Author: Bill Kirkwood

God’s Household

Posted on by Bill Kirkwood

Last week I asked my church choir what they think of when they hear the word “household.” Some responses were

• Respect
• Family
• Chores
• Serving
• Dysfunctional
• Support

I asked because that morning I had read 1 Timothy 3 in which Paul is sending Timothy instructions so that he “will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” There are several times when Paul refers to the church as God’s household. (Eph. 2:19, Titus 1:7) He attaches to this “household” a weighty title: church of the living God. No longer is the presence of the Lord God almighty focused on a temple or ark. Now He is present in His Church, His household, His very people. That’s you and me!!

What else? God’s household…His Church…is “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” Remember what Christ said about truth? Not that He brought us truth, but that He is the truth, He is the way and the life. And now that truth lives in us, members of God’s household, His Church, the “pillar…” This is an amazing thing.

What does this look like? When Jesus walked with the disciples, he imparted to them truth. After He left them, He sent the Holy Spirit to remind them of his teachings. The disciples guarded the truth against heresies and imparted truth to those around them, who passed it down through the generations. Through the early Church fathers, the dark ages, Reformers, all the way to us today. The Holy Spirit has guided the Truth all the way to us, 1980 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. As disciples and members of God’s household, we are entrusted with this precious gift of truth, not to keep for ourselves, but to continue to guard against heresy and pass along to others.

So next time you’re listening to a sermon, in a bible study group or reading on your own, realize you’re continuing a process that began all those years ago with Jesus & His disciples. Read, learn, apply, live out, and pass along. You are part of the pillar of truth.

Peace,
Bill

A Grateful Heart

Posted on by Bill Kirkwood

This Sunday my pastor is preaching from Psalm 51… written by King David when he was confronted by Nathan the prophet after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. This morning in our staff prayer time we looked at the background passage for this psalm. 2 Samuel 12 is the story behind Nathan’s rebuke. Nathan brings the words of an angry God to David:

            “I anointed you king over Israel… I gave your master’s house to you…I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.”

 David had seen God’s goodness in so many amazing ways. Yet he wanted the one thing he was forbidden to have…another man’s wife. When he took her, serious consequences followed. 

Sound familiar? Remember Adam and Eve? Surrounded by all the bounties of a glorious garden, able to walk and talk with the Creator, they still wanted more. They wanted the one thing they were forbidden to take. When they ate of the fruit, serious consequences followed.

What about me? How many times am I aware of the miraculous gifts God has showered upon me? Life. Health. Loving family. A relationship with my Savior with infinite love and grace. God gives more than I could ever imagine and certainly more than I deserve. Yet how many times do I want more…a little more money…a bigger house…a nicer car……this person to like me…greater respect from others. Dissatisfaction sets in and I find myself dwelling on what I don’t have rather than the bounties I do have. Serious consequences follow.

Like David, I also deserve to hear the words,

“Why did you despise the word of the LORD?”

 

And like David I need to come to the point where I can say,

“I have sinned against the LORD.”

 

Finally, I long to hear, “The LORD has taken away your sin.”

With His help my desire is to spend more time remembering His goodness to someone upon whom He chooses to shower His blessings, and to allow that remembering to overcome my short-sighted desire to covet what I do not have. The result? A grateful heart. Closer dependence on God. More peace and joy in life.

That’s my prayer for each of us. It begins with a grateful heart.

Sparkling Hearts

Posted on by Bill Kirkwood

One of the first verses I memorized as a new Christian was Jeremiah 17:9,

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

Since then I’ve heard many sermons & lessons on how bad my heart is, how if left to myself, I have no good thoughts or inclinations toward God. After years and years I have become almost untrusting of my heart, the thoughts that come from its depths, and its basic nature. It can be confusing because I believe somewhere in there, even on my own, there must be some kernel of goodness, some dormant seed of desiring God.

Last week as I was pondering this a bit more, I looked over to my bookshelf and saw a book by John Eldredge called “Waking The Dead: the Glory of a Heart Fully Alive,” given to me years ago by some dear friends. As I looked at the title I thought, “That sounds like something I need right now.” In it Mr. Eldredge reminds me that the heart is the seat of my soul, not just my emotions. The creation of the heart was not described in Genesis 3 after the fall. It was described in Genesis 1 as being “very good,” desiring God, in perfect communion with Him. That’s how God designed our heart!

The fall of the first Adam resulted in a “blanket” of sin being cast over my heart. But underneath is an awareness that there is more to this life. Like Mr. Anderson at first only vaguely aware of The Matrix around him, we know there’s something better for us. However we do not need to take a red pill to discover it. We need a relationship with the Heart-Creator of Genesis 1. He is able to throw off the blanket and reveal what our heart, and we ourselves, are designed to be.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.      2 Corinthians 3:18

 

The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.  Zechariah 9:16

 

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;       Romans 7:22

 

This is God’s design for us…to be glory-reflectors, to be sparkling jewels, to delight in His word. We must realize there is an enemy (The Matrix called Satan) that wants us to live defeated, unenlightened, powerless lives that serve his dark purposes. But as we begin to live the victorious, glory-reflecting, power-filled life for which The Heart-Creator designed us, we will be the world-changers that Jesus Christ wants His followers to be.

It’s time to throw off the blanket and sparkle in His land!!