The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Jonah 3:1-10, “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.’
3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk.
4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.
6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes.
7 He issued a proclamation and it said, ‘In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.
8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.
9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.’
10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.”

Did you ever do something, or commit to doing it, and then change your mind? I’m sure you have. In fact, we all have. Some things were minor, some were major; but
something we didn’t know at our point of agreement, changed the dynamic of everything. So, we changed our minds! It’s a common occurrence among parents; and it is no stranger to young people.

Vantage Television from India speaks quite openly of the current war between Israel and Hamas. One of the unspoken secrets which Vantage reveals is that the leaders of the nations that oppose Israel in this battle have families that are safely ensconced in luxury far, far away from the war itself. These wealthy Hamas supporters stir up the people who are suffering and then withdraw themselves to
the luxury and safety of their families in Europe.

There is nothing inherently wrong with changing one’s mind, provided that the
change is based upon information not known at the time of the commitment.
We’ve all experienced that, I am sure. Is it wrong to change one’s mind? It depends
upon what was known at the time of the commitment.

There’s an old saying that “It’s not right to do wrong to do right.” That may have been the reason the LORD “changed His mind” back in Exodus 32:14,

“So the LORD changed His mind about the harm
which He said He would do to His people.”

In principle, therefore, we should study carefully what we’re intending to say. It
may be the very thing that ought to be said. At the same time, it might not be!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

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

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