The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 1:1-4, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in

Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

in Christ,

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.”

Ephesus, in the time of Paul, was the second largest city in the Roman Empire. Ephesus was a city of about 250,000 people, and was known, among other things, for its famous Temple of Diana (Artemis). Paul had been there and indeed there were true Christians in the city. It was to them that the apostle said, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ.”

You’ve doubtlessly heard grace described as “God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense.” Peace is the confidence of God’s love. The two little words “to you” are in Greek known as the dative (case) of advantage. Grace is to our advantage because without our LORD’s love there would be no redemption of mankind from sin.

Paul goes further to say that through salvation, God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing” that is currently housed in Christ in the heavenlies. Just pause and think about that for a moment. If the LORD were to ask you to name the one thing you would like more than any other, what would you say? WAIT!!! Don’t ask yet! Think for a moment. (Hint: remember Solomon? The LORD asked him that very thing. What did Solomon say? Do you remember? He asked for wisdom. [2 Chron 1:7-12]) Is that what you would say if the LORD asked you? I wonder….

Paul also says that the LORD “chose us in Him (Christ)…that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” Holy means sacred; blameless carries the idea of “above reproach.” Just as godly parents didn’t produce children so they could be drug addicts and tear down the family name, God didn’t save us so we could bring reproach on His Name! The best way to destroy the goddess Artemis is not to smash and tear down her pagan image; rather, it is simply to win Ephesians to faith in Christ. Ultimately, Artemis will disappear.

But if Christian lives are no different from what their pagan lives were before meeting Christ, Christ has effectively been brought down to the level of a pagan god.

Now, let’s put the question again: “If the LORD were to ask you to name the one thing you would like more than any other, what would you say?” I’m praying for you daily. Please pray for me.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. All politics aside, our President and Vice President live under unimaginable pressure every day! It is our Christian duty to pray for those

who are in authority over us. I live under some pressure. You do, too; but none of us knows the pressure of a president.

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,

1 Chronicles 20:5-8, “And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the

Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

6 And again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each

hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants.

7 And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

8 These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. (1 Chr. 20:5-8

NAS).

Before basketball gave way to cancellation, I saw some interesting games on television. On more than one occasion, I saw teams

trail by 10 or more points in the mid-to-late minutes of the second half only to then come back to beat their opponent. Those were really

thrillers! It gives new meaning to the old saying, “It’s not over until it’s over.”

If there is humor in Heaven, I’d like to chide David just a little –not because he killed Goliath, but because he failed to kill Goliath’s brother, Lahmi. But, I’d have to be careful because Shimea, David’s brother, killed a giant of Gath, who had six toes on each foot and

six fingers on each hand. He might overhear our conversation.

The point of these verses above is this: No matter what evil comes against you, it is erasable if you trust the LORD. Further, no matter

how many evils you erase by faith in the LORD, there will always be another that is set to infiltrate your life. We never completely get rid of evil; yet, at the same time, we always have the LORD as our sword and our shield from evil.

I’ve often heard preachers tell of instances when they battled evil and won. (I should probably include myself in this group, as I’m as

susceptible to pride as anyone.) Yet, when you hear men brag about how they conquered this or that, just remember the Scripture that says, “Pride goes before destruction; and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18 KJV). Sometimes men (and women) speak

as if their sin were all in the past; when in reality, they are still caught up and entangled in it.

Jesus said, “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; and anything beyond these is of evil” (Matt. 5:37 NAS).

It is possible for a team to win in the final seconds of the game. It is also possible for a believer (even a preacher) to overcome evil in

his own life. But it is never due to his own initiative! It is the LORD who died for our sins; and it is He who wrestles with sin in our lives

and it is He who ultimately conquers it. We just need to stop feeding the wrong and allow the LORD to do His work in our lives!

Think about this as we move toward the Crucifixion and Resurrection remembrance days.

Jesus paid it all;

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

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,

John 19:10-12, “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I

have authority to crucify You?’

11 Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered

Me up to you has the greater sin.’

12 As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, ‘If you release this Man, you are no friend of

Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.’”

One of the fundamental causes of trouble circumscribes this matter of authority. Most problems that exist have something to do with authority. Sometimes those very persons in authority misuse the authority they have been granted. Such was the case with Pontius Pilate. When Jesus refused to answer Pilate, he stormed at Jesus saying, “I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You.”

I come from a small town in southwest Missouri. Long before I was born, there was a marshal in our town. I’m not sure whether he even carried a gun. But he had been duly authorized to keep the peace and he had a badge. Boys that intended to break into a

building for whatever might have been there, changed their minds when they heard the soft voice of the marshal saying, “Now, boys,

I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” And they didn’t. The authority was not in a gun or a badge or even a loud and harsh shout. Authority

lay in the knowledge of who the marshal was.

It was the same with Jesus. At the very moment of Pilate’s insistence that authority lay in his hands, Jesus could have summoned

12,000 angels to assist Him in convincing Pilate otherwise. Jesus never challenged Pilate’s authority. Instead, He simply said, The only authority you have over Me is because My Heavenly Father has allowed you to have it. This was all predetermined by the Father. Pilate was not exonerated from culpability in this matter; it was simply stated that the Jews, who had delivered Jesus unto him had the “greater sin.” Yes, there are some sins that are greater than others. In this instance, the Jews had committed the greater sin.

I was on an airplane headed for Sydney. The man across the aisle was a wealthy, friendly Jew. In the midst of a very pleasant conversation, I handed him our Team paper, The Evangelist. He read every word, then turned to me and said in a very audible voice,

“WHY DOES EVERYONE BLAME THE JEWS FOR CRUCIFING JESUS?” I replied in kind and in audibility and said, “BECAUSE YOU DID! – and so did I.” Those last four words should be personalized, as you read them. YOU crucified Jesus! –and so did I. But, He died as the Sacrifice necessary for the Father’s forgiveness. Has He forgiven you? If not, now is the opportune time. Yield your life to Him in faith. You don’t have to understand it all right now –just ask Him to forgive your sin; and trust Him to do it. How will you know whether He has forgiven you? Believe me, YOU WILL KNOW! Your life will be changed forever!

Is there any better time for you to be saved than in the season when we celebrate Jesus’ Death and Resurrection? I don’t think so. Just surrender the authority of your life to Him. You will have more authority when you yield to His authority. You will see.

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,

1 Corinthians 8:9-13, “But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

10 For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened

to eat things sacrificed to idols?

11 For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.

12 And thus, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble.”

The Attorney General of my state (Arkansas) is known to everyone as a devout Christian lady. She distributes regular email

warnings regarding criminal activities of which we all should be aware. The most recent dealt with “price gouging.” When goods

become scarce, there is a tendency by some vendors to raise the price, knowing that some will pay more, and the vendors will

make more. In this state, when the Governor declares a state of emergency, raising the price more than 10 percent is considered

illegal.

The cost of anything is largely determined by the need and/or will of the buyer. Most people will eat where the food is good, but

less expensive than somewhere else. It was the same in Paul’s day. Meat that had been sacrificed to idols, was subsequently

sold to the general public at a lesser price than in other establishments. Christians in Paul’s day often purchased the lesser priced

meat, and that disturbed Paul. Were someone to witness a believer “dining in an idol’s temple,” the possibility of his conscience

being weakened was increased. It’s like smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages today. Some Christians believe they have the

right to participate in these things. But, were someone with a weak conscience to behold an older Christian participating in such

activities, his own conscience might be crushed.

We are our brothers’ keeper. We are not only to share the Gospel clearly and accurately, we are to live it as well. Paul felt so

keenly about this that he said, “If food causes my brother to stumble I will never eat meat again.” What we say must be supported

by what we do. The Holy Spirit pricks our consciences to shield us from ungodliness. At the same time, we too often tell ourselves

that our behavior is supported by what older, “spiritual,” believers do. So, our consciences are rocked back and forth between what

we know is right and what we still want to justify doing. The freedom we have in Christ is the freedom to do His will, not our own!

Let’s check our lives daily, lest we fall into sin and lead others into it as well. “Freedom is not always free.”

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,

2 Corinthians 3:12-14, “Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,

13 and are not as Moses, who used to put a veil over his face that the sons of Israel might not look

intently at the end of what was fading away.

14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same

veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.”

Everything of true significence in the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. Remember

the saying,

“The New is in the Old concealed;

The Old is in the New revealed”?

So it is in the verses previous to ours here. Paul had been talking about Moses and the veil (mask)

that he wore to prevent the children of Israel from seeing the glory of the LORD fade from his face.

Since we have a greater hope than Moses, we ought to have great boldness in speaking of the

LORD.

When people don’t know the LORD Jesus Christ, their minds are hardened. The Jews who read

Scripture today, read it in Hebrew! And in Hebrew, there is greater meaning than in any language into

which the Old Testament has been translated. So, why do they not see “the Old revealed”? Simply,

because they have a veil over their minds. “Well, why don’t they remove that veil?” They cannot

because it is removed only in Christ.

What Paul says about the Jews here can be understood of Muslims, Hindus –any of the religions

of the world—in that salvation in Jesus Christ opens the door of the mind and the heart of all lost

persons. Furthermore, He gives us the understanding of salvation and the courage to make it

known to others.

I received a mailing today from Child Evangelism Fellowship, based in Warrenton, Missouri. A video

showed African children facinated with the bold, colored pictures that helped tell the story of Jesus.

One child was so excited that she shared it with her non-Christian parents. Ultimately, the entire

family came to faith in Christ; and that family founded the only Christian church in that area of Africa!

You have no idea what your witness of Jesus can do! Be courageous! Be bold! Be loving! Help

remove the masks from the minds of those who have yet to meet Jesus! The time is NOW!

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.”