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Hebrews 12:15 - Dont Exchange Your Faith And Gods Grace For Bitterness.

Hebrews 12:15 (NIV) See to it that no one 
falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter 
root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 

Hebrews 12:15 (NLT) Look after each other so 
that none of you fails to receive the grace of 
God. Watch out that no poisonous root of 
bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 

Hebrews 12:15 (ERV) Be careful that no one 
fails to get God's grace. Be careful that no one 
loses their faith and becomes like a bitter weed 
growing among you. Someone like that can ruin your 
whole group.  

Hebrews 12:15 (CWR) Be careful not to lose 
your hold on Gods grace by allowing bitterness 
to come into your hearts, for this will not 
only hurt you, but many others. 

COMMENTARY

Choose Grace, Not Bitterness
   If youre still holding on to 
resentment, then someone is controlling you.  
   Have you ever said, You make me so 
mad? Thats an admission that the other person 
is controlling you. The only way to get this 
person out of your mind and heart is to heal the 
hurt with Gods grace. 
   Hebrews 12:15 says, See to it that no 
one falls short of the grace of God and that no 
bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile 
many (NIV). 
   Have you ever known a family where a 
bitter parent poisoned the whole family? Bitterness 
is contagious, and it can actually become 
generational. Someone needs to break the chain - and if 
bitterness has taken root in your family, that someone 
can be you.  
   Are your parents bitter because their 
parents were bitter because their parents were 
bitter? Its time to break the chain. And 
theres only one way to break it: with grace. 
   Friends, if you dont get Gods grace 
in your life, life will make you bitter. Why? 
Because there is sin in the world. We live on a 
broken planet. This is not heaven. Evil people get 
away with evil things all the time. Life is not 
fair.  
   Is forgiveness fair? Absolutely not. 
   But forgiveness is not about fairness. 
Its not about getting even. Its about grace. 
 
   You dont forgive a person because 
its the fair thing to do. You forgive a person 
because its the right thing to do, and you 
dont want your own heart full of poison. You 
dont want to hold on to the hurt and the hate.  
   Forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. 
It cost Jesus his life. It cost God his Son.  
   As Jesus was dying on the cross, with his 
arms outstretched, he said, Father, forgive 
them, for they do not know what they are doing 
(Luke 23:34 NIV). Its like he was saying, I 
love you, I love you, I love you. In effect, 
he said, They dont deserve it. They 
dont even know what theyre doing. But, Father, 
forgive them anyway.  
   Follow Jesus example and offer 
forgiveness today. Heal your bitterness with his grace. 
[Daily Devotional by Rick Warren: 
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

The Real Me
   The other week during a long flight home, 
I could not get comfortable in the airline 
seat. My corset was digging me and no matter what 
Ken did, my blood pressure continued to spike 
and my forehead kept sweating (signs that I am 
in pain). Normally, it would have been enough 
to drive me to pray. But not this time. I was 
fed up with my disability (a nice way of saying 
I was fed up with God's control of the 
situation). My thoughts were sour and I was not about to 
pull my Bible out of my backpack. Instead, I 
tried to get my mind off my pain by watching the 
in-flight movie. Halfway through, I thought, This is 
the stupidest film. Why am I watching it?! 
   That night after the pain subsided, my 
first thought was, That wasn't like me. I'm 
normally not like that. But the whisper of the Holy 
Spirit replied, "That is you. You are like that." 
Suffering always tests us, examining and sifting us 
and asking, "Who are you really?" Normally, we 
are not faced all the time with how self-focused 
we are, or how sour or peevish our attitude can 
be. We think we're doing pretty well. But 
suffering strips off that veneer and shows us our true 
colors. 
   Affliction does not teach you about 
yourself from a textbook; it teaches you from 
experience. It will always show you what you love - 
either the God of all comfort, or the comfort that 
can become your God. Think back on the last time 
you got 'fed up' with your circumstances. What 
did this reveal about yourself? Talk to God 
about that today. 
   Lord Jesus, I may not like affliction in 
my life, but I am keenly aware that it 
constantly shows me who I really am. Thank you for 
covering every sin with your precious blood! [Joni 
Eareckson Tada Daily Devotional: 
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional] 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE

Hebrews 12:15 - Don't Exchange Your Faith 
And Gods Grace For Bitterness. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210201-0904.html 

Hebrews 12:14-16 - Warning Against Rejecting 
God's Grace. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2006/20060726-0927.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Most Important Decision in Life: 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 

Steps to Peace by Billy Graham: 
https://stepstopeace.org/ 

A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo 

Seeking God Made Real: 
http://vimeo.com/31489782 

Prayer Made Real: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE 

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]  

Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David 
DeRose, MD, MPH: 
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES 

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: 
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ 

Amazing Facts Bible Studies: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx  

Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides: 
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2 

Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: 
http://www.bibleresearch.info/ 

LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS

Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug 
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/  

Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The 
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE 

Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of 
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible 

Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: 
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens 

Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657