The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 3:13-15, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you…”

If you’ve ever had someone promise you something and then seem to forget all about it, you have an understanding of how some

believers in the first century felt. The LORD Jesus had promised to return for those who had trusted and believed in Him. But He hadn’t come! Paul, Peter, John and others had written about His promise, but nothing had yet come to pass.

Believers were tired of living in a world saturated with evil and crime and the fears that such things brought. Jesus faithfully promised that He would return and take His believers with Him to “new heavens and a new Earth, in which righteousness dwelled,” a place of peace, where all fear and tragedy were eliminated. Some were becoming weary of waiting. Is He ever going to come?

Peter, who in his earlier life was known for his impetuous nature, now writes to encourage these restless believers. He writes that the LORD is patient for a purpose, and that purposeful delay is in order that more unbelievers might become believers in Him. Just think: had the LORD Jesus returned back in the First Century, when Peter was alive and writing this letter, you and I would never have had the opportunity to receive Him as our LORD and Savior.

We do become anxious about things, don’t we? I know I do! I was a lot like the people to whom Peter was writing. I wanted everything to happen NOW! Yet, now that I’m older, I can look back and see the Hand of the LORD holding things back for my benefit. Oh, I’m

still wanting things to happen more quickly; but I know His timing is always best. So, you and I need (as the kids say) to “Cool it.” God is working out His Divine and Eternal Plan that includes all of us believers. Hey, it’s HIS Plan! Let’s let Him do it His way. In the long run, it will turn out for our best. It always has.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”