Praise God for what He has done for humans on this earth and get self out of the picture.
Journal prayers and read it back to self/mind to get the root of bitterness out and place it all at the feet of Jesus. Destroy them as this is private between you and God. Continue journaling when it is necessary. This is when something has really hurt you or you have forgotten to pray.... pick up the pen and get back to the habit of journaling. Do this in the a.m. and p.m. at least.
Persistent prayers of a seeking nature to get self out like Elijah did...
Read your bible at least an hour a day... out loud if you can and slowly medicating the mind and ask for the HS of God to help you understand. Words will begin to just jump off the page and into your mind. Words will have a luster and shine for the truth that is within them.
Memorize scripture and put it into your mind continually and soon your speech will be paraphrase of scripture and your thoughts will be of scripture and it will push out unwanted thoughts.
Putting away bad habits and begin cleansing the mind and body from anything that is not of God.
Fasting and praying with deep affliction of soul and deep repentance. If you cannot fast for whatever reason, eat a raw food diet and your mind will be clear to pray with the mind of Jesus.
If you do these points on a daily basis and then the last one on the Sabbath, in time, you will experience such a peace and joy that words cannot explain it.
I must admit that I have done them all on occasion but not consistently every Sabbath fast. I find it easy to fast on Saturday but hard fasting on Friday night. I know I must do so for 24 hours to clear the mind and give the body a rest. The raw food diet before the Sabbath is easy to do and I do this often.
Is this really a problem with many people? Somehow, it seems to me that the average "liberal" Adventist isn't affected too much by this, but the "conservative" ones are. I guess it is because the conservative ones see the wrongs in the church and in their own lives more clearly, and get somehow focused on them and not on Jesus. But if our eyes are on Jesus, yes, our faults will stand out in stark contrast, and we will humble ourselves, but the "bitterness" will be taken away, not increased.
And about fasting -- I've found that a very simple diet on Sabbath is good for the mind to function actively. I'm one who cannot really fast, as i just dont' have any excess reserves to drawn on (yesterday in a health screening i had a BMI less than 17), but most people eat excessivley on the Sabbath, and then cannot digest the spiritual food.
As to the Roots of Bitterness: We have all been raised in a dysfunctional world and have deep hurts and concerns that need to be laid at the feed of Jesus. Once this is done then we will only have the daily attacks that have to be dealt with of course from the originator of sin.
Hebrews 12:14,15 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15: 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;
Remember that these prayers are private: Re: (T,v.2, 189,190.) -Family or public prayer alone is not sufficient. Secret prayer is very important; in solitude the soul is laid bare to the inspecting eye of God, and every motive is scrutinized. Secret prayer! How precious! The soul communing with God! Secret prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hearing God. No curious ear is to receive the burden of such petitions.
One will experience the peace that passes all human understanding. It is a freedom that can only be attained through Jesus Christ.
Prayer and fasting This is done often in the bible and there are many examples. Do you want me to post them??? There are many written prayers in Bible and SOP.
There is another option if you feel you cannot fast.... eat only raw food on the day of the fast... Sabbath is a good day to clear the mind with fasting or a raw food fast.
Interesting that just today, while waiting for people to come look at the Tamil books for sale, i was reading Daniel - the part about where he FASTED for 3 weeks really caught my eye. You know, i'm named after this Daniel, and something in the back of my heart has been pulling for many years that maybe someday i should do this 3-week thing too..... But like today, i skipped just one meal, and my head is light and i'm getting cranky and .... i'm not cut out for outright denial of all nutrients for 21 days. Hey, my bmi is only 16.3 you know
Interesting that just today, while waiting for people to come look at the Tamil books for sale, i was reading Daniel - the part about where he FASTED for 3 weeks really caught my eye. You know, i'm named after this Daniel, and something in the back of my heart has been pulling for many years that maybe someday i should do this 3-week thing too..... But like today, i skipped just one meal, and my head is light and i'm getting cranky and .... i'm not cut out for outright denial of all nutrients for 21 days. Hey, my bmi is only 16.3 you know
Webmaster, Try a raw food fast and it works quite well for clearing up the mind. I did a 21 day fast maybe 3 years ago and decided it was not for me as my nails did some strange things. Now, I realize that I cannot tolerate milk protein or gluten and those proteins have over the years, ruined my digestive system to the point that I was not absorbing the nutrients that I needed. Now, after giving those up, healing has taken place and nutrients are being absorbed. Maybe now, I could do that fast again.
I do a Sabbath fast now.... first time, 12 hours, second time 18 hours, and this last Sabbath 22 hours. Next week hopefully I will have my body trained to make it 24 hours. I'm new at this but think it is important to have the victory over appetite and control.
The goal is a closer walk with Jesus and communion with Him.
Hello newbie On Sabbaths i mostly do eat raw foods, or food like rice that was cooked the day before. I find, especially when doing that for lunch on Sabbath, that i have a much clearer mind to study on Sabbath afternoon, rather than the lazy one that i used to have
That is weird about your nails doing strange things. Surely our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Raw food along with no dairy, no meat, no eggs, is a challenge but it really helps clear the body and mind from toxins. We need to ready our temples and minds for the HS of God to dwell. I do not do any sugars either not even honey or maple syrup. I'm allergic to gluten so brown rice is good and oats too.
I'm rather tall for a female in the U.S. and still walk 3 miles a day. I'm still in the average range.
So are you totally vegan? I do eggs and dairy sometimes, especially when i eat "on the road" if you know what i mean
The owner of the restaurant where i used to work was totally vegan, so he put a huge needle in himself once a week or so to give himself vitamin B-12. He had also surgery for something related to that he said, all of which made me very suspicious of going totally vegan.
Surely we have fallen a long way from our Eden home state...
Walking 3 miles a day is great! I guess i should too, and do really try to walk as much as possible, but in many of these places where i go, the roads are chaotic. Getting run over would be worse than no exercise at all - ha!
Well, i have not taken carob powder in large quantities, but once around 15 years ago i bot a big can of protein powder, and took the recommended amount every day until it was empty. I did gain about 2kg, but didn't feel right.
That time was the heaviest i've ever been - 51kg - until i matched that by staying in India 2 years ago. I gained a kilo a week until i got to 51kg there too.
