Proverbs 14…consider that Proverbs 14:15–16 gives us a biblical mandate precaution. It is simply saying that while the naïve believe everything, the sensible person considers their steps and turns away from evil.

15 

The simple believe anything,
but the prudent give thought to their steps.

16 

The wise fear the Lord and shun evil,
but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.

When we read Matthew 10:16, it is encouraging us to stay alert to physical danger to protect oneself and others, while also discerning, spiritual, cultural, relational circumstances, to act in accordance with God’s will and purpose. Situational Awareness is much larger than just an individual piece of advice and it should also apply to churches and their congregations and into our faith overall. Now more than ever the church, the faith, and the people of the way, the good way need to have that awareness. Some of the research that I’ve done suggest it maybe we should look at it from the standpoint of spiritual vigilance. 1 Peter 5:8-9 

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. It requires believers to be vigilant against spiritual attacks. Reading Ephesians 5:15–16 the instructions that we walk carefully and it’s not just about our physical safety but making the most of time and opportunities in a broken world. Think about how long ago Paul wrote that and we’re still living in a broken world. There are other things to be considered and one of the most difficult is for us to be able to recognize God’s hand in a situation. True awareness includes discerning what God is doing in a given situation and then cooperating with his timing. There are a lot of adjectives that we can use to to describe a very common reaction for many of us have our heads in the sand. One of the hardest things to get by is denial. The biggest obstacle to awareness is denying that there are potential threats and to believe a dangerous situation isn’t actually dangerous, but to be fair, we must admit that sometimes the media helps us along with engaging  in fearful scenarios, and all it really accomplishes is making people scared of something they don’t completely understand. So it is very good practical advice to actively observe those things that are around us, being aware of what’s going on not being oblivious to a problem or panicked by it. Sometimes when I get into the subjects and I start researching a little bit there are some biblical things that come to mind that helped me deal with situations around me. I prefer to think about the good things and not dwell on those things which tear down the human spirit or leave us fearful and uncertain about our future. Being attentive, can also apply to communities and churches of being able to identify hazards and things that we might share with each other to make our days, all our days a little bit better. So the conclusion to all of this…situational awareness in a Christian context should not be driven by fear, but by a desire to live and enjoy our lives as God desires us to do and be effective in God’s service, using discernment or nice other way of putting it, good judgment to navigate physical risk and spiritual realities alike.

 Some of the key aspects of awareness encourages us to examine our own heart and faith. We read about that in 2 Corinthians 13:5, we are encouraged to avoid pride and recognize the need for repentance. Now this involves knowing our true standing in relationship to God and our dependence on him rather than focusing on self-centered consciousness, he calls for a spiritual awareness. They kinda asked us to wake up from our slumber and recognize the reality of the spiritual kingdom. We must understand the all struggles aren’t merely physical. The two scriptures that apply would be Ephesians 6:12 and Romans 13:11 and by reading scripture believers are made aware of and encouraged to be alert to traps that the enemy sets for us, the temptations of the world and the uncertainty of the time that we live in today, just as then.1Corinthians 16:13, 1 Peter 5:8. It is important that we encourage fellowship and spending time with others particularly with those of the faith, but we have to have the awareness that develops a conscious, loving awareness of others which will result in compassion and the ability to serve just as Jesus demonstrated in John 4:35.

Thank you for joining us in the Pew here today pray it will result with the understanding of the biblical awareness that is designed to move us to repentance, deeper love for God and encourage better relationships with other people.

Life is Good

jk