There is but one only, the living and true God.

Twice a day, Jews throughout the world will recite the Shema, the words of Deuteronomy 6:4, as part of the daily prayers reminding them of the oneness of God, and of the command to and rewards of loving him with the whole heart and soul and mind and strength.

Although we worship God as a Trinity, the Bible and Christian doctrine are clear that God is one. We do not worship several gods but one God who exists exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There are no other gods (Isaiah 44:6, 45:21-22).

Although many gods are worshipped today, whether explicitly as in false religions or more implicitly with idols of money or power (1 Cor 8:4-6), God is the only true and living God (1 Thess 1:9-10). He is the only eternal King (Jeremiah 10:10), being our Creator rather than being made from created things (Exodus 20:3-6). It is only because he is the true and living God that we can trust in him and receive eternal life (John 17:3, 1 John 5:20).

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Ehad
Deuteronomy 6:4

God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

It is through that Spirit of God that we worship him and through the Spirit that we are drawn towards him(John 4:24).

God is omnipresent and fills the heaven and the earth (Jeremiah 23:24). He has always been present from before the beginning of time (Psalm 90:2). He remains constant and cannot act outwith his own character of love, justice and goodness (James 1:17).

He is above and beyond human intelligence. We can not comprehend the extent of his wisdom and understanding (Psalm 147:5). God demonstrates his wisdom through the use of his power (Job 12:13) and by bestowing his wisdom upon his people (Daniel 2:20-22).

God is omnipotent(Job 42:2). He is El-Shaddai, God Almighty (Genesis 17:1). That power is demonstrated to the whole world through the act of his creation (Romans 1:20). It is through that might that God raised Jesus from the dead and, in the same way, will resurrect us on the Last Day (1 Cor 6:14).

Another name of God is Holy (Isaiah 57:15). In heaven, he is worshipped by creatures praising his holiness and eternal nature (Revelation 4:8). Because God is holy, we are called to be holy and to set ourselves apart for him (1 Peter 1:15-16).

God is a just and fair judge over his people (Deut 32:4). He cannot be anything but righteous (Zephaniah 3:5). He will one day judge the world and each person according to their righteousness (1 Kings 8:32).

"The Lord our God is good, his mercy is forever sure" (Psalm 100:5). Through his goodness, he reaches out to draw sinners to him and guides them along his way (Psalm 25:8). We respond to that goodness by praising him for it (Psalm 106:1).

God cannot lie or change his mind (Titus 1:1-2) and will fulfill the promises has made (Numbers 23:19). When we know this, we can trust him with everything (Psalm 31:5). We can trust him because we know that he has revealed himself and his character through the Bible which is his unerring word.

The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

God has given us the Scriptures so we can love God so that we serve him and know his commandments so we can follow them and walk in his ways (Deut 10:12-13). Love and obedience are inextricably linked (John 14:23-24).

It is only through the Scriptures that we can come to know Christ as the Son of God (John 20:31), have our sins forgiven (Acts 10:43) and so receive eternal life (1 John 5:13).

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8

It is worthwhile to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow up to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God.
B B Warfield, American theologian (1851-1921)

As you know, I have made it one of my goals for 2007 to learn the first 52 questions of the Shorter Catechism. (I was amused and surprised to see that the Shorter Catechism was originally intended for those of "of weaker capacity" rather than the Longer Catechism.) Learning the catechism and teaching it in Sunday school has fallen out of favour, so why start to learn it now?

I am persuaded that the use of a good Catechism in all our families will be a great safeguard against the increasing errors of the times...Those who use it in their families or classes must labour to explain the sense; but the words should be carefully learned by heart, for they will be understood better as years pass.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon, English Baptist preacher (1834-1892)

Learning the catechism has been used to teach the basic tenets of the Christian faith since the first century. As my denomination adheres to the Westminster Standards, I decided to use the Shorter Catechism which goes through the main doctrines of Faith, the Ten Commandments, the Sacraments and Prayer.

Many older friends, even those who are not Christians, who were catechised as children say that the teaching is hidden away in their hearts and minds and find back to them at times of difficulty or trial. It is perhaps not completely disconnected that Bible knowledge, even in Christians, has fallen in the last twenty years as popularity of the catechism has decreased despite a proliferation of Bible study material in all sorts of media.

Therefore it is the duty of every father of a family to question and examine his children and servants at least once a week and to ascertain what they know of it, or are learning and, if they do not know it, to keep them faithfully at it. However, it is not enough for them to comprehend and recite these parts according to the words only, but the young people should also be made to attend the preaching, especially during the time which is devoted to the Catechism, that they may hear it explained and may learn to understand what every part contains, so as to be able to recite it as they have heard it, and, when asked, may give a correct answer, so that the preaching may not be without profit and fruit.
Martin Luther, German theologian (1483-1546)

Should we be catechising our children at home and in Sunday school? I think we should to allow these children to learn Christian truths and to form a good theological foundation at an early age. Perhaps it is similar to the bank tellers or medical students only being let loose on normal bank-notes, hearts and lungs I wrote of a few days ago. If we teach our children Biblical Christian doctrine, they might be less likely swayed by false teaching or be led astray in the future.

The older I grow, and I now stand on the brink of eternity—the more comes back to me the first sentence in the Catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes: ‘What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.’
Thomas Carlyle, Scottish satirist and historian (1795-1881)

As I learn the Catechism, I want to strengthen my knowledge of basic Christian doctrine, some of which I know but wish to more fully understand and some of which I accept but want to be able to defend from Scripture. I want to hide these teachings and this wisdom in my heart, so that I might strengthen my knowledge of and relationship with him and ultimately "glorify God and enjoy him forever."

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:12-14

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

In 2 Timothy 3:10-17, Paul writes to young Timothy to remind him of the importance of God's word and of its importance in his life. Just like Timothy's mother and grandmother who would have most probably followed Jewish custom in teaching him the Law from the age of 5, we have a responsibility to teach our children knowledge and application of the Bible to equip them with that sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17).

I am told that bank tellers are given only real bank notes initially when they are trained to check for forgeries. When I first learned to examine people, I listened only to normal hearts and lungs before being let loose on real people with real diseases. In the same way, it is only by having a good knowledge of the Word of God and by studying it that we can then recognise false teachings or ideas and test what we hear or read against the truth (1 Tim 1:6-7).

There are warnings against adding to the Gospel (Gal 1:8-9), a trait that is so easy for any of us to fall into. Legalism is sometimes a struggle for my own denomination. In others, there may a tendency to universalism, belitting the work of Christ. It is almost as if we believe the Gospel couldn't possibly be as simple as it appears!

As we study the Bible, we can know that it is inspired by God written down by men "as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). This gives it authority as the inerrant, infallible revelation of God in the world. It is sufficient for us, teaching us everything we need to know for salvation and to guide us to godliness until we join with the true and living Word in heaven.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

"What is the meaning of life?" This must be the most-asked philosophical question ever. Why are we here? What is life all about? The meaning of it all is that God has made us to glorify him, not because we can add to his glory but so his glory can be demonstrated through us.

He does not wish to glorified in an egotistical way but instead through a reciprocal fellowship of love, where God has given of himself freely and his people praise him for this. It is only through Christ that we can have this relationship with God and experience real joy. Ultimately, this ends with joining God in heaven and being received into that glory (Ps 73:24-26).

Everything we do should be to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31), knowing that chasing the often sinful desires of our hearts can not bring satisfaction but more emptiness. It should be the outworking of our faith and the knowledge of what Christ has done that drives our ambitions towards glorifying God. As Asaph says, there should be "nothing on earth that I desire besides you" (Ps 73:24-26).

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:36

2007 is going to be an exciting year. I have no idea where I will be and what I will be doing in August, never mind this time next year. Thankfully, I know that my life will not come to together by coincidences and random events, but instead has been lovingly planned by a God who has plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give me a future and a hope. Whatever happens, I want to grow more and more in my relationship with and in my knowledge of God, and to walk with the Lord daily and in everything I do.

While reflecting on the past year and on the year ahead, I have decided to set myself some goals to help me focus and to have some accountability for my part in my growth over the next year. If I tell you about them, I'd better have a good excuse for not keeping them!

That said some of them might not be as important by the end of the year although I have tried to pick goals that will be good for me wherever I am and whatever is happening in my life.

It is also interesting to look back at previous goals to see what was important to me at the time and if I achieved them. While sorting through a box of school stuff, I found an old diary from 1995. My list of goals for before I was 25, ten years later, included becoming a doctor (done), having long hair (quite embarrassing this is in the same league as the last one but it has been done), getting my name into listings of the Radio Times (done) and being in a musical in the main theatre in my city (not done and I'm fine with that!).

My goals for 2007 are to:

• Read through the whole Bible - I've done this once before in a year and found it very helpful to get everything in context and to see the Bible as a whole, rather than in fragmented pieces. I'm currently swithering (admittedly a bit late in the day!) between Robert Murray McCheyne's plan or reading through the Bible chronologically.



• Memorise key Scripture - The publishers of the ESV Bible have a year's Scripture memorisation plan that covers the basics of Christianity with one passage for every week.



• Learn a question from the Shorter Catechism every week - I think we have lost a great part of our heritage and a wonderful opportunity to learn basic tenets of faith when we stopped catechising children in Sunday school. I didn't go to Sunday school myself so I have decided to start learning them.



• Practise hospitality more purposefully - Carolyn McCulley wrote a great article on this a few days ago. I'll write more about this, but I wanted to recommend it straight away.



• Start singing lessons again - I used to do so much more singing when I was at university, but stopped when I started work. Having got my postgraduate exams out of the way, I should be able to find the time to do something I love.



• Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Do without - I want to join the ladies of blogland, led by Sallie, in Celebrating a Year of Abundance.



• Keep blogging - I never intended to start blogging at the beginning of the year but somehow fell into it. I have loved it though and really feel that I have grown from the discipline of writing and from the writings and fellowship over the internet of believers all over the world.

I'll write a little more about these in the days and weeks to come, but until then I'd be interested to know your resolutions or goals for the coming year if you are making them. For others' hopes and dreams for 2007, visit Laurel Wreath for more New Year Meditations.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14