Boasting in the Lord

Today, whilst thinking on today's Message, I reflected on the expression "to boast in the Lord" which appears in several places in the bible. "This is what the LORD 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" (Jeremiah 9:23-24). So, we can describe the goodness in our lives without being boastful, when we declare that all we have is from the Lord. To do this we need to know God by spending time seeking Him. Our part is to trust in His loving provision, to obey Him and to recognise that apart from God, we are nothing and have nothing. As Jesus told His disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).