Semi-random thoughts: For the glory of God

"What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." - Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 1

Last week's SG was on passion. At first, I couldn't think of anything I was passionate about. But after Josh shared his passion about MSG, I remembered a few verses that have stuck with me since I've read them.

"1 See, a king will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.

2 Each man will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 The mind of the rash will know and understand,
and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.

5 No longer will the fool be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.

6 For the fool speaks folly,
his mind is busy with evil:
He practices ungodliness
and spreads error concerning the LORD;
the hungry he leaves empty
and from the thirsty he withholds water.

7 The scoundrel's methods are wicked,
he makes up evil schemes
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy is just.

8 But the noble man makes noble plans,
and by noble deeds he stands."

- Isaiah 32:1-8

My passion, or at least what I feel very strongly about, is to become the man that God created me to be and to see and help other guys become what they were created by God to be.

I don't know how I forgot about something that hit me so hard so when I first encountered it. Someone suggested that it had become so much a part of me that I wasn't even conscious of it anymore. Sounded great but didn't sit well with me. But someone else reminded me of this verse.

" . . . Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." - 1 Peter 3:15

We can't be God's witnesses if we don't know why we're witnessing.

I was also reminded how self-centered we can be even in prayer. "God, I pray that you would heal me," or "God, I ask that you would help me study," or even "God, glorify yourself through me." I'm not saying these are things we shouldn't want or ask God for. It's just that the focus of all these prayers are me. I pray this and I pray that. Help me do this or do this through me.

Our focus, our purpose, our reason to do what we do should be to glorify God in what we do because of who He is and what He has done for us.

When I first read the Isaiah passage, I skipped the first verse entirely because it didn't seem that important to me. However, the reason that men can come close to being shelters from the wind and refuges from the storm is the king who will reign in righteousness. We can be those things because God is those things for us. And God wants us to be those things because in being so, we point the way to Him.

I've decided to practice prayer that is centered on God. It's actually very difficult for me to leave out those I's. But practice makes perfect.

"God, glorify your name."