https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Mara-or-Naomi.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Ruth 1:19-21<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Life has its ups and downs. How do you respond?<\/p>\n
A. Do you rail at life and God? Do you decide life is a misery?<\/p>\n
B. Naomi had a hard life.<\/p>\n
1. Famine caused her family to move to a foreign country – Ruth 1:1<\/p>\n
2. Her husband then died – Ruth 1:3<\/p>\n
3. Her sons grew up and married local women, but then they died – Ruth 1:5<\/p>\n
4. Life, without a doubt, was hard on Naomi and it got to her – Ruth 1:19-21<\/p>\n
II. The bad events in life can be bitter pills to swallow<\/p>\n
A. Hannah was bitter because she had no children – I Samuel 1:10<\/p>\n
B. Tamar was bitter after being raped – II Samuel 13:19<\/p>\n
C. Job was bitter after Satan destroyed almost all that he had – Job 3:20<\/p>\n
D. Captivity made life bitter for the Israelites – Jeremiah 22:10<\/p>\n
E. The loss of children – Jeremiah 31:15<\/p>\n
F. It is understandable to respond in bitterness to the blows in life.<\/p>\n
III. But some people create their own bitterness in themselves and in others<\/p>\n A. The immoral woman makes men’s lives bitter by the spreading of sin – Proverbs\n5:3-4; Ecclesiastes 7:26\n
B. A foolish son makes his parents’ lives bitter – Proverbs 17:25<\/p>\n
C. Turning from God brings bitterness into a person’s life – Deuteronomy 29:18-19<\/p>\n
1. You might think doing as you please is a path to happiness, but it isn’t<\/p>\n
2. Forsaking God brings evil and bitterness – Jeremiah 2:19<\/p>\n
3. It becomes rooted into your being – Jeremiah 4:18<\/p>\n
D. Bitterness is something that others might not easily see- Proverbs 14:10<\/p>\n
E. But if left, it can cause bad decisions – Hebrews 12:15<\/p>\n
1. It was bitterness that led Simon astray – Acts 8:23<\/p>\n
2. We should not be proud of our bitterness – James 3:14<\/p>\n
IV. Put away bitterness – Ephesians 4:31<\/p>\n A. It sounds easier than to do. But realizing that sin is behind much bitterness, the\nfirst step is to put away sin.\n
1. We don’t have to stay in the bitterness of sin – Titus 3:3-8<\/p>\n
B. Counter with kindness toward others – Ephesians 4:32<\/p>\n C. Realize that life is full of ups and downs. A bitter person focuses only on the\nnegative things that happen\n 1. For example, Naomi had a wonderful daughter-in-law who left her own\npeople to just be with Naomi. I’m sure Naomi appreciated her, but she\ndidn’t take it into account.\n
2. Pleasant words – Proverbs 16:24<\/p>\n
3. Wisdom and knowledge – Proverbs 22:17-18<\/p>\n
4. Songs of praise to God – Psalms 135:3<\/p>\n D. You can’t control what life throws your way, but you can control what you focus\nupon – Philippians 4:8-9\nV. We don’t like unpleasant things, but it doesn’t mean we should become unpleasant\npeople as a result. We have to remember that God makes use of everything – Romans\n8:28, 35-37\n
A. We need confidence that God will aid – Hebrews 4:16<\/p>\n
B. Don’t throw it away just because we suffer setbacks – Hebrews 10:35-39<\/p>\n C. Naomi eventually learned to let go of bitterness and her life became pleasant once\nagain – Ruth 4:13-17\n
D. No matter how bad life gets, rejoice – Habakkuk 3:17-19<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ruth 1:19-21 I. Life has its ups and downs. How do you respond? A. Do you rail at life and God? Do you decide life is a misery? B. Naomi had a hard life. 1. Famine caused her family to move to a foreign country – Ruth 1:1 2. Her husband then died –…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[888,250,374],"class_list":["post-55554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-bitterness","tag-confidence","tag-happiness"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-life-defined-by-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":55554,"position":0},"title":"A Life Defined by Love","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 16:13-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The story of Ruth is a popular love story from the Bible \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It isn\u2019t how most people see as a typical love story. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0She doesn\u2019t go out searching for love but she eventually finds it anyway \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rather, we see the story\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35643,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-raised-obed\/","url_meta":{"origin":55554,"position":1},"title":"Who raised Obed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just finished Ruth. In Ruth 4:16, it states,\u00a0\"Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse\".\u00a0 There is a footnote in the NASB that says the term, \"laid in her lap\" is an example of taking \"as her own\". So, did Naomi\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21764,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-naomi-related-to-obed-in-any-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":55554,"position":2},"title":"Was Naomi related to Obed in any way?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Naomi Obed's grandmother or even related to him in any way? Answer: Obed was the son born to Boaz and Ruth. Ruth was Naomi's widowed daughter-in-law. She had married Naomi's son who had died. Boaz married Ruth in part because he was a near kinsman to Ruth's husband.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33928,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ruth-a-woman-of-virtue\/","url_meta":{"origin":55554,"position":3},"title":"Ruth – A Woman of Virtue","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward Text: Ruth 3:11 Defining Virtuous Brown Driver & Briggs - strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army Strong's - probably a force; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength Army 56x Man of valor 37x Host 29x Forces 14x Valiant 13x Strength 12x Riches 11x Wealth 10x Power 9x Substance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13435,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-wasnt-naomi-concerned-that-her-daughters-in-law-might-marry-ungodly-men\/","url_meta":{"origin":55554,"position":4},"title":"Why wasn’t Naomi concerned that her daughters-in-law might marry ungodly men?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm preparing to teach the book of Ruth for the first time.\u00a0 In fact, to even study it!\u00a0 I'm a bit confused as to why Naomi insisted that her daughters-in-law not go with her to her homeland in Judah when Moab was a land full of idolatry.\u00a0 If her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98617,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/good-times-in-bad-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":55554,"position":5},"title":"Good Times in Bad Times","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson The late radio news commentator Paul Harvey would sometimes report on some horrific situation, then he'd turn his attention to an uplifting story by saying, \"Now wash your ears out with this.\" That reminds me of the book of Ruth. Ruth lived during the time of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}