A GOOD REPORT

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. Heb 11:1-2

It was by faith that the elders obtained a good report. The life of the patriarch Abraham is a testimony to this. God had promised him a son; however he waited for twenty five years before the promised child came. During those waiting period, the reality on ground was that there was no child, and that was not good. However, because he had faith, he eventually received the promised. He got the good report  

“For by it the elders obtained a good report”. The question is, “from where cometh the good report?” The simple answer is this: “from the One in whom they believed”. That’s why Ish 53:1 said, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

Believing the report of God usually precedes the manifestation of His power. All that God had ever wanted since creation until now is an individual who will truly believe. God wants people who would completely believe Him. You remember what Jesus said to Thomas.

"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." John 20:27-29

Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet they believe. It is a blessing to believe. This is because believing is an expression of faith. Also, it is because the “believe” will trigger the manifestation of your expectation. This is the more reason why your expectation should be based on the word of God. You should be able to find a scriptural backing for your expectations from God’s word. God and His word are one; they’re united. When your expectation is from God, you can never be disappointed. All you need to do is to believe.

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And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.  Luke 1:45

That’s why Christians are also called, “Believers in Christ”. People live with the present realities of our time, but, The Just, the believers in Christ lives by faith. The standard of living  of any genuine believer in Christ should be Faith. Believers in Christ, not only live by faith, in fact, they walk by faith, and not by sight. Living a life of faith is always glorious. Faithful living is glorious living. This was why Jesus said to Martha in John 11:40, “…Said not I unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God”.

There are many definition, meanings and illustration of believe that abound these days. I want to define “Believe” as “unwavering trust”. Trust is the bedrock of any relationship that will stand the test of time, be it marital, carreer, business partnership, or whatsoever.  I believe it was an act of unbelief for Eve to have even decided to look on the fruit, let alone eat of it, after the instructions God had earlier gave. All that the Devil had always wanted mankind to do is to disbelieve God Almighty. He did that to the first couple on earth, and he’s still doing same till now. He knows quite well that it’s either you believe or you don’t; there’s no mid-way in between. The Devil also knows that your believing or not believing shows your loyalty, it also determines your fate.

There’s a report about every aspect of your life. There’s a report about your health. It doesn’t matter what the physician said is wrong with your health. It doesn’t matter the report about the dead tissues in your body, I have a report to you from The Great Physician. “What is the report you may ask?”. The answer is:

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”. Ish 53:4-5.

How do you define or explain the word, “Surely”? Surely, means “without doubt”, “certainly”, “definitely”. So, without doubt, certainly, definitely, Jesus hath borne our griefs; carried our sorrows; been wounded for our transgression; been bruised for our iniquities; been chastised for our peace, and we have been healed by His stripes. These things are truth! Surely, He hath done all these. I would like you to take note of the past tenses used repeatedly in those verses of the scriptures. It tells you those events happened, and had been settled for long. 

The truth is that the report is good news itself. Therefore, when next you receive reports about your family, your finances, your ministry, your career, your academics, your health, your appearance, your country’s economy, or any other aspect, check out what is The Lord’s report is in those aspects. Lay hold on it, believing, and prayerfully claiming those abiding promises.

The most amazing truth is that this good report is contained in the most important book of all time. This book itself which is the Bible is also called GOODNEWS. In Acts 10:38, it was said of Jesus Christ who is The Word of God, The Bible Personified, that He went about doing good.

Your comments and contributions on this, or any other  post will be much appreciated. Send them to christonear@yahoo.com, chrisogbebor@gmail.com