When we don’t know the purpose of a thing, abuse is inevitable.

The first five questions of the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to enjoy him for ever. [b]
[a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 6:20; 10:31; Rev. 4:11
[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4; Rev. 21:3-4

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, [a] is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. [b]
[a]. Matt. 19:4-5 with Gen. 2:24; Luke 24:27, 44; I Cor. 2:13; 14:37;
II Pet.1:20-21; 3:2, 15-16
[b]. Deut. 4:2; Ps. 19:7-11; Isa. 18:20; John 15:11; 20:30-31; Acts 17:11;
II Tim. 3:15-17; I John 1:4

Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, [a] and what duty God requires of man [b].
[a]. Gen. 1:1; John 5:39; 20:31; Rom. 10:17; II Tim. 3:15
[b]. Deut. 10:12-13; Josh. 1:8; Ps. 119:105; Mic. 6:8; II Tim. 3:16-17

Q. 4. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit [a], infinite [b], eternal [c], and unchangeable [d] in his being [e], wisdom [f], power [g], holiness [h], justice [i], goodness [j], and truth [k].
[a]. Deut. 4:15-19; Luke 24:39; John 1:18; 4:24; Acts 17:29
[b]. IKings 8:27; Ps. 139:7-10; 145:3; 147:5; Jer. 23:24; Rom. 11:33-36
[c]. Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2; 102:12, 24-27; Rev. 1:4,8
[d]. Ps. 33:11; Mal. 3:6; Heb. 1:12; 6:17-18; 13:8; Jas. 1:17
[e]. Ex. 3:14; Ps. 115:2-3; I Tim. 1:17; 6:15-16
[f]. Ps. 104:24; Rom. 11:33-34; Heb. 4:13; I John 3:20
[g]. Gen. 17:1; Ps. 62:11; Jer. 32:17; Mat. 19:26; Rev. 1:8
[h]. Heb. 1:13; I Pet. 1:15-16; I John 3:3, 5; Rev. 15:4
[i]. Gen. 18:25; Ex. 34:6-7; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 96:13; Rom. 3:5, 26
[j]. Ps. 103:5; 107:8; Matt. 19:17; Rom. 2:4
[k]. Ex. 34:6; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 86:15; 117:2; Heb. 6:18

Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one?
A. There is but one only [a], the living and true God [b].
[a]. Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6; 45:21-22; I Cor. 8:4-6
[b]. Jer. 10:10; John 17:3; I Thess. 1:9; I John 5:20

Q. 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost [a]; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. [b]
[a]. Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; II Cor. 13:14; I Pet. 1:2
[b]. Ps. 45:6; John 1:1; 17:5; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9; Jude 24-25

I think the Lord convicted me of how prayerless my ministry can be. I mean, if I believed that ministry were God’s work and not mine, wouldn’t I be asking for him to engage in that work a whole lot more than I do? Why is it that I’m so much more disciplined and diligent to do the work myself rather than rely on the one whose work it is in the first place? Answer: I am self-reliant. I have a deficiency of dependence.

Whenever I am prayerless it betrays an underlying belief that I can do life and ministry on my own, which according to Scripture, is certifiably insane. Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:7). I deny reality and live like a lunatic whenever I act as if I can do the work of my life and ministry on my own. And prayerlessness is the tell-tale sign that I’ve gone nuts.

So as I’ve come back to work – to God’s work – I’m committing myself to reality: to remember the reality of my own neediness, my own helplessness, by focusing intensely on the cross of Christ. There it is that I see my desperation, my profound neediness, my own inability to do life on my own; for if this is what it cost to rescue me from my sin and self-righteousness, then I must be truly needy, truly helpless, truly powerless to accomplish anything myself. And with this renewed focus on Jesus’ cross, I am resolved to take my neediness in hand and bring it earnestly and regularly to the throne of grace to receive (as the writer to the Hebrews has said) mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16).

Hebrews is one of my favorite books of the entire Bible and Dr. Sinclair Ferguson’s reasons for studying it echo my own thoughts very well:

? Hebrews reveals Christ as the key to understanding the Old Testament. He calls Hebrews a “master interpreter” of the Old Testament. It reveals promise and fulfillment, type and antitype, shadow and reality.
? It displays the greatness of Jesus Christ. He is better than anges, Moses, Joshua, Aaron, the priesthood, the tabernacle and the sacrifices.
? It emphasizes the theological and practical importance of the humanity of Christ. Ferguson says: “assurance, peace, access to God, knowledge that He is our father, and strength to overcome demptation all depend on this – that the Son of God took our flesh andbore our sins in such a way that further sacrifice for sin is both unnecessary and unintelligible.”
? Hebrews emphasizes the nature of true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The true nature is perseverence. Though the recipients were being persecuted to go back to their old religion, the writer is convinced that those who remain faithful will receive the promises.

Talking of Dr. Ferguson, I recently re-read the notes of a lecture he did entitled “The Puritans: Can They Teach Us Anything Today?”

The short answer to the question is “a whole lot!”

Puritans were individuals who wanted to see the church purified according to the teaching of Scripture, and also wanted to see their lives, in great detail, purified by the Word of God.

Dr. Ferguson presents the big picture overview concerning why the Puritans and their writings can be so useful to us in our own day. I was particularly struck by how the Puritans sought to practically apply the Bible in the home life of each family in the local church and how all the doctrine expoused was so very Trinitarian. It is excellent material. I hope it will stir in us a desire to read more of their writings. You will find part one of his talk here and part two here.

Last, but by no means least, my heart goes out to Christian baseball player Josh Hamilton who was recently involved in a terrible tragedy, along with the Stone family.

A scripture verse I am meditating on today:

John 3:27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”