That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” ~ 1 Corinthians 1:31 

When I was a newly saved teenager, every Sunday evening we had “testimony time” in our church. It was an exciting part of the service as we heard of answered prayers, of people being saved, and words of encouragement from our church family.  Quite often, my pastor would open that part of the service with the admonition that this was a time for “testimonies”, not “brag-imonies”. I remember the first time I heard him say that and I was rather confused, but over time I understood why he said it. 

 While 99% of the time folks were truly giving praise to God, there were a few who wanted everyone to know just how spiritual they were. One lady quite often would let everyone know that she never struggled with anything and could not understand why everyone else could not just trust the Lord the way she did. YUCK! (As teenagers we loved watching the pastor try to school his features during those moments!) 

The church at Corinth was divided over all kinds of foolish “brag-imonies”! They argued about who was the best preacher, who had the best spiritual gifts, who was the most important in the church, etc. It was like the entire Christian life was some type of contest to them. They forgot that they were all a bunch of sinners who were only saved by the grace and mercy of God! 

Paul silenced all that silly, carnal chatter with one verse! “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” It is the Lord who saved us, who keeps us, who intercedes for us, who empowers us, who uses us, who blesses us, and who comforts us! It is the Lord who deserves all the praise! Proverbs 27:2 admonishes us to “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth…” 

Let us be wise to let our mouths be filled with the praises of Him who saved us! He alone is worthy! 

Pastor Bish