The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 13:15-21, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.

19 And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,

21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

There are days when it is simply difficult to offer praise for anything. Everything seems to be going wrong! Have you ever experienced a day like that? I asked that of someone long ago. His response was: “Every day.”

Paul (whom I believe authored the Hebrew epistle) encourages us to “offer up a sacrifice of praise to God…” And I’m sure he meant “Every day!” There are multiple negatives that manage to get in the way of praise. Yet, these can be eliminated if we keep our eyes on the LORD Jesus Christ and our minds on positive things.

Not every discouragement comes directly from Satan; however, it’s certain that he enables more negative thinking than we acknowledge. Read positive Scripture for positive thoughts: praise, thanksgiving, sacrifice, and obedience. In all things, glorify the LORD!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

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