Back to the Catachisms

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;20 and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.21
Q. 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.22
Q. 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.232
Q. 9. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power,24 in the space of six days, and all very good.25
Q. 10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image,26 in knowledge,27 righteousness, and holiness,28 with dominion over the creatures.29

20 Matthew 3:16-17. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 28:19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 2 Corinthians 13:14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 1 Peter 1:2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
21 Psalm 45:6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 17:5. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Acts 5:3-4. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Romans 9:5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Colossians 2:9. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Jude 1:24-25. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.
22 Psalm 33:11. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Isaiah 14:24. The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: Acts 2:23. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Ephesians 1:11-12. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (6)
23 Psalm 148:8. Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Isaiah 40:26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Daniel 4:35. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Acts 4:24-28. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. Revelation 4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
24 Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Psalm 33:6, 9. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.... For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. Hebrews 11:3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
25 Genesis 1:31. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
26 Genesis 1:27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
27 Colossians 3:10. And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
28 Ephesians 4:24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
29 Genesis 1:28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Psalm 8. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

That Busy Time of Year

When is it not the busy time of the year? There always seems to be something on the todo list, much more than can get done. I would like to have an application that would begin to grow moss on the todo list items that have been hanging around too long. You know, like the blinds we bought in July to hang in the Cabana that are still in the boxes. Or the project to make the Cabana a cool man cave work shop.

It does feel good to get some of these items off the todo list at the end of a week. Showing some progress on goals and getting the brain endorphins to flow by checking off an item is therapeutic. One thing that is still going is our goal to read the Bible through in a year. I am officially only one day behind my schedule. I’ve made it through the Pentateuch and am off to the Prophets. I’ve heard it said that the Pentateuch has killed more Bible reading goals than anything else. It helps having my partner reading at the same time so we can talk about what we find in the scriptures.

I heard one item today, “if you are too busy to read your Bible, you are too busy to eat.” So read your Bible before you eat. You can find time that way. I’ve had my best success this time by having the Bible on my computer. I can track my progress on my goal and do the reading and studying within the same program. If you are not reading your Bible, and studying what God has to say, then you need to get back in it. Get a partner to keep you accountable and ask God to keep you at it. He really will speak to you through His Word.