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Jeremiah 9:23-24
23 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast
of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the
rich man
boast of his riches,
24 But let him who boasts boast about this: that he
understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who
exercises kindness, justice
and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares
the LORD.
Quite a few years ago, I set out to discover God. Believe it or
not Jonah inspired me to know God. Jonah, a flawed man with an
obvious distaste for the citizens of Nineveh, knew God. Even
though Jonah had been endowed with God’s prophetic warning
against the citizen’s of Nineveh, Jonah chose to be disobedient
to God because he knew how God would react to repentance. He
knew God was merciful. He knew God was forgiving. He knew the
character of God. He did not want the citizens of Nineveh to be
saved from punishment. He was afraid that if they turned to God
that God would save them. He was right they repented and were
saved from certain death.
I felt that I did not know
God very well. I was not sure how He would react to situations
in my life. I did not understand God. I started reading the
Bible daily in order to really know God. My faith, personal
relationship, and spiritual life has grown by leaps and bounds
through the love of God and the reading of His word. God in His
faithfulness has cemented in my life a hunger and thirst for His
righteousness that cannot be quenched or extinguished. I seek
His face daily through the reading of His word. I find Him
because when I seek with all my heart, mind, body and soul He
makes himself known to me. He has graciously given me an
overwhelming, uncontrollable, furious appetite for the word of
God.
By worldly standards, I
could be considered wise due to my educational background and
mental capacity. I could be thought of as strong due to my
military training and expertise. Also, I could be labeled rich
by the fact in which I lack nothing. But if I boast of anything
on this earth, I boast about this: that I understand and know
God. I know that God delights in exercising kindness, justice
and righteousness on earth. I can boast that God is my God
forever and always to the glory and honor of His name and by His
power and might.
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