The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers;

3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the

presence of our God and Father…”

I am thinking of two words that are all-too-often missing in our verbal and written conversations today. Can you guess what they are? They are “thank you.”

I am thinking of someone for whom those two words are all-too-often missing. Can you guess who that person is?

The person is the LORD JESUS! It is He who deserves our thanks. And we should find and say “Thank you, LORD” each time when we pray. We are currently living under a virus crisis; fewer things are purchasable than they were a few months ago. Maybe…just maybe, the LORD allowed all of this to cause us to be thankful for what we have. We take far too many things for granted!

Further, we should bear in mind three distinct things: 1) the work of faith; 2) the labor of love; and steadfastness of hope. The faith that we possess is His work within us. Without the LORD, we would have no faith. We express faith because the Holy Spirit who lives within us prompts it. He nudges us and say, “Well, thank God for what you have! Go on thank Him.” The labor of love is from Him as well. Labor (kopos) is more intense than work (ergon). In another place, Paul tells us that “the greatest of these is love.” So, we are to work at loving one another! Some people are not easy to love; and some of us don’t love too well, either. Thus, when love shows itself, it is of and from the LORD.

Finally, there is the “steadfastness of hope.” Steadfastness (hupomone) is “patient endurance,” and hope (elpis) is future certainty to the believer. I’m by nature an impatient person. You may be one, too. It’s not a good position for any of us. God’s timing is always best! You and I know that; why don’t we just leave everything in God’s Hands? I’ll verture to say why: we’re just more worldly than we are spiritual. You don’t have to be doing something egregiously sinful to be called “worldly.” You just have to lack trust in the LORD and His timing. Think about all of this: faith, love,

and hope. They’re qualities that bring glory to our blessed LORD! And when we think of what He has done for us, it exceedingly small that we should praise Him for it.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Remember to pray for Whitney Tilson’s salvation; and don’t forget the Sight & Sound Theatre production of “JESUS,” Wednesday

night on TBN (TBNHD) at 08:00 P. M. CST.

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 4:2-4, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth

the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;

4 in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

Always the teacher, Paul commences his wrap-up of the Colossian Letter by a heavy emphasis on prayers. “Devote” (????????????, proskartereo, meaning “attend to with continuing resoluteness; maintain close adherence; persist in.” What’s more, keep alert in prayer. We are to approach God as God, keeping mindful that we are to maintain an attitude of thanksgiving.

Furthermore, prayers from a clean, honest, spiritual heart open “a door for the Word!” People who will not listen and even sternly resist the Word (the Bible) can have their hearts opened to hear the Word when we effectively pray.

At the same time, our prayers open the mysteries of Jesus Christ, things about Him and things He’s said that are

contained in the Bible – things that otherwise, we could not understand.

Do you get the idea that Paul believed in prayer? He sure did! I am attaching with this Letter a Chart on Prayer.

Start at the top and work downward on the Chart. Begin your prayers by praising the LORD! Praise Him for everything you can think of that He has provided for you. Continue by acknowledging His sovereignty. God does

what He wants. Then thank Him for His Divine Provisions: food, shelter, health, etc. –all of which are governed by the LORD Himself. Pray that He will keep you free from Satan and all of his tricks. Finally give thanks and praise Him

as you did at the beginning of your prayer.

You will discover new things that He has provided, so your prayers won’t become stale or ritualistic! He is your Father! Talk to Him like you talk to a father. There are no “special words,” just loving, praise for all He has done.

God bless you abundantly, as you pray!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. You can thank Him for Samaritan’s Purse, those who gave the Gospel to Whitney Tilson! Pray for the President and Vice President,

the Secretary of State, Secretary of Education –all of whom are born-again Christians. We have no idea how powerful God is!

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 3:23-25, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men;

24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

A good teacher never leaves anything unsaid. Paul was an excellent teacher; he taught us in earlier verses to do

everything well and in the name of the LORD Jesus, always giving thanks through Him to God the Father. He then launched into instructions for Christian wives, husbands, children, and servants, concluding with how believers are to characterize their work.

What kind of work we do really doesn’t matter. It can be exceedingly difficult and take days or so utterly simple that can be concluded in a few short moments. What matters is that we do it “heartily,” putting forth our best effort as if it were being done for the LORD –because it is! Just think: if companies that never before made ventilators can transform their assembly lines to enable them to turn out thousands per day, they should realize the LORD was in it!

We can readily assume that such companies are being well paid to make that transformation and produce those ventilators. That only seems right; however, if they produced them “as for the LORD,” they will receive an added reward from Him. God is no man’s debtor. If, however, the owners do it only for the money, they will “receive the consequences of the wrong” they have done. Company stock may drop and blame will be placed on something else; however, the LORD will have reduced their profits because they were in it for the money instead of doing it as unto Him. “He who does wrong,” it says, “will receive the consequences of the wrong…” God does not play favorites!

The big question is: Are we doing everything we do for the LORD? And are we doing it heartily? Think about that! The stakes are exceedingly high!

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 3:16-17, “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.”

This coming August will commemorate the end of World War 2, now 75 years ago. Thinking back on that era (I was only 10 when the war ended.), I recalled how much of a roll music played in our lives and the lives of men serving in the military. Songs, as Paul notes in verse 16 above, are encouraging and enlightening to those of us in Christ as well.

Paul calls our attention to three types of music: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. It’s difficult to distinguish exactly what he means because music in his day was as different from music today, just as David’s music in the psalms was doubtlessly different from Paul’s day. What is MOST IMPORTANT, however, is that the songs he commends come from “the Word of Christ” that dwells within us. I grew up on music. My folks were musicians and sang and wrote poetry and music. (Why, pray tell, did my sister get all the talent?) I love classical music, soft orchestral music, and Gospel music that glorifies Christ. I seldom have gloomy times; but when I do, good, solid Christian music brings me out of it quite refreshingly!

The key point that I believe Paul wants us to understand is that it is the Word of God that produces the kind of music that glorifies our LORD Jesus. And it is the key to our thanksgiving for His salvation of our souls! Furthermore, good Christian music teaches and admonishes us to yield more completely to Him. Study this from Charles Wesley:

And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness Divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

“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.” My prayer is that both of us might be what He died and arose that we might be!

God bless you abundantly!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Please keep praying for Whitney Tilson in NYC. He has heard the Gospel; now he needs to receive it.

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 3:14-15, “And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

When Paul talked about forgiveness back in verse 13, he instructed that we should erase completely all thoughts of retribution toward those who had sinned against us. After all, the LORD forgave us much more than we could ever forgive others.

Now, Paul is promoting love and unity, the factors that result from forgiveness. Where “self” had previously ruled, he now insists that we allow the “peace” that Christ has given to rule in our hearts. Yet, how is that possible?

When we first trusted Christ as LORD and Savior or our lives, He forgave our sin, washed us clean within, and put the Holy Spirit within us. Christ demonstrated externally through His life how God wanted us to live. The Holy Spirit now works within us, knowing that left alone, we would reverse course and start living like we did before trusting Him as Savior. Thus, we have Jesus Christ’s example externally and the Holy Spirit’s leadership internally. This is precisely why we were saved: that we might show through our lives the power and love of the LORD: power to live; power to love.

“Self” cannot be trusted; thus, the Spirit was given to us to control us. Cars, motorcycles, and airplanes are all contain raw power in themselves; but to be effective and useful, they need someone to pilot and control them. That’s the Spirit’s responsibility. He is there to guide us. It’s our responsibility to listen to His direction and allow Him to control us. I think you will find it much to your advantage to allow the LORD to guide you over the rough spots in life.

Oh, and be thankful to the LORD for His love, forgiveness, and direction!!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Let’s keep praying for the salvation of Whitney Tilson! Remember, someone prayed for you.

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.”