Dealing With the Stink of Bitterness!

Before doing this study, please read the 1-minute introduction Sin Looks Attractive But It Stinks. It talks about Rafflesia, a colorful parasite that stinks like rotting flesh. And it compares this flower-like growth to bitterness.

If you dealing with bitterness, I encourage you to memorize one or all of the passages below. Better yet, memorize them before you face a situation that could cause bitterness. 

There is something healing about memorizing Scripture during difficult times. It truly changes us. I encourage you to read the study "I Can't Change."  

If you've never recited Scripture to deal with a particular sin problem or difficulty, I encourage you to "experiment" -- give it a try. If you do it faithfully and seriously, I believe it will change your heart.

1. Romans 12:19-21: Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

See Romans 12:14-21 - A Crazy Idea! which talks about the message of Romans 12, a message that contradicts our natural human desires. 

2. 1 Peter 3:9: Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

God will settle accounts if someone refuses to repent. It may not happen until the judgment, but it will happen. See Galatians 6:7-9 and A Common Misunderstanding About Consequences which clarifies the meaning of reaping what we sow. 

3. Luke 6:28-30: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.'

We are called to walk in the opposite spirit of evil. If we treat unkind people as they treat us, we give Satan the victory. See The Freedom of Loving Your Enemies which tells a true story from the Iraqi war. 

4. Hebrews 12:14-15: Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 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.

 

See Blessed Are the Peacemakers.

Dealing with bitterness is one of the most difficult things we do as Christians. And it is also one of the most important. Bitterness can completely derail our faith if we are not careful. 

copyright 2026, Gail Burton Purath, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com 

image of Rafflesia: wiki Commons

All the Way to Timbuktu!

Nate Saint was a missionary pilot who was martyred in 1956 in Ecuador. His son Steve knew his father died for the Gospel, but that didn't keep him from wondering if his father's death had been necessary.

When he found himself in Timbuktu, God gave him a deep assurance that his father's death had great purposes. Please read Divine Appointment in Timbuktu as an introduction to this Bible study.

Bible Study

Most of us will never experience the type of persecution Nouh and Nate experienced. It's not likely that we'll be threatened physically for our faith, but let's pray that we will willingly make whatever sacrifices God asks of us. 

To better understand Nouh's situation see:

What Happens When a Muslim Becomes a Christian 

Father Kills Son for Converting to Christianity

Saudi official kills own daughter for conversion to Christianity

Apostasy in Islam (This is a Wikipedia article, but it is carefully referenced). 

Let's pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who come out of Islam!

The following passages reveal various aspects of persecution. As you read through them, think about ways that they specifically apply to your life:

➜ It's inevitable - genuine believers will experience persecution.
2 Timothy 3:12: Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

➜ It's a privilege - it glorifies God.
1 Peter 4:14-16: If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

➜ We can be confident that God is with us no matter what we suffer.
Romans 8:31-35:What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

➜ We need an eternal perspective on suffering.
Matthew 10:28-33: And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ... 

Let the passages above strengthen your faith:

Christians in America are facing increased persecution. It hasn't reached the level of imprisonment or physical abuse, but we are being persecuted for sharing unpopular Gospel truths.

Have you denied your faith in any area? Have you chosen to remain silent when you should have spoken the truth in love? Have you been ashamed to tell a friend or coworker about your faith, knowing they might reject you? Have you changed your moral values to fit the values of culture? Let's pray through the passages above and ask God to help us stand firm in every area of our faith.

To Read a few more Bible Love Notes devotions about the Saint Family, see The Saint Family: Courage and Perseverance.

And please check out Lies in Disguise to prepare your heart and mind to correct the half-truths contradicting God's Word:

 

LIES IN DISGUISE: 

 

The link above offers:

✔ Chapter titles

✔ Reviews

✔ Where to purchase

✔ Important reasons to read it

 

copyright, Gail Burton Purath, 2015, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com 

 

 

A Short Bible Study on Gluttony

Before doing this short study, please read the one-minute introduction: Do You Say Grace and Then Engage in Gluttony? It discusses the differences between being overweight, obese, bulimic, and anorexic. It also explains a particular Scripture verse that helped me overcome my sin of gluttony.  ~ Gail

Now let's take a look at Scriptures that apply to gluttony.

 

1. We must be careful about things and people that influence us:

 

✔ Proverbs 23:19-21: “Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”

 

✔ Proverbs 28:7: “A discerning son heeds instruction, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.” 

Drunkards and gluttons may not become poor financially, but they become poor spiritually and physically. This should be a motivation for us to beware of people and influences in our lives that point us toward gluttony. In addition, obesity is not a good witness of our Christian faith.

 

2. Be careful of bad leadership examples: 

 

Among other things, 1 Timothy 3 says a pastor must “be above reproach...temperate, self-controlled, respectable...not given to drunkenness.” Titus 1:5-9 repeats the need for a pastor not to be a drunkard and also says he must be “self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.”

When we've visited churches in a new location, my husband and I have sometimes visited ones where the pastor is clearly obese and sometimes severely obese, and we've never felt comfortable joining those churches. I'm not talking about overweight pastors, but genuinely obese pastors. According to the instructions in Timothy and Titus, such men do not qualify because they are not above reproach, not self-controlled, and not disciplined. A pastor does not need to be perfect, but he cannot continue in an ungodly lifestyle and lead others.

 

If a person is battling with the sin of gluttony, they want to seek help and prayers from leaders who understand the serious nature of their sin, not those who join them in it. 

3. When our stomach is our god:

 

✔ Philippians 3:18-19: “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”

From GotQuestions: “Their god is their belly: This phrase metaphorically describes individuals who prioritize physical appetites and desires over spiritual devotion. In the Greco-Roman world, indulgence in food and sensual pleasures was common, and this imagery would resonate with Paul's audience. The ‘belly’ symbolizes self-gratification and idolatry of personal desires, echoing Romans 16:18, where Paul warns against those who serve their own appetites. This serves as a caution against allowing physical desires to take precedence over spiritual commitments.” 

 

4. This passage gives important emphasis to the care of our bodies: 

✔ 1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

As Christians, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our bodies, seeking to care for them responsibly. If you are struggling with gluttony, please read some of the passages in this study each day and seek God deliberately and daily.

 

copyright 2026, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, by Gail Burton Purath

 

 

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