The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Corinthians 12:9, “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

One of the long-time, yet unsolved biblical mysteries surrounds the Apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” We won’t solve that mystery here, but we will explore and discover the value –yes, I said value – of that mystery.

If we understand the apostle clearly and accurately, we will discard the speculations regarding the mystery, and focus upon its value. A boy who has been told repeatedly not to pester his smaller school chum learns to focus on the value of his own bloody nose.

The Apostle Paul found his weakness troubling, and on three specific occasions, he asked the LORD to remove the impediment. The LORD denied His servant’s request, insisting that His grace was sufficient. In time, Paul learned that depending upon the LORD was of greater value than the removal of that “thorn-in-the-flesh,” whatever it was.

Is that not possible with you and me? Instead of worrying about what “hurts,” or “what is missing” as we labor in His service, suppose we simply forget about our deficiencies and trust fully on the LORD. Paul discovered that having a weakness left him fully dependent upon Christ. Christ is always there!

“But, why,” you ask, “does not Christ Jesus simply answer our need? Isn’t is possible that He could make our witness more effective, anyway?” Of course, that is possible, but would we then be as consistently dependent upon Him? Probably not. Yet, just as parents desire their children to be dependent upon them, so our LORD desires us to be dependent upon Him. Yield everything to Him! Trust Him implicitly! Be weak! He will make you strong!

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,

Ezra 9:8, “But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.”

This small verse in the book of Ezra speaks quite loudly to our Western Civilization.

Ezra was indeed a man of prayer. The Jewish people of his day had sinned grossly, and Ezra was faithfully praying for them. In the midst of his spiritual solicitation of the LORD’s mercy, he voiced the words of our verse for today.

The LORD is faithful and gracious; despite the sins of His people, He loves them. In the midst of Ezra’s prayer, he sees a brief moment wherein the LORD extends grace to His people. He then further notes that the LORD has given “us a peg in His holy place.” What does that mean?

In a previous Letter, we learned that the vowel points beneath the Hebrew letters could change the meaning of the word. Now, we learn that a single Hebrew word can have various meanings. “Peg,” for instance, can mean a nail, a pin, a spade, or a paddle. In metaphorical terms, it can mean a “prince” or “head of state,” seeing that the government is “pinned” to him. Interestingly, too, is the fact that the prince is often described in Scripture as “the corner stone,” a designation applied exclusively to Jesus.

The teaching, therefore, is that God enables the eyes of His people to be enlightened, when they trust in Him, and He grants them “a little reviving in the midst of their bondage.” It would seem that this is precisely what our entire Western Civilization needs as this pandemic swirls madly about us.

In Ezra’s day, the LORD’s people were the Jews. They are still in His focus, as is evident from His reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948. Subsequent to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, however, His people are comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, each of whom has personally trusted in Him as their LORD and Savior. It is, thus, for us as Christians to pray for His grace and share His Good News with all who do not know Him. Stay in the Word! Don’t neglect to pray! And God will bless you 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,

Ezra 10:1-2, “Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women, and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly.

2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, ‘We have been unfaithful to our God, and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.’”

Have you ever done something that was wrong or left undone something you had promised to do? Did your wrong provoke a sense of guilt? If so, that’s what’s called a “conscience.” Conscience is heightened considerably when we do something we realize is not in accordance with the will of God.

Conscience is what caused Ezra to weep profusely while praying and confessing the sins of the LORD’s people. He had a conscience regarding his people as he stood before God. Shecaniah, too, expressed the unfaithfulness of the people, further revealing that many men had married women of foreign lands.

The LORD had forbidden intermarriage of His people with foreigners. His purpose was to eliminate the possibility of foreign women introducing foreign gods to the LORD’s people. God always has a reason for everything He does. At the same time, He is under no obligation to reveal the reasons that are basic to His purposes.

Many an employee has been directed to do something, the purpose of which he didn’t understand. Yet, as the employee, he need not understand the rationale; he is there simply to carry out the employer’s orders. So it is with us in our spiritual relationship with God. Examination of the LORD’s directives shows that some are called to preach; some are called to the mission fields of the world; some are called into education; and some are called into business.

A man in a church I once served was so spiritually active that I asked him, “Are you sure the LORD didn’t call you to preach?” He looked seriously at me and replied, “I’d give anything if the He had. I’ve always wanted to be a preacher –but He didn’t call me.”

Don’t ever attempt to dodge what the LORD wants of you! He knows you and your abilities better than you know them. After all, He gave them to you! Just be prepared to undertake whatever He wills for your life. And stay away –far away—from any and all things that could move you in an ungodly direction.

Staying morally and spiritually clean is the best preparation for whatever you ultimately undertake. Stay in the Word! Stay prayerful close to the LORD. Always be willing.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. These are unbelievably tough days! Pray for our Governmental leaders. Some I know personally

to be true believers in our LORD Jesus Christ. They need and deserve our prayers.

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,

Ezra 7:10, “For Ezra had set his heart to study () ???????darash(, carefully search) the law of the LORD, and to practice ( ) ??????asah(, live it out), and to teach () ?????lamad(, skillfully instruct) His statutes and ordinances in Israel.”

If you’ve ever thought of ministers as having little or no problems, you need to think again! There may be no more rigorous responsibilities than are found in the Gospel Ministry. Far too many issues fall upon ministers; that’s one reason why they need our continual prayers.

One of the best guides for ministers is contained in our verses above: study, practice, teach. The spiritual responsibilities of a pastor center in those three words. He absolutely must study! And study must come from the Word of God. Ezra saw study as priority to both practice and teaching. There’s an old saying that “Those who know, do; all the rest teach.” Cute, but hardly accurate.

Study demands careful research. Did you notice those little marks below the Hebrew letters in the verse above? Those are vowel points. The alteration of those vowel points can change the entire meaning of the word. Once the accuracy of the word has been determined, it must, if at all possible, be checked with the New Testament. All of this takes training and time.

Study leads to practice. At least, it ought to do so. Ministers who don’t live by their own studies, speak against themselves. Many ministers today lack serious study, making it difficult for those, without the depth of formal Scriptural study, to know all that God is fully saying through His Word.

Practice leads to teaching. In one sense, the practice of one’s study is teaching. For when we live out what we have studied, we are modeling the biblical, Christian life. Make no mistake; the lost are watching closely. They want to know if what we preach is what we practice. When they see that it is, they will listen to our teaching. Of course, Satan is watching, also. He would like nothing more than to discredit our teaching by enabling us to fail. See that you don’t.

“Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against

the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).

In the end, Satan will be defeated! He and his minions will be cast eternally into the Lake of Fire. Whether those we now know will then be with Jesus depends largely on whether we are faithfully sharing Him while we have opportunity. So study the Bible daily! Live out the Life of Christ within you! And personally teach those who are lost.

There’s no better way! There’s no other way!

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,

Matthew 4:8-11, “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the

kingdoms of the world, and their glory;

9 and he said to Him, “All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your

God, and serve Him only.'”

11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

There’s an old adage that says, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Whoever penned it, must have gotten it from the devil. Why? Because he has failed twice in the greatest, historical swindle of all time to seduce Jesus; yet he positions himself for one, final try.

In this final phase of Satan’s effort to subdue Jesus, he sought to dazzle Him with the glittering things of the world. (Have you noticed that he’s still at it with all of us?) The devil displayed before Christ all the glories he could muster, control, power, riches! Paul speaks of Satan as “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), and that he “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.” Thus, Satan might have believed that he could turn Jesus’ head by the glories he displayed, if only He would “fall down and worship me (Satan).” What impudence to say such a thing!

In a somewhat different context, Paul says, “The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay…?” (Rom. 9:20-21). Of course, Satan knew what he was asking was wrong. He created wrong, away back in the Garden of Eden. He wanted to be in charge! He might even have known that his temptation of Christ would result in failure. How much Satan knows, we are not told. What we do know is that with the seventh angel’s pronouncement (Rev. 11:15), loud voices in Heaven cried, ” “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever!”

Is the LORD Jesus Christ in control of your life? If not, why not? Jesus alone will triumph in the end! I’ve pledged my life to Him. I urge you to pledge your life to Him, too!

Revelation 5:11-14, “And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb (Jesus) that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’ 13And every created thing which is in Heaven and on the Earth and under the Earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’ 14And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped.”

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.”