"Have You Been Deleted"?

Rejected.  Deleted.  Erased.  Shut down.  Shut out.  Turned away from.  Forsaken.  Ignored.  Thrown out.  Burned.  So, my guess is that you are wondering why I feel this way?  Well, this may surprise you,  but I am not talking about my feelings.  The feelings that I mentioned belong to God.   Let me expound..

Recently I viewed a post on social media.  It caught my attention for two reasons.  First, it had my family name (Bowling) on it.  Secondly, a good preacher-friend of mine had commented on it using only a passage of Scripture.  After a quick view of the video, I became aware that it was that of a lady preaching in a denominational assembly.  Her rhetoric was familiar.  Having attended Pentecostal assemblies at a young age, I recognized the dynamic.  This essay is less about the content of her message than it is about my feeble attempt to share Truth.  A Truth that was rejected.  Deleted.  Erased.

You see, instead of offering my opinion on the matter, I simply posted God's opinion.  My preacher friend had done the same thing.  In an attempt to help others understand the role of women as it pertains to worship, we posted 1 Cor. 14:34 and 1 Tim. 2:11-12.  The response was that the comments (God's Word) were deleted.  Rejected.  Erased.

I was reminded of the story found in Jer. 36.  The Lord told Jeremiah to write down His Word in a scroll (v. 2).  The purpose was so that they would know the Truth of impending judgment and "so that everyone may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin" (v.3).   When the Word of God was eventually read to Jehoiakim king of Judah, he was not pleased with the content.  So, as is told in verse 23-26, he proceeded to cut it out, and throw it in the fire, even when cautioned by his advisors.  Jehoiakim, and even his offspirng, were punished for what he had done.  He rejected God's Word.  Deleted it. Erased it. Burned it.   Jeremiah eventually re-wrote the scroll (vs. 32), and God's Word prevailed.

Friends,  please do not be like Jehoiakim.  When someone shares the Truth of God's Inspired Word with you in love, take caution to learn from the mistakes of those in the past who have ignored it. John tells us in 1 John 2:4-5: "Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him."  

 Jehoiakim was not rejecting Jeremiah's 'opinion'.  Neither was Jeremiah 'passing judgment' on Jehoiakim. Jeremiah was simply the messenger. A messenger whose comment was from God, and it was deleted.  Rejected.  Erased.  Shut down.  Turned away from.  Forsaken.  Ignored.  Thrown out.  Burned.   --preachertombowling@gmail.com