Sitting on the dock in the bay

What does that have to do with anything? I was thinking about what to write about here today. I began to think about how much I like sitting on the porch. Penny and I bought some nice outdoor furniture for the porch and every morning, I get up with the sun, go out on the porch with my devotion book, Bible and another book to read and enjoy the morning. I am sitting on the porch by the road/church/where ever you want to call it. And as I sit there, I begin to draw closer to the Lord.

That was something I missed during the rest of the year. In the winter, it is too cold to sit on the porch in the morning. It also isn't light until around the time to begin to head to school. In the spring, there is a chill in the air meaning that I need to wear a coat to sit on the porch (which seems just silly to me). In the fall, the mornings are cool too, though they are beautiful mornings. Plus I am to get ready for school and don't have the time to just sit there communing with the Lord.

And that is what the mornings mean for me - communing with the Lord. I enjoy sitting on the porch, talking with the Lord about what is going on in my life, in the life of my family and in the life of the church. You all know about the face pace of life. When you start the day, the day just gets going faster and faster until you finally collapse in bed at night, dreading the sound of the alarm clock because you know that tomorrow will be no different. My days are like that - except at this moment of time, when I get up, sit on the porch, listen to the voice of God and let the world rush on without me. I know I will join with others soon enough, but at that moment, till the family starts to get up and the office beckons to me, I am at peace with my Lord.

I have been reading 2 Kings right now. A sad history - for even when the king followed the Lord, didn't follow in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat in leaving the way of the Lord behind, they still left the high places for people to go and offer sacrifices. It is like the Christian today who says, "I love the Lord, I follow the Lord. If someone wants to go to the "gentleman's club" [what a stupid name, as no gentleman would be caught in a lowlife strip club that exploits women and destroys the beauty of sexuality as God has given to marriage] that is their choice. It doesn't affect (or is it effect?) me. I don't support it. I don't agree to it. " I imagine that that is what the king and others in Israel and Judah said. When the Lord sent the Assyrians to destroy Israel, I can hear them saying, "But I didn't offer any sacrifices to Molech or Asherah." And the Lord would respond, "But you also did nothing to stop it."

Wow! Did I just say that? Is it possible that we Christians are sinning by doing nothing to stop the sins of the nation? Are we just as guilty by sins of omission as those who are guilty of sins of commission? The answer is, "Yes." When the Lord brings judgments upon the nation for its sins, the Christians will be part of that judgment. The Lord will not allow Christians to get off scot free. As the faithful in Israel and Judah went into captivity, they learned that lesson. As Christians lose their savings to the crash of the market, as the nation faces collapse of state governments due to lack of funds, as the oil comes on shore in the gulf, Christians will face the same issues as the non-Christian.

So what do we do? At this moment, I don't have an answer to that. I do know that we are to stand firm in the faith. That we are supposed to work to make a difference in this society. We are to be "light" shining in the world for all to see. I need to think about this even more just to get my mind around it. Sigh, all right Lord, as I sit on the porch the next time, talk with me. Give me some guidance so that I might be able to make a difference in this world for the lives of others. And while I am at it, forgive me for my sins of omission.