Text Box: I read a tragic story in the newspaper this week. Diane Schuler, a Long Island woman was traveling home when she drove nearly two miles in the wrong direction on the Taconic State Parkway., resulting in a head on collision, killing eight people including four children in her car.. Tragically, she did not heed the warning signs. Two hours before the crash, Diane called her brother saying she felt sick. He told her to stay put and he would come and meet her. She kept driving. When she took the wrong ramp onto the parkway, six people called 911 and a number of drivers flashed their lights to try to get her to stop. She kept driving. Diane Schuler failed to heed a number of warnings of coming danger that led to her death and seven others. Matthew 7:13,14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Spiritually speaking, many around us are on the road to destruction. That destruction could be a life of suffering fueled by sin and addiction or it may be an early death. But the primary application of this verse is that a life without faith in Jesus leads to eternal destruction in a place the Bible calls hell. I am convinced that everyone on the road to destruction fails to heed warning signs. This is true when a person lets their life spiral out of control with destructive choices. Usually there is a voice of reason or Text Box: conscience telling them to watch out. We all know people who will not be convinced with the best arguments to stop their out of control life. I am sad to say that I have known a few people over the years who have appeared to be people of faith for a time, and then walked away from God. Every story is unique, but in each case warning signs were ignored as a person went through a process of disbelieving. Usually habits that build faith were lost, such as Bible learning, prayer and church involvement. I believe that God offer many chances for a return to faith, which were ignored. For those of us who continue on the narrow ‘road that leads to life,’ we still wrestle with temptation and sin. For the most part, our victory over temptation is tied to heeding warning signs early. When we find ourselves in places we should not be, sin easily follows. The battle between sin and holiness is waged first in the mind. Actions of sin follow a lost battle in the mind. Paul says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (II Cor 10:5) Be encouraged by the fact that God loves us enough to warn us along the road to destruction. By God’s grace we will overcome and continue on the road that leads to life. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for Text Box: Avoiding Warning Signs Text Box: Fort Lee Gospel Church 1625 Palisade Ave. Fort Lee, NJ 07024 (201)947-1465 Pastor: Rev. Rick Spenst Web site: www.fortleegospel.org E-mail: fortleegospel@juno.com

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Text Box: Text Box: August 2009