Knowing who God is

    I believe we all have something that we are proud of.  It might be some accomplishment or some reward we received at one time in our life.  It might be a talent or a skill that we have. It might be the accomplishments of our children, or grandchildren.  

    No matter what it might be we all have something that we are proud of.  One of the ways you can tell what someone is proud of is by seeing what they love to talk about. People often love to share the things they are most proud of with others. Parents who are beaming with pride with the accomplishments of their children share posts on Facebook. Individuals who are proud of their scholastic accomplishments post the pictures of there degrees and awards. When we have a great recipe for some great dessert we have found we share it with others. We share what we are proud of, and what we are proud of is what we like to share.  

Capt. Edward John Smith

    The bible often warns against us having pride in our lives. There are great problems that come from pride. The bible tells us that pride comes before a fall, something we have seen played out time and time again. We have seen individuals who have pridefully boasted about one thing or another only to be made to look foolish later. It was said that Capt. Edward John Smith had said once referring to the Titanic, "Even God himself couldn't sink this ship. That Capt. history records had went down with the ship on that fateful day the Titanic ship sunk to its ice grave.

    While pride is something we need to be on guard against. There are certainly things that you and I can and should be proud of. We should take a certain pride in our work. We should be proud of our children and grandchildren's accomplishments and achievements.

    In fact the bible not only tells us to be on guard against pride. It also tells us that there is one thing that we should be proud of. It is this one thing that  should help us put all of the other things we can be proud of in the right perspective and priority. It can help us avoid the kind of pride in our lives the bible tells us to guard against. That one thing you and I should be proud of is that you "understand and know God".

 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”- (Jer 9:23-24)

    We need to get this. God is telling us to not boast or be prideful because we are rich or wealthy. We are not to be prideful because we have some great ability or power. We are not to be prideful of our knowledgeable or skill. Any success, achievement, and even the achievements of others that might make us beam with pride is something we should not boast about alone. 

    God tells that instead of pridefully sharing these accomplishments you should boast that God knows you and you know God.  God is tell us that this is the one thing that we should be proud of above anything and everything. It is this one thing that that should put everything else in it's proper perspective. 

    You see when you know God. When you know His steadfast love for you. When you understand His justice and righteousness. In short when you have a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you are better able to see things in your life with the right perspective. You are then able to understand that those kids and grandkids you are so very proud of, are first and foremost God's blessings to you. You realize that your strength, your wealth, your skill, your achievements or any thing that might make   you prideful, all come from the Lord above. 

    There are many people in this world who do not know God. They don't understand His Goodness or His great love for them. They have no relationship with Jesus Christ. So when they boast, when they proudly share some accomplishment, or some wonderful thing about there family. They fail to put the Lord into the equation. They fail to see that these things they proudly boast of, are in fact blessing's from the God who they do not know and refuse to acknowledge.  

    So when we have something in our lives that we are proud of lets makes sure we don't forget where our blessings come from. When we share with others our blessings, or our accomplishments, lets make sure we first and foremost share the source of our blessings and accomplishments. Lets make sure we point others to Christ. Lets make sure others know that nothing we have been given in this life is a product of our own two hands, but instead come from the very hands of God. 

    After all, God tells us in (Jer 9:23-24) that "For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."