It is written in Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
Now, I realize this was written in the Old Testament, under the old covenant, but don’t we all want for our ways to be prosperous and have good success? How do we achieve that; by throwing away the covenant that God gave His people and doing things according to our own way? No, it says we should meditate on God’s Word day and night, and DO according to what He told us. We can read about it, and think about it, but if we don’t DO, if we don’t OBEY the LORD, we can’t expect Him to bless us.

I love hearing a good report, and I’m sure you do, too. I’m in Fort Worth, Texas since yesterday because my Pastor had a stroke and a brain bleed, and was in a coma. Doctors operated on him, and stopped the bleeding and did what they could. I prayed for him before I left home with one of our friends who was here with him, and laid hands on him upon arrival here, and he awoke right away and said a few words. Today he’s talking more and feeling better. That’s a good report. And I believe it’s God’s favor upon us because we not only meditate on His Word, but we DO it.

I said all that to say this, God WANTS our lives to be one good report after the other. But it is inevitable that the devil shows up in our lives to kill, and to steal, and to destroy. Now, he would just as much enjoy destroying you as he would me, for he is an equal opportunity destroyer. If you have anything good, the devil is out to destroy and steal it, and the report about the devil’s activities is NEVER a good report. So that means you don’t want anything to do with the devil. He never plays nice, and he never takes a day off or calls in sick. He is plotting your destruction even as you sleep. With all that, how do you expect your life to ever go right? You can’t, unless you’re letting the LORD be the center of your life.

Even then, you’re not immune to being attacked. Why? Because you’re here and the devil hates you. He hates God, too, but he can’t hurt God, so he takes his anger out on those who are on earth. And unless you have the Greater One, the LORD on your side, you’re in trouble all the time. All you have to do is look around and see how much trouble and pain and misery there is in the world, to realize how busy the devil is. God loves all of us, but He doesn’t force His way into our lives, we must SEEK Him. It is written in Proverbs 8:10-21,

10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

See? That tells you what the GOOD life is all about. If you follow God’s instructions, your life will be a blessed one. Many people think God destroyed the Old Covenant when He brought forth the New Covenant, but what He did was added Grace to it. Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:17-20,
17 “ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

We must be very careful not to throw out any part of God’s Word, for it all stands or falls together. Indeed, Jesus fulfilled ALL the Word written about Him. He was crucified, died and agonizing death beyond all we could ever comprehend, and rose again after three days, and the price for our sins were paid in full. Yet one thing remains in order for redemption to be accomplished in our lives: we must seek and obey the LORD. Grace does not give us license to throw His instructions away. Grace does not give us license to sin. Grace is what enables us to have a good report. Grace is what gives us righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and they obeyed the commandments of God to the letter, but many were not doing it from the heart, but just to have “fire insurance”.

And many in this age are doing their “minimum daily requirement” hoping to be saved, but they’re not seeking God from the heart. And I was like that myself years ago; I went to church every week doing my two hours and thinking I was doing God some great service by my attendance. But my life was NOT blessed, and it was a mess. But I found Jesus, or should I say, He found me, for I was lost. And I fell in love with the LORD.

Remember, it says back in Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me; and those that seek me early shall find Me.” The key here is “I love those who love ME.” It doesn’t say, He loves those who show up for church when they don’t have something better to do, but rather those who LOVE Him, who are SEEKING Him. For those who do, there’s a good report: We will FIND Him. And for those who find Him, you’ve also found everything God has with Him. And our LORD is not stingy with His love and blessings.

Remember a child’s toy called “WEEBLES”? You could knock one over and it would pop right back up again. Well, that’s US when we have Christ Jesus living in us. So seek the LORD and love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. And if the devil slaps you down, have no fear, you will rise again and have a good report! I think if there’s anything that makes the devil cry and have a bad day, it’s when he afflicts God’s people, and they just keep getting back up with a smile on their face. Why are they smiling? Because they have the report of the LORD, and it’s a GOOD one!