The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 3:1-7, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;

3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;

6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

How do people learn? I mean, how do they learn anything? For one thing, they learn by example. If something one does causes punishment, the one viewing the situation, learns not to do the same thing. Another method of learning is by the “drip, drip, drip of repetition.” Paul was not afraid of repeatition. “To write the same things is no trouble to me…” What’s more, “…it is a safeguard for you.”

To “beware” is “to be on guard” against anything and everything that contradicts the teachings of our LORD Jesus Christ. Be on guard against “evil workers,” like those who followed Paul and opposed his teachings with respect to our LORD Jesus Christ. Such men exist today! Many of them won’t say directly that they believe the Bible is in error, but they introduce teachings that lead others to believe that it is.

Paul admonishes us not to accept the teachings of anyone merely on the basis of how suave they may appear. Our times are replete with pastors and teachers, who have a good appearance, who smile warmly, who greet others kindly, but have a “hidden agenda,” that is totally opposite of the true teaching so Scripture.

There are many today who wear a gold cross, a cross that signifies the death that Jesus died. Yet, the presence of a cross on a chain about the neck of anyone signifies nothing with respect to whether they have a heart-felt devotion to the Savior.

On the other hand, Paul was a pure-blooded Jew, who spoke the ancestral language of Hebrew. He was a trained Pharisee (the Separated Ones), who possessed unsurpassed zeal, the supreme quality of Jewish religious life. So zealous was he, that he persecuted the Church until he met the Risen Savior, Jesus, on the Road to Damascus. There in that place and at that time, the LORD Himself appeared to Paul and transformed his life! From that moment on, Paul became a proclaimer of God’s Truth as taught and observed in the life of Jesus and accurately recorded in the Bible!

As of that spiritual meeting on the Damascus Road, Paul turned his life over to the LORD Jesus. From that day forward to the time of his execution in Rome, the Christian Church saw no advocate for the LORD like Paul! ~ Have you met the LORD Jesus? Have you asked Him to forgive your sins? If you have, He has put His Holy Spirit within you and desires you to witness to others of His saving grace. If you have trusted Him, you no longer belong to yourself. You belong to Him. You have in the Holy Spirit all the strength and power you need to become everything He wants of you. Get started! Read the Bible daily. Pray to Him moment-by-moment throughout the day. Your life has been changed! Let others see Him in you and come to know Him for themselves. God bless you abundantly!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

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.”