Whose Report Shall You Believe

There is an older gospel song by Ron Kenoly entitled Whose Report Shall You Believe."

"Whose report

Will you believe

We shall believe

The report of the Lord (4x)

His report says

I am healed

His report says

I am filled

His report says

I am free

His report says victory"

This song touches on the thing that so many of us deal with daily. The constant input of negative information. The evening news, the TV, social media, friends, family, and bad news about our health. These days, there is a lack of good things being reported.

In our church service recently, one of our members spoke about back at the beginning of summer, the college where they worked was closing. She was faced with a summer of uncertainty, but she shared that although she didn't understand what was happening, she was confident God had her in the palm of his hand.

This is now September (as of writing). She spent a summer applying to various places and receiving, while polite, still rejection notices. "Thank you, your credentials blah blah, but we regret to inform you.." You get the idea. She shared that as summer was ending, teachers everywhere were preparing to return to their classrooms. Others impacted by job loss were preparing for their new jobs; she was still without work. She began to do, what we all do, second guess her choices. Did I do something wrong? What is going on here? Why am I still without an opportunity? So she did what we usually do, called her friends.

Fortunately, the friends she called gave her solid advice. "God's got you". "He's doing something on your behalf". "Don't lose heart; your turn is coming". "Trust in Him".

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After she shared her testimony, it really struck me how there were many of us do the same thing but with very different responses. I have been in the middle of life and sought comfort from a friend's advice. Unfortunately, the answers did not always point me to remember to trust God. Some friends fed my fear, insecurity, and doubt about the situation. They would emphasize that " you teach people how to treat you". I was too mild-mannered. I should take matters into my own hands because things look pretty bleak.

Here's the thing, though. Sometimes, we seek out those friends intentionally. We're offended, upset, and want the person who will tell us we have every right to feel that way, and if it were them, they wouldn't have been near as nice as you were. See what's happening there? We're seeking out the person who will reinforce our existing behavior. We may or may not understand that behavior is unloving or unholy. Still, at that moment, most likely, we don't care. We want to be right. We want to "win" at whatever cost. Consequences are rarely considered.

I'm sure we all have those, I must control it, friends. But maybe, those aren't the friends you call when life happens? Perhaps the friends you want to seek out have a steadying voice to calm you down and help you stay away from the margins of fear.

As the song above says, the report of the Lord tells us we are healed, filled (with the Holy Spirit), free, and we have victory. This isn't just a song. These truths come from our favorite place to get guidance - the Bible. (you're not surprised, are you?)

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As always, we encourage you to read it for yourself.

Healed

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 NKJV https://my.bible.com/bible/114/ISA.53.5.NKJV

O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. Psalms 30:2 NKJV https://my.bible.com/bible/114/PSA.30.2.NKJV

Filled

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 NKJV https://my.bible.com/bible/114/ACT.2.38.NKJV

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? I Corinthians 6:19 NKJV https://my.bible.com/bible/114/1CO.6.19.NKJV

Free

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 NLT https://my.bible.com/bible/116/GAL.5.1.NLT

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 NLT https://my.bible.com/bible/116/2CO.3.17.NLT

Victory

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:57 NKJV https://my.bible.com/bible/114/1CO.15.57.NKJV

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. I John 5:4 NKJV https://my.bible.com/bible/114/1JN.5.4.NKJV

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If you're wondering about our church member, she shared she recently received a job offer. The offer was better than she could have hoped for and allowed her to be a direct impact on students and policy. How about that?! She shared how the friends she relied on helped her not to wait in fear. She was given the perspective that when she got a new job, she would be too busy to do what she had time for now. She chose to believe that report and to wait well.

Friends, choose wisely whose report you believe.

As always, be well-fed friends. Until next time.

John & Stephanie