The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 14:1-6, “In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.

3 He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his father had done.

4 Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

5 Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, that he killed his servants who had slain the king his father.

6 But the sons of the slayers he did not put to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses, as the LORD commanded, saying, ‘The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.’”

King Josiah was killed by the Egyptian King, Pharaoh Neco, and it was then that Joash became King of Judah. From all we know from the Scripture, he “did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David, his father.”

I think we’ve all experienced that kind of obedience in our children. They’ve fallen short in some areas where we would have liked to see them achieve; yet, overall, they have done well. (Doubtlessly, our parents had the same attitude about us!) We’ll have to cut Joash a bit of slack, however, because David excelled everyone who had ruled before him.

One great, spiritual oversight of Joash, however, was his failure to destroy the “high places,” where some of the people still sacrificed to pagan gods. I believe we’ll always have people like that among us. They’re good-hearted people, but they still engage in things that measure sub-standardly when laid beside Jesus Christ and the Bible. How are we to treat them? Like brothers and sisters in Christ, I should think, setting a good standard before them, as others have for us.

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

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 2:1-9, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;

7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men

8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),

9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment…”

Education is just as subject to error as anything we might know or imagine. Few parents, I dare say, know little-to-nothing about the education of their children’s teachers. If the teacher himself received poor instruction, the children will hardly receive better. The same is true of religious instruction, be it formal or not. Habits are rarely formally instructed, but they are taught nevertheless. Be all of that as it may, someone has said that “children are like little sponges, they absorb what the hear and observe, often without thinking. Thus, teachers are inevitably culpable by default.

May we always be alert to the “teaching” we inadvertently share with others. Intended or not, we are constantly observed and imitated by those around us, especially admiring children. The wisdom of the Word says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older, he will not abandon it” (Prov. 22:6).

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

Dear Grands,

1 John 1:5-12, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

It is utterly foolish of anyone to deny what is blatantly obvious to others! As small boys, we used to pretend we were cowboys or Indians or policemen. We dressed as appropriately as possible and tried to talk and act as we supposed they did. Of course, everyone who saw or heard us knew we were not whom we pretended to be.

In the passage above the Apostle John exposes as fraudulent those who pretended they are followers of Jesus, but lack His likeness in their lives. They say they are followers of Him, but they don’t live like it. How many are like that yet today!

Let me ask: Do you read the Bible every day? Do you spend some time in prayer every day? Do you recognize your sin and confess it to the LORD every day? It’s vitally necessary that we stay close to Jesus and rid ourselves of sin. Sin hinders our fellowship with the LORD. “Oh, it’s only a little sin,” you say. Yet, “little” becomes increasingly “larger” when we allow it to lie even dormant in our lives. A little here, a little there, and before we know it, prayer and Bible study have disappeared completely, and life is without nourishment and protection! At that point, we are precisely where Satan wants us! No, confession of sin is the only true answer. If we confess our sin, Jesus forgives it, and we’re “on course” again with 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

Dear Grands,

Psalm 127:1-5, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.

5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.”

Solomon’s wisdom is nowhere more accurate or practical than here. Labor is always futile unless the LORD is involved. He not only oversees the building, He protects it once it is completed.

The vanities of man are equally well cited. I had once mentioned that I rise early every morning. A friend responded that he never arose early because everyone he knew who did bragged about it! Ouch! Nevertheless, the LORD Himself is the Guardian over all who sleep, making it unnecessary for the watchman. At the same time, earnest and grateful parents keep careful watch over their children in addition to their trust in the LORD’s watchfulness.

Hard labor demands sufficient food, and the LORD provides for all of His own. For even in sleep, the proper digestion of food is under His watch care, extending especially to children, for children are “the fruit of the womb,” an extremely precious reward. Children are as beneficial to a man as a man’s arrows are to his bow; and he is considered blessed to have them. Oh, that all men might envision their children (and grandchildren!) as vitally, pricelessly precious!

Our children walk in our footsteps. They are guided as well as their guides provide them. And the LORD holds us accountable for the values (or lack thereof) that we implant within them. May we be ever so diligent in rearing them in the ways or our blessed LORD, Jesus Christ!

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

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 3:1-9, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.

2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,

3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

4 For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men?

5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.

7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

Do you have a favorite preacher? So do I; and so do a lot of Christian people. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with having a favorite, but we must be careful not to allow jealousy and strife over pulpit personalities to come between us, lest we be labeled as “spoiled, spiritual babies.”

In the multiple secular fields, it’s not uncommon to find two carpenters or two electricians who differ in the application of their particular skills. What is most desired is the ultimate competency of their labors. We all vary in multiple styles of hair, clothing, and even subjects of casual discussion. Why should we be dogmatic about almost anything except things of a spiritual nature?

Preachers quite naturally differ in personality and styles of delivery. It’s doubtful if even identical twins would be lock-step in their thinking and delivery. or a specific preaching style. This is the problem that our text brings to light. Just think how it would be if every pastor or evangelist preached in the very same way, even using the same type of illustration. What is vital is the exultation of the LORD Jesus Christ! “We’re God’s fellow workers, His field, His building!”

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America