The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 6:5-8, “And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.”

When I was young and engaged in evangelistic meetings, one of the things we often did in the afternoons was to go out witnessing to the lost. I clearly remember when I once insisted that we pray instead of going out in our usual way to witness. My colleagues protested. It was not that I did not want to witness, I just sensed that we should spend more time in prayer.

I am fearful that the lack of serious prayer is a major fault in our Christian lives. Jesus’ instruction regarding prayer was both negative and positive. We are not to pray in the effort to impress those who might hear us. We must remember that we are talking to God, not to men. On the other hand, we are to shut ourselves away from others, so that the LORD alone hears our petitions.
Even then, we’re to be guarded against using “meaningless repetitions.” We will be praying as He directed, when no one can hear us except the LORD.

The passage above tells us the “Father knows what (we) need, before (we) ask Him.” Why then should we pray? Parents understand this. Their child comes to them with a petition, and they know what the petition is long before the child expresses it. “Well,” you ask, “if the LORD knows it all before we ask, why is it necessary for us to ask at all?” It is necessary because in asking, we honor and revere His position as Almighty God. Earnest, closeted prayer eliminates our taking Him for granted. He wants to grant our petitions! Still, we must always ask for His glory, not for our own.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Philippians 4:6-8, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

A dear and precious friend of mine left the following in my inbox this very morning:

“I didn’t think I would be here after a meltdown through the night, but He is so faithful.
Anxiety about what time I have left. I awoke to this hymn in my mind and heart:”

I heard an old, old story
How a Savior came from glory
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me
I heard about His groaning
Of His precious blood’s atoning
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory

O victory in Jesus
My Savior, forever
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him
He plunged me to victory
Beneath the cleansing flood

My guess is that many, if not all, of us have had bad nights. We’ve wrestled with sleep until the break of dawn. And as the years roll by, we’ve wondered how many days and nights do we have left. It’s normal when there are underlying problems that deprive us from restful sleep.

People differ in such situations, however, when the LORD Jesus is omitted from the equasion. My friend knows the Lord! And he has once again been made aware that he is here until the LORD calls him Home.

“Be anxious for nothing,” the Bible says. Still, it’s easier said than done. The word “anxious” (?????????) has both a positive and a negative meaning. In the positive sense, it means “to care for; to be concerned about.” That’s what we want from doctors and nurses who are attending to our welfare in hospitals.

In the negative sense, it means being “overly concerned, worried.” It borders on a lack of faith. The word itself is mentioned 14 times in the Scriptures. Nine of the 14 are New Testament references. We believers are not to “overly concerned” about anything because we know the LORD Jesus Christ, and have committed our lives into His care. And with all due respect, His care is infinitely superior to the most skilled, knowledgable and trusted doctor anywhere.

Our humanity often screams out against the element of faith. That’s natural. Even we who are the LORD’s children are still possessed of a human nature. Fear and anxiety are normal. We have not previously passed into the valley of death. Still, death itself has both a positive and a negative meaning. The positive is our eternal embrace in the arms of the Savior; the negative is separation from Him for all eternity. That’s why His ministers everywhere are urging everyone to yield to Him is faith. And sometimes, doctors are His ministers.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Luke 9:28-31, “And some eight days after these sayings, it came about that He took along Peter and John and James, and went up to the mountain to pray.
29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,
31 who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

Have you ever wondered just why Jesus often went to a mountain to pray? Twice before (Mark 6:46 and Luke 6:12), he had gone to a mountain to pray. The further away we remove ourselves from the things of this world, the closer we can be to the LORD. Jesus was closer to His Father when He was on a mountain.

Strange things occur when we are closer to the LORD. On the occasion of these verses above, two men appeared and were identified as Moses and Elijah. James and John experienced all of this, too; but Peter, was so excited that he wanted to stay there, it seems, forever. Were you ever in a situation that was so glorious, you just wanted to stay there?

But why were Moses and Elijah there? What was their significance? Yes, they were godly men of the past, but so were many others. Despite their past godliness, there were two significant differences in them. Moses died without ever seeing the Promised Land. Elijah, however, was translated into Heaven without experiencing death. Moses, therefore, is a type of all believers, who have died or who will die. Elijah is a type of the believers, who will be living when Jesus comes to gather them to Himself for eternity!

The big question, therefore, is whether we are ready to meet the LORD? Death should never scare a believer, because it is simply a transition from Earth to Heaven. Yet neither should should any believer fear meeting his LORD. Look joyfully toward the day when you will be delivered from the putryfying degradation of this world and be eternally with Him! Are you ready? I pray that you are.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Proberbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.”

Luke 1:5-10, “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
8 Now it came about, while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.”

This Letter is born out of a telephone conversation I had recently with a long-time friend. We were discussing our spiritual ventures and how the LORD had worked miraculously to lead us into His paths of righteousness. Even before one of us was saved, the LORD withheld information that could have put us on different paths. At other times, He directed our pathways in strange and miraculous ways, bringing us into blessing we could never have encountered without Him.

Such was the way of Old Testament people and the way of Zacharias in our text above. Casting lots was somewhat similar to the casting of dice; yet, it was thoroughly spiritual in nature. Such was never given to chance! Remember that all that is contained in the verses above occurred prior to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Notice too, that the people not directly involved in the priesthood, were praying as the lots were cast.

Faith in the LORD is always to be trusted above mere chance. Earnest prayer is answered by the LORD, and we must always understand and acknowledge His involvement in the process. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING happens by chance! Sometimes, He blots out our thinking; sometimes, He permits us to know and say things we had neither prepared nor ever intended to say. The key to what He withholds or permits is divinely controlled and inextricably linked with prayer. Oh, how vital it is that we know Him in salvation; for then His indwelling Spirit will enable our prayers to coincide with His divine will to produce blessing in our lives and in the lives of others!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Luke 24:1-3; 14-16; 30-31, 45-47,“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
—
14 And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place.
15 And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and began traveling with them.
16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
—
30 And it came about that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
—
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day;
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

The crucifixion of Jesus was the talk of people everwhere! I urge you to read the entirety of Luke 24. It is vividly enlightening! Even the disciples of Jesus had difficulty believing it. Then, there were two men en route to Emmaus. They were talking about the resurrection and how they had hoped Jesus to have been the promised Messiah. Jesus Himself then appeared to them, but “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” It was when they were praying prior to breaking bread that “their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.”

Ultimately, Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures;” He taught them that repentance (sorrowful admittance) of sin was necessary for them to gain forgiveness, and subsequently, they were to proclaim His Name to all nations throughout the Earth!

My prayer is that your eyes might be opened to God’s Truth – that you might understand Jesus to be the Christ, who can save your soul for Eternity. The life we are living now is not all there is. There is an eternal life available to everyone who will simply believe. Do you believe? It’s so easy to believe: Just prayerfully admit to God that you have sinned against Him. (You know that you have! It’s just hard to admit it.) Ask Him to forgive you, then believe that He has. He will open your eyes and heart to understand the Bible. And the Bible is the spiritual food you need to understand Him and His teachings.

I have witnessed hundreds of people who have trusted Him! Yet, you will never know His salvation to be true until you experience it yourself by faith. May God help you to believe Him. My prayer as I write is that you will.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom