I received a high school graduation card many years ago that said “Be Alert” on the outside and inside it said, “This country needs more lerts.”

Maybe not ‘lerts’ but this country definitely needs more people who are alert.

I need to be more alert to:

• how I am influenced by all of the cultural pressures around me to make bad choices.
• how quickly my mind can wander away from what is right and true.
• the presence and power of Evil in my world and in my life.
• my tendency to become self-absorbed and miss opportunities to love and help others.

If I’m not alert, I’m going to ‘go with the flow’ and that is not God’s path.  Staying on the right road takes vigilance and commitment.  It is not the easy road.

So, if I think I’m cruising along, I can be sure I’m going to a place I don’t want to be.  I’m cruising for a fall.

That’s what happened to King Solomon.  The wisest man who ever lived didn’t stay centered on the right path as he grew old.  He lost his way.  He married women who used their influence to turn his heart away from being fully devoted to the One True God.  He did ‘evil in the eyes of the LORD’ and took a big fall right out of God’s favor.

It was such a sad, pitiful end to a life that had been so dedicated to God and blessed by him.

As I move into the fall season of my life, this message is particularly important to me.  I have loved God my whole life and have dedicated these last  30+  years to building my relationship with him, committed to this journey towards him.  I want my life to end well.  I want to avoid the tragedy that happened to King Solomon.

So I need to stay alert.

Please keep me solidly on the path towards to you, Abba Father.