Pastor’s Desk January 13th

Posted on 13Jan CATEGORIES: Pastor's Desk

Scripture Passage: “When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto your soul; discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you.” Proverbs 2:10-11

Dear Friends,

Last week we talked about the fear of the Lord being the beginning of knowledge. One of the telling signs of this kind of knowledge is a person’s respect for the things of God and their fear of God being greater than their fear of men. Another sign of godly knowledge is the presence of discretion, prudence, and reasoning ability in their decision making process. The idiom, “Discretion is the better part of valor,” was first penned by Charles Churchill in 1477. It has often been used in times of crisis to remind those in positions of leadership to think before acting. Every decision a person makes, both good and bad, carries with it an array of consequences. Those consequences can have a positive impact, but most affect us negatively. The idea is that we should weigh all these things out before we act in a foolish manner.

In the early years of Solomon’s reign, he was known to make wise and premeditated decisions. He began with total dependence upon the wisdom of God. When asked by God what gift he would like to have bestowed upon him, his answer was wisdom. If you remember shortly thereafter two women came to him with a dispute over an infant, and the wisdom he exhibited revealed the true mother and exposed the imposter. Everyone was impressed by the good judgment Solomon exhibited. Solomon was also wise in his selection of advisors. He surrounded himself with wise friends who lent him good counsel. The Queen of Sheba was so impressed with Solomon and his kingdom that she traveled a great distance to come see for herself the magnificence of the temple and hear the wisdom of the king personally. As Solomon aged, the knowledge was still there but his wisdom became clouded. Where he had made good decisions early on, later they were shadowed by indiscretion. He began to form odd alliances with foreign countries, marry strange women, and even worship other Gods. In the end, he died a miserable, embittered old man full of himself and empty of the One through whom all wisdom comes. His indiscretion had become his downfall.

This week on the national scene, the president ordered a drone strike that took out a top military general in the Iranian army. Last night in retaliation, the Iranian army fired ballistic missiles into two military bases in Iraq that house American military personnel. I am waiting to hear how the president responds. I am not only waiting, but I am also praying that the Lord will give the president wisdom and discernment to make the right decision. There is a fine line between doing nothing, combating evil, and taking matters into your own hands. It is my heart’s desire that President Trump seek godly council and Divine wisdom in his decision making process. May he be discreet and prudent in the way he handles this national crisis and may his fear of God dictate what he does. There is no way he is going to please everyone, so may he pray and seek the will of God in his life, and the life of our nation, and move forward without any hesitation to combat the evil and tyranny we are faced with.

In Christ

Pastor Johnny