I really should be more patient, I know.  For after all, to reach me it has to come from some 22,000 miles away, traveling at a speed of more than 128 kilobits a second.  Similarly, the twin satellites which beam the signal out have been up there in their higher elliptical orbit over North America for several years now, with a new set of Boeing 702 birds nicknamed “Rhythm” and “Blues” launched in 2005 and 2008 respectively  to replace the earlier pair known as “Rock” and “Roll.”

Satellite radio is not only an amazing amenity, thus, but it is also a fairly impressive technological wonder.   Unfortunately, though, it may even be a little addictive once you start listening to it, as well.  All of which may be why it’s been irritating that the XM receiver in my car has been on the fritz lately, flashing up the words “No Signal” on my radio for increasingly long interludes, even under clear skies and unimpeded conditions (though being careful to work perfectly well whenever I’ve taken it back to the dealership for service, of course.)

Likewise, hooking up our cable TV service in the new place seemed to go well at first, but now there’s that same infuriating message of “No Signal” scrolling across our television screen too.  And even though I have held a first-class FCC radio engineer’s license since I was fifteen, I have to confess that I don’t actually have a clue what’s wrong with that system either, since my technical knowledge was all attained back when capacitors and tubes were involved or—as some of my younger colleagues might think—long ago while the earth’s crusts were still cooling.

But then I should admit as well that I’ve often been guilty of sending out a “no signal” message myself when it comes to keeping in constant contact with the Lord.  For it is incredibly easy to get so bogged down by the demands and details of life that we can lose our connections and begin to forget the purpose and meaning of it.  And so–to carry the analogy a little further– that is when we clearly need to stop and re-boot.

Towards that end, it is helpful to check the “manual” every morning, as well as speak to the Manufacturer all throughout the day.  What’s more, however, long before we were ever born the Creator of all that is built into His handiwork a weekly time for receiving routine maintenance and updates in our spiritual lives.

As the summer time continues to sizzle, thus, if you’ve been missing from regular worship during these past few months, maybe now is the time to wander on back and see if we can help clear up the picture a little.  We’ll keep the AC on and I am fairly certain that most folks won’t have to travel anywhere near so far as that little XM signal so valiantly does while cutting through the cirrus clouds to try to contact me.

For the truly good news is this:  even if our receivers have not been working correctly, His transmitter still is.