Some things just struck me just sitting here. First, no piano. We don't have the piano here. You know, I was just thinking about the catacombs where the Christians were fleeing persecution in Rome and how very similar it must have sounded as they worshipped God and didn't have pianos and organs and all of these things that we are so grateful to have today.
And then another thing struck me when Levi was praying, these words, and I hope I quote them correctly, he talked about how we are to live in this world, in a world where we are looked upon as a bizarre people who don't belong here. Yeah. That's the way that the world looks upon the Christian. You know, what a peculiar people is this. They really don't fit in. They really don't belong here. And you know what? That's OK. That's OK. And it's true.
And then this week I was thinking about Thanksgiving coming and thinking about doing a message on Thanksgiving this next Sunday and this passages in scripture that speak of how to be grateful and thankful. And that line came to my mind, and I'm sure you've heard this said before. What if you only had tomorrow what you thanked God for today? How many have heard that before? What if you woke up tomorrow and all you had was what you thanked God for today? What would you have tomorrow when you wake up? And it just to me is an encouragement to really begin to thank God, to spend more time in expressing gratefulness and thankfulness to God for all that he has given me, all that he's given us. He's given us so much. He's given us so much. Clean water is such an incredible blessing. Drinking water.
I remember a man telling me once that he was speaking to a missionary who went into the tribal regions in Africa and that when he was in this one area, this man was saying to him how astounded he was, how shocked he was that Americans take good, clean drinking water and flush their toilets with it. And he was blown away at our, you know, just our waste, how much we waste. But what if you only had tomorrow what you thanked God for today?
And then another thing that really just struck me last night, remember, remember. The word is used over 200 times in Scripture, sometimes by God and many times by the people of God. Remember Psalm 77, 11 says, I will remember the works of the Lord. And I was thinking about this and how we need to remember the works of the Lord in relationship to what God has done for us in saving our souls, in saving our ruined, pitiful, wretched souls.
And then I came upon Ephesians chapter 2, beginning with verse 11, and this word again, remember. And it's the Apostle Paul admonishing the church at Ephesus to remember their past life and what great things God had done for them. Remember, he says, being in times past Gentiles, according to the flesh. Remember that time when you were, he goes on to say, without Christ. And without hope in the world. But now you who were once afar off. Have been brought near by the blood of Christ. But he begins, remember, remember, can each of us remember that time when we were afar off, before we were brought near by the blood of Christ, by the special operation of God? Can we remember? We need to remember. We need to remember.
And then finally, I wanted to talk for just a moment about bitterness. Bitterness is a prison. Bitterness is a place where you are behind bars, locked in, the door is shut. And the power of it is keeping you from escaping. It really is a prison. Bitterness is a secret sin many times. It's something that we hide or attempt to hide. But it's still there. And it's like, as all secret sins, it's like we don't realize that God is watching. God knows, God is there. While we're in that prison of our own making, which we try to keep secret. And don't really want to come out and confess.
Bitterness walks down a very dark road. It walks down a very dark road, hand in hand with unforgiveness. Hand in hand with unforgiveness. Like other sins, it doesn't like to be called out. It would prefer to remain in the shadows. Once bitterness gets its grip on you, it doesn't easily let go. Right now, you may be, one of you, several may be in a place where you're in that prison of bitterness. Maybe towards your spouse. Maybe towards one or both of your parents, your mother or your father. Maybe towards someone who's offended you in the church. Even the pastor or deacon, someone's offended you. And bitterness has started to grow. How long will you sit in the prison of your own making? How long will you sit in the prison of your own making?
And we like to say, well, it's not a prison of my own making. He made me get locked behind these doors. She did. This other person did. No, bitterness is a prison of your own making. And it's a prison only Jesus has the key to unlock the door of and set those free who are bound by it. The old hymn says, He breaks the power of reigning sin and sets the prisoner free. You have to go to Christ. When you're in that prison of your own making called bitterness, you have to go to Christ. You can't go in. You have to go out to him. He alone can break the power of reigning sin and set the prisoner free.