There is this verse in Jeremiah that I've kept coming back to again and again throughout my walk with the Lord.

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.”

No one likes a bragger.

So, the first part is pretty straight forward - most folks know that no one likes a bragger. It seems that some people are confused about what a humble-bragger is, but for the most part we get it - we shouldn't boast or brag. God hits it all in that short sentence, doesn't he? Don't brag about the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that you have. Oh, you're smart? Don't boast in that. Don't brag about your might, strength, and power. Oh, you think you're powerful or you grasp for control? Don't boast in that. Don't brag about your trinkets and toys, the riches that you have. Oh, you've got a big house, car, and stacked portfolio? Don't brag in that. Yep, pretty straight-forward. Don't boast.

But, boast!

Then, God throws a curve ball. He tells you something to boast and brag about! Look at what it says - let the bragger boast in understanding God! Let the bragger brag in knowing God! Not wisdom, strength, or riches, but in understanding and knowing God. And just like God, he defines some things about knowing him.

The man or woman that knows God knows that He practices steadfast love. Man, I just love this phrase. It's loaded. In fact, it really puts it all on God. The person that knows God, the primary and main thing that God starts with is not his power in this case, but rather his covenant, loyal-love! Knowing God means that we know that he has an against the odds, unfailing, and determined loyal love!

Knowing God = Bragging on Him

Brag on God's love.

Brag on God's justice.

Brag on His righteousness in the earth!

Why brag in it?

Well, you can already see that the boasting then isn't about you. The boasting is about God. I love that! Let the person who understands and knows God brag on God. If we know God, we brag in his love. If we understand anything... think of it, if we spend time in the Word of God or listening to a sermon, it should cause us to brag in God's love.

Then there is an even further why. Why brag on God? Well, He delights in it. God finds joy, pleasure, and satisfaction in us bragging on His love, justice, and righteousness. So there we are left with an option - boast in man for things that God has given the ability and grace to acquire wisdom, strength, and riches. Or, even better- you can pursue knowing God so that you can boast in Him!

Friends, this is why our team at Precept Ministries has launched another platform to help people understand and know God. If you missed that post, start HERE. If you've already downloaded the Knowing God App, let me tell you a little more about it.

Knowing God is a partnership between our friends at Back to the Bible and Precept Ministries International. Back to the Bible has done some extensive research on something called Bible Engagement. They surveyed over 200,000 people. In all their research, they found that people who engaged with God's Word 4 or more times a week had a radically different than the life of someone that does not.

Here is a snapshop of what they discovered:

Taken from Back to the Bible's Website. Dig into their research on Bible Engagement and other items by clicking on the picture.

Alright, let's jump in to using the app.

Knowing God Guided Tour

If you haven't read the first post in this series, take a second and do it so that you're caught up!

Okay, we're all on the same page - you've downloaded the Knowing God App. Hopefully, you've gone in there and played around a little bit. If not, take a second to register your account. This makes it to where any notes or items that you save will always be there. Your email will not come to either Precept or Back to the Bible, so you don't have to worry about being inundated with messages. Anything that we communicate to you will come through the Knowing God App!

You were asked if you wanted to take a spiritual assessment. If you did it already, great! If you haven't, you don't need to worry about it doing it right now. I'll explain it to you later.

Once you're in the app, you'll directly be taken to the Messages screen. You may have one or two, a welcome message from us. This where you'll receive content every day.

Click on the hamburger menu in the top left of your screen.

You see all of the various menu items - Messages, My Tracks, Spiritual Profile, Events, Settings, Contact, Donate, Find a Precept Group, and Get Study Training. Today we're talk through a few of these.

Messages:

This is the main screen that we already talked about. As you progress with Knowing God, you'll receive various messages each day. New messages will have a blue dot, showing you that they're unread. Messages that you've already read will be there as well, in case you need to review or come back to check something. Since we're in partnership with Back to the Bible, you'll receive messages from their team as well. They'll have a Bible verse and a short thought to meditate on throughout the day as well. In order to get the Precept Inductive Bible Study content, you'll need to do one more additional step, which is explained below.

My Tracks:

Okay, this is really important. This is where you can subscribe to receive the Precept Ministries content. Click on My Tracks and you'll see nothing there. In order to add our content, click the plus sign at the top right of the screen. At the time of our launch, there are three tracks. Each track is one month long, so rather than signing up for all three tracks, I would prayerfully choose which one you'd like to journey through during the next month. So, choose either Battling Lust, Identity in Christ, or Word of God.

This is what you'll need to do in order to receive the content from our team at Precept.

After you subscribe, you are good to go. The next day, you'll receive your first track at the time that you designated when you started rolling through the app.

Can't wait? Want to get it right now? Here is a little insider tip:

Settings:

If you want to go ahead and get the first message in your Precept Track, click on settings in the menu. Then click Content Schedule. Set the the delivery schedule for five minutes from the time that it is right now. You'll get the first message at that time. Then, go back to settings and change the time back to when you want it to be delivered! Then, you'll receive the messages each day.

Alright, you're all set up! Tomorrow, we'll get into a guided tour of the various messages! Our team is praying for you. We'd love to hear from you as well, either in the comments below or on our Precept Ministries Facebook!