The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Colossians 3:16-17, “Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and

admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in

your hearts to God.

17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through

Him to God the Father.”

There are numerous things that I simply cannot do. One of them is draw. I recall a teacher, who wanted me in her class. It was an art class and I told her I couldn’t even draw a straight line with a ruler! “You’re just the kind of student I want,” she said. I spared her the frustration; I didn’t go.

If I’m to be as honest with you, my readers, as I was with that teacher, I will have to admit that Paul’s

admonition to “let the Word of Christ richly dwell within” is even harder than drawing. Such “dwelling” has

to be constant. To read the Word, gain the instruction, and then forget it when things go wrong, won’t work!

Paul says that we need to acquire wisdom along with the Word, learn to sing! Drawing is out; singing is in!

Furthermore, we’re to sing spiritual songs and give thanks as we sing –all to the LORD! My dear, sweet

Grandmother (Mimi) used to go about her house and farm work singing “He is so precious to me; Yes, He

is so precious to me. ‘Tis Heaven below, My Redeemer to know; For He is so precious to me.”

Mimi had it right. Everything she said and did was always in the Name of the LORD. What a Christian lady!

She was a role model. I never heard a single inappropriate word come from her mouth. She had a loving and forgiving heart. LORD, help me to be to others what Mimi was to me. Amen.

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,

Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above,

where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

I talked with a friend today about parenting. Her children are now adults, so it was not as if she needed advice or even encouragement in that matter. Yet, we both agreed that good children are not good by accident; and children who have not learned good behavior are more likely than not either to have never had good parenting or self-elected to ignore the good teaching they had received.

When Paul says “If then you have been raised up with Christ,” he is saying, “If…, and you have.” He is encouraging those who are true believers to “keep on seeking the things above…” (He could hardly encourage them to “keep on” with anything unless they had already been doing it.) And it’s the “things above” that really count because that’s where Christ is!

Our minds can and must be trained to follow the LORD. That’s why we’re instructed to keep our minds focused on things above. There are so many glittering, but evil attractions on this Earth, that we must determine the LORD’s course for us and follow it assiduously –constantly, diligently! Satan subtly seeks to convince us that our LORD’s direction in life is wrong. He tells us that the world is having all the fun, and we’re missing it because we’re following Jesus. But, we cannot allow ourselves to follow Satan’s deception because we “have died” to the world and its ways. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God.” That’s what Christianity is all about! One might as well speak of “heavenly devils” as to speak of “worldly Christians.” Use the time the LORD has allotted you to glorify Him! Share Him boldly!

Share Him often! There’s a Great Day Coming; and the LORD Jesus is leading the pack.

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,

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.”

Death is rarely a good word. I say, “rarely,” because there are instances where it is preferable to suffering. Still, death is of various kinds. It can relate to the lack of freedom. It can mean a forever loss of seeing or hearing. In its usage above, it relates to sin –the involvement of activities that debase the LORD’s intention for us as His created beings.

When we trangress the Laws of God, intentionally or otherwise, we display a spiritual deadness within ourselves. It is so, because Christ alone can and does make us “alive together with Him.” His Life replaces our deadness, when we confess (agree) that we have sin and ask Him to erase it and fill us with new meaning and purpose and love.

In ancient times, personal debts were displayed publicly for all to see. But when a debt was paid-in-full, a spike was

driven through the display for all to see as well. Mankind is indebted to Almighty God for having transgressed His Law. That debt –our debt—was so weighty that it could seemingly never be paid. Therefore, the LORD Jesus Christ Himself offered to pay our debt by simply forgiving it. The Father then allowed men’s spikes to pierce His hands, so that they and we might be forgiven. What stood against our fellowship with God, “He has taken…out of the way” through the death of His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

Those demons (“rulers and authorities”) that plagued us, can plague us no longer! They are forever disarmed! Their power that held and bound us to sin no longer has its strength! What’s more, our LORD’s “public display” of the

death of His Son, encourages those still captive to know they can be free! A serious and complete confession of sin,

and an honest, faithful acceptance of Christ’s death for that sin, drives a stake in the public newsboard that He has

paid our debt. Paid in full, it need never be paid again. Have your sins been forgiven? Only the Hands of Jesus, pierced with Roman spikes can avail for your sin. You can be born anew! Born again! Born from Above! It is triumphant! And then you can teach others of Him.

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,

Colossians 2:8-10, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

9 For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority…”

To engage in an African safari generally carries with it the idea of capturing or killing an animal. It doesn’t have to mean that, but it often does. Words vary according to the cultures and the eras in which they are used. “Philosophy” in the verse above refers to the whole concept of Judaism. But the words “captive” and “empty deception” have the same meaning in each generation and culture. Some people simply delight in taking other people “captive” to their own way of thinking. It’s a pride thing. Men give their opinions on biblical and theological subjects in books that are sometimes revered more highly than the Scriptures themselves. We have to be extremely careful!

Paul is swift to shine a divine light on these “capture culprits.” We are not to follow philosophical traditionalisms. We are to follow Christ and His teachings. He alone is the One in whom the “fullness of Deity dwells.” Why are so many seeking the ways of popular celebrities? Why does it matter which Hollywood “star” or pop singer believes this or that? Even stopping to read and understand their thoughts on spiritual matters is truly a waste of precious time.

Christ Jesus is the “fullness of Deity.” There is no philosopher in any age who can compare with Him. He is the Author of salvation –our salvation! He has made us “complete.” He is the Head, the Authority over all things! All we need to know with clarity is what He says in His Word, and follow His instructions implicitly. His Word, the Scriptures, are without error. It is our responsibility to immerse ourselves in His Word and then share what we learn with others. Is this not what we expect of our pastors? Do they, then, not have the right to expect the same of us? And when a pastor says something we don’t understand, we should ask him to explain it to us. When we understand it, we can explain it to others. What’s more, Christ Himself will then be glorified through us. Remember, it’s always all about Him!

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,

Colossians 1:28, “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

One thing I learned in college English class that I shall never forget: the verb is the most powerful word in any sentence! In most cases, the verb is the action word and defines all other words in the sentence. Paul uses four verbs in this second-to-the-last verse in this first chapter.

1. “We proclaim Him!” The word for “proclaim” is kataggello. The word is a present, active, indicative verb, with the connotation of a broad dissemination. Paul was not one to mince words or hide them from the hearts that needed them. We are to be active as we share the Gospel, and we are to be continually sharing it. Of course, the sharing has many and varied ways. Sometimes, it will be just a word, dropped into the conversation. Sometimes, it will be a full-blown and informative “how-to-be-saved” discussion, ending with prayer for the LORD to change a life.

2. “…admonishing every man…” The word for “admonish” is nouthetountes, meaning giving counsel and instruction to us that we might avoid inappropriate conduct. We probably all need that admonition, even if we have received the LORD Jesus as our Savior. Perhaps, the word means that, while we have been saved, we have yet to allow Christ to be LORD of our lives in every area and in every situation.

3. “…teaching every man with all wisdom…” The word “teaching” is didaskontes; and “wisdom,” sophia, while not a verb, couples with “teaching” to say that we are to take into careful account how much we are to say in our witnessing. Sometimes, we lose the person by talking too much about what they already don’t understand. We’re not witnessing to show how much we know; we’re witnessing of the One who will be most meaningful to their lives.

4. “…that we may present every man complete in Christ.” The word “present” is parastesomen, and

has a relationship with the concept of sacrifice. No person is “complete in Christ” until he has expressed sorrow for his sin and yielded his life to Christ, as fully and completely as he knows. It is

a “self-sacrifice” of the person to the will of the LORD Jesus. When we do that, we are “complete in

Christ.”

Now, knowing all of the above, don’t you see how important it is for us to reach the lost for Jesus? And

CHRISTmastime is the very best occasion of the year to get started. With all of the tinsel and lights, more people are thinking about Jesus than you know. Now is the time for us to think about Him, too!

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.”