Before beginning his five month internship, Trip Lee prepared some new music and new blogs to put up during his time away. Here is the first of those blogs.

Bragging is Universal

 Little kids boast. If they get a new toy, or new shoes, or have the best birthday party, they want everybody to know about it. Other folks boast too. Athletes brag about their performance on the field, students brag about their performance in the classroom, business men brag about their performance in the boardroom. Young women brag about their looks and young men brag about their ability to sweep young women off their feet. Rappers brag about their unmatched skill on the mic and the ridiculous amount of stuff they've acquired. To say it simply, people really like to brag.

 Every one of us has this urge inside of us to boast, especially when we have something others don't have. Boasting is usually the result of pride that's been festering in our hearts until we can no longer contain it- and someone has to know how great we are! We've believed the lie that our accomplishments or our abilities make us superior to others. Worst of all, we've believed the lie that we deserve glory.

Can We Brag?

 The Scriptures speak clearly to how the Lord feels about pride. For example, James 4:6 says, "the Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Pride is a villain that must be defeated in our hearts by gazing at the glory of Christ. Pride can not survive in the presence of God. Therefore, there is no room for prideful boasting and bragging on ourselves. This is especially true for the Christian. God did give special attention to us, but it wasn't because we were superior to others.

 In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminds the Corinthian church that God chose them, not because they were wise or strong or loved in the world. Paul says actually "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are…" And why would God do that? "so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Brag on Our Lord

 There is nothing about me that is worth boasting about. I am one of the lowly Paul talks about. Every good thing I have is a gift from God. Most notably, my salvation from sin and death is a gift from God. I was adopted by God as a sheer act of His grace! I have nothing to boast about before God. I deserve none of the glory, but Jesus deserves all of it. So I want to take every opportunity I can to boast in Him. I want to brag about Him to others. I want them to know that He is holy! I want to sing with Moses that the Lord is "a man of war; the Lord is his name" (Exodus 15:3). I want to sing with David, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:3). I want to proclaim with Paul, "How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33).

 Join me in praising the King of Kings. Let's look away from ourselves and look to the Lord of glory. Let's brag on our Lord

 The "Brag on My Lord" Deluxe Single is available on iTunes today.