The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 59:1-4, “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.”

Have you ever known someone, who was strenuously advised not to do something, yet got into serious trouble because he did it anyway? Maybe he possessed a know-ledge of God, but thought somehow he would get away with it, despite knowing that he would be in violation of the principles of God.

Isaiah clearly knows and attests that sin always separates the sinner from God. Yet, the LORD is always aware of sinful deeds and those who perpetrate them. The more one sins, the greater the wedge between that sinner and the LORD!

The Apostle Paul advises his readers in words that balance those of Isaiah, when he
says, “…do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an
opportunity” (Eph. 4:26). In other words, keep short accounts. Confess sin as quickly as possible. To delay confession is to forget confession, thus allowing sin to “pile up,” as it were, against you. Neglect leads to forgetfulness. That’s why we need to keep “short accounts” with the LORD.

If you’ve ever been associated with law enforcement, you know that crime is never “off the books,” regardless of its severity. It may be there and unsolved for years; but it is not “erased” until the penalty has been satisfactorily paid. So it is with the LORD.

At the same time, sin in our lives represses our witness for the LORD! We sense the need to share Him when we remember our sin, lose confidence, and lay aside the witnessing. Therefore, “be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom