Daily
Devotional

When gold was discovered in the Klondike in Alaska, the news traveled around the world. Men traded everything they had for tools to dig out of the cold, hard ground the treasure they thought might be buried there. Others panned the frigid waters for a fortune that might be claimed. The slightest whisper of the location of a strike drove them on, sending many to their deaths in search for gold. They believed what they heard and went looking for it.

In my hometown, every fall we see a “mass exodus” into the hills of central and eastern Oregon. It is hunting season and the report is that the deer, elk, and antelope are just waiting to be bagged. Hunters are driven by stories of the struggle to spot the game, the long hike up the mountains covered in brush, and valleys hiding prey too clever to be cornered without strategies and covert effort. The report is that the pursuit will be thrilling, and many believe it.

When we pick up a newspaper that advertises a really good deal on bed sheets “for one day only,” we know some people will make a beeline for the local department store. They want to be first in line at the door when the doors open! They assume the sheets will be worth the effort and money, because they believe the advertisement.

While some people may believe all of these reports, there are always others who are skeptical. However, there is a report we can all believe, and that is the wonderful news of the Gospel. We hear good reports from Christians who tell of the Lord answering prayer in miraculous ways—money came when it was needed, an affliction was healed, or a relationship was restored. Such testimonies are good reports from people who know! We want to let those experiences encourage us to take action—to reach out in faith and claim God’s promises for ourselves.

Often we trust what we hear from friends, experts, and other “reporters.” How much more we should believe the good report given in God’s Word. God’s promises are true.  

God said it. That settles it. Believe it!