Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Heed the Warnings

“CAUTION: Road Slippery When Wet”

Warning signs crack me up. No, maybe it’s not the road sign that cracks me up it’s the people who should be reading them. We have a warning sign on our driveway that says, “dead end.” Not a life threatening warning but still a warning that people ignore as they arrive at our home wondering if there was a way through our property. No, that was why it said “dead end.”

Too often we ignore the warning signs on the road. The warning signs of our bodies that need our attention. Warning signs from our children showing they are seeking support, guidance, help, or love. We even ignore the warnings from God found throughout His word as if they were simple suggestions.

Warnings such as, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either” 1 John 2:23. “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” 1 John 2:17. “But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off” Ps 37:38. “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” Ps 55:6.

When the sign says, “Slippery when wet. Bridge is out. Road is closed” they mean what they say. Its not a, “proceed with caution,” maybe they just forgot to change their sign situation. No, it’s heed the warning and avoid the inevitable.

God wasn’t mad one day and wrote a bunch of stuff in His journal called the Bible that He really didn’t mean. His warnings are not a forgotten piece of writing someone neglected to alter or remove. They belong in the Bible. If you think about it they are one of the most important pieces. They are things that will keep us from self-destruction, eternal punishment, and a heartache we wouldn’t want to have.

Sadly enough we have gotten into the business of changing or ignoring God’s warnings. Publishers, pulpits, people in general are rearranging the warnings to come out in a softer form of a suggestion, Things that “probably won’t happen, He didn’t really mean that, its all in how we read it.”

Slippery when wet means slippery when wet. Bridge out means bridge out. Any one not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire means just that and nothing more. It’s not how we read it, it’s how we listen and obey what we read. Warnings are for our safety, God’s warnings are no different. They are there for the sake of our safety. We are the ones who get to choose. We are the ones who will wind up on the wrong sided of the road if we don’t pay attention.

Heed the warnings. Avoid the inevitable.


Copyright 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

5 comments:

Denise said...

Very awesome post.

Laurie Ann said...

Great post! I especially loved this: " It’s not how we read it, it’s how we listen and obey what we read. Warnings are for our safety, God’s warnings are no different." Amen, sister!

Debbie Petras said...

Isn't it funny how people will do just the opposite of the warning sometimes? When I taught children in Bible study, we had to set the limits. What often happened was a child would do just the opposite of what they were told. Don't go here and there they went. I laugh but adults can be the same way. Testing the limits. You're right; God means what He says and He has our best interests at heart. How much pain we could avoid if we just listened and heeded the warnings.

Susan said...

Karen, this was EXCELLENT!!!

Thanks for sharing today♥

Unknown said...

I love you reminder that "it’s how we listen and obey what we read" that's important. Thanks for another great post! AVA