The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Peter 1:3-9, “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy
has caused us to be born again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and
undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for
you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little
while, if necessary, you have been distressed by
various trials,
7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than
gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire,
may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at
the revelation of Jesus Christ;
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and
though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you
greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of
your souls.”

Buying something can sometimes be a surprise. “If you
purchase this fine table with six matching chairs,” the
salesman says, “you will also be given this gorgeous
set of dishes and cutlery –all free with the table and
chairs.”

Also, there is nothing more exciting than having
someone do for you what you are not able to do for
yourself. That is precisely what occurred with Simon
Peter. He had been born again; now his old life was
replaced with a “living hope” through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead. By accepting Jesus as his
LORD and Savior, Peter had received the Holy Spirit,
who would guide and bless him throughout the
remainder of his life.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior
of your life, you possess the Holy Spirit, too. If you have
not accepted Jesus, you are on your own with Satan
and his forces leaning on you to believe and do his will
instead of the will of Jesus. Satan doesn’t speak of the
“inheritance” you will receive from him because what he
has in store is not a pleasant place to reside.

Living by faith is living with trust –trust that the LORD is
always with us, enabling us to side-step those things
that are contrary to His will. How precious is that? Our
passage above tells us that it is “more precious than
gold…” It is tested by the fires of temptation, but always
shows itself to be superior because it is of the LORD.

It is beyond the scope of this Letter to reveal the
blessings that attended Simon Peter’s Christian life;
however, He speaks beyond the words of his Letter, as
we view his life through the Scriptures. Our lives are
different from Peter’s life. Yet, we face the same trials
and temptations Peter experienced; thus, the promise
the LORD gave
to him, He gives to us. We can know the LORD’s
precious promises to us, just as Peter knew His
promises to him.

Turn your life over to the LORD. Yield yourself fully and
completely to Him. You will learn what Peter learned.
Jesus is real! Yield your life to Him today and see! You
are in my prayers.

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