The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Revelation 1:4-7, “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: ‘Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood–

6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father– to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

Don’t you just love letters that commence with congenial greetings? John is a loving disciple, and it is no mystery that he is personally, spiritually concerned for the churches in Asia. After all, they are operating in hostile territory.

Someone once said that “grace” is “God’s love at Christ’s expense.” That is not to say that either Christ or the Father viewed the other as apart from Himself. To the contrary, multiple times throughout the Scriptures, Jesus identifies Himself with His Father, and the Father, likewise, calls Jesus His Son.

Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross crushed the heart of the Father, as much or more than if it had been His own. In fact, for over one hundred times throughout the Bible, Jesus says “I and My Father,” linking them together in the redemption of the lost and in encouraging the saved. Knowing Him as our LORD and Savior, we accept the suffering that goes with the affiliation. It is triumphant suffering! He wins and we win with 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,

Genesis 2:2-4, “By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.”

There are 359 verses in the Bible that speak of “work,” and they range from Genesis to Revelation. The definition of “work” is “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result, and/or a task or tasks to be undertaken; something a person or thing has to do.” Pastors “work” in the preparation of sermons. Musicians work to prepare music that will accompany the pastor’s message. Door-to-door believers work in preparation for presenting the Gospel to unsaved people throughout the city. Some men work in order to support those who carry the Gospel throughout the world.

It’s somewhat humorous, however, to discover that the initial citation of the word “work” throughout the whole of Scripture originates with Genesis 2:2, while the completion of the work “rests” in Revelation 22:12.

Needless to say, however, there are various kinds of work. There are old hymns that say,

“Work for the Night is Coming” (Annie Walker); “To the Work, To the Work”; and “Rescue the Perishing” (Fanny Crosby). In these, and many other old hymns of the faith, we are to understand the urgency of reaching the lost for Christ. Salvation is what it’s all about!

That’s why Jesus Christ came to earth, died on the cross, and arose from the dead. His work was then transferred to His people. Are we laboring as we ought? Time is running out. Our prayer is: “Lead me to some soul today; teach me, LORD, just what to say.”

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,

Exodus 2:1-8, “Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. 5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her.

6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?”

8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Go ahead.’ So, the girl went and called the child’s mother.

This is a much longer-than-usual text, but it is necessary to demonstrate the LORD’s ultimate plan for Moses — to say nothing of His use of Moses’ sister and mother. The plan was the LORD’s; however, He utilized Moses’ family members in the process.

He has a plan for each of us. We must, however, divest ourselves of our ideas and be willing to yield to His plan. Just how difficult do we think His plans are? You’d be surprised! And with His “assistance,” things will go amazingly well. Give Him the opportunity to show you!

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,

Jude 1:3-7, “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 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.

Have you ever experienced an intrusion into something you were doing? Oh, I need to do that before I do this, you thought! That’s exactly what happened to Jude while he was writing this epistle. Instead of writing a treatise concerning salvation that was common to all believers in Christ, Jude was spiritually impressed to warn believers that there were certain persons who had secretly entered their group and were teaching and practicing bad doctrine.

How the LORD handled those who had broken from the truth and were currently teaching heresy, Jude does not specifically say. Jude’s concern was that this impure belief does not reach and hinder the spiritual growth of other believers. True biblical pastors are concerned about that, too.

Have you not seen and heard “impure beliefs” being touted by “preachers,” some of whom are on television? It is best in many ways that you stick with your local pastor, whom I trust is “feeding his flock” with the “many infallible proofs” and is enabled to answer questions you have. Pray for your pastor!

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,

Galatians 6:1-9, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. 5 For each one will bear his own load. 6 The one who is taught the Word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

This is not at all an unusual directive for believers in the Galatian camp. Prior to their conversion, the Galatians were a “wild and woolly bunch.” No doubt, even some of those who professed faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior had a difficult time becoming what they ought in this new way of life.

Prior to his own conversion, Paul undoubtedly saw himself like the Galatians. In any event, he knew just what to say (and when!) to bring them back to the Cross of Christ.

Do you see someone who is having trouble behaving like a Christian? Help him! Do you see someone who thinks he is “elevated” now that he’s saved? Teach him to be and do right! Instead of changing your personal behavior, be sympathetic regarding those who have yet to learn how to behave as a Christian. That’s something we all would do well to learn.

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