The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

The word faith is mentioned no less than 250 times in the Bible. It is closely related to the word trust, which has 83 mentions in the Scriptures. The three verses above could be translated,

“Now, trust is the confidence of the expected, the proven test of things not seen.

For by it the elders bore witness. By faith we understand that the worlds were

prepared (created) by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from

things already visible.”

Faith and trust in this passage mean virtually the same thing. It is undoubtedly true that “by (trust) the old men gained approval.” However, my Greek text says that ????????????? in verse two means “the activity of a witness.” The old men of that time, the elders, had confidence in what they expected the LORD to bring about, so they witnessed to others of their confidence in the LORD and what they trusted He would bring to pass.

All of this is a challenge to you and me as to whether we truly believe that the LORD has created the universe just as He said. By the way, the phrase, “the word of God,” uses ???? instead of ?????. Both words translate “word,” but ???? (rhema) refers to the spoken word, while ????? (logos) refers to the written Word, the Scriptures. All that is to show that the LORD God said, “Let there be – and there was!”

Some scientists stumble over the truth of Scripture which declares that God spoke and it was done! Yet, there are scientists who are also true Christian believers. Science knows quite a lot about the building blocks of the universe; still, they search for what unseen force holds the basic blocks of the universe together. They call it the “Colossian force,” from Colossians 1:17, that says, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

I was preaching in a church in Honolulu one Sunday, and I quoted what I have said the scientists called that “unseen force.” Greeting people at the door, after the service, I was introduced to a scientist. As we shook hands, I asked him

If he could corroborate my pulpit statement. He grinned as he said, “That’s it. You’re absolutely correct.”

Everything in the Bible is true! It is also true that sound, accurate science will bear out the truth of Scripture. In the meantime, for those of us who are not scientists, we can accept by faith the Scriptures and all they contain. I hope you read your Bible every day. I hope you thank the LORD in prayer for the wonderful truths He has given us in Scripture.

Join me as I seek to live-out in my life what I understand the Scriptures to say. Let’s pray for one another! This same Scripture says that Jesus is coming soon! There will come a day when we will wish in tears that we had spoken God’s truth to someone we loved. You can pre-erase that day by sharing Him with them today!

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.”