The Grands Letter

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.”

Dear Grands,

2 Corinthians 4:1-4, “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,

2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the

manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the

glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Every single day, the President comes forth with a press interview in which he outlines the Nation’s continuing response to the

COVID-19 virus that has infected our nation and our world. In my process of communication today, I received the following challenge from a young lady:

“I was asked to be a part of 1 million+ prayer chain to pray for the slowing of the Corona virus and the gospel to go forth

through this in whatever means God has planned for our nation. The idea is you pray when you receive this text and then

send it to 8 other people, (but in your case, you have loads of folks I’m sure you’d love to send this off to!!”) Clever girl!

The Apostle Paul had a similar, but more vital challenge. There were difficulties in his challenge, too. But, he received and dispensed his challenge without losing heart. He began by renouncing shameful things in his own life. We don’t know what Paul was referencing in his own life, but we do know what our consciences tell us is wrong in our own lives! One thing we do know is that all wrongs, whether with Paul or with us or with other believers – it all hides the Gospel from those who need to be saved. Yes, Satan is masking the Gospel against the minds of lost people, too; but so are our sinful lives! He’s getting us to do his filthy work by being tainted with his own filthiness. I wonder who’s the sucker that’s falling for his evil tricks? Humm…

I printed the young lady’s request (although she did not request that I do it in this venue) because I believe in prayer. The most skilled of surgeons scrub before they go to surgery. Scrubbing really has nothing to do with their surgical abilities, but they want to be clean from every microscopic object that is possibly on their hands, lest the surgical procedure itself be nullified by germs. The same is true

of our praying. We may have the words to say, and the knowledge of how vital it is that the LORD responds, yet if our lives are littered with the germs of sin, the LORD will not respond to our prayers as we wish.

Recently, I have been asked whether I think this COVID-19 has any bearing on the Last Days. Listen to these closing words of Jesus

in Matthew 24:21-22:

“…there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.

“And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall

be cut short.”

The Coming of the LORD Jesus is infinitely closer than when I was that young lady’s age. Time is on the march! Be vigilant! Be courageous! Be clean! Be prayerful! Share Jesus! He wants to save the lost! And through this COVID-19, He is getting the world’s attention!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Please feel free to share this young lady’s request with others. We’re all in this together.

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 2:14-16, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet

aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.”

If you’ve ever gone somewhere, expecting to be met by a close and beloved friend, only to find he was not there, you have

more than a good idea how the Apostle Paul felt when he arrived in Troas and found that the intended Titus was not there.

Instead of commencing his ministry, Paul went in search of Titus.

Paul never mentions whether he found Titus. Apparently, he did not, because he journeyed on to Macedonia. And all the time,

he was praising the LORD saying, “…thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ…” Paul would not allow

anything to mask the joy he possessed in Christ. To the contrary, he spoke of Christ as manifesting the “sweet aroma of the

knowledge of Him in every place.”

There are commentators that see a parallel between what Paul states about an aroma and the incense carried by militarists

coming home in Roman triumph over an adversary. That may be true; yet, I like to think that Paul’s reference came from

Christ Himself. When we are like Him, we demonstrate a charismatic aroma of love and courage that reveals to others that

we know Him and are dependent upon Him for every victory our life experiences. Moreover, that spiritual aroma is Christ’s

aroma working its way through us and anchoring itself in the Father. Even pleasant physical aroma is always cited in Scripture

as a tribute to the LORD.

At the same time, that aroma is noted by those among whom we walk. It may manifest itself through us to others in a smile of

love, or in a tender act of kindness, or through a thoughtfully sincere word of encouragement in a dark and uncertain hour. When appropriate, that aroma bursts forth in courageous triumph, sharing the Good News to those who are bound by the chains of sin.

Who knows who is awaiting such a word? And sensing the aroma of Life in us, no doubt they wonder why we fail to share such

good things with them. When was the last time you courageously shared Christ with someone? Do it today! Jesus will provide

the courage you need. He provides the aroma, too, that makes them want you to stay close and share His love.

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.”