"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." To boast means to talk with great pride with self-satisfaction about one's achievements; to brag or to glorify. Sometimes we brag about others in regard to something they've accomplished. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging another's achievements, skill, or elevation in life. It's the attitude with which we do these things. Some of us smote our breast, so to speak, with pride when we speak about the things our children are doing, the colleges or schools they attend, how many grandchildren we have, the house we bought, the car we drive and the vacation we took. Nothing is wrong with any of these things in themselves, it's how we speak of them and the attitude we display to others while speaking about them. In Psalm 34, David boasts and brags about how God delivered him when he was in trouble. He mentions with great fervor how God answered him when he cried to Him. We may boast about many things like: 1. The restaurants we like and the cuisine we enjoyed there 2. Friends who are doing impressive things 3. Our plans 4. Vacations we took and the places we've been 5. Our job position and how much money we make 6. Our homes 7. Our church/pastor 8. Celebrities we've met 9. People we admire 10. The things we can afford As Christians, our boast should be in the Lord God. But how can we boast in Him if we're not experiencing Him on a personal level? The list above describes things we brag about because we have had some first-hand experience with them. We've given them five stars as it were, that show they met with our approval. We're glorying in them. So, what about what God has done for you and for me? What are we bragging about where God is concerned? Has He met with our approval? There are those in the Bible who made their boast in the Lord: 1. Mary, the mother of Jesus (The Magnificat) in Luke 1:46-55) She certainly had something grand to boast in God about! 2. Hannah, Elkanah's wife, Samuel's mother (1 Samuel 2:1-10). What a powerful expression of praise and thanksgiving for answered prayer and the miracle of opening her womb! 3. Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Moses and Aaron. She is the first praise and worship leader in the Bible. She takes her timbrel in hand and leads the praise in Exodus 15:20-27. 4. Naomi, Elimelech's wife, mother-in-law to Ruth, the Moabitess offers us her boasting when she returned to Bethlehem Judea from Moab in Ruth 1:22. May we make our boast in the Lord. Brag on Him by lifting Him up to those we come in contact with - in hopes that they may desire Him. Our boasting will only be as strong and deep as our appreciation is of Him and as strong as our relationship is with Him. Are you and I 'Surfacy' in our walk with Him, or do we have testimony for days of enduring many things and coming out on the other side?
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