Worthwhile

Now, commentary on yesterday’s verses (from Romans 1)

The one line that struck me more than others was “they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God.”  Earlier it said “they knew God.”

I have many friends who knew God and didn’t retain that knowledge, and now they no longer walk with him.

There are many marriages of couples who knew each other well but no longer walk together – they walk with another.

There’s something to be said for retaining our knowledge of who God is. Somewhere along life’s road we exchange the truth of God for lies.  We begin to doubt his goodness, we quit filling our minds with his word and fill our minds with fantasy, and we fail to recognize him daily and walk beside him in closeness and communion.

What a dangerous position to find ourselves in, because if we continue in that path, all sorts of evil begins to occur until…and there is no longer a line between good and evil.

Do you know God?  Are you retaining that knowledge by walking with him daily?  It’s imperative, healthy, wise, and life-giving if we do.  And it’s sure destruction if we don’t.

Boast About This

Jeremiah 9 says,

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this:  that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord."

I enjoy watching award shows, I do.  But I’ve noticed something over the years.  Celebrities used to get up and thank God in their speeches, and then go on to boast in themselves and talk about all things unrelated to God at all.  I remember thinking it was cool that they acknowledged God but then being disgusted at what they said after that.  In other words, it seemed like a pat phrase, something to say – maybe flattery – when they didn’t really know God at all.  Or maybe they did, but they only saw him as the giver of fame and fortune, when things are going well.

Now, it’s very rare to hear a celebrity thank God at all.  All credit is given to people, karma, luck, or their own hard work and achievements.  That too is disturbing, although perhaps those things are what got them to their status of fame.  Because God isn’t concerned about making us famous.

He is concerned about our understanding him, that he is the Lord who does what?

“…exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth.”

That’s the God who wants to be praised, because he loves his people and lavishes that love on them.  And when we boast in Him, we receive his strength and richness to share with others, not our own fame and fortune to hoard and hover.

In Him Alone

Isaiah 45 says They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in him.

What do you make your boast in? 

Sometimes we inadvertently boast in other things when we simply fail to give God the glory.

 

For example, when we say we’re sending vibes or good thoughts to others for healing or hope, we are boasting in something other than the power of prayer.

When we forge ahead to make things right at work, instead of stopping to pray and seek His face on how to handle things righteously, we are boasting in our own strength to settle scores.

If our kids are accomplishing, doing well, making us proud, and we tell others how we did this and that to make them succeed, we are discounting the mercies of God and his blessings given freely to us.

We need to speak up and declare who it is that brings us strength and deliverance by giving thanks to God for all good gifts.  

And we need to boast aloud so that our children hear and know it is HE who grants strength to the weary, and it is HE who answers our prayers.

Silence...

Psalm 12 says, May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue

Have you ever been on the receiving end of flattery?  Maybe someone starts throwing compliments your way, someone who barely knows you, or someone who clearly wants something from you.  The flattery isn’t charming – it’s alarming.  And you want to run from that person.

What about sitting among friends visiting, and one person starts boasting about their achievements and their own accolades they have received, all for one purpose – to make those in earshot jealous of who they are?  Disgusting, isn’t it?  We usually want to get up and move to another group.

Flattering lips and boastful tongues – may the Lord silence them all.

We don’t have to flatter others or boast in ourselves in order to feel good about who we are, or in order to get what we want and need.

We simply have to pray and let our petitions be known to the Lord, lay aside our anxiety, and rest in his attending love over us that never fails.

And then when we are among peers, our boasting should only be about Him and his goodness toward us and those we love.

Deliverance Delight

I Samuel 2:13 says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.

This is a prayer of Hannah, a woman who was barren, and then God gave her a child.  Here she rejoices and boasts in God’s deliverance from her barrenness.  She attributes all holiness and strength and joy to the fact that the Lord was mighty on her behalf.

In the prior chapter, it says Hannah was a deeply troubled woman who poured her heart out to the Lord.  She needed a miracle.  She was in desperate longing for a child. She trusted the Lord to answer, and he did.  And she was careful to give him the praise.

It’s easy to strive for answers when we are in trouble, because we look around and think God is not listening or unaware of our needs.  And when we finally do pour out our hearts to him and he answers, we often forget to praise Him and marvel at his mercy and provision.

Arrogance is not comely to one who loves the Lord; in fact, arrogant Christians are some of the hardest people to be around.  

But those who humbly give all the glory to the Lord for every blessing in their lives are like a refreshing drink of water that draws others to Him for a drink where they too can be satisfied.

Boasting

I recently listened to a Chris Tomlin song about boasting only in the cross.  It’s a very beautiful worship song, so I decided to study “boast” in the bible.  Boasting can be a good thing, depending on what we’re boasting about.  Or it can lead to our demise, if we’re boasting in things or people who are sure to fail.

In Judges 7, we read the story of Gideon, where God told him this,

You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.

What an interesting story we read, as God whittles down Gideon’s army to almost nothing – and yet a huge victory takes place.

Sometimes, we think God is against us when things around us are falling apart and we are losing all of “our” strength, when in fact, God is up to something miraculously wonderful if we will just stand still, seek him, obey his voice, and boast in Him.

God loves us too much to allow us to become arrogant in our own strength, because he knows we will be disappointed before long.  He wants us to achieve victory in His strength, because it’s the kind of strength that endures forever.

Waiting Anxiously

Jude says But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,  keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.  And have mercy on some, who are doubting;

Another definition of “anxious” is to want something very much.  An anxious mom stands by the window as she waits for a son to come home from war.  An anxious groom stands awaiting a glimpse of the bride he loves to walk down the aisle.  And an anxious child jumps up and down waiting for his mom to unwrap that candy so he can taste its sweetness.

When we stay rooted in the faith, when we communicate with God through his Holy Spirit, and we keep ourselves believing in his love for us, we will become anxious…

Not the type of anxious we talked about in the past few days of devos, where we are fearful.  But the type of anxious where we now are expectant and looking ahead to something wonderful.

Isn’t that funny that the same word can  mean such two different things, depending on the context in which it is set?

And while we’re anxiously looking forward to Jesus and our eternal life with him, we must do what?

Have mercy on those who are still doubting.

If you’re strong in your faith today, pray for those who are not.  And if you are not strong in you faith today, build yourself up in His word.