The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive men for their transgressions,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 “But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive

your transgressions.”

The years I spent in evangelism and the pastoral ministry taught

me more about people than a Ph.D. in psychology or sociology.

My observation was that the greatest sin was the lack of forgiveness.

On the surface, people were friendly, humorous, and spoke of the

love and goodness of the LORD. But, often the conversations led

into the ways of others and how others had dealt unkindly with

them –even some pastors. It was not difficult to see that beneath

the surface of their lives, they harbored unforgiving spirits.

I’ve had personal experience myself with the lack of forgiveness.

It’s not difficult to refuse to forgive when all the evidence shows

that others are wrong and have done wrong to you. Satan feeds

every reason possible as to why we should not forgive. Even the

saying, “Well, I’ll forgive –but I won’t forget!” comes into play.

Yet, the LORD, who is the Ultimate Judge, says, “If you don’t, then

neither will I; and you have a lot more to lose if I don’t forgive you.”

Remember that David said, “Against You and You alone have I

sinned” (Psa. 51:4). So, any lack of forgiveness for other’s sins

against us is tantamount to our sin against the LORD Himself!

That’s heavy, isn’t it? What’s more, the Holy Spirit chokes on

what we call prayer until we do forgive others. He doesn’t weigh

whether what others have done is “heavier” than our lack of

forgiveness; He simply says, “Until you honestly and fully forgive,

I just won’t listen to anything you have to say.”

One more benefit I’ve found to forgiveness is that the heaviness

of heart is relieved when we truly and fully forgive. But what about

the other guy? He’s probably never known or cared about what

you think of him. So, in the long run, failing to forgive only hurts

the one who fails to forgive. Give that grudge up!! Yield it to the

LORD! The pathway of prayer is then opened and the sunshine of

love will fill your heart and life! God bless you!

We continue to lovingly pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”