FOR many years, effective communication has always bypassed those who actually need it most, especially those in rural settings due to the fact that by uttering or writing something down, people assume that communication has taken place. Achieving total communication is actually more than the act of writing or simply saying out something.

Communicating the people’s deeper underlying issues and concerns based on their needs and worldviews is key for rural development. This is not done in isolation, but through exploring communication tools and approaches that influence the outcomes of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Information dissemination in action is paramount for engaging local and rural communities. As development communication experts disseminate information in rural communities, the networking activities and tools should strive to situate knowledge and information at the heart of rural developmental needs. The important ingredients involved in rural development are not inputs or materials but human resources, that is why communication experts talk of human-centred approaches. Therefore, appropriate communication methodologies, channels and tools that are far, reaching and effective are the hallmark of successful networking. These strategies strike the right chord of the actual needs of the stakeholders involved.

Powerful interactive and networking tools used in rural development communication need to compensate for lack of resources and technology delivery systems inherent in most rural communities. Poor information packaging, sub-standard communication systems and methodologies do not bring the desired communication outcomes and tangible results which resonate well with the people’s expectations and desires.

Communication for rural development should be interactive and diagnostic enough in order to harness the required knowledge and skills necessary for achieving livelihoods. In this regard, overall people’s participation and mobilisation should be enhanced. Despite the social structures inherent in rural communities, all stakeholders are viewed as communication equals.

Communication for rural development is designed to instil and effect changes in attitudes and behaviours for the people involved. Successful communication for rural development is hinged on the use of engaging multimedia tools such as cameras, audio-visuals, radio, film, the internet, mobile phones, power-points, videos, slides, stories and visuals, among others. These are sufficiently interactive and engaging to help change the people’s behaviours through appealing to their senses. In this regard, information should not only be disseminated, but it has to be motivating and inclusive in approach.

In this current changing climate and warming scenario it is the rural people who need to sufficiently adapt so that they can also cope in the face of climate change impacts. Having a wide range of multimedia communication tools at their disposal, rural communities would be able to understand environmental changes taking place in their communities so that they can sufficiently prepare themselves to deal with impacts of climate change.

Communication for rural development should be able to appeal to local communities’ needs, necessities and desires, using participatory methods and active involvement of all participants involved. Development agents are there to support and guide stakeholders rather than influence the communication processes. The role of policy in executing communication should not be undermined as policy provides guidance and influences quality as well.

The reason for bringing a variety of multimedia tools and strategies is to close the information gaps caused by lack of proper infrastructure in rural areas. Multimedia tools also provide wide access to information being communicated. These will also help to strengthen the overall communication process and avoid communication breakdown. Effective rural communication should not just be mutual exchange of information, but should also enhance the conducive environment for engagement. Those spearheading the communication programmes should also possess good and effective communication skills so that they are able to communicate across the rural divide.

The other critical factor in this developmental paradigm is that the whole process is guaranteed feedback so that the interactions and networking are ongoing. As a result, knowledge is created, maintained and repaired to suit current demands. The rural communities, which are mostly poverty stricken and vulnerable, can also be accommodated and be heard. In this regard the communication process, because of its inclusive and participatory nature, is designed to solve problems and offer solutions. For this reason, effective rural communication for development should be transformative enough and designed not only to change behaviours and attitudes, but to change lives as well.

The main purpose of effective rural development communication is to be cost effective and more accessible to fragmented and disadvantaged communities so that development does not elude them. Although communication tools and channels are mostly technological in nature, integration with the people’s world-views and cultural standpoints is highly recommended. This includes trusted media channels that speak in their languages so that they are seen as credible and dependable.

After all these have taken place, received, accepted, learned and understood then we can safely say that, indeed yes, communication has taken place.

 Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on: petrovmoyt@gmail.com

COGNISANT of the fact that the intriguing divorce matter involving Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and his estranged wife Marry is still subjudice, given that the out of court settlement both parties have hinted at is yet to materialise, it would probably be within our legal rights and limits as the Fourth Estate to just speak truth to power as far as how the State should, henceforth handle sensitive matters that fundamentally affect the reputation of an entire government and its systems as well as the nation at large. The concern comes at a time President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s other deputy, Kembo Mohadi, is embroiled in yet another divorce case.

NewsDay Comment

Snippets of what transpired behind the scene in the life of Vice-President Chiwenga and his estranged wife is definitely juicy stuff for a blockbusting soap opera any Hollywood, Bollywood or Nollywood director would die to get hold of, but what this thrilling divorce case has critically done is to expose Mnangagwa’s government.

Long before Chiwenga and Marry became so estranged that they decided to take each other to court, the government system should have picked it up and for the sake of protecting the regime’s reputation and interests, the case would probably never have been brought to the public glare. It could probably have surfaced years from now with minimal damage to the government systems and operations. For the sake of national security, is it not prudent upon the country to have a democratic rule book that binds people occupying key government positions?

Should key government administrators, chiefly the President and his deputies, not be bound by a certain code of ethics and conduct that reins them in when profound matters that affect government reputation such as nasty divorces need to be handled? We currently have two divorce cases involving the country’s two second most powerful people and these issues are doing very little to shore up Mnangagwa’s administration.

Two divorce cases involving the country’s most powerful people at one go is unprecedented and calls for the country to have a code of ethics that guides all those occupying State power. This is definitely not the first time the world has witnessed powerful people seeking divorce, but the Zimbabwean case has not only exposed our leadership, but the entire nation’s poor morality.

In ages gone by, whenever people sought to go their separate ways, efforts would be made for the divorce to be amicable and whatever set the two apart would be their own secrets. But in our case everything, including the government’s poor and corrupt systems is now in the public domain. And this is quite unfortunate indeed.

COSAFA president Philip Chiyangwa is in the eye of a storm after it emerged that he and his executive members at the regional football governing body allegedly pocketed over R1,5 million in allowances last year, at a time the association had posted a R2,5 million loss.

BY HENRY MHARA

The details are contained in an audit report done by Baxters and Co, which was circulated to member associations ahead of the Cosafa annual general assembly (AGM) meeting set for Saturday at the Southern Sun OR Tambo Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The audit shows that the executive members got R1 429 400 in allowances last year, a massive increment from the R857 064 they received in the previous year. It is Chiyangwa, the report shows, who received a huge chunk of the money. The flamboyant businessman was allegedly given R301 150 in allowances, in addition to a R580 000 payment he received as an “honorarium”.

An honorarium is a voluntary payment that is given to a person for services for which fees are not legally or traditionally required. Honoraria are typically used to help cover costs for volunteers.

Chiyangwa then allegedly claimed another R19 696 from Cosafa in travel costs reimbursements.

His deputy Frans Mbidi of Namibia received R156 850 while Cosafa executive member (competitions) Timothy Shongwe of Swaziland got R147 390. The other executive members (six) received just over R100 000. Travel and accommodation alone gobbled R749 055.

Member associations who spoke to NewsDaySport on condition of anonymity said they were not happy with the huge perks that Chiyangwa and his executive awarded themselves, when the organisation is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

They complained about the honorarium payment, a sum which is above the prize money given to the team that wins the Cosafa senior men’s football tournament. Winners of the Cosafa senior men – the flagship competition of the organisation, receive R500 000, while the runners-up get R250 000.

“And all that money was paid in a year the organisation posted a record loss. How do you justify paying one person allowances that are above the winning prize money for your main competition? It’s unacceptable. We will want that to be debated at the AGM. There will be fireworks this year and heads will certainly roll,” a president of one of the member associations wrote to NewsDaySport last week.

Another member association also alleged mismanagement of funds by the Cosafa executive. They said that former Cosafa president, Patel Suket, who was deposed by Chiyangwa, left huge cash reserves of more than R13 million, which have since been reduced to R3,8 million.

“We have also been made aware that all private trips to South Africa by the Cosafa president and some members of his family and friends have been covered and paid for by Cosafa and such are tucked in the R749 055 summarised figure of travel and accommodation for the year 2019. We are not sure which rule, policy or resolution is being followed. This is violation of financial prudence and we will request detailed reports and ledger accounts to unlock and lay bare what lay beneath these summarised figures,” another source said.

“Also worrying is a figure of R19 696 which was paid to Chiyangwa as reimbursements. Cosafa has always provided tickets to officials and so under what circumstances was the refund paid to the president? Was this not a case of double dipping after another organisation like Fifa had provided the travel tickets? How and why has such only happened to one person, the president? Is it a coincidence or an act of fraud?” the source queried.

Some were further infuriated on realising that one of the items on the agenda was a proposal for an annual contribution by member associations to competition funds.

“We will totally rebuff such. The executive wants the member associations to pay money so that they can get more perks. If they can avoid paying huge allowances and the so-called honorariums, they will be able to fund competitions easily.”

NewsDaySport yesterday sent questions to Cosafa secretary-general Sue Destombes, and the spokesperson Lynda Greeff, but they had not responded by the time of going to print last night.

The audit report also noted that there were party transactions involving a company called Execusports Proprietary Limited which is “owned by a close family member of a key management”.

The company received business from the organisation worth almost R2 million in the last two years, something that has rattled the member associations.

Execusports Proprietary Limited, which is allegedly run by a daughter of one of “a very senior figure” at Cosafa, received R790 201 last year. They were paid R970 917 in the previous year for the services they provided to Cosafa. It is not clear what kind of services the company provides.

Some member associations, perceived to be outspoken, are complaining that Destombes allegedly withheld critical information and also deliberately communicated late about the AGM.

Some claim that they only received the notice and agenda of the AGM and the financial statements on Friday last week, on the deadline day to submit their proposals, submissions and questions for consideration and actioning during the meeting.

They said this was a deliberate ploy to disenfranchise and suffocate their input. Some immediately wrote back to the Cosafa secretariat requesting for “more time and details to enable them to adequately prepare and effectively participate in the AGM”.

Zifa have also made their proposal to make a presentation at the meeting, where they are planning to move a motion to dismiss Chiyangwa.

The association last year unsuccessfully made a bid to recall Chiyangwa as the president of the 14-member regional body.

They accuse him of interfering with their administration. “Football in Zimbabwe is being poisoned by someone who should be at the worst not negatively interfering and at most complementing efforts of the FA,” wrote Zifa to Cosafa last week. Chiyangwa, who was removed from the Zifa presidency by Felton Kamambo in 2018, maintains his innocence.

THE City of Gweru has run out of mealie-meal with major supermarkets failing to restock, leaving hundreds of people stranded.

BY BRENNA MATENDERE

The dire situation has opened avenues for black market merchants in the down town areas where the commodity is selling it at exorbitant prices.

While a 10kg pack of roller meal is supposed to sell at $50, according to government gazzetted prices following a subsidy arrangement, on the black market the commodity is being sold for $120. The unscrupulous businesspeople are not accepting all modes of payments like swipe and mobile money transfers, but demanding cash only.

Last week, Bulawayo residents also accused some retail shop owners of abusing the subsidised mealie-meal facility by forcing consumers to buy other goods in order to be able to purchase the scarce commodity.

Residents told Southern Eye that supermarket owners forced them to buy other goods worth over $20 in order to buy a 10kg mealie-meal bag. There has been haggling between the government and millers over registration of firms meant to receive the subsidy, which sources yesterday said was the reason for the acute shortage of the basic food commodity.

“There has not been a fair supply of subsidised grain to millers as the scheme seems to be benefitting a few who are close to the powers that be. That is the reason we have reached this stage whereby there is virtually no mealie-meal in Gweru. The Ministry of Finance and Grain Marketing Board are not doing the right thing. They are corruptly handling the grain subsidy scheme,” said a source.

Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe spokesperson, Garikai Chaunza referred questions to Andrew Bvumbe, a Finance ministry official in charge of the grain subsidy programme.

“He is the one who is running the roller meal subsidy programme,” Chaunza said.

However, Bvumbe refused to shed light on the shortages of mealie-meal in Gweru or reveal if millers have received disbursements from his ministry to sell the commodity at subsidised prices.

“A statement was issued that it is the Ministry of Industry and Commerce that is in charge of that programme,” Bvumbe curtly said.

HARARE City Council has suspended four senior officials for alleged dereliction of duty and contributing to the water crisis in the city.

BY MOSES MATENGA

The axe fell on head of city chemistry, production manager and water distribution manager and their alleged transgressions include failure to act decisively on leakages, arrogance and taking long to attend to faults, among others.

Mayor Herbert Gomba confirmed the development, saying the move was meant to improve service delivery and get rid of non-performers.

“As we are working together as Zimbabweans and residents of Harare in particular, we have discovered that some among us are not playing ball in as far as the transformation of the city is concerned. We have managers who are reposed with the mandate to deliver services, but are not doing so according to expectation.

“Managers are supposed to visit the areas where work is supposed to be. A chemist or production manager and distribution manager should be on the ground to ensure work is done. Facts are that they are not and we will act to protect our residents under the mantra ‘residents first’,” he said.

Gomba read the riot act at a high-level meeting held at Town House last week where he also ordered the council’s water department to vacate a rented building they were using in the city and make use of either Cleveland or Rowan Martin, both council premises.

Council sources said all divisional failing to perform their duties will be taken before a disciplinary committee.
It was also revealed that most workers at the council’s biggest water treatment plant, Morton Jaffray Waterworks, were spending most of their time running personal errands, including selling fish at the ratepayers’ expense.

GRAPPLING with rampant inflation, unabated foreign currency shortages and a drastic energy crisis, Zimbabwe’s gold production in 2019 succumbed to pressure and eased for the first time in a decade.

— Equity Axis News

Up until 2018, Zimbabwe’s gold production has been on a roll, rising in 10 straight years to reach a highest of 33,2 tonnes in 2018, as artisanal miners anchored production following formalisation of their activities.

Gold production for 2019 was 17% below that of 2018 coming in at 27,6 tonnes. The dearth in gold production is largely attributed to economic challenges mainly on the monetary side, which entrenched in 2018, before the currency overhaul in 2019.

Likewise, power shortages deterred production at big mines which on average produced less in 2019 compared to the prior year. The biggest gold mine in Zimbabwe, Caledonia’s Blanket Mine recently flagged power challenges as one of the major risks facing its business in Zimbabwe.

Side-marketing, particularly at small-scale mines and artisanal operations became rampant as miners chased top dollar for their produce.

The challenges emanating from retention ratios which entailed miners receiving their proceeds in Zimbabwe dollars at 1:1 when in essence prices of goods in the economy were rising meant real value was being lost.

An attempt at redoing the retentions earlier last year, did not help much, with reprieve only coming through once the interbank became functional. Miners could partially recoup value as they would receive the Zimbabwe dollars portion of their sales proceeds at the interbank equivalent of their US dollar (USD) sales.

Further deterioration of the Zimbabwe dollars against the USD and the widening disparity between the interbank rate and the parallel exchange rate, however, lowered the preference for retentions, thus promoting side-marketing.
Likewise, the general economic downturn made doing business much tougher, forcing some players to scale back on production.

Riot police officers move to the first floor of the building after searching the basement. [Pic: Ronald Magweta]

BY BLESSED Mhlanga

HEAVILY armed police raided the MDC headquarters yesterday evening armed with a search warrant for machetes and other dangerous weapons, but left empty-ended according to party lawyers.

MDC deputy spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka claimed the raid was part of a Zanu PF ploy to plant dangerous weapons in the party offices and later clamp down on its leaders.

“As we speak they are flooding into our headquarters in line with their cheap and dastardly ploy to plant machetes in a vain attempt to portray the MDC as a criminal organisation. Zimbabweans know better that it is Zanu PF that is behind MaShurugwi and all the violence in the country. This illegitimate regime is going to laughable extents to expose itself,” said Tamborinyoka.

Part of the search warrant read: “From information on oath, that there is reasonable grounds of believing that there is possession of or under control of occupiers or upon in Harvest House or Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House certain articles that is to say machetes and any subversive materials, which are concerned or on reasonable grounds believed to be concerned in the commission or suspected commission of a crime.”

MDC lawyer Gift Mtisi said the police found nothing during the raid, but indicated that feedback would be given by their superiors.

“They said the feedback will be given through Police General Headquarters (PGHQ). They searched and left,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the MDC had issued a statement claiming they had picked intelligence of the raid ahead of time.

“We have gathered from impeccable sources within the regime that the police intend to siege Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House today in a desperate bid to plant machetes and justify their unwarranted crackdown on the party’s legitimate activities. They are on a desperate witch-hunt and are frantically seeking to portray the MDC, the people’s party, as a rogue organisation,” the party said.

National police spokesperson, Assistant Commission Paul Nyathi could not be reached for comment last night.

This is not the first time police have raided the opposition party’s headquarters in search of “subversive material”.

The raid came as MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has vowed to go ahead with his planned party meeting at Mai Musodzi Hall in Mbare, Harare on Tuesday, with or without police clearance. The opposition leader plans to use the occasion to launch the party’s programme of action for 2020 following a police clamp down on its activities since last year.

On Thursday, MDC organising secretary Amos Chibaya met the party’s Harare provincial leadership, districts and the youth wing for a mobilisation and strategic planning meeting ahead of the planned Mbare rally.

“We are not pulling any stops, for now it’s all systems go. The president (Chamisa) will deliver the party and national 2020 agenda,” he said.

“So we have activated all our structures to mobilise so that we have a bumper crowd. All our Harare provincial and district leaders attended the meeting because this time the address will be delivered.”

Chibaya said the MDC had noted with concern that police were employing bullying tactics by deploying heavily at its party offices.

“They want to use the show of force to scare us, but we are a party of peace and therefore not deterred by heavy police deployments. Maybe they have come to realise that the MDC is the home of the legitimate president so they are providing him with security,” said Chibaya.

The police have since denied targeting the MDC, saying they are only doing their duties of protecting all Zimbabweans and maintaining peace and security in the nation even for the benefit of the MDC.

The MDC said although they were yet to be given the green light to host their event Tuesday, they met with the police on Thursday and all appears to be on course.

“We are yet to be cleared, but we met them yesterday (Thursday) and we agreed on a lot of things, everything seems okay, but with those guys, you never know, you just never know,” Chibaya said.

However, government has warned Chamisa against being confrontational.

Early this week, Information deputy minister Energy Mutodi warned Chamisa that he would be arrested if his intention was to overthrow an elected government.

“No one is above the law and as such the law will catch up with him if he tries to behave in a manner not befitting his position as leader of the opposition. We will not fold our hands and allow him to continue with his sinister agenda,” he said

“There are many opposition leaders who have tried this and failed in many countries. In many countries like Venezuela, Uganda, Kenya and many other countries the opposition has tried to dislodge popular revolutionary parties without success. Chamisa needs to learn from those examples.”

Guest Column: Tendai Ruben Mbofana

Of late, I have been quite irritated by my smartphone’s maddeningly frequent demands for me to upgrade its system at times, as little as only two days after my last upgrade. What I, however, found very interesting is every new upgrade’s claim to “fix bugs” — so-called “debugging” — that is, to identify, correct, and remove defects, in the previous system.

Typical of my mindset, I always soon found myself comparing this to how we, in Zimbabwe, still try to “debug” our government — particularly, through criticism of its destructive and anti-people policies, or proffering advice on how it could improve its operations and the country’s welfare.

Nonetheless, what has become so clear to me is that, after 40 long years of continual bungling and messing up — through persistent unfettered and systemic corruption, institutionalised incompetence, and inherent brutality — it is now foolhardy for anyone to expect any genuine, sustainable, and significant reform from this government’s modus operandi, such that any manner of “debugging” is a lost cause. As with any computer system that has become too corrupted to be fixed — the only reasonable and progressive action to take would be its complete replacement.
Period. Similarly, this Zimbabwe government is way beyond any fixing, and the only way forward is its complete replacement.

The only question that should be on the people of Zimbabwe’s minds should no longer be how to fix this system of governance, but rather, how to completely replace it with a modern, more effective, trustworthy, and truly democratic one.

This, of course, requires national debate, and consensus but, as a law-abiding, patriotic, and loyal citizen of this great country, I firmly and unequivocally stand by the tenets of constitutionalism, and democracy — as anything else is certainly a recipe for disaster.

That is why — as much as I fully understand and empathise with everyone who has had to endure 40 years of untold suffering, anguish, and torment at the hands of this cold-hearted, kleptomaniac, and dysfunctional regime — my viewpoint has always been for us to desist from narrowing our struggle to only an individual.

That is the grave mistake that landed us in these troubles we find ourselves in today under this so-called “new dispensation” — as we myopically reduced our plight to only one man, then President Robert Gabriel Mugabe — instead of focusing on the replacement of the entire system. We found ourselves engrossed in such simplistic slogans as, “Mugabe must go!”, yet our problems transcended any one individual, but captured the entire system of governance — such that when the coup d’etat of November 2017 occurred we were ready pawns in this purely internal ruling Zanu PF party factional fight, thereby supporting and celebrating the debugging of one problem, and its replacement with another similar problem. Yet, what was clearly required was the complete replacement of the entire corrupted system.

Today, we find ourselves crying out, “Nothing has changed”! Of course, nothing has changed. Why would anything have changed, when we blindly endorsed the continuation of the same old outdated, antiquated, contaminated, and dysfunctional system?

In fact, that is why we are even further saying, “The situation has actually become worse than before”. Yes, it has — and it will only get worse! These days, we are inundated with mostly unverified online stories about another possible coup d’etat in the country — this time around with the rumoured planned removal of incumbent President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (himself a product of the coup against Mugabe), by his Vice-President Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga (the mastermind and ring leader of that same coup).

I cannot help wondering why this renewed excitement in the possibility of the recurrence of such a catastrophe — which, quite obviously previously never worked to the ordinary people’s benefit?

If, indeed, another coup were to take place today, are we to find ourselves back onto the streets again singing, dancing, and waving the Zimbabwean flag? Are we to allow ourselves again, to be gripped by a false and misguided sense of renewed optimism for a better, more prosperous, and democratic future?

Then, a few months down the line, reality sets in. Again, we repeat the same expressions of regret, “Nothing has changed”, or, “The situation was actually better under ED”, or, “At least under ED we had such and such”! Did we not learn anything? Do we ever learn? Let it be abundantly clear to all Zimbabweans that the hope for a brighter and better future for this country does not lie in piecemeal changes in the country’s ruling establishment. It does not lie in debugging one or two things within the current system. The situation has long since deteriorated beyond such mediocre measures. After 40 whole years of corruption, incompetence, and brutality, the system is beyond repair or fixing.

The government can replace a political appointee like Patrick Chinamasa, with a technocrat and internationally acclaimed financial wizard in the mould of Mthuli Ncube, but this will never improve the well-being of the ordinary Zimbabwean. We can be relentlessly bombarded with endless mantras, such as “Zimbabwe is open for business”, or “Vision 2030”, or “Upper middle income economy by 2030”, but as long as this outdated system is still in place, nothing will ever change. The people of Zimbabwe may converge around the table with the government, discussing and sharing all manner of economic blueprints, strategies, and plans — yet, these would be nothing better than patches on a torn trousers, which would never make it new, as acquiring a fresh pair would be the only reasonable way forward.

This also includes the now popularised issue of “talks” between the two main political parties — Zanu PF and the Movement for Democratic Change — or, the current house-play between the government and some pseudo-opposition parties (who embarrassingly and dismally failed to garner any significant votes in the 2018 harmonised elections.

As the saying goes, “One cannot put new wine in old wine skins”, the days of trying to fix this obsolete system are long over — as only a bona fide imbecile can ever dream of anything positive coming out of such. Zimbabweans do not have the luxury — in time, energy, and resources — for misguided, ill-conceived, and misconstrued hallucinations that this government is redeemable — while, the country burns, and millions of people wallow in unending and increasingly toxic abject poverty.

Let us no longer waste our time figuring out how to push, or assist this government to function better — but, rather, we now need to do what we should have done a long time ago.

Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, author, and speaker. Please feel free to contact him on mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com.

Devotion Column: Erasmus Makarimayi

THE Gospel of Jesus Christ, for example, the Grace of God announces to hearers and delivers to resultant believers and partakers the finished or accomplished work of Jesus Christ. The wholesome package is complete needing no addition to it. It carries all of the Godhead in the Man Christ Jesus who resides in the hearts of believers. What you receive when you confess Jesus as your Saviour and Lord isn’t a half-baked product. At rebirth you don’t receive a percentage or fraction of Jesus but the whole of Him.

Our salvation is total, containing everything pertaining to this life and the hereafter. You don’t get born again and start searching for other sources for such things as healing, peace, etc. While you may be sick, healing is inside you. As a born again believer, you search the Scriptures and discover what you received in Christ and enjoy. We pray that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened and that the Bible materialises in us.

Salvation ushers eternal life. Eternal life isn’t temporary but forever and ever. It’s unbreakably everlasting. This life isn’t human attainable but delivered to us by the grace of God. It’s unearned, undeserved and unmerited. We don’t get eternal life by self effort or human works of righteousness. The sacrificial death of Jesus was well pleasing to God the Father. It’s on this premise that we have fellowship and communion with God. Jesus Christ fulfilled the will of God and in Him we’re in the will of God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:7 points out: “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” In Christ, we’re complete and confirmed. We require no other human establishment or confirmation. As we grow in our learning we discover things already established before the foundation of the world. What already is revealed to us when we continue in fellowship with Him.

We’re confirmed. We have inner peace because of the assurance of Christ in us. The witness or testimony of Jesus Christ is established in us. 1 Corinthians 1:6-7 record: “Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:” All the gifts and Christ’s anointing are available to us awaiting our discovery by revelation of the Scriptures. The graces of God are stimulated by our desire. Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 14:1: “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” Proper and correct teaching inspire us to desire what the finished work of Jesus Christ made available to us.

Salvation carries us from death to life. As born again believers our life is intrinsically Christ’s life in our hearts. This is the eternal security of the believer. In Christ we don’t fall short. 1 Corinthians 1:8 settles: “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Surrendering to Jesus Christ and confessing Him as Lord and Saviour results in us receiving His resurrected life in us. This life has conquered death and, therefore, is eternal for example everlasting. Since Christ is in heaven, our eternal redemption is assured. This is our confirmation to the end of the ages. You grow and discover more things, while you’re safely anchored on the surety of God’s faithfulness. As soon as you received Jesus Christ, you were eternally confirmed. The confirmation isn’t some earthly human ceremony, but the finished work of Jesus Christ.

As a New Testament believer you know it’s ordained in Christ. Galatians 3:17 records, “And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ. Furthermore, Galatians 3:15 fixes, “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.” You’re confirmed, you’re established. The Christian hope rests on the reality that Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption and declared that it’s finished. In Him, we’re blameless. You’re innocent and guiltless. Let’s consider 1 Corinthians 1:8 quoted above from the Amplified version. It reads: “And He will establish you to the end, keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication; He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be, guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).”

You’re confirmed. As we close, please say this prayer of assurance; Abba Father, I thank you for confirming my salvation in Christ Jesus and declaring me innocent before you in Christ. Because of your assurance, I pursue my dreams fully aware that I lack nothing and that I am a giant not a weakling. In Jesus’ name I am established. Amen.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you through knowledge.

All Bible quotations are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.

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