The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Amos 1:1-4, “The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 He said, “The LORD roars from Zion and from Jerusalem He utters His voice; And the shepherds’ pasture grounds mourn, And the summit of Carmel dries up.”

3 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.

4 “So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael and it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.”

In a brief paper entitled “Amos: God Doesn’t Play Favorites,” Ray C. Stedman writes: “The message of this book is basically to declare the impartiality of God. God plays no favorites. He makes no allowances for one person that He will not make for others as well. There is no such thing as being God’s fair-haired boy. He does not give any more to one than He does to another, in accordance with the promises that He makes. Any who are willing to fulfill the conditions of the promises will find His blessing poured out upon them, regardless of who they are; and any who presume upon these conditions will find Him sitting in judgment upon them and His Word, condemning them no matter who they are. This is the message of Amos.”

This is a solemn warning to all of us as Christians today! Although the message is couched in the nomenclature of Old Testament times, it is as relevant to us as it was to those in the day of the prophet Amos. We, who are Christians, are born again by the loving grace of our LORD, Jesus Christ. Our calling was not merely that we might someday enter Heaven; rather, it was that we might exhibit something of the likeness of Christ here on earth. His Word gives us His Message to all mankind; therefore, we are responsible for sharing Him with those whom we encounter along life’s journey. Let’s not earn for ourselves the Lord’s message to Amos! Let’s learn to share with others what Amos should have learned and shared.

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 Corinthians 8:1-5, “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,

2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,

4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,

5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”

Do you have problems? Do I have problems? That’s like asking if a dog has fleas! Everyone has problems! Moses had a problem with Pharaoh. David had a problem with Goliath. The Apostle Paul had problems with churches. They differ somewhat, of course. Some problems are minuscule; some are huge! Nevertheless, they are all problems!

Churches are comprised of people; so, if people have problems, so do churches. Further, if churches have problems, so do their people. It was somewhat the same with the churches of Macedonia. They had abundant problems! Yet, their affliction was stifled by an “abundance of joy!”

No, the Macedonians were not wealthy; they were impoverished! Still, their resilience was like elasticity in that it gave them hope! Those Macedonian churches just wouldn’t quit! Conceivably, every possible discouragement encompassed them like a dense, dark cloud. Yet, while they needed help themselves, their love for the LORD and their knowledge of the impoverishment of other believers moved them to help.

Have you ever relinquished something you treasured in order to help someone in serious need? The very thought is welcomed more than the treasure. What’s more, the giving always outweighs the treasure. The LORD is no man’s debtor! He giveth and giveth and giveth again!

The greatest gift we can offer to others is the Gift the LORD gave to us: His Son, 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,

3 John 1:5-10, “Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.

9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.”

Who knows how many people listened the other day when warning words from an American ship were delivered to an Iranian vessel: “Evacuate the engine room!” Yet, upon refusal, the ship was attacked and stilled in the water.

Notice carefully that prior to their destruction, the people in verse five above “did not believe” the instruction they were given. It was not that they did not know; they elected to ignore the instruction. The same was true of many angels and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and adjacent cities. In each case, those electing to reject the warning were ultimately destroyed.

God is a God of love! He desires everyone to be saved. Yet, man is saved by adhering to God’s instructions! There is no other way! Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth! “The LORD has borne His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God” (Isa. 52:10). Are you trusting in Him?

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,

Proverbs 8:1-12, “Does not wisdom call, and understanding lift up her voice?

2 On top of the heights beside the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3 Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, at the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

4 “To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.

5 “O naive ones, understand prudence; and, O fools, understand wisdom.

6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things; and the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

7 “For my mouth will utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

9 “They are all straightforward to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.

10 “Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold.

11 “For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.”

Solomon was the LORD’s choice to speak on the subject of “wisdom.” At every juncture in life, it would appear that Solomon called upon wisdom to be his innate guide: “beside the gates…at the opening to the city…at the entrance of the doors” – virtually everywhere Solomon encounters wisdom. Those who fail to understand and/or possibly fail to interact with wisdom, Solomon cites as “naïve” or “fools.”

The psalmist’s admonition to his readers is that we are to listen and believe; for He views knowledge as more valuable than the “choicest gold,” and wisdom as more desirable than “jewels.” What invaluable treasures knowledge and wisdom are! Have we forgotten? Would we not exchange them for “lesser” things?

Have you ever been lost and without the slightest idea how to escape back into reality? What value then would those “fine treasures” be? You could be driving the finest and most expensive mode of transportation known; yet, without the slightest knowledge of your physical location, or how to maneuver back into reality, procuring a crumpled old map in exchange for an expensive wristwatch would seem the very thing to do. Listen and abide with Solomon. Be free indeed!

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,

Ecclesiastes 9:10-12, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

11 I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.

12 Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.”

Our world has experienced the ultimate dichotomy. Man, the paramount figure in God’s creation, has severed himself from wisdom, the supremely divine principle of all time.

Take, for example, the man who hooked the bumper of his pickup to an Automatic Teller Machine. He was going to abscond with the machine and all its money. But as he sped away, the bumper ripped from the truck, leaving behind the license tag to be discovered by the police. They did.

Then, there was a man who intended to rob a confectionery. He entered the store barefaced. Then, after everyone had seen him, he donned a ski mask and announced, “This is a ‘stickup!”

Or take the girl who entered a convenience store under the pretext of asking for a job. She then robbed the store, discarding her resume as she left. Yes, you’re right; it contained her full name and address.

In the first edition of his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), Noah Webster, who, incidentally, was a committed believer in Jesus Christ, defines “wisdom” as, “The right use or exercise of knowledge… the knowledge and fear of God and sincere and uniform obedience to His commands. This is the wisdom which is from Above.”

Yet, long, long before Webster, the wisest of all Old Testament saints said, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Pro 4:7). From what we’ve learned from the three above, it seems Solomon is the one to follow.

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