School has begun in our city. Students went back Thursday and Friday of last week, and this week they began full weeks. It seems that summer vacation flew by for families in our area.

Living in a neighborhood with almost fifteen hundred homes and thousands of children requires careful driving. As a result of the large number of houses and people in my neighborhood, the speed limit on our streets is twenty miles per hour. Yes, twenty miles per hour! Scores of stop signs grace the intersections, and we are required to stop at those. Can you believe that! Add in that there are two schools that back up to our neighborhood, so that means a lot of traffic in the mornings and afternoons.

Apparently, there are hundreds in our neighborhood in Old Cahaba who think they can drive as fast as they want, and at times, run the stop signs. My road, Old Cahaba Parkway, is one of the main arteries for those entering and leaving the neighborhood. Often, I wonder if it should be named Old Cahaba Speedway. I saw a car coming towards me at a rapid speed. Something told me to pull to the side of the road and wait. The car sped down the road and did not even hesitate at the stop sign. I literally prayed that God would keep the young man from hitting a child or another vehicle.

Usually, for two or three weeks prior to school beginning, a radar speed sign is placed on my road. The sign reminds one of the speed limit, then displays how fast their car is actually going. If you stand in my yard and look towards that warning sign, you will see plenty of taillights. People get close to the sign and quickly press their brakes because they are well above the speed limit.

The purpose of the sign is to get people to slow down, but also to warn them that when school begins speeding tickets will be issued. Sure enough, this morning, in less than an hour, three people were stopped for speeding. One of them was right in front of my house, and I watched as the driver was given a costly ticket. If she had paid attention to the warning, it would not have cost her the high price of a ticket.

The Bible is full of warnings for the believer. God’s purpose is not to take the joy out of life, but to guard against things that will impede the abundant life God has promised to His children. It has been said that there are at least sixty-four warnings in the New Testament alone. I took time to look at some of them and so should you.

Here are just a few examples of the warnings found in the New Testament:

1. Warning against false prophets: In Matthew 7:15, Jesus warns his disciples to beware of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing but are inwardly ravenous wolves.
2. Warning against neglecting salvation: In Hebrews 2:3, the author asks believers to pay closer attention to what they have heard, lest they drift away from it and neglect their salvation.  
3. Warning against unbelief: In Hebrews 3:19, the author warns that the Israelites were unable to enter God’s rest because of their unbelief.
4. Warning against neglecting the gathering of believers: In Hebrews 10:25, the author admonishes believers not to neglect meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but to encourage one another, especially as the Day of the Lord approaches.
5. Warning against falling into temptation: In Matthew 26:41, Jesus warns his disciples to watch and pray so that they may not fall into temptation, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
6. Warning against the dangers of sexual immorality: In 1 Corinthians 6:18, Paul warns believers to flee from sexual immorality, as it is a sin against their own bodies.
7. Warning against the dangers of disobedience: In Hebrews 4:11, the author warns believers to enter God’s rest and not to fall into the same disobedience as the Israelites in the wilderness.
8. Warning against the dangers of unrepentance: In Revelation 2:5, Jesus warns the church in Ephesus to remember their first love, repent, and do the works they did at first, or else he will remove their lampstand.
9. Warning against the dangers of judging others: In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus warns against judging others hypocritically, reminding his followers that they will be judged by the same measure they use to judge others.
10. Warning against the dangers of divisive behavior: In Titus 3:10-11, Paul warns about the consequences of being factious and divisive within the church, urging believers to reject such behavior.
11. Warning against the dangers of drifting away: In Hebrews 2:1, the author warns believers to pay close attention to what they have heard, lest they drift away from it.

The Bible cautions us in the areas of obedience to God’s word, unrepentance, false prophets, sexual immorality, drifting away from the faith, unbelief, and many other things. God has given us warnings. Let’s not speed right through them, and let’s not forget to stop when God says stop. His purpose in the warning is to keep us from paying a high price. 

Child of God, be faithful, be obedient, be steadfast, and be true to God’s inspired Word. If there was ever an hour in which we need to heed the warnings given in scripture, it is this hour. SELAH.