Pastor Thoughts for November 26th

“The wisdom of the Lord so often runs counter to the wisdom of this world”,

The most blessed part of my day is driving my children to school. We talk, joke, sing, or discuss the agenda for the day, but as we go down the windy road towards Moorpark, I always tell myself what a precious time this is. And yes, on the periphery, it is precious because I know my time with them is short. Soon they will be off to college and these days will be few and far between. I will surely miss these times.

But on the spiritual level, this time is the most important. As I slowly turn into the student-drop off zone, I stop in line, and I pray with the children as they go into the world.

“Lord grant us faith as we go into the world. Guard, protect and guide us as You lead us by your Name. Bless us in the Gospel and grant us faith in the wisdom of Your Word…”

We very well know the direction to which the world is heading. The Word is attacked. People dismiss the Word, twist the Word, and ultimately ignore the question, “What does the Word say?” Yet through it all, the truth and wisdom of God’s Word is impenetrable. His Word never fades [Is40] but it endures forever.

“May we always keep the wisdom of the Lord as the filter through which we view all knowledge”.

Filters are important. Photographer Dave Bovey would agree. But even so it is in life. At home, I wear my glasses and my wife always picks them up and says, “how can you see through these glasses, they are so dirty”. She’s right, but I try and too many times I really do have trouble seeing through them.

And so to it is with our flesh and the wisdom of the world. We become blurry eyed to God’s word and soon we fall to the wisdom of the world. No one is immune. There we find our trouble. Sometimes we see it, yet sometimes we don’t. Oh, the sinful nature we have! Thus we repent and reside in the promises of our Lord.

I pray that the Lord may continue to guide you in His Wisdom that ultimately points to Christ, the Gospel, the forgiveness, the Sacraments, eternal life and salvation. Through the lens of the Cross and Empty Tomb, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ [Rom8].

This is Wisdom.

+PrJ