The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Judges 13:1-7, “Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.

3 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

4 “Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

5 “For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.

7 “But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'”

I sincerely trust that you’ll not think unkindly of me for utilizing these verses as the backdrop to a very personal encounter. But, to me, the parallels are astounding! You see today, July 22 is my birthday. My mother had been told that she would never bear a child. I was never told the rationale behind that medical assessment; nevertheless, at the LORD’s appointed time, and by the grace of God, I entered the world; and through the faithful prayers of my mother, father, grandparents, and doubtlessly, a host of friends, most of whom I never knew.

The directives that the angel of the LORD gave to Manoah, in the Scripture passage above, were virtually identical to what was passed on to me, by my parents, as strong, Christian advice. They never clearly mentioned the Judges’ passage above, yet clearly taught me the essentials that the angel of the LORD gave to Manoah. Thus, I have never indulged in intoxicating beverages. One can live successfully without such. At the same time, I was never a “Nazarite,” nor do I claim such. By the grace of Almighty God, I was called into His service 74 years ago, and have been blessed by God with a worldwide ministry, in which many souls were brought to Him. I am 91 today.

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,

Mark 10:13-16, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 ‘Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.’ 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.”

The true character of anyone is nowhere more openly evident than the concern one has for dealing with children. Throughout the Scriptures, and throughout life, the demeanor people exhibit in association with children is largely indicative of their attitude and respect for all mankind. Here in this passage, the disciples demonstrated a “get-out-of-the-way-kids” attitude toward the children. Possibly, Jesus experienced a flashback of His own childhood and grasped it as an opportunity for showing both adults and children the love that ought always to be honestly displayed.

The love that adults of all ages show to their children is without a doubt the characterization that will be demonstrated in their children’s lives. Children who, unfortunately, receive little to no love from their parents have to look elsewhere or suffer becoming like those children in their own adult lives. It’s a “what goes around, comes around” kind of life. Even casual observation tells a sharp-minded adult what that child is going to be when he (or she) becomes an adult.

Thus, as parents, we are both planters and reapers. We reap what we sow in the lives of our children. Quite understandably, I exhibit some characteristics that were inside our family. They have worn about as well on me as they have on those who influenced me to adopt them. There’s a short verse that says, “Be careful, little one what you think; be careful, little one what you think. For the Father up Above is looking down in love. Be careful, little one, what you think.”

Parents, you be careful, too. For what you display in your life, your children will also display in their lives. We all want our children to adopt and image our better qualities, don’t we? Be adoptive of the qualities of the LORD Jesus. That’s really the key to everything good!

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 37:3-11, “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

9 For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.

11 But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”

There’s an old saying that goes, “All is well that ends well.” You might be successful in arguing against that declaration because not everything does end well. Many things start out somewhat in error and end up in the “not-so-well” category. Trust is always present in the first stage of any endeavor. Trust is, however, not always well-placed. The psalmist recommends trusting in “the LORD” as the best start; then, doing our very best fits nicely alongside divine trust.

Along the way, things often get rough; however, we are not to worry because everything is committed to the LORD. We are simply to rest in Him. He knows the way and all of the rough spots that seek to slow us down. Just patiently rest; doubtlessly, He has walked these paths previously and encountered every obstacle that mocks our life travel.

Yes, we are tempted to become angry, as by our calculations, we’re traveling much too slowly. Yet, at the time of our signing on for this venture, we agreed to allow The Leader to plot and time the overall course of travel. The ticket has been paid. We have agreed to our Guide’s propositions. It is for us to relax and let the LORD be the Guide. Is that not what we said when we signed on?

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,

Ephesians 4:25-32, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

If there were ever words that needed to be heeded, these words of Holy Scripture are the ones! More trouble is aroused; more difficulties are produced by words than by any other aspect of all human nature.

Don’t say that! That’s not going to solve the problem! Your mouth is going to get you into trouble! How many times have you heard a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, or a close friend warn you against saying something you had determined to say? Relax, you’re not the first to be told those things. They’ve been repeated for centuries! At the same time, they’ve been ignored and have resulted in confrontations of various sorts, even murders.

The Apostle Paul doesn’t commence his letters with such particular warnings, but he knows human nature; thus, such warnings are clearly necessary. Professional athletes have been expelled from games for arguing with umpires or coaches. Employees have been dismissed from employment for saying the wrong thing to the wrong person too many times. This is nothing new. Unfortunately, it has become a way of life for too many. No one (to my knowledge, anyway) has ever been dismissed from anywhere for anything that did not involve confrontation through inappropriate language.

Find the word that is “good for edification according to the need of the moment,” Paul says. Learn kindness toward others, and learn forgiveness for whatever someone does to you. You’ll both be better off in the long run. What’s more, you’ll be forgiven by 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,

Deuteronomy 11:13-17, “It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul,

14 that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil.

15 “He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.

16 “Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them.

17 “Or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.”

Promises always accompany obedience, especially when the promises come from the LORD! What was spoken to the LORD’s people in the Scripture above has its relevance to you and me, despite the centuries far removed that separate us from the promise’s originality. The Scripture that says “…to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Sam. 15:22) stands on solid validity, just as it did in earlier centuries.

We are to “listen obediently…love the LORD,” and “serve Him” fervently! In return, He promises to provide for our needs. At the same time, we need to be alert, lest we be tempted to stray from His will and direction, and serve and worship “other gods.” How can it be that we would engage in worshipping anyone other than the LORD, our God?

Satan is clever. He sneaks up on us when we are spiritually and/or physically weak. What he offers often seems covered with “goodness” that appears delightful and delectable. We are fooled until we partake and learn that what we have accepted was not only wrong, but that it came from the wrong deliverer! We must always be aware! Our adversary, the devil, is consistently on the prowl, seeking whom he may devour. Be alert! Stay in the Word! Always stay close to the LORD! He is our Redeemer! He is our Friend!

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