Lord, Lord

LORD, LORD

It is Sunday morning and a crispy cold, bright, sunny, winter day.  It is a glorious day, a day the Lord has made.  I was up early and say the sun rise and banish the chilling cold darkness of night.  I’m glad for this new day and I praise the God who created it, my God, my Lord God.  It is early Sunday morning and the dog and I are taking a Sunday morning walk.  I think to myself how thankful I am to be able to do this.  There are so many who cannot.  I pat the dog and step a little lighter.  It is a good day to be alive. 

How very marvelous is this day and I pray it will be a good day of many blessings, not just for me but for my neighbors, family and friends and all those folks I am acquainted with from a distance.  I pray for our nations and our leaders and pray they will hear and heed God’s voice.  I pray for our economy and all those who are struggling to just find their next meal and keep a roof over their head.  I pray, Lord, your peace and comfort on those who are sick and lonely and alone.

I thought about how I too often complain about my own life’s circumstances, about the world around me and even about the weather and I am grateful for this day.  I am so blessed.  I have food to eat, I have shelter and clothing.  I am in relatively good health.  I can walk and talk and see and hear and taste and smell and my bills are paid, well most of them.  I have much to be thankful for on this glorious Sunday morning…and I have the pleasure of knowing the friendship and unconditional love of this dog who is walking with me on this morning and my two cats waiting for our return home again.  They will greet us at the door and be glad to see us.  They will purr their greeting and we will all enjoy a healthy and tasty morning breakfast.  Lord, I thank you for this day and all the many blessings I have that you have given me.  Thank you. 

I reached down and patted the dog’s head as we walked along.  I ask, Lord that you protect these other creatures of your creation, like this wonderful dog walking with me and provide all their needs too.  It is a wonderful blessing to have these creatures to share with.  Thank you.  I pray Lord, and I trust you in all things.  I know that no matter what may happen, you, oh Lord God, are in control.  It is you that gave us this new day and a fresh start and it is you who will guide us through it if we will only follow you.

It is Sunday morning and folks, at least some folks are getting ready to attend a church service somewhere.  I heard the church bells tone out that it is seven o’clock.  People will sing hymns and quote repetitive prayers and listen while the minister or priest of their chosen denomination reads from your word or quotes some famous individual from the past and he or she will preach, by your leading or not, according to the dictates and traditions of the church they are leading; according to their own convictions and they will be politically correct in their teaching because we are told it is the socially right way to be.  And everyone will say, “Lord, Lord.”  Some will hear your voice and most will not. 

Some will come with sincere hearts seeking to share this time with you and some will come because it is what they have always done and what they do on Sunday morning, it is a habit like brushing your teeth or changing your underwear and it is an opportunity to connect and find out what they missed that is going on in the neighborhood.  For many it is little more than a Sunday morning social hour.

They will attend to the business of the church and will fellowship together and then they will rush home to go on living their lives the same way they were living them yesterday; for better or worse with all the frustrations, worries, anger and bitterness, doubts and fears, tarnished hopes and dreams, sadness and longing, jealousies and envy that have gnawed at them since last Sunday.  Nothing has changed.  It is just another day in a busy week in a negative and dark and misleading world of humanity…But they have done the good and proper thing.  They went to church.  They sang hymns, they quoted repetitive prayers and they said “Lord, Lord” and then it was over until next Sunday, should it come. 

They will go home. They will turn on the TV and tune in the sports channel, maybe read the Sunday morning headlines, the local gossip, the obituaries and the comic strips.  They will mow the lawn or shovel a path through the snow to the rubbish shed.  Maybe they will spend the rest of the day lounging on some sunny beach or skiing on some mountain slope. 

They will click on the X-box, boot up their computer to read their email, play their games and check out what is going on at Facebook or they will head for the shopping mall or meet up with a few friends at the local bar, pizza joint, fast food store or coffeehouse; each going their own way and doing their own thing and they will discuss the ins and outs of the lives of folks they know who are not there, all they think they know or do not know; and they will discuss the latest political fiasco of the moment, the latest in sports gossip and those TV and Silver Screen heroes, the music celebrities who succumbed to an overdose of drugs or alcohol or attempted suicide and succeeded and died too young and banter and make bets on who will be the next upcoming star or super hero to shine their light and guide us (the little people) in how to live our lives better and become rich and famous and beautiful people just like them…But to what expense.  

The older children will hang out with friends in gangs in some local park, arcade, on the street corner or in some back alley bullying each other or playing mindless games, each doing their own thing, hormones raging and drug dealers waiting; and maybe even a pedophile or two.  They will pile into cars and race up and down the highways and challenge each other to go faster and faster; the fast life, the high life so they don’t have to think about what is really going on in their life or listen to Mom and Dad, or that significant other fight again and maybe get caught up in the abuse but they were smiling and in church on Sunday.  The younger children will entertain themselves in front of their own TV or game station or with super hero action figures and Barbie in the good .vs. bad world of their young imaginations, playing out those adventures they have seen on TV.

It is Sunday morning and a crispy cold, bright, sunny, winter day.  It is a glorious day, a day the Lord has made.  The dog and I are out for an early morning walk.  It is a beautiful new day filled with Sonshine and new blessings.  I am glad for it and feeling very much alive and well.  God is walking with us.  These walks, with or without the dog, are when God and I have our best talks.  I love sharing this time with God.  There is a quiet calm, peacefulness, serenity in the early hours of day before we get caught up in the rush of the world around us.  We walk around the block and through the park beside the now frozen river.  I hear a few winter birds singing their morning songs of praise to their creator and conversing with each other.  I wonder what they are talking about.  It reminds me that I need to replenish the seeds in the birdfeeder on my deck.  I feed the birds.

I’m enjoying this morning walk with God and my four-legged furry pal.  God likes him a whole lot too.  He is a marvelous dog and a joy to have around.  He’s my grandson’s dog.  I’m dog sitting for the weekend.    We’ve been walking for nearly an hour but I have to go home now and get ready for church.  I thought about that for a moment and wondered if I was being hypocritical.

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.”

If I only pray, sing hymns of praise and thankfulness and honor and glory to God on Sunday; if I only read God’s word on Sunday morning and never give it another glance or thought all the rest of the six days left in the week; if I don’t hold with, carry my hope, faith and trust in God in my life all week long, live it and mean it;

what am I doing in church on Sunday? 

If I am not being fed and nourished by manna from heaven in that church, if I cannot feel, know God’s presence there and know God walks with us in that congregation, what am I doing there?  Why even go to church?  If my life is not reflecting God’s light on Monday and the rest of the week and God’s truth is not in me and I do not truly do my very best to honor God and follow his teachings and live as he would have me live; what am I doing in church on Sunday or any other day of the week? 

If all I do is complain and fuss and fret in God’s ear and do not ever say thank you for all the blessings he does give me, never take time to listen to him and ask his will, do not appreciate what I do have and willingly share my blessings as I am able, what am I saying to God and to others?  If I ignore God and his word each time I don’t fully understand or maybe disagree and over rule it with my own desires and just go about living my life in my own way, doing my own thing all week long except for maybe a couple hours on Sunday; why am I even going to church…And Jesus said; “And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”  Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, help me, help others to live our lives according to your will, to follow you, every day, all day, not just for a couple of hours on Sunday.