The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 6:14-20, “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

When I was in the second grade in school, Miss Jones taught us to write in script. In the first grade, we drew the letters. But, one day I approached her desk and she was busy. She was writing. And I was surprised to see that she was not holding her pencil the way she

taught us to hold ours. Shy as I was (cough! cough!), I called her on it –and I got a look that said, Son, don’t ever do that again. To the best of my recollection, I never did. But, all of that taught me a lesson: namely, be what you teach others to be! Do what you teach others to do!

Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter to the Ephesians. Like he always does, he instructs us how to behave in the way he was taught by the LORD Jesus Christ. “Stand firm.” Soldiers don’t slouch. It gives the appearance of laziness and uncouthness. Christians aren’t to be like that. “Gird your loins with Truth.” Don’t have anything to do with lies or deceit. Always speak the Truth! Christians are to be surrounded with Truth. Be completely filled with righteousness, too! We’re not to be “show-offs,” but we certainly don’t want to neglect our responsibilities. We have Someone to share! So, have shoes that accompany your feet as you go faithfully about sharing the Good News of Jesus!

Do everything with faith. Be faithful; act faithfully toward others. The shield of faith will protect you from the onslaughts of the enemy. Keep your head on straight and tight! Keep the salvation of Jesus Christ in the fore of your mind, making it easy to recall for those who need to hear it. “It,” remember is the Word of God. It’s not what you or I think; it’s what HE says that counts. Be prayerful and alert. What’s more, remember me in your prayers! I need to be alert, too, when I share Christ with others. Remember, too, that I’m not geographically where you are. Still, I’m trying to speak boldly, but I’m handicapped with some chains. Just keep me in your prayers, please.

Did you notice what I noticed? Everything that Paul told his readers to do, he was already doing! I’m a spiritual infant, unworthy of all comparison to the maturity of the Apostle Paul; still, everything I encourage you to do in these Grands Letters, I endeavor to do as well. I pray for you daily; and I need your daily prayers for me. None of us are all that we ought to be; yet together and with the LORD’s strength, we can realize victory! He’s Coming! Let’s not be caught short when He comes!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 6:10-12, “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.

11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,

against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

It’s a well-known assumption that some readers, especially readers of mystery stories, have become so engrossed in the book they are reading, that they could not wait to see who “did the dastardly dead,” and so, they raced to the last chapter to learn the name of the villain!

It’s not quite like that with the Apostle Paul, although if you read closely, you will discover when you are coming to the end of his writings. At verse 12 above, a we are about halfway through his final chapter. Like the mighty swelling music of the strong-voiced orchestra, Paul approaches the terminal point of his letter. “Increase in strength,” he writes –not your own physical strength, but in the strength of the LORD. It is the LORD’s “full armor” that enables us to “withstand the deceitfulness of the devil.” Satan is deceitful! What’s worse, his deceitfulness is often cloaked in the pleasantries of the flesh –things we want to do; things that are skillfully disguised as “normal” and “exciting” and “pleasant” in everyday life. Watch out for Satan’s schemes! He is real, and he is powerful.

We have other struggles, too. In addition to the devil, our fleshly weaknesses often bask in the black light of pleasantness. These are rulers –real people, who exercise their powerful authority against us and all Christian believers. They feign friendship, but want nothing than that we follow their spiritual instruction. They want to rule over us by leading us into the very cesspools of life, where eternal darkness exists and nothing is clean or productive or beneficial.

No question about it, there are spiritual forces of wickedness, demon spirits, that hover above us, just waiting for the opportunity to invade our bodies, minds and spirits. At that point, they can exercise control over us and compel us to do what we would never ourselves even considered. Sound like you’ve been there before? We all have! Yet the alternative to demonic-control is repentance of all known sin in our lives, and totally yielding to the LORD Jesus Christ. A truly born-again believer in Christ Jesus can never be

demon possessed, but he can live so loosely that it is difficult to observe anything of Christ in his life. Just be careful that isn’t you!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 6:5-8, “Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;

6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men,

8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”

Readers, who are observant, will notice that I skipped the verses that said, “Children obey your parents…” (v. 1). The rationale for eliminating those verses is NOT because they are irrelevant in today’s culture (although they are ignored by many children and their parents), but because I am confident that most readers of this Letter (and the Bible, too) are either adults or children, whose knowledge of the Word has already taken hold of their lives in the matter of honoring and obeying parents.

The word slave (??????) means one who refuses to utilize his own mind, but shows preference in obedience to the mind of his master.

That is how we are to behave with respect to our human bosses, who are hired to see that we do what we are hired to do. That’s exactly how we are to be toward Christ! We may think we know best, but we don’t. Only when we are adhering to His Holy Spirit are we behaving properly.

When I was doing television, I observed TV personalities, whose behavior and language were hardly proper –until the camera was “ON” and they were talking to their TV audience. That precisely NOT THE WAY THE LORD WOULD HAVE US TO BEHAVE! He is our Authority, and we are to conduct ourselves as His servants at all times. If we conduct ourselves as always doing things for the LORD, what we do for our human bosses will always be pleasing. Beyond that, when we do for our earthly supervisors what we ought to do, we are promised rewards from the LORD Himself.

In summary, if we behave as slaves, we will be treated as free. If we behave as free, we will be treated as slaves. Which sounds better to you? Yes, that first one sound better to me, too. Let’s work on being that this week. God bless you richly and 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.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 31:13-15, “For I have heard the slander of many, Terror is on every side; While they took counsel together against me, They schemed to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in Thee, O LORD, I say, ‘Thou art my God.’

15 My times are in Thy hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.”

I believe in the inerrancy and infallability of Holy Scripture. It is historically accurate and demonstrates that whatever we encounter, others have previously encountered it, as well. At the same time, we must be careful that Scripture’s meaning is not distorted because we take it out of its context. To the counter of that, I must say that some passages are meaningful even in part and have application to our daily lives.

In the three verses above, the psalmist David is suffering from the slander of his enemies. He cannot seem to move

without being surrounded by the trouble they are jointly causing him. They even want him dead. And in that context, David is saying, “I trust in Thee, O LORD; I say, ‘Thou art my God.’ My times are in Thy hand…” This is the context.

At the same time, without any knowledge of any conspiracy against me, or anyone wanting to take my life, I can say,

“I trust in Thee, O LORD…, ‘Thou art my God.’ My times are in Thy hand.” At this point, I have taken it out of its original context and it is still applicable to my life at all times. Do you trust in the LORD? Do you consider that your

times are in His hand? Then, these few words apply to you, as well, and you can apply them in any and every situation.

Note carefully, however, that not all Scripture can be taken out of its context and applied at our every whim. Even when Scripture taken out of context can apply to our own personal lives, it has to apply to us as it did to those who experienced it first. We can trust the Word of God, but we must never twist the Word to gain an advantage. It is best that we know that the LORD controls what time we have been alloted for life on this Earth, and that our earnest trust is always in Him! Whether there’s trouble or not, those thoughts can and do apply to us every day.

I pray that you and your family will have a Blessed Thanksgiving! And be sure to thank the LORD for His blessings!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 5:15-20, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise,

16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father…”

Still, there’s more to being wrong than just giving wrong instruction. I have to be careful, too –careful how I “walk”: that is, how I behave; especially, how I spend my time. I need to study God’s Word carefully and understand what His will is for me and for my life. I don’t drink any kind of alcoholic beverage because the Scripture calls it dissipation, “the disposition of ?????? is having no hope of safety; it’s the act of one who has abandoned himself to reckless, immoral behavior.” That’s what alcohol does to a person. Solomon wrote, “Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly; 32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper” (Prov. 23:31-32). Wine kills one’s physical and spiritual sensitivity.

What the LORD wants is for us to “be controlled by the Holy Spirit,” so that our attitude toward one another is always on the positive, spiritual side, where we can sing joyfully to the LORD, and give thanks for all things in His Name.

Think about it. Who controls you? your thoughts, your actions, your beliefs? Who is honestly in charge of your life?

If it’s not Jesus and the Holy Spirit, something is seriously wrong. Get back into the Word! He will be glorified, and you will be joyful when you are safely under His protection, His guidance, and His control.

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.”