October 20

Jer 35:1-36:32 | PS 89:14-37 | Prov 25:25-27 | 1 Tim 5:1-25

God's story moves on despite censorship throughout the ages. Censorship is not new. Those who have opposed God have burned bibles, killed God's people, and killed leaders. Those behind such moves foolishly look at their fight as horizontal, setting up sides between their human views and others. God's story will indeed move forward. Those who stand in opposition to God will one day be punished, whether on earth or in eternity. God's voice will never be silenced. In places, such as the Middle East, people are embarking on a relationship with Jesus Christ through visions and dreams, in addition to coming into contact with God's written word, despite the dangers of possessing it. In our own nation we have gone through various stages. Though I can't find the reference, my pastor, Lloyd Pulley, has described the burning of bibles on college campuses in the 1790's. Recently in Portland during the 2020 riots, bibles were openly burned. Currently social media has all led censorship campaigns at those things that they determine as hate speech. Please let these words from Jesus, Himself, take root, in John 8:31-32, "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”" We still have access. Truth is in Jesus Christ. No other source or voice that stands in opposition to His voice will ever lead you down the right path.

God instructed the prophet in Jeremiah 36:2, "“Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day." We then read how this was done in 36:4, "Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him." The words contained, though unpopular, were then read publicly for all the people to hear. The words were meant to convict the people to turn back to God. Eventually the words were brought to the level of the king, and we see what transpired in 36:21-23, "So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth." Soon after, we read that Baruch was to write another copy of Jeremiah's words. The word of God is not so easily removed.

Censorship is on the rise in our nation. Many are oblivious to this truth. The truth is despite the Bible's current widespread availability, most despise it, which means take it lightly. Realize the king did not want the contents of Jeremiah's scroll to come true, and foolishly thought by burning it, the reality of the prophecy would not occur. Many feel the same way today. Ignore the Bible and somehow what it describes will not come true. But no one can escape God's Word. What He has said, He will do. You can choose not to believe it and even destroy it, but it will do nothing to stop God's plan from moving forward. It will indeed come to pass. The only question is what part each of us will play, and what the outcome of our lives will be, both on earth, and more importantly, in eternity. Please, while there is time, and you have breath, if you have not yet done so, repent of your sins, accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior, and experience the freedom which He alone offers, the freedom that no man can censor or alter.

Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley:

Marj Lancaster