The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Jude 1:14-19, “And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,

15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’

16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”

19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.”

I have often been challenged as to whether I knew what I was preaching and whether it was the truth. On each occasion, the LORD gave me the words –His Words—to say in defense. Thus, I can easily believe that as Jude was warning the church-at-large of these false teachers and preachers, he was being led by the same Holy Spirit who led me. By mentioning Enoch, as the seventh from Adam, Jude was giving historical context the LORD’s judgment upon those who were twisting His Truth and wrongly shaping the thinking of the church.

Jude calls these ministers grumblers, fault finders, lustful, arrogant, and deceitful. They are seeking their own good, not the good of the people, and certainly not the glory of the LORD. And with all of this in mind, Jude inserts that other apostles have said just what he himself is now saying; namely,

that in the last times there shall be mockers (of God and of His message). And this will cause divisions, and worldly-mindedness, things that have nothing whatsoever to do with the Holy Spirit.

Reader, this is serious stuff I’m talking about! People are naturally sinful; but, they have had the awareness of their Creator placed within them (Rom. 1:19), enabling them to seek Him and come to know Him as their Lord and Savior. Yet, instead of following Him, they continue to seek and practice evil, His displeasure is sure to fall upon them in judgment. Those who have never received Him will receive His judgment for eternity in Hell, a place of darkness and eternally separated from God and from any hope of deliverence.

We who know Jesus Christ as our Savior and LORD are responsible to share Him with others. Are you seeking to share Him? You should. And your life sets the stage for sharing. He loves you! You love Him! And that love cannot be concealed from others. “What makes you different?” they ask. Tell them: It’s Jesus! –and your witness has begun.

We love you and pray that you will be His witness,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Jude 1:8-10, “Yet in the same manner 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.”

Dreams drive me to distraction! I can recall dreaming that I was to preach at a church. I arrived, but had forgotten my Bible! I was on the front seat and remembered that I had on some old clothes, clothes totally inappropriate for the pulpit. Needless to say (but I shall say it!), I was devastated!!

It was a dream so real that I believed it until I awoke. Whew!

Jude speaks of those who had infiltrated the church. Remember them? Their dreams and imaginations were what formed the beliefs with which they were endeavoring to indoctrinate the whole church. Shame on them! They also personally indulged in corruption and passions. Shame!

Pretending to be ministers of the LORD, they assessed themselves as superior to others and spoke

evil of those who actually were spiritual and dignified. Shame! Shame!

How are true believers to deal with such evil pretenders? Jude uses the example of Michael the archangel. He disputed Satan’s right to the body of Moses; yet he never used slanderous, abusive language. We should take note of that situation and make certain that we never misuse its message. Even if we are 100 percent correct in what we believe, we must never speak down to or slander those who are mistaken in their beliefs. It is one thing to disagree with the twisting of Scripture, but qute another to speak evil of those who hold and teach wrongly. Michael simply said, “The LORD rebuke you.” We must always “leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom. 12:19).

Devious leaders, who spew forth misguided interpretations of Holy Scripture are themselves like senseless animals who live only by instinct. They will destroy themselves in due time. The Church is the LORD’s. He will protect it from the destruction perpetrated by ministers not His own.

We love you and trust that you to love the Word of our LORD,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Jude 1:5-7, “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.”

There’s an old saying that says, “You can’t do wrong and get by.” Unquestionably, Jude never heard that saying because it is drawn from the lyrics of a song by Lethal Ellis. Just the same, Jude

Is warning his readers (and that’s you, unless you skipped the verses above) of the judgment that falls on false teachers. He cites three historical situations.

Situation One: the people Moses led out of Egypt. They were freed from the tyranny of Egypt, but they started to grumble about a host of things. What did the LORD do to them? He let the grumblers die off in the wilderness. They never knew the blessings of Canaan! Think about that for a minute.

If you focus on what you don’t have, you may just miss the greater good the LORD had in store for you.

Situation Two: the angels that were godly until they elected to give up the reason for which they were created and followed Lucifer (Satan, the devil) in his rebellion against God. There’s a lot we may never know about how all of this took place, but one thing is clear: they are now kept in “eternal
bonds under darkness” as they await the great day of judgment! Again, there’s a lot we don’t know about angels, but they made a wrong choice and are paying for it throughout eternity. Think about that for a minute.

Situation Three: The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were once areas of rich, fertile soil. Lot saw the advantage when he and Abram decided to divide their families and flocks. But, Lot’s choice was a bad one. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were given over to the filthiest of lifestyles. Their ways affected Lot’s family to the point that his daughters became immoral with their own father. The cities were so decadent that God gave them up and, as with the angels, they are “undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

If these three situations don’t convince you that there is a wrong road and that you just might be on it, you’re already in trouble. Only today one of our neighboring cities called out their emergency rescue unit. A boy had fallen out of his small boat and into the lake. He was rescued in time. His life was saved. But, what about you? Are your drowning in sin and need to be rescued? The LORD can deal with that and bring you to safety. Just remember: Eternal is a time without an end.

We love and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Jude 1:3-4, “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 delivered 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.”

Did you ever start out to do something and experience a change of mind? A dear pastor-friend of mine sat down to write a letter of recommendation for me when he said, “The LORD stayed my hand. I simply could not physically write.”

Jude had a similar experience. He started to write a letter that would encourage other believers –a letter of their “common salvation” –salvation that was delivered by the Spirit, through the churches to which other believers belonged. But, as with my pastor-friend, the LORD stopped Jude’s hand –at least, He stopped Jude from writing about his intended subject.

“Certain persons,” Jude says, “crept in unnoticed” and were turning “the grace of our God into licentiousness (sensuality) and deny(ing) our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Barclay notes:

“The Greek word (pareisduein)…is a very expressive word. It is used of the specious and seductive words of a clever pleader seeping gradually into the minds of a judge and jury; it is used of an outlaw slipping secretly back into the country from which he has been expelled; it is used of the slow and subtle entry of innovations into the life of state, which in the end undermine and break down the ancestral laws. It always indicates a stealthy insinuation of something evil into a society or situation.

It would appear that some unsavery characters had infiltrated the church and were teaching that the Scriptures actually allowed blatant immorality (Greek aselgia), the loss of all decency and concern for anyone knowing of their sin. They taught that the more they sinned, the greater was God’s grace! Imagine! They had secretly infiltrated the church and were now twisting the grace of God into an acceptable reason for sinning.

Jesus Christ alone is our LORD and Savior! His Life was totally pure and without sin! If we are His followers, instead of trying to twist Scripture so as to excuse our sin, we should thoroughly expunge sin from our lives! Personal, verbal witnessing notwithstanding, the greatest witness is that of a pure life. Thanks, Jude, for reminding us! And may the LORD help us rid the church of evil teachers through our unswerving stand for Scriptural Truth!

We pray for you as you stand with Christ and His faithful ministers,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

P. S. This link (https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/nuclear-medicine#pid-986)

will give you the information regarding Rose Marie’s Tuesday test. She is strong and prayerful in her

trust of the LORD.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Colossians 2:13-15, “And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”

In earlier times in history, when newspapers were scarce, they used to display a copy publicly, so that everyone could read and know what was happening. In the same way, when a debt was paid, the note with all the information was made public –only that a spike was driven through the note to indicate that the debt had been paid in full!

I was in high school and working as an assistant to the pastor of our local church. A young man representing a Christian college had come to tout the advantage of attending the school he represented. I was talking with him when he suggested we go across the street and get a soft drink. While we were there, he pulled out a cigarette and started to smoke. He said it was a means of relaxation –a relaxation I guess he felt he needed when talking to me. I challenged his actions as being totally out-of-character for the purpose for which he had come. He left shortly thereafter, and I never heard from him again.

Evil actions and evil thoughts are both sinful. When we sin, we don’t appear to others that we belong to Christ at all. Christ does, however, forgive us when we repent of our sin. He cancels our sin-debts, those decrees which cause us to look as if we do not belong to Him. Smoking, drinking, drugs, pornography are all sins which Christ despises! He died on the Cross to save us from such filth. Sin can get a grip on us, so that it acts like a ruler, an authority, over our lives. Jesus disarms Satan’s evil works that penetrate our lives. His triumph over sin at the Cross and in the Resurrection continues to work against such evil in our lives today.

The Holy Spirit who lives within us believers enables us to know how to act. He gives us the power to conquer and overcome evil. We just have to want to be free and yield to His control. When we do, He drives a stake in the debt that we owe, and all is paid in full through His precious blood.

We love and pray for all of you,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”