The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 22:1-2 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to
him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land
of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I
will tell you.”

Revelation 22:14-15, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have
the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers
and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

The word “love” is mentioned some 740 times in the whole of Scripture. It’s possibly the most used word at Christmas time. Yet, like all words, its importance lies in how it’s used and also by whom. In Genesis, it is recorded that Abraham loved his son Isaac; thus, the LORD tested Abraham to see if he loved (????? aheb) and trusted Him more than his son.

Love is also mentioned in a negative sense in the Revelation verses above. There the Word speaks of loving and practicing lying, things we ought not to do.

The Biblical Dictionary says, “While the Hebrew and Greek words for ‘love’ have various shades and intensities of meaning, they may be summed up in some such definition as this: Love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the well-being of the one loved.” In other words, we must have the other person’s interest in view above that of our own if we are to call it love.

There are three basic Greek words that translate “love”: ?????? agapao, the divine love that Christ Jesus had for us when He died on the Cross for our sins. Trench says that agape is “a word born within the bosom of revealed religion.” Closely aligned with agape is ????? phileo, which expresses affection for another person.

The third word for “love” is eros, sensual passion. It falls fully outside of everything pure. Trench speaks forcefully when he says, “I observe in conclusion that eros… never occurs in the New Testament (and) there is no trace of it in any heathen writer whatever.” Some words lie not only outside the realm of Holy Scripture, but completely outside of historical literature.

It’s unfortunate that English has but one word for love. We use the same word in reference to things holy and things unholy. God’s Love, however, is always pure. So, when we speak of “love, it should always be in the context of purity. “God loved us and sent His Son.”

Think about the purity of Jesus Christ in contrast to your own life. You long to be pure, and you can be. Just confess your impurity to Christ and He will wash you clean. God bless you!

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,

John 1:1-5, 9-13, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that
has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know
Him.
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even
to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Nothing existed before God. The Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit together comprise God. This passage tells us that Jesus is the Word, and

“…although He existed in the form of God, (He) did not regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped (retained), but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8).

Yes, there are those who have refused to accept Jesus as the true Son of God. Yet, those
who do believe in Him, and accept His Sacrifice of Himself on the Cross for their sins, live
their lives in peace with confidence in His Resurrection from the dead.

This is HIS DAY! What’s more, it can be your day as well. Pray this simple prayer; pray it
in faith. Jesus is the Light and He will drive darkness from you!

“Dear LORD, I have sinned against you, and I am sorry. Thank You for
dying on the Cross for my sins. Please forgive me of my sins and make
me one of your children. Take over the reigns of my life that it may glorify
You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.”

Now, just trust Jesus as you would a surgeon who was going to operate on you! Believe that
He heard your prayer; thank Him for saving you from sin. Start reading the Bible, so that you
can learn of Him. His Holy Spirit now resides in you and will guide your conscience to live
according to His will. God bless you!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

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

P. S. If you prayed this prayer and are no trusting Jesus as your LORD and Savior,
please write me and share your commitment. I will not share your name. That’s
for you to do, when your friends want to know what’s happened to you.

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

Dear Grands,

John 3:14-18, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

I have always been quite out-spoken. I won’t mention the names of any of my ancestors, but there were some from whom I undoubtedly “inherited” that trait. I have not always been correct in my assessment of things, but no one could ever say that it was impossible to know what I believed.

The people of God –those whom He had led out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land—“spoke against God and Moses…” (Num. 21). It’s often easy to forget how blessed we are with our leaders! The Israelites had plenty of food and water, but they tired of the same old food; so, they criticized Moses and the LORD! There was a penalty for such criticism; and the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people –serpents that bit people and caused them to die. Now, they are in a dilemma! They need the LORD they criticized and they need His servant, Moses!

What the LORD commanded, Moses obediently produced. He made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole, allowing the people to repent. When they saw other suffer death, they appealed to Moses for help. Isn’t that the way it always works? The ones we criticize are the only ones on whom we can count to help us.

The brazen serpent on the pole typified the coming Messiah, Jesus, who was sacrificed on the Cross for our sins. Now, the Apostle John tells us that our only means of forgiveness is to look to the Savior, Jesus Christ, who died in our place on that cross. Have you looked to Him in faith for salvation? If not, why not? And, if you have, you are now deputized as a witness to others that by believing on Christ Jesus, they, too, will be saved! Just think: every Christmas hereafter, you will not only remember the Savior’s birth, you will remember your own spiritual birth in Him that came by simple faith. God bless you! And may this CHRISTmas be your best ever!

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,

Joshua 24:13-15, “I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Are you grateful for the things you have? Are you grateful for the things that have been given to you? How truly grateful are you? If we are thoroughly honest, most of the time we think that we deserve what we have. Thus, I can only imagine what was going through the collective minds of the Israelites.

Joshua had gathered Israel together to remind them that what they possessed had come from the LORD. Their possessions had not become theirs because of their manual labor. The LORD had brought them across the Red Sea and had given them everything they possessed! Now, they faced a major choice: would they follow and serve the LORD, or were they going to serve the gods of the Amorites?

Our choice today is even more difficult than theirs! The Israelites had lived and served under Amorite gods. What benefit did they derive from those gods? Were they better off with or without the Amorite gods? Joshua could not cast their ballots for them! He could only advise them; yet, he sought to encourage them by his example: “…as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

Would you be sufficiently courageous to say that and mean it? You could lose much or most of what you have acquired by not serving the LORD. Yet, one day you will weigh in the balances what the world has given you versus what the LORD has given you. Believe me, dear friend, the time for the commitment of your life to Jesus Christ has come. One day, we will all stand before Him and give account of our stewardship. Trust Him today! Surrender your will to Him today! You will never regret it.

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,

Psalm 95:1-8, “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you
would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts…”

I was moving into the realm of adulthood before I recognized music as a true activity of worship! Sadly, some have yet to assess music as a primary means of expressing joy to the LORD! The churches our family attended all expressed worship through singing and the playing of musical instruments. I’m not certain, however, that it always expressed “joy” or was “to the LORD” or was rendered in a spirit of thanksgiving.

Church music leaders often do their best to insure that music is worship-oriented, but the spiritual aspect ultimately lies in the heart of the participant. For that to occur, we all must recognize the greatness of Almighty God and allow our hearts shout in praise to His Name.

While many give allegiance to a variety of gods, our LORD God is “above all gods.” He alone created the heights and depths of our planet Earth. By His strength and from His love, He brought forth His Son, Jesus, who then became the Father’s Sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. It is the only means of man’s redemption; and It is inconceivable that anyone would fail to trust Him.

Come and worship the LORD; bow down;
Humble yourself before your Maker…
For He is your God, and you are His creation…
Hear and obey His voice today; do not harden your heart.

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