07.01.02

Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand. - Joel 2:1.

The first time I remember receiving a wake up call at a motel, I was already married, and working in the oilfield. At first, it seemed like a great convenience for someone to remember to call me in the mornings so I would wake up, and be ready to go to work at the proper time. But there were times, when it would have been nice to have had a snooze button, so I could have slept for just a few more minutes. If I had failed to wake up, I would have been awakened by several crew members; and my boss, who would have been most unhappy with my behavior.

In the United States last week (2002), we received a wake up call when a federal appeals court ruled the phrase "under God” in our pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States was unconstitutional. (The phrase "under God" is still in the pledge. In a 2010 appeals court ruling, Judge Carlos Bea wrote for the majority saying, "The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded.")  One survey, revealed 89% of the people believed the phrase should remain in the pledge, and there has been great outrage expressed about the possibility of its removal. It was certainly a wake up call, because an alarm was sounded.

Was the court’s action this past week (2002), the first wake up call we in the United States have received? No. The courts legalized abortion, and what did we do? We hit the snooze button, rolled over, and went back to sleep. The courts are making city, county, state, and federal governmental authorities remove symbols of Christianity from all public property. What have we done, and are we doing about it? We’ve apparently hit the snooze button, rolled over and went back to sleep. State after state has legalized gambling and established state lotteries, and what have we done about it? We’ve hit the snooze button, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

We’re outraged now, but where is the outrage at partial birth abortions? Where is the outrage at there now being Wiccan chaplains in some branches of our military? Where is the outrage at homosexual marriages and adoptions? Where is the outrage at a publicly proclaiming homosexual being a member of Congress? How many wake up calls do we get? How long before its too late, and our society has gone past the point of no return?

We have to wonder the same things about our own personal lives. How many wake up calls do we get? What would God have to do to get our attention? What would be necessary to awaken us from our slumber? The alarm has long ago been sounded! Let us arise, before it is too late!