It's time to brag a little!

What do you brag about the most? You may not be one to sing your own praises, but lets be honest with each other; you’ve thought from time to time, “I could do better than that,” or “If only they had taken my advice.” While we may not blow our horn for others to hear we all certainly toot on it from time to time just for our own enjoyment.

We will all boast and brag from time to time, and this may surprise you, but God actually encourages us to be boastful.

[23] This is what the Lord says:

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, [24] but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)

To boast is to speak proudly or even confidently about something. Most of the time, we admire human wisdom, power (strength) and riches. Yes, it is a problem to think to highly of ourselves, our accomplishments or our possessions, but it’s never wrong to brag a little about God.

Notice what God tells us to boast about. First we are to tell others that we know God. Amazing as it sound, it is nevertheless true; I AM A FRIEND OF GOD! That’s not something to be ashamed of, that’s something to shout outloud and let the whole world know. God Almighty has made Himself known to me and wants to make His love real in my life everyday. How do I know this? Look what else I am to boast about.

God tells me to make it known that He is “the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness.” And why does God do these things? Because He delights in doing these things! In other words, God enjoys expressing His unfailing love to me (and yes to you too).

God has been kind; He is merciful to me a sinner. God is just; He has made full payment for my sin through Jesus’ death on the cross. And God is righteous; He has given me His Holy Spirit to empower me to live in obedience to His Word everyday.

I’m told that when I get to be a grandparent I’ll have a wallet full of pictures to brag about my grandkids. It might be a good idea to put something in there now to remind me to start bragging on God because He has already done some things worth singing praises about.