For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed.
Buddy Meloy on Bitterness, Birthright, and America's Prophetic Moment
About this episode
Pastor Buddy Meloy, of New Life Christian Fellowship in Lake City, Florida, joins Philip Cameron for a timely prophetic conversation about the spiritual root of bitterness threatening America's God-given birthright. Drawing from Hebrews 12, Buddy unpacks the story of Esau — who sold his birthright for a single meal — as a prophetic mirror for what is happening in the United States today. "Bitterness is a belief that God's grace is not enough to get us to where we're going," Buddy declares, connecting the seeds of division and envy being sown across the nation to a deliberate spiritual strategy aimed at causing Americans to forfeit their founding inheritance. Buddy traces the Parable of the Tares and the Wheat (Matthew 13) to explain how seeds of bitterness take root, entangle with what is good, and release a poisonous fungus of offense, strife, and confusion — exactly as James 3:16 warns. He also offers a stunning prophetic insight: the very holiday that was politically attacked in a recent election cycle was Thanksgiving — and Thanksgiving, he argues, is the God-ordained antidote to bitterness. This episode is a clarion call for believers to guard their hearts, give thanks in all things, and refuse to trade their spiritual birthright for a momentary grievance. Tune in for a word that is both prophetically sharp and pastorally grounding.
Part of our Bitterness collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“The battle in America right now is America's willing to give up its birthright for a meal.”
“Bitterness is a belief that God's grace is not enough to get us where we are going. Bitterness is disbelief in the goodness of God. Grace being a part of God's goodness. Bitterness is the result of a refusal to rely and depend upon the grace of God to get you to where you're going.”
“No one can take the birthright God's given America. It will only happen... if America falls, it will fall from within. It's not Russia. It's not China. None of these, they're all incidental because God's hand is on America. But if we are prepared to give up our birthright over bitterness, we've got no one to blame but ourselves.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Buddy Meloy of New Life Christian Fellowship in Lake City, Florida, delivers a sharp prophetic word rooted in Hebrews 12 and the story of Esau. He warns that seeds of bitterness — the belief that God's grace is insufficient — are being deliberately sown across America, tempting the nation to trade its God-given birthright for immediate grievance, just as Esau sold his for a single meal. Drawing on the Parable of the Tares and the Wheat (Matthew 13), Buddy explains how bitter roots entangle with good ones and release a spiritual poison of offense, envy, and confusion (James 3:16). His prophetic punchline: the recent political attack on Thanksgiving was no accident — gratitude is the God-ordained cure for bitterness, and believers must choose thankfulness to protect their inheritance.
- America's Birthright and the Esau Warning
- Seeds of Bitterness Sown Across the Nation
- God's Grace as the Answer to Bitterness
- Parable of Tares: Roots That Poison and Entangle
- Two Nations Wrestling in America's Womb
- Thanksgiving as the Antidote to Bitterness
- A Call to Thankfulness and Guarding Your Heart
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:We have a work in Moldova that is quite amazing. It started 37 years ago when I adopted a wee baby in an orphanage in Romania. I had no idea when I picked Andrew out of that crib that a whole new world would open up to me. We were successful in America. We were a singing team when we first came to America, when I came first in 1969. And then I began to preach on household salvation. Sold 300,000 copies of one book that I wrote on how to get your family saved.
Philip:And we have those books available in our store here, you want to check those out, if you will. If you have an unsaved loved one, I've got answers to see your family saved. And we have a new book called "Full House." And I took the guts of the first book and updated it. And if you have an unsaved loved one, an unsaved grandchild, or an unsaved son or daughter, I have got a revelation from God about your family being saved. And God used that. And I was set. I was on all the major television programs. And my dad called me from Scotland and said that a baby's dying in Romania. I didn't even know where Romania was. And after nagging me for a week and then threatening me that if he died, on the way there, he had cancer surgery and the wound had burst, a terrible mess.
Philip:And he said, "If I die on the way, it's your fault." And I said, "Oh, behave yourself." And that's how I went. And when I got there, I found this wee boy in the orphanage, picked him up, and I said, "I don't know who you are or where you came from, but I will not rest until I make you mine." And it took me a year, and by the time I finished that year waiting, I put in toilets, they had no toilets, a new roof, fixed everything up, new beds, and I was addicted to caring for these kids. Find something in your life that you are addicted to doing for the kingdom of God.
Philip:The Bible says we're addicted to good works. And unless you have that element in your life, now you can go to church. I believe in church attendance. I believe in tithing. That goes without saying. But you need a personal challenge in your life to get up in the morning for. You can hear a pastor preach, and he's dug the well that's brought this information and this ministry to the surface. You better get your own shovel. You have got to find something that you can get involved in that's bigger than your world, because until you do that, your world and my world will be very small.
Philip:So we have a ministry, and we ended up in a place called Moldova, which was the biggest area in Europe of sex trafficking. These kids, thousands, hundreds of thousands. And we built an amazing village called Vatra Village. It's beautiful. It's right on the largest lake in Moldova. It was being built for rich folk to have summer homes, and they poisoned the lake with chlorine to kill algae, and no one wanted to buy a house next to a lake full of algae or chlorine. That's been fixed, and now we have these gorgeous homes meant to be for rich people, where orphans come.
Philip:And instead of putting them on the street, we take them in and we put them in school. And these kids, these amazing kids, are turning from being orphans to sons and daughters and now missionaries. And they spend all summer long out having youth camps. Then all in the fall and the wintertime, they bring wood for widows, and they paint their houses and dig their gardens for spring. And that's why it's called the Orphan's Hands, because the hands of the orphan. And we just got a video sent the other day. I think you're going to love it. Watch this.
Dorina:My name is Dorina, and I come from a large family with five children. I'm the oldest child. When I think back to my childhood, I remember many quiet evenings in our home. Not because everything was okay, but because we simply didn't have enough food to eat. The house we lived in was very small, just two rooms for seven people. It was heartbreaking to watch my younger brothers and sisters go to bed hungry and know that there was nothing I could do to help them.
Dorina:I remember that during those days, my greatest wish was for each day to end as quickly as possible so that I could fall asleep, hide my tears, and pray to God, and that somehow a miracle would happen, that we would have food on our table. My parents never gave us gifts, not for Christmas, not even for birthdays. Not because they didn't love us, but because they simply couldn't afford to. I understood that and never blamed them.
Dorina:I didn't dream about having beautiful clothes, sweets, toys, or dolls. My greatest dream was to grow up as quickly as possible so that I could earn money, help my family, and rescue my younger siblings from the hardship we were living through. I came to Vatra Village through my sister. For me, the Orphan's Hands became one of the greatest opportunities of my life and a true miracle from God. Here, I learned to believe in myself.
Dorina:I met new people who became my family, and I discovered that God is always at work and that he continues to bless and provide. My encouragement to anyone who feels trapped in difficult circumstances is this: even when it seems like there is no way out, when everything feels impossible, don't lose hope. God works miracles. No matter how dark the situation may seem today, God can still write a beautiful story for your future.
Philip:That is absolutely wonderful. And Dorina and her sister both live in Vatra Village, and God is using them. They're going through school, and it's just amazing to watch. These lives come to us broken, starving, physically starving, not just spiritually, but physically starving. And they come to us with a little plastic bag or sometimes nothing at all.
Philip:In the video, you saw them with great big Rubbermaid tubs. Every time a new girl comes to Vatra Village, we have a welcome home party. And the girls that are already in the house rejoice and celebrate, and they go upstairs to their bedroom and change into new outfits, and they have fashion shows. It's amazing to watch. And the first thing we do is we give them something to give away. In one of our village outreaches, we'll give them more stuff in one day that they'll give away than they've ever seen in their whole life.
Philip:And what we've found is that that helps break the orphan spirit inside them, the thing that's kept them impoverished in their mind, and they become givers. It's the most amazing thing. And out of that comes the outreaches, and God is using these young folk in a marvelous way. We are right now in a very exciting season. We had a young girl come to us, 14 years of age, which is two years younger than we can take them into our place legally by the government.
Philip:But the mayor of our little village came to us and said, "Her circumstance is so horrendous. Can you please take her in? Otherwise, terrible things will happen." They called me, and I said, "Let's try." So we took them in, and the authorities found out, and we had to put her back. Her name's Maria. Remember the name, Maria. And we put her back to her village, and within a week, 10 men gang-raped her, and she lost her mind and ended up in a mental home. And that was so heartbreaking for us.
Philip:One of our leaders is Nadia, and Nadia drove her back to the village, and she called me. She said, "I will never do that again as long as... I don't care what it costs me. I will never take someone back to a village and have this happen again." So we've been working since then. We found a farm with two houses, and we've been working all through this year. And for those who don't know, I had five bypasses, open heart surgery, and I wasn't able to travel and preach. And we just kept on believing, and God's been very faithful.
Philip:And one of the two houses is almost finished, and we're going to be able to open that in the fall to allow us to take in younger girls from the age of four up to 16, and then at 16, they can go to Vatra Village, what you've just seen. We just need sponsors. These homes don't run on thin air. And I'm asking you if you would pray with us today to become one of the house parents through sponsoring of this home. If we can get 300 people to give a dollar a day, this whole thing, transportation needs, staff needs, accommodation, educational, the tuition fees, all of those things are paid for by our ministry.
Philip:And if you could help us, a dollar a day will not change your world in a negative way. It'll bless you, because when you sow and you give to the poor, the Bible says you lend to the Lord. But if you could give today and be part of 300 people giving one dollar a day, we can open up this home at the end of the year, we're hoping October. If you could help us by giving a dollar a day, you could change someone's life for only a dollar a day. You can contact us, very simple.
Philip:The Orphan's Hands, P.O. Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. And by doing so, you are making a lifetime of difference in a young girl's life. The people that she marries, her children will never know what she's gone through because you gave a dollar a day. It's the greatest opportunity, and I'd love you to take part with me, if you would. Do that right now.
Philip:You can also go to dailyfaith.tv and you can give there. And also, we have an 800 number, 833, and just dial Daily Faith into the keypad of your phone. And a real live person, not an AI, but a real person will pick up the phone. Do that today if you would, I'd appreciate it.
Philip:I am delighted to have my friend with me. He is a great man of God, a great student of the word, and as a man, like no one else I've ever met in my life. Buddy, thank you for being with me today. God love your heart. It's good to see you.
Buddy Meloy:Thank you, Philip. It's great to be with you here this morning. Thanks for having me on the program. It's always a blessing to see you.
America's Birthright and the Esau Warning
Philip:Whenever I see that you're coming, I think, hallelujah. There's more revelation. And what I love about what you do and how you minister is you remind us of what you spoke about in the past and how it's being fulfilled. And I was speaking at your church just a few weeks ago, and we began to talk, and I'm saying, "Buddy, you've got to come back on 'Daily Faith' and share this new..." And my only thing is, I'll bet you it's been surpassed by something else that's been taking place, if I know how your antenna is tuned to the Lord.
Buddy Meloy:Well, you and I were talking right before the program, and we went through three or four things that the Holy Spirit was telling me right now. But when we talked back in July, one of the things we talked about was the things that were going on in our nation right now. You obviously, from your roots, where you're at right now, having been in Scotland and you're watching what's going on in Europe, and now we're watching as these things transition over to America. And I have been doing some speaking, and it was the 250th anniversary of our United States of America. It was around 4th of July. But I looked at my notes, on July 14th, I woke up and I was thinking about 2:15, and I'd been speaking a little bit on the subject of bitterness.
Buddy Meloy:And the Holy Spirit quickened me. I got up in the middle of the night and wrote these things down, and He said, "The problem in America right now that they've got to really watch out for because of blessing..." You made the statement, "It's hard for bitterness to be blessed." But one of the things He spoke to me about was that, and obviously when you look at the story in Hebrews chapter 12, it talks about a person by the name of Esau. And I spoke to you and I said, "The battle in America right now is America's willing to give up its birthright for a meal."
Philip:Oh, my goodness. For their next meal.
Buddy Meloy:And our birthright is written in the Declaration of Independence. And what is the root of bitterness? We know, you and I were talking earlier about how seeds are sown, that Jesus spoke of the seed, the Parable of the Sower. But right behind it, He brought us the Parable of the Tares and the Wheat. And how that the enemy comes behind and sows seeds, and the problem with the seed is it becomes a root. And roots, when they are formed, they entangle with the good roots. So it's hard to begin to deal with those things, and they don't show up till fruit manifests.
Seeds of Bitterness Sown Across the Nation
Buddy Meloy:So you're looking at this situation right now that's going on in America, and the Holy Spirit kind of prompted me in the middle of the night. He said, "The problem in America is there's being sown seeds of bitterness." Like, "You don't have this, they have this. You don't have this, you don't have this." Communism. And we say it's communism. That's the way it's communism.
Philip:I can't believe, Buddy, right now that these guys are on TV and they're winning primaries, and they're absolute flat-out communists. And you talk about the Bill of Rights, that is the birth certificate of America, and they want to change the Constitution. They want to get rid of the Senate. They want to change everything about the thing because they're giving up our birthright for a mess of pottage.
Buddy Meloy:Absolutely. And they're willing to change it. And one of the things I spoke, and you said oftentimes I'll say things in advance. Last year I told everybody in our church, I said, "Watch the state of Michigan. There's going to be a race in Michigan that's going to become national." You're going to see it on a national level. And last night, the one who won the primary, the Democratic primary, for the state of Michigan was on the news last night. I only saw clips of it this morning, I didn't get to watch it.
Buddy Meloy:But when you look at it, what's being sown is this bitterness. You have been deprived. Let me give you a little statement here, Philip, because this is just to give you something positive. Bitterness is a belief that God's grace is not enough to get us to where we're going.
God's Grace as the Answer to Bitterness
Buddy Meloy:Bitterness is a belief that God's grace is not enough to get us where we are going. Bitterness is disbelief in the goodness of God. Grace being a part of God's goodness. Bitterness is the result of a refusal to rely and depend upon the grace of God to get you to where you're going. Our problem is we're expecting government to supply all our needs, and our God is there to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus.
Buddy Meloy:So what happens is we have people in America that are sowing, "You have this lack, you have this lack," and they're genuine lacks. But what we've got to understand is God's grace. I know when Paul went through everything that he went through, and he said, "I had all these things, all these attacks, and I besought the Lord three times. I came to the Lord three times to get rid of this thorn in the flesh." And He told me one thing, "My grace is sufficient." Paul could've gotten bitter in that moment and said, "God, you're supposed to be a healer," or whatever that need was at that time. I think it was, for me, I believe it was persecution, all the attacks that he was having come up against him.
Buddy Meloy:And usually that's when bitterness really hits us, when we're attacked a lot. Paul had the opportunity at that moment to become offended with God, because it's always offense, hatred, and betrayal. That's the way it goes. Every seed of bitterness is birthed out of a seed of offense.
Philip:What blows my mind is, as we're living today, 20-odd years ago, the Twin Towers were blown to pieces by Islamic extremists. You would've thought that that would've so burned into the hide of America, and the same city that watched the towers fall have just elected an Islamic communist, a double whammy. We defeated the Russians and the Soviet Union from communism, and Islam came and knocked down the two most famous buildings in America, and we've gone right back to what we're doing. It doesn't matter anymore. Bitterness has moved our common sense away, and a whole city of millions of people have got a communist Islamist as the mayor who wants to destroy the city.
Parable of Tares: Roots That Poison and Entangle
Buddy Meloy:They say, I think there's right now, and I read an article recently, just a couple of days ago, how there is some celebration in Islamic countries right now because they've seen there are 12 or 13 candidates that are now moving on in their elections, and they're moving into the arena of Congress. They're going into positions of leadership, and it's like this slow... By the way, people don't realize that bitterness, and there's a spiritual equality there. When Esau and Jacob were in the womb, they were wrestling long before this thing ever happened. So you've got Esau and Jacob wrestling. Rebekah gets a prophetic word. There were nations, nations that were at stake.
Buddy Meloy:Why was the birthright so important? The birthright determines who the spiritual leader of the family is. Whoever got that birthright sets the direction. Esau would have been the... He sold his spiritual leadership. And God didn't say there are two individuals wrestling in your womb. He said there are two nations wrestling in your womb. Right now, in America, there are two nations wrestling in the womb of America. And if we allow bitterness to begin to cause us to give up our birthright, we give up our spiritual leadership in the nation.
Two Nations Wrestling in America's Womb
Buddy Meloy:There is a battle, the birthright battle, and what do we have? Our president went to the Supreme Court over something called birthright citizenship. So that was at the top. That's been in the news a lot. And so when I saw this, I thought, this is not an accident that we're seeing bitterness be kind of sown in our nation. When it becomes a root, the problem is it entangles with the good wheat. And so it has to be allowed to grow. You say, why is God allowing this? Because when it becomes a root, and by the way, roots, those roots of bitterness, the darnel that it's talking about, actually carries with it a fungus that will poison people. So there's a poisonous aspect to bitterness that people aren't beginning to realize.
Buddy Meloy:And as you and I said at the table that night, it undermines the blessing. Esau bypassed his blessing because he sold his birthright. If America sells its birthright, it's going to bypass the blessing that God intended for this nation. So we've got to be people who recognize. When I was reading in Hebrews, he tells us, "Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." But he said, "I want you to look diligently, lest any man fall of the grace." Did you notice that? Grace of God.
Buddy Meloy:What happens? They're falling short of the grace of God. They are not depending on God's grace to take them to the destiny that God has for them. And you talked about destiny just a few moments ago. God has a destiny for America. If America allows a bitter root to develop in this nation and begins to allow the birthright to be switched, or they give up their birthright, the following problem will be they're actually forfeiting a blessing. Let me say this: Esau didn't have the birthright taken from him. He gave it up.
Buddy Meloy:He gave it up. No one can take the birthright God's given America. It will only happen... Wasn't it Lincoln that said that no foreign foe will ever drink in the Ohio? If it happens, if America falls, it will fall from within. It's not Russia. It's not China. None of these, they're all incidental because God's hand is on America. But if we are prepared to give up our birthright over bitterness, we've got no one to blame but ourselves.
Buddy Meloy:And that's what he says. He's telling us, he said, "You need to watch." And he tells us, it's not just you. He passes it on, and he says it's up to... And I told our church, he says, this is also a congregation problem. This is a national problem. He said, not only does the person need to watch themself, he's speaking to a group of people, and he says, "You need to watch to make sure bitterness doesn't spring up among you." Guard your heart. In your heart. But he says, "For you know that afterward, when he would have inherited a blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully." He says, look, he sold his birthright. He says it troubles many, so it's up to us. We understand what a root can do. We know what a root of bitterness can do.
Thanksgiving as the Antidote to Bitterness
Buddy Meloy:It's up to us to understand. Let me give you a thought. What holiday was just recently attacked in this election? Thanksgiving. Do you know what the cure for bitterness is? Thanksgiving. In everything, that's why, Philip, that's why prophetically, that particular holiday, that's why the candidate had to come back and say, "No, I love turkey. I love Thanksgiving." Why Thanksgiving? Because Thanksgiving is the antidote for bitterness.
Buddy Meloy:If you can be thankful, if this nation understands thankfulness, we celebrate it every year on the, what is it, the fourth Thursday of November. We celebrate Thanksgiving. In everything, give thanks. The antidote for bitterness is to be thankful for what God has given. So what they do is they sow unthankfulness for what we have. America's a bad nation. It's full of badness and evil. It's evil. It has bad foundations. It sows bitterness and hurt and envy. If you read in James, he said, "Where there's bitter envying and strife," he says, "there's confusion, and every evil work, it opens a doorway for every kind of demonic activity to occur."
Philip:I was watching that new candidate. I forget his name. And all he did the whole of this interview with Jesse, he totally spoke about, they have it, why don't we have it? They've got two million. Why should they have two million and we've got none? And the whole point, the whole thing they're pushing and driving is you're getting a raw deal, you're getting a bum deal. They're robbing you to make themselves trillionaires. It's unthankfulness.
Buddy Meloy:Well, the irony is he is a millionaire. He's a multimillionaire. My million doesn't count as your million. I want to give everybody else's million, it has to go. Mine's fine.
Buddy Meloy:And that Thanksgiving is grace speaking. Philip, it's grace speaking. It is the disbelief that God's grace will get you to where you need to go. So in everything, give thanks. I know watching this right now, there are people, and you are fighting this root of bitterness that the devil's planted and sown inside you. I want you today to become thankful. I mean this, walk around your house and thank God for your house. Thank God for your car. Thank God for your job. Thank God for your family.
A Call to Thankfulness and Guarding Your Heart
Philip:Amen. Because when you do that, my dad said this all my life, if you've got a thankful heart, everything feels like a double portion, and that's the truth.
Philip:Buddy, I love you. Thank you for being with me on "Daily Faith" today. If you can be a part, you need to go and see Buddy Meloy. If ever you're in Florida, Lake City's New Life Christian Fellowship, they will love you and make you feel so at home. Thank you for watching today on "Daily Faith." Pray with us about the homes we're opening for the younger kids. We'll see you again. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova. From providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons, and in the process, orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their Heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now, no longer orphans, they want to return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in The Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and the Ukraine.
If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-DAILYFAITH. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Common questions
What does Buddy Meloy mean when he says America is selling its birthright?
Buddy draws on the biblical story of Esau, who traded his birthright for a single meal. He says America's birthright is written in the Declaration of Independence, and that when bitterness takes root — the feeling that 'you don't have this, they have this' — people become willing to trade away their founding spiritual and civic inheritance for short-term political promises. He warns that no one can take that birthright from America; it can only be given up voluntarily.
How does Buddy Meloy define bitterness, and where does he say it comes from?
Buddy defines bitterness as 'a belief that God's grace is not enough to get us to where we're going' — essentially a disbelief in God's goodness. He says every seed of bitterness is birthed out of a seed of offense, and that it typically hits hardest when people are under sustained attack. He also notes that bitterness, like a root, doesn't show up immediately — it entangles with healthy things over time and eventually produces poisonous fruit.
What does Buddy say is the antidote to bitterness?
Buddy says the antidote to bitterness is thanksgiving. He points out that Thanksgiving as a holiday was symbolically attacked during the election cycle, and argues that's no accident — because genuine thankfulness directly counters the spirit of bitterness. His practical advice is to walk around your house and thank God for what you already have: your home, your car, your job, your family.
What is the connection Buddy makes between bitterness and communism?
Buddy argues that the seeds of communism are sown through manufactured bitterness — constantly telling people 'you don't have this, they have this.' He says this is the mechanism by which communist ideology spreads: it exploits genuine lacks and grievances, but instead of pointing people toward God's grace, it points them toward government as the supplier of all needs, which he sees as a direct spiritual counterfeit of Philippians 4:19.
Why does Buddy say the 'two nations in the womb' image from Genesis applies to America today?
Buddy points to God's word to Rebekah that two nations — not just two individuals — were wrestling in her womb. He applies this prophetically to America, saying there are currently two nations wrestling within the country. The birthright, he explains, determines spiritual leadership and sets the direction for the whole family or nation, so whoever wins that battle shapes America's future destiny.
Topics
meloybitternessbirthrightprophecythanksgivinghebrews 12spiritual warfare