Careful Warnings

This morning as I read I'm thinking about warnings. How only someone who cares gives them and how it takes humility to receive them. Some one who is a 'master of their own destiny' may not receive a warning.

Not all warnings are good. Discouragement can be wrapped up in the form of a warning also.

God only warns to protect but men sometimes warn to discourage.

There are warning I have regretted giving. I try to be careful who I warn and how I warn them. I don't want to discourage faith. I do want to discourage foolishness that will get people hurt. A warning should be a specialized tool that only comes out rarely when absolutely necessary.

"Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not pay attention.' Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it." - Jeremiah 6:16-19 ESV

Wow. What an interesting passage.

Our future depends on the rest that we have today. The watchmen on our wall cry out, 'Keep believing in Him!' The doctrines that frame God's character and nature keep us on the path of rest. Our souls have the tendency to wander but grace warns us.

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV

"So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest..." - Hebrews 4:9-11a ESV

What a great warning, 'Don't forget to rest!' This rest isn't a passive sleep. It is a guarded pathway with watchmen that speak to us as we go.

If we are humble we will listen. If we are meek we will be taught.

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