Focus
Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.
Read
Ezekiel 33: 1-6
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 O Mortal, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one of their number as their sentinel; 3 and if the sentinel sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people; 4 then if any who hear the sound of the trumpet do not take warning, and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood shall be upon their own heads. 5 They heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; their blood shall be upon themselves. But if they had taken warning, they would have saved their lives. 6 But if the sentinel sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any of them, they are taken away in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at the sentinel’s hand.
Reflect
My son is going through the stage where it is always someone else’s fault, at least I hope it is a stage of children growing up. However, I know several adults who may not have ever grown out of that stage and taken responsibility for themselves. Human nature tells us that it is ok to blame others because it shouldn’t be my fault. They were negligent. They didn’t warn me.
If you read the warning labels on various products, sometimes we cannot help but laugh a little at them. At times they sound funny, but then we come to the realization that there is a reason that warning label is on the product. That very thing must have happened to prompt the company to place that label on the product. We must decide what to do with warnings. Will we listen to them and heed their advice, or do we choose to ignore them?
We must decide what to do when we are signaled of a warning in our lives. A tornado warning is issued- do you take cover in a safe place or do you ignore it and carry on with the plans of your day? The building fire alarm goes off- do you proceed to the nearest exit or remain inside? You see signs of a friendship or marriage being strained- do you work to repair the broken relationship or do you ignore it and hope it fixes itself? You see traps that can pull you deeper into sin- do you ask God for forgiveness and the strength to overcome the temptations or ignore the warning signs only to wake up one day blaming God for getting you into this mess? Newsflash: God didn’t get you into the mess. It wasn’t God’s fault. Maybe someone laughed off a warning, or reverted to the stage my son is going through at 7 years of age.
Pray
Forgiving God, we realize that we often miss those warning signs and directional signals you give us to guide us in life. Help us to listen when you send us a warning, and help us to make the right choice when we are called upon to respond. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Go with God!
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