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
