“CONFINED, YET UNDETERRED!”

“Confined, Yet Undeterred!”(Jer. 36:1-10).
At one point prophet Jeremiah was restricted, so he couldn’t go to the house of the LORD. But he did not give up and begin to sulk in solitude. He called Baruch his secretary and dictated to him what the LORD had for the people of Judah.
It was Jeremiah’s hope that “perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every dissater I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”
The scroll with the words of the LORD dictated by Jeremiah to Baruch was read to “all the people at the LORD’S temple” when “a time of fasting before the LORD was proclaimed for all people in Jerusalem and those who had come from their towns.”
In our day we have declared fasting to end months and fasting to begin months; fasting to end years and fasting for crossovers into new years. We have fasted during forty days of the Lent seasons, but during the fasting, there are no Baruchs to read from the scrolls dictated by the Jeremiahs!
When the people gather for fasting, are they aware that “the anger and wrath pronounced against them by the LORD are great?”
If they are told, “perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each will turn from his wicked ways…”
Dear friend, if you are a messenger of the good news, let no confinement or threat stiffle you and cause you not to pronounce God’s word to the people. The people perish for lack of the knowledge of the intentions of God. We must be courageous in the face of opposition and threats to life!
There is a price to pay – in the same way that our Lord and master Jesus Christ paid a price so priceless for our salvation. Let us hear the word of the LORD and turn from wicked ways!
Prayer: Father Almighty, hear our penitent prayers and incline our hearts to keep your laws. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.