My husband and I got new phones last week. I am still getting used to some of the features. Yesterday, I unexpectedly learned of two.

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My phone started ringing. It was a very faint ring, but it was definitely coming from my phone. I couldn’t get it to stop. I checked every alarm, every ring tone, anything that I could think of to stop the ringing. It continued for nearly 45 minutes. I started to believe we were going to have to run to the phone store when I thought to restart it. I did and the ringing stopped.

Then around 4 p.m. as I started preparing dinner, a loud blaring sound was emitted from my phone. This one scared me. It was an obnoxious sound that wanted my attention. It got it. Come to find out, it was an Amber Alert. I also have settings for severe alerts, extreme alerts, and presidential alerts. I’m not so sure I want a presidential alert! That really sounds frightening.

On occasion, we find ourselves going through the motions of life and we don’t think about God. When life is good, boy it’s tough to remember to praise Him. When it’s smooth sailing, we don’t always take the time to thank Him.

But then we hear a little alarm in our minds or perhaps our hearts reminding us of who we are and how we should be living. And it keeps ringing until we do something about it.

On other occasions however, we might get the startling alert that things aren’t right. We may be tempted to sin in some way. We may be in the wrong place with the wrong people. Or we may just be settled into a mediocre life that needs stirred up.

For the non-Christian, these alerts come from your conscience. You know right from wrong. Your conscience reminds you of the difference.

For a Christian, these alerts come from the Holy Spirit. The precious gift given to us when we are baptized. 1 Corinthians 2:10-13 is a passage that speaks to one role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To show us God’s ways. Read through a few phrases from this passage.

“…God has revealed it to us by his Spirit…we have not received the spirit of the world but he spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us…words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” (1 Corinthians 2:10-13 – NIV)

As we learn from God through Bible study, preaching, meditation, prayer, and teaching, these spiritual truths impact our lives. The Holy Spirit helps us to remember these truths and alerts us when we are falling away from them.

Because we have been given free will, the choice ultimately comes down to us. Are we going to ignore that alert or are we going to do something about it?

I can honestly say I’ve ignored the Holy Spirit’s alerts on far too many occasions. But I can also say that as I am more diligent in knowing God’s purpose and plan for my life, it’s much easier to listen to the alerts and walk away from the situation.

I pray that you have found this to be true in your life as well. But if not, why not join the great crowd of witnesses and cling to the Words of God as if your life depended upon it. These Words are life-changing. They are mind-altering. They are character-building. God promises you’ll never be the same.

Maybe I’m burying my head in the sand, but I really don’t think I want to hear a presidential alert on my phone. And I’ll be honest, Amber Alerts are seen on the television, heard on the radio, and written on road signs. I’ve opted out of that alert as well.

I don’t know the difference between severe and extreme alerts, but have decided that perhaps I might need to know of an extreme alert. So that’s the one I’ve chosen to hear about on my phone. I can’t imagine that will sound too often, but when it does, I’ll know it’s something big. And when I do hear it, I’ll let you know.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna