As seen in yesterday’s devotional, the Bible mentioned about three places where it is found that anyone who should boast has to boast in the LORD. It was argued yesterday too that reason man should not boast in self is that man does nothing good or successful without God’s original backup. Human beings who know that God uses what the world considered foolish to shame the wise do not boast in self. Christians are among this group. Therefore, all wise Christians boast and brag in what God enabled them do and achieve. Even those Christians occasionally found boasting of their righteousness were told by Apostle Paul that the right way to boast is boasting in the LORD (1 Cor. 1: 30 – 31). If you are born with strength of doing things, boast by telling people “I am happy that God made me very strong than others and I give Him praise.” Because if you use your strength to boast intimidating people, God can make one very smallish man beats up a giant mercilessly in the public.
As Christians, the right ways to boast include boasting in the Cross of Jesus Christ. This might sound silly to some people. There is no how any person can live without sins, live a righteous life and be free from satanic influences on personal effort. It is the Cross that made living good life possible. We boast in a right way if we credit all we are to God. Apostle Paul talked much about grace because he knew that it was God’s grace that qualified him a dynamic Apostle. He knew his weaknesses in life, asked God to remove the weaknesses. But God told Paul that His (God) grace is sufficient for him (Paul). This made Paul to say “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12: 9). Human beings only maintain glorious stable position when the Power of Christ rests upon them. So boast in the Power from above which sustains your being.
The right ways Christians boast or brag is by giving God praise in all things. As said earlier, all good things come from God (James 1: 17). Your riches, wealth, favour, business successes, blissful marriage and many others come from God. It sounds stupid to boast in our riches, wealth or gifts that will pass away one day. We are to rather boast in the givers of all we have by giving Him praises for all things which come on our ways. In summary, right ways of boasting and bragging is to acknowledge God’s enablement in all we are able to do, able to achieve or accomplished. Christians with healing, prophetic, teaching, miraculous and apostolic gifts are to boast in the LORD who equipped them with all. It is usually sad hearing servants of God boasting in the ministerial gifts given them by God.
PRAYER:
HOLY SPIRIT, show me the best ways to boast in the LORD Jesus Christ for all I have been blessed with in this world in the wonderful name of Jesus!
bishopubaudenyi@hopealivechurch