Be Alert

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind,

be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that

is to be brought unto you at the revelation

of Jesus Christ.

I Peter 1:13

About thirty years ago, I went to Buffalo, NY to speak at a Mother-Daughter breakfast.  I flew up on Friday afternoon and returned late the next day.  The event was a wonderful one with the pastoral staff and deacons serving all of us royally to a wonderful breakfast with all of the trimmings.

My plane wasn't due to leave until late afternoon which gave us a few hours to kill after the breakfast festivities.  My friend asked me if I had ever seen Niagara Falls to which I replied in the negative.  He and his wife decided to take me on a quick trip to show me this wonderful sight.

Soon after our departure from Buffalo, I noticed  that we were driving right beside a river.  My host told me that it was the river that fed the falls.  He asked me to keep observing the river and to speak up the minute I saw a small white ripple on top of the water.  As we continued to drive, I noticed along the shore of the river caution signs telling those fishing or recreating on the water to turn back.  The further we drove on the road, it was obvious that the warning signs were becoming  more frequent with even bigger letters.

It seemed in ever so short a time that I saw the first ripple.  I mentioned it to my host.  He said that if I were on the river fishing and my boat reached that first ripple that at that moment, I was as good as dead.  He said from that point on the water, there is no boat with any size motor that can turn the boat back to the shore because of the strong, intense current of the water.  The current at that point drags anything of any size right to the edge of the falls.  He told me that at times, a rope has been thrown to people in trouble that have been helped, but by the time a person wakes up to his situation, it's just too late to do much of anything for the one in peril. 

I'm afraid at times, the longer we have been Christians, the more careless we become with this Christian life of ours.  We may have been in church for years, know the books of the Bible by heart and most of the hymns in the hymnbook.  We are faithful to every church service and Sunday school session and may hold any number of positions in the congregation.  Any or all of these things can cause us to become too casual about our relationship with Christ.

I thought of fishermen on that river drifting to their own destruction.  Knowing fishermen, they tend to become very engrossed in their fishing.  My Dad was a fisherman.  He really concentrated on what he was doing to the point he was oblivious to anything or anyone around him.  He could be in a drifting row boat and not even notice the slightest change in location on the water.  Sportsmen who fished on that dangerous river that led to Niagara Falls surely knew the dangers involved when launching a boat in that water to begin with.  People do things they feel sure and comfortable with which may often lead to a lessening of caution.

What does this have to do with anything?  What contributes to a Christian going over the edge and crashing on the rocks of the world?  We must be ever vigilant and alert to the following:

1.  Be alert to location and activities that do not honor the Lord.

Just as those fishermen on a dangerous river had to know the dangers of that river, we must be alert to the dangers the world presents.  It's easy to live in this world and deny the evil that exists in it.  We need to be wise as to places we go that might not be the most beneficial to us.  There are places we know we should avoid or we risk getting drawn into problems we don't need.  Like those on that treacherous river, we too may become sure of ourselves, sure that no disaster can befall us.

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,

to depart from the snares of death.

Proverbs 14:27

Notice sometime on the news the circumstances that often contribute to people getting into serious trouble.  I like to watch real life mysteries on TV.  There is one thing that frequently catches my attention...people being at the wrong places at the wrong times.  Many put themselves in dangerous positions where problems can easily occur.  Christians must be cautious.  This world system is not our friend.  An enemy is out to destroy us in any way possible.  We sometimes feel we are untouchable by consequences of our behaviors because we are Christians.  That's another mistake.

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth

take heed lest he fall.

I Corinthians 10:12

2.  Be alert regarding who you "go fishing" with..

I was told by my friend in New York that alot of the time when a boat went over the Falls, there were often two people in the boat.  Surely if a fisherman is with a friend, the friend would help keep an eye out for impending danger.  We need those Christians in our lives who will not only keep us built up and encouraged in the Lord, but who love us enough to hold us accountable if they see us headed for spiritual disaster.  That doesn't give us permission to go on spiritual witch hunts.  We Christians all have our own personal flaws.  A rule of thumb in this thing of accountability is relationship.  A relationship with another Christian indicates a love and care for another individual, wanting what is in the best interest of that friend.  As parents, we often cautioned our children about having the right kind of friends.  This takes discretion on the part of children and adults.  Unfortunately, whether parents or children, we must be careful who we become close friends with even within the church.  Remember that not everyone is a good fishing buddy.

                               Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth

                                          the countenance of his friend.

                                                       Proverbs 27:17                             

3.  Watch the "signs" of impending disaster.

I would put the word "signs" in two categories...printed and personal.

We have the best, boldest and biggest signs possible in the form of God's Word when it comes to any circumstance of life.  We find in the Bible our instructions for life that builds our relationship with Christ.  We also find in the Bible warnings and cautions God put there to keep us safe from the evil one.  This word we receive from Him can come through our personal Bible study, personal meditation time with the Lord, the preaching and teaching of God's Word, reading good spiritual materials that are theologically sound and taking advantage of every opportunity of spending sweet moments in His presence.

                              Order my steps in thy word; and let not any

                                         iniquity have dominion over me.            

                                                      Psalm 119:133

The other signs we may notice are personal ones.  One big danger sign for any of us is our own  level of spiritual interest.  This really isn't too hard to detect if we choose to be honest with ourselves.  There are some folks I am sure who drift ever so slowly down their own river of life oblivious to impending, spiritual danger.  However, most of us know when we're drifting spiritually...lack of interest in church and Sunday school attendance, very little attention to reading the Bible, prayer life just about dead, and perhaps spiritual sensitivity all but non-existent are some major indicators.  For the true Christian, the Holy Spirit will speak and try to woo us back into the place we ought to be in, but His voice can become more and more distant the longer we choose to resist Him.  When we refuse to listen, then we are surely headed to the edge of the falls where spiritual wreckage can occur.

4.  We have to consider how others are affected  by our spiritual conditions.

I thought of families who had to be notified of the demise of loved ones who had gone over those mighty Niagara Falls.  Bodies had to be recovered, empty places at the dinner table, children without a parent, financial consequences, not considering all of the emotional damage done to family and friends.  When one is a walking, talking spiritual disaster, let me say that a tremendous amount of damage is done to friends and loved ones as well.  Some may turn their backs on God for a lifetime because of the negative example set by careless Christians.

I must say that Niagara Falls was one of the most awesome things I had ever seen...what a wonder of God's creation.  But a more beautiful creation than that is what happens when Jesus Christ comes to live, rule and reign in the life of a human being.  The power of the Holy Spirit is the greatest power known ( sorry Niagara Falls) and He is in us enabling us to be all for Christ we can and want to be.  May we stay alert and sensitive to His leading and may we stay on course, avoiding going over the edge into the abyss of spiritual disaster.

PRAYER:

Dear Father...Keep us from spiritual pride that ever makes the statement, "That could never happen to me."  With those words, Satan flexes his evil muscles, ready to pounce.  Keep us sensitive to Your leading.  Help us watch the signs when spiritually drifting.  Thank You for loving us so much that You desire to rescue me when I do drift.  I love you, Father, and never want to disappoint you.  Amen.