers and continued to make offers, and she continued to refuse offers until they offered her $1 million for her house, at which point she said no. So they bought all of the land around her, and you can see on the next slide here, exactly what her property ended up looking like. They built the mall right around her house. I mean, she is absolutely surrounded there. From every angle, on every side, there is either a mall or a road there. As a result, she ended up only living a short while before being injured and going to assisted living and passing away. Some people lauded her as a hero for standing against big business and doing all these things. Other people said she was a little crazy for not letting her house go for a million dollars. But you know, many times in our lives, we trap ourselves in that same way. From her story, we see that many times we get in our own way and we isolate ourselves. We isolate ourselves with something called bitterness. Bitterness can isolate you, bitterness can cost you more than you anticipate, and bitterness can rob you of your joy. Let's look at Hebrews 12, verse 15. The Bible says, Can I tell you tonight, the bitterness is real. It may be that you've dealt with bitterness, it may be that someone in your life has hurt you, there has been upset, there have been problems in your life, and before you know it, bitterness came. But can I tell you tonight that not only is bitterness real, bitterness destroys lives. Can I ask you a very personal question tonight that I do not expect you to answer out loud or with a raised hand? Is there bitterness in your heart? Are you struggling in your life maybe with the wrongs or the mistreatment of others and it settles into your life and it seizes on your life and before you know it, it ruins your life. Has bitterness become so deeply entrenched that you simply can't move forward in the rest of your life? Tonight, we're gonna look at this terrible root of bitterness and see how God says it as we look at this message uprooting bitterness. Let's pray. Lord, we love you today. We're thankful for your love for us. We're thankful for your blessings. Lord, I pray tonight, Lord, there's no doubt there are people in this room tonight struggling with bitterness. Things have gone wrong. People have mistreated them. Terrible things have happened. And Lord, I prayed tonight that you'd give victory through your word. In Jesus' name, amen. During World War II, Mitsuo Fushida led the attack on Pearl Harbor. Imagine that, leading the attack on Pearl Harbor. Following the war, he met a friend who was a prisoner of war in America, a Japanese friend. That friend told Mr. Fushida about the kindness of an American girl who brought the prisoners food and reading material. On being asked how she should do such kindness to her enemies, he was told the girl's story. Her parents had been Christian missionaries in Japan. During the war there, they were sent to prison, cruelly beaten, and finally, they were beheaded in Manila by the Japanese. Their last act was to write a letter to their daughter asking her to always love the Japanese people. By the way, that's the heart of missionaries. The trauma of their deaths would lead to the blessing of their daughter and to others. The instructions to love the Japanese people would shield her against the bitterness that she would have otherwise faced. Captain Fuchida asked his friend where the girl had learned to love her enemies, and in reply he was shown a copy of the Bible. After reading it, he soon became a Christian and went on to be an evangelist preaching the gospel. He told his story in a book from Pearl Harbor to Calvary to crowds, telling them of the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the testimony of this young girl who did not become bitter, but had a desire to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Can I tell you tonight, it may be that there is bitterness in your life. The people have hurt you. The people have wronged you. The people have mistreated you. But can I tell you tonight that there is good news? And the good news is that bitterness can be overcome. Pastor preached a series several months ago on being overcomers. And can I tell you tonight, you can be an overcomer over the bitterness that can creep into your life. Are you wanting to move to the freedom that only forgiveness can provide? Well, let's look tonight. Let's ask this question first off. What is bitterness? What is bitterness? Well, the definition of bitterness, we've all seen that bitter person. You know that person who you don't want to ask how they're doing because you know it's not good? That person who you have something good to say, and you would like an encouraging word, but they have nothing but a discouraging word? We want to avoid bitter people. We know what a bitter person looks like many times. They never smile. They're rude to everyone. They're angry at the world. The biblical word bitterness has been defined as poison, sourness, and embittered or resentful spirit which refuses reconciliation. Dictionary.com gives another definition. It is a deep-seated ill will. I would go on to say that bitterness is unresolved anger that has been held on to. It's about an unwillingness to let go of the past, to let go of those things, those hurts, those wrongs that have been done to us. There are some biblical examples of bitterness. One is a man by the name of Esau. Esau lost his birthright. He lost the blessing of his father. Genesis 27 tells us that story. Verse 34 says, an exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. And he said, Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said, Is he not rightfully named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? He was upset at his brother for a valid reason. His brother had rightfully done wrong to him. Verse 41 of Genesis 27 goes on to say, "...and Esau hated Jacob." Wrong had been done and he hated his brother. They had always fought, but in this moment, he's filled with rage and he wants to kill his brother. Thankfully, towards the end of their lives, things would be resolved there. Another biblical example of bitterness is a lady by the name of Naomi. she loses everything. She leaves the land of blessing, she goes to the land where God is not, and in the process she loses her sons and she loses her husband. And in Ruth chapter 1 verse 20, and she said to them, "'Call me not Naomi, call me Mara,' or bitterness, for the Almighty hath dealt bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. Why then call you me Naomi?' In other words, why call me joy? Why call me happiness, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me. See, there are times where we are bitter at people because they've wronged us. There are times where people are bitter at God. She said, God had dealt bitterly with me. God brought me home empty. God testified me. God afflicted me. She left where God had put her. She went to a pagan land. In the process, she loses everything. And can I tell you, it's really hard to know exactly where to put the blame here. But I can promise you one thing, the blame cannot be put on God. But let me tell you what Naomi did do. Well, what she didn't do, really, she failed to look in the mirror. You know, sometimes we make bad decisions, we make bad choices in our life, all of a sudden those consequences come crumbling down on us, and we blame God. That was Naomi. And tonight, you may be looking at your situation, and you feel like God has forgotten you, and you feel like your world is crumbling down, and you're wondering, God, where are you? Can I tell you tonight, don't get bitter. Naomi had no idea what was around the corner. She had no idea that this girl named Ruth would find this kinsman redeemer and would be in the bloodline of Christ. She had no idea what was coming. Can I tell you tonight? Don't give up. Don't get bitter. God has blessings ahead. But then another biblical example is a man by the name of Haman. There's a guy by the name of Mordecai. Mordecai saves the life of the king and after Mordecai saves the life of the king Haman gets a promotion Esther chapter 3 verse 1 the Bible says after these things did King Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Aren't you glad these people today aren't named what they were named back then? There's way too many syllables for me to pronounce that name and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him, and all the king's servants that were in the king's gate bowed in reverence Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him, but Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king's servants which were in the king's gate said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandments? No, it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand, for he had told him that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw Mordecai, bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone. For he had showed him the people of Mordecai. Wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai." The hate of the Jews did not just start. The headlines you see are not a recent event. And in this situation, we find that Haman is on top of the world. I mean, he is the king's right-hand man. He can do anything he wants. He can go anywhere he pleases. Everything should be good. But he looks out and he sees one man that will not do him what he thinks is his due reverence. And he lets that one man ruin his life. So much that he decides not only is he going to kill Mordecai, he's going to kill the family of Mordecai and the people of Mordecai. He's going to wipe out the entire race of Mordecai's family. Can I tell you? This is a terrible example to follow. but we all do it at times. We see one little thing, everything is going great, and there's one little thing in our life that we don't like, and we zero in on that one negative thing instead of looking at all the positive things, and before we know it, our lives are ruined. That's exactly what happened to Haman. He was blinded by pride, and it cost him everything. Then we see the source of bitterness. One is definite hurt. definite hurt. In Luke chapter 6 verse 27, Jesus said, But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on one cheek, offer also the other. And him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. there will be baked into life hurt. Everywhere you go, you're surrounded by these horrible things called people. And for some reason, people like to hurt people. And as you go throughout life, there are people who legitimately will hurt you. Sometimes it's on purpose, sometimes it's on accident, sometimes they're just hateful and terrible people. and they mistreat you and use you. How do we respond? Is bitterness the right way to do things? Jesus says here, no. He says to bless them that curse you, to pray for them which despitefully use you. It's important to understand that as you go throughout your life and people are doing bad things and people are mistreating you, the right thing to do is not to get revenge. The right thing to do is to pray. Pray that God will work in their life. There's that person at work, and they're trying to climb over you on the corporate ladder, and they're trying to make you look bad, and they're trying to make themselves look good. Pray for them. There's that family member who is after money, and the inheritance isn't going right, and there's divisions in the family. Don't get mad at them. Don't get revenge on them. Pray for them. There are people in our lives that will mistreat us and that will hurt us. The right response is one thing, and that is to pray for them. Another source of bitterness is disagreement. Hebrews 12, the verse before a text verse, says, There's just disagreement sometimes. Isn't it amazing how a small disagreement can sometimes turn into a major situation? I mean, just one thing, as has been said many times, it only takes a spark to get a fire going, right? Just one little disagreement that keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger until it turns into bitterness. Another source of bitterness is jealousy. I think of King Saul. He is a little bit similar to Haman. He's on top of the world. He is the king. He has anything and everything he wants. But he hears the song that the ladies are singing. Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands. Before he knows it, the anger turns to bitterness, and the bitterness turns into a desire to murder. In our day of social media, jealousy is an easy thing to have slip into our lives. Because we're going through our social media, and we look at our lives, and everything seems bitter. I'm sorry, not bitter. It seems boring and mundane. And it seems like our life is just so average. And then you see that person who's always on a trip, or has a new car when your car barely cranks. Or it seems like they have tons of money, and you have no money. And we look at social media, and before we know it, we can hate a person that we barely know. Don't let bitterness overcome you. There are also false perceptions. Think of Job. Job is there, he's lost everything, and his friends are coming to Job, accusing Job. They don't know what's going on in Job's life. They have no clue. And Job keeps saying, no, I'm telling you. I haven't done wrong. It doesn't matter what you accuse me of. And before you know it, the false perceptions can turn to bitterness. We've got to be sure that our thoughts are based in reality and not on our feelings. You know, as I counsel mainly teenagers, what I find is most of the things that I counsel about aren't even based on reality. It's a thought that has gotten into somebody's mind and it's taken over their mind, and like a worm in an apple, just eaten away at them, and before you know it, a small situation's a big situation. You ever lay in bed at night after a conversation and you go, I wonder what they meant by that? And before you know it, it's two o'clock in the morning and you can't go to sleep because that person was so unkind to you and then you find out they didn't even mean anything by it. False perceptions, don't become bitter. Then we see the dangers of bitterness. The dangers of bitterness. Back to our text in Hebrews chapter 12, we see that bitterness can be deceptive. It can be hidden. It's called here a root of bitterness. Looking diligently, lest any man fail the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Roots are below the surface. You look at a tree, but you don't really know how big the roots are. We don't know how far into the ground they extend or how far they go over. Roots can be huge. I have something in my yard called pompous grass. Does anybody know pompous grass? It's terrible. Okay, I moved in and I thought, how can I get rid of this stuff? So I went one day and I chopped it down. And I threw it in my backyard, and I threw a match. Before I knew it, if I'm not lying, it was like 40 feet up in the air. I mean, it was huge. And I thought, I want to deal with this every year. I asked a guy, I said, how in the world do I get rid of this stuff? He said, there's really no way. You spray poison on it, and you spray poison on it, and you dig it up, and you spray poison on it, and it keeps coming back. And that root is there, and it keeps coming back, and that is exactly bitterness. You don't see it. It may be, I said earlier, a statement that may not have been completely true. We think we see who bitter people are, but sometimes I can look out and see you and not know that you're bitter at all. It's there, it's below the surface, and it keeps, as this verse says, keeps springing up, making appearances in our lives. Several years ago, I don't even remember if it was pastor-priest or if it was a revival or what, but I came about right here at the altar. And I prayed the Psalm 51 prayer. I believe Psalm 51. Search me, O God, know my heart. And you know what? God showed me some bitterness in my heart that I didn't realize was there. There was a resentment that I had towards some people for something that had happened well over a decade before that time. And I was bitter at those people and angry at them. And that night I asked God to forgive me. Since then I've reached out to those people and apologized on my behalf and the relationship is repaired. Can I say tonight it may be that there's bitterness in your heart and there's anger towards people and on the surface you don't even realize it's there. It's deceptive. Bitterness is also delusional. Many times it points us in the wrong direction. I remember growing up I was the oldest of four. My brother and I were three years apart. And does anybody have boys that are about three years apart or less? What do they do? They fight. And sometimes my brother would do things. He was younger than me. I hope you're watching, Travis. He would lie to my parents and get me in trouble. I remember one time I pushed my brother. He grabbed his arm and he squeezed it and then went and showed my mom the red mark that I left on his arm and I got in trouble. I remember one day I pushed him and he jumped back into the wall and then went and told our mom that I pushed him into the wall. I mean, he was a satanic little demon. He was terrible. And sometimes he would make me so mad I couldn't even see straight. It sounds crazy until you've been so mad that you can't see straight. Have you ever been there before? You're so mad you can't think, and everything seems mixed up, and you're so upset you don't know who to be mad at or why to be mad, but you know that you are mad. You know bitterness can have that effect. You're so bitter at a situation or a person that before you know it, you're creating anger with this person and in this situation and all over the place. Bitterness can be delusional and point us in the wrong direction. And the reality is that hurting people hurt people. And it may be that you're in here tonight and somebody rightfully has hurt you. But it's gotten toxic. It's gotten into your life. And now you, because you've been hurt, are hurting other people. There's victory over bitterness tonight. James chapter 3 verse 14 says, but if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual and devilish. He's saying that many times bitterness or hurt or envying and strife in our life causes us to lie to ourselves about things. Bitterness is delusional. It's also defiling. At the end of Hebrews 12, verse 15, it says, And thereby many be defiled. It's destructive. Romans 12, verse 19, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, this is what God says here, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. You know the Bible says the natural man receiveth not the things of God. The natural man being our flesh that did not get saved. And you know when somebody hurts me, when somebody makes me mad, you know what my first reaction is? I'm gonna get even. You know what we like to say. I'm gonna give them a piece of my mind. You know, I don't think anything's got me in more trouble in my life than giving people a piece of my mind. But God doesn't say, give them a piece of your mind. God doesn't say, get even. God doesn't say, tell everybody about them. God doesn't say, gossip. God says, vengeance is mine. I will repay. What does he say here? Therefore, have thine enemy hunger? This is hard. Feed him. If he thirsts, well, if my enemy thirsts, what I want to do? I want to make him thirst even more. Here's some salt, you know? That's not what God says. If thine enemy thirst, give him drink. For in doing so thou shalt reap coals of fire on his head. And then look at what he says in verse 21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. You know, it's said that when a rattlesnake is cornered, sometimes they become so angry that they begin to strike themselves over and over and over. And when a man harbors hatred or bitterness in their heart, they are poisoning themselves just like that rattlesnake bites itself. Nelson Mandela said, resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies. See, the reality is the bitterness that you have towards that other person in your heart doesn't hurt them a bit. They can go to sleep at night and they're just fine. It keeps you up at night. It messes with you. It destroys your life. Bitterness is destructive. So what is the answer? How do I deal with bitterness? Look back at our text tonight. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 14. Look at what he says here, so powerful. "'Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord, looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.'" He tells us to be peaceful and holy. He says here, "'Follow peace with all men The word here follow is much more than just to follow, like my kids follow my wife through the house. This is a following, a pursuit, a desire to have this thing. And he's telling us here, our job is to follow peace with all men, to pursue peace with everybody, to make sure that peace is our goal. Are you a peacemaker tonight? The Bible tells us not to let the sun go down upon our wrath. The idea is to get things right before the sun goes down again. Are you a peacemaker? Psalm 34 verse 14, depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. Matthew chapter 5 verse 9, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Romans chapter 12 verse 18, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. You say, it's not possible. God says pursue it anyway. Many times we're quick to point the finger at others. You don't know what she did to me. You don't know what he did. If you just understood. I've heard that said to me in counseling many times. If you just knew how I feel about this situation. And the reality is I probably don't know how they feel. But God's word is God's word whether we feel good or not. What God says is still true even if we have been mistreated. You know, ultimately, the responsibility falls on us, too, even if it is completely that person's fault for us to try to be the peacemakers. You know, I can't make other people like me. I can't force people to be affectionate towards me. I can't force people to treat me right. I cannot control their actions, but I can control my actions. And I can pursue peace. You know, it's easy to shift the blame. We're real quick, especially in our society right now, to label ourselves as the victim. And once I'm the victim, it's everybody's fault but mine. Some of y'all are laughing like maybe you've been there or you've experienced this before. Before we know it though, our own wrongs fade from view. And every problem in our lives is someone else's fault. God says pursue peace. Matthew chapter 7, Jesus says, and beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest thou not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull the mote out of thine eye, and behold, the beam is in thine own eye? You know, it's real easy to see that other person's fault, and it's real hard to see our fault. It's important to understand tonight I may not have been right in every situation. That's really hard to admit, isn't it? You know, the toughest thing to say in life, I'm sorry, I was wrong. And sometimes, we do something out of line, and someone else responds, and then we're bitter at them. It's important that we look in the mirror sometimes, understanding that we can as easily be at fault as that other person. Maybe in your situation right now, you're completely innocent, but it's always worth looking inside. Jesus said, as I said earlier, pray for your enemies. You know, sometimes here's a real good prayer to pray. Lord, I pray that you'll either change their heart or change my heart. God, if I'm wrong, will you correct me? That's a hard prayer to pray, because God might answer it. Psalm 139 that I mentioned earlier, search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. Remember, the Bible says, only by pride cometh contention. Somebody had pride. It's always them that has pride, right? But it can be us. He says to follow peace with all men, but then he says here, and holiness. Did you know that you cannot be holy and right with God while mistreating others? And by the way, let me just say, I'm not just preaching to you tonight, I'm preaching to me too. We all deal with this. I mean, sometimes it seems like I'm having the best day. I've had the best devotion. Everything is going good. I feel like my walk with God is at its pinnacle. And then one person says the wrong thing to me, and I bite their head off. You ever been there before? You know what that is? That's a lack of holiness in my own heart. 1 John 4, verse 20. If a man say I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? You can't be right with God while actively carrying bitterness in your heart towards fellow believers. Then he says to live in God's grace. Look at the beginning of verse 15 there. Looking diligently, lest any man fell of the grace of God. Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. Grace is an amazing word. We sing about it. We think about it. It is God's unmerited favor. We didn't deserve salvation, but God provided it. At other times we're struggling, and God's grace is there to sustain us. Sometimes we've been hurt, and all we can do is grin and bear it. And I'm thankful that when people have hurt us, and when, rightfully, we have been wronged, God gives us grace. I think of the Apostle Paul. He has this thorn in the flesh. And he comes to God and says, God, will you please take this thorn away from me? And the answer we always want is, yes, let me take that thorn away from you. Let me make everything all right. God said no. He comes to God again and ask again. And he's expecting, God, I've asked, will you please take it away? No. And the third time, 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9, And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. No, Paul, I'm not going to take away the thorn. No, Paul, I'm not going to take away the difficulty. But Paul, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll do something better. I'll give you grace to sustain you through the difficulty. My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength, God is talking, is made perfect in weakness. Paul says, Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Can I tell you sometimes when we see the power of God the greatest is when we are at our lowest? When things seem impossible, when it seems that there's no way through, when it seems that there's no way forward, we have a God who is there, and He's giving us grace, and He's helping us, and He's sustaining us. I love when I go to a hospital visit, and there is a person there who should be down, and they should be upset, and maybe they have a reason to be angry, and I leave the hospital room better because I saw them. God gives grace. He says, therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities. Paul, you're talking crazy now. I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions. Imagine that. In distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong. Listen to verse 11. He says, I've been hurt, I've been wrong, you have mistreated me, and in spite of all that, God is still good. And can I tell you, it may be that you just have to count your losses sometimes, and realize that, you know what, they did hurt me, and they did mistreat me, and they did wrong me, but I've still got God, and God still has grace, and everything is gonna be okay, and they may never get right with me, and things may never be right in that situation, but in spite of that, I'm gonna keep on moving forward. I'm gonna be what God wants me to be. You gotta pull bitterness up by the roots, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. You know, like that pompous grass. I can keep cutting it, and it's gonna keep coming back. And cutting it, and coming back. If any of you can get rid of it, please come to my house, okay? Keep cutting it, and it's gonna keep coming back. And the problem with our bitterness is we don't properly deal with it. We cut it off at the surface, and we bury it, and we think everything's gonna be okay, and it's back again. He says, and thereby, many be defiled. Many times, we just become another victim. We just become a statistic. Can I tell you, it's time to flip the script on your bitterness, to uproot it, and to not be defiled by it. Corrie Ten Boom's story is powerful. She was a Jew hider during World War II with her family there. During that time, her book, The Hiding Place, if you've never read it, I highly recommend it. I think it's one of the greatest books ever printed. They'd been hiding Jews, and finally one day, they were caught. She's separated from her family except for her sister Betsy that day. She'll never see her family again. Her and her sister Betsy are put in concentration camps and worked and abused and finally the day comes that she looks up and she sees her sister Betsy dead. And at that point, she hates those Nazi officers. She hates what they've done to her family. They've taken her from her home. They've taken her from her family. Years go by. After the war, she becomes a prominent speaker on the subject of forgiveness, letting go of bitterness. She speaks one day, and a man comes up to her who is a Nazi soldier. He approaches her, and he expresses his remorse for how she was treated. And he asked her for forgiveness. At that moment, Corrie begins to fight back the tears. She clenches her fist, she bites her lip, realizing that bitterness is very real in her heart in spite of the fact that she's telling everyone else to forgive. In that moment, she looks into the eyes of that former Nazi soldier and she forgives him. She's set free from the cage that has bound her for so long. And can I tell you that tonight, you can overcome your bitterness as well. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter four, verse 32, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. Even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. We hung Him on a cross. It was our sin that put Him there. And in spite of that, He comes to us with open arms and says, I love you and I forgive you. If He could forgive us, we can uproot our own bitterness. Let's pray. Lord, we love you today. We're thankful for your love for us. Lord, I'm thankful tonight that If you were willing to forgive us, we can have in our heart to forgive others as well. I pray that you would help us to show the same grace that you've shown. In Jesus' name, amen. With heads bowed and eyes closed,