Last Wednesday night at church I walked into our main sanctuary lobby as usual to go into the sanctuary for Bible study.  The minute I walked in, I heard this LOUD and obnoxious beeping..loud enough to hear all the way down the long hall with double glass doors leading to the next building.  I walked into the sanctuary, intent on putting my stuff down and immediately finding the source…only to find a couple of people calmly sitting inside, both of them looking at their cellphones.  I asked them WHAT that ungodly noise was, and they were both like, “We don’t know”.

I was stunned at their response.  This was NOT a little noise, it sounded a LOT like an alarm..fire alarm, burglar alarm, something that should not be ignored.  As I walked down the hall, I saw two other people halfway, and they too were not concerned!  As I got to the women’s bathroom, I located the noise.  It was a clock radio that we have in there to broadcast the service in case you are indisposed, and someone had evidently set the alarm on it.  And the volume was on EXTRA LOUD.  Before it totally deafened me, I unplugged it and presto, no more noise!  I went back to the sanctuary and reported it, and they were like, “thank goodness!” and “ok!”

So, why share this?  For this reason…as I went home that night, I could not help but be overwhelmed by the Lord that this was SUCH an accurate picture of the church today…and that the responses of those inside the building before I got there are way too typical of the church also.  A lot of times, they are also even typical of me, I just happened to be on the ball this time.

Most of us know about the issues in the world today, and the things that are so glaringly evil, sinful, and destructive.  But when it comes to our churches, we can be so blind!  There are alarming things in churches today that many of us are totally unaware of…even though all the warnings (the alarm) are there.  There are false teachings, people with wrong motives, people that are not really followers and believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, people that if left unnoticed or not dealt with could bring a church down from the inside out!  And while it’s not always as obvious as that radio alarm, sometimes it is!  And sometimes we are sitting inside, making the choice to ignore it instead of searching for a cause or solution.

So what’s the answer?  Let’s begin to listen up!  As the Scripture says in Acts 17:11, “for they received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”  In other words, we need to pay attention!  Pay attention to what we hear in church, and if we have any doubts about it, search the Bible.  Pay attention to what others do, and search the Bible to see if it lines up.  Pay attention to the causes that others believe in or champion, and search the Bible again.

If we were all willing to do this, and hold each other accountable, there would be a lot fewer alarms sounding, and then when we heard them, we would know what to do!  I have committed since that night to be much more alert and be much more useful to both my church and the Kingdom of God..will you also?