The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Exodus 15:26, “And He said, ‘If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.’”

“Did you hear what I said?” Now, before you get mad at me, notice closely that those words are italicized and ensconsed in quotation marks. It is not something I am saying to you; it is simply a replecate of a six-word warning that you doubtlessly heard more than once from your parents when you were younger.

At the same time, it may be appropriate to ask just how loud does the LORD have to shout to get our attention? The clear and unmistakable implication of the verse above is that the Israelites knew the LORD’s commandments, but they had yet to learn the value of keeping them. We know that Jesus died on the Cross and arose from the dead to save us; but have we followed His instruction to repent and turn away from sin and trust Him alone for our eternal salvation?

The verse above is an Old Testament verse. It is Moses’ directive to Israel in Old Testament times. In principle, however, it applies to us in our generation. There are so many voices crying this and crying that. We need to heed the Voice of the LORD! He alone is worthy of our trust! At the time, His promise to Israel was that they would be free from the diseases He had put upon the Egyptians. In principle, He promises to free us from our sins and set our feet on the path of righteousness. Are you on that path? You can be! Simply ask His forgiveness for sin and believe His Word. You are in my prayers.

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,

Proverbs 16:25-32, “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end
is the way of death.
26 A worker’s appetite works for him, For his hunger urges him on.
27 A worthless man digs up evil, While his words are like scorching fire.
28 A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
29 A man of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not
good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who
compresses his lips brings evil to pass.
31 A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness.
32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his
spirit, than he who captures a city.”

Remember that person who always pretended to know the answers to everything? He could spin a tale until he actually believed it himself. Just be careful! It is more than likely that such a person will lead you astray from all knowledge of real truth.

Watch out, too, for the slanderer! He grumbles about “things,” and shares untruths that reflect upon and discredit others. When he speaks ill of others, he’s often covering up the wrong he’s done in his own life.

Stay far away from the violent person! His words become so gnarled in his own mind that he even confuses you with the one of whom he was expressing vicious anger.

What you can depend upon is the person whose physical hunger keeps him active in the honest work in which he’s engaged. He will never leave an “adequate” employment for the promise of a “pie-in-the-sky” opportunity.

Perverse means “facing the wrong way.” This is the man who leads others to do something he himself ends up not doing. He talks big, but reverses himself on what he has urged others to do. When everything goes wrong, guess who gets the blame.

The truly dependable one is the old gray-headed one, who has walked the many miles of dusty, difficult days. He’s dependable, level-headed, and self-controlled in all situations. When you get to know him, you’ll learn that his self-control is truly the control of the Holy Spirit, Who resides within him and leads Him into right paths.

Solomon has given us some fabulous insights into ourselves and others. We will do well to study his wisdom and allow the Spirit of God to implant it all within us. The LORD is our greatest Friend! We are our own greatest enemy.

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,

Proverbs 16:20-24, 32, “He who gives attention to the Word will find good,
And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
21 The wise in heart will be called understanding,
And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it,
But the discipline of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise instructs his mouth
And adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.”

Most of us have been in situations we would have rather not have been. Some of them were dangerous; all of them were “sticky.” In such cases, wisdom is the key word to extraction. Speaking kindly increases your chance of being successful in overcoming the adverse situation.

It’s difficult to know what to say in one of those undesirable situations. Yet, if you’re wise, your heart will inform your mind what is expedient to express. Your pleasantness will ultimately succeed in persuading your adversary. Kind and thoughtful words are not expected; yet, when they are expressed, they extract the steam from your adversary’s intention. At the same time, the LORD will erase and replace your defensive words with kind and thoughtful words that dismantle the thinking of your opponent.

Have you never tried this? Do you really doubt that such can occur? Try it in good faith. Trust in the LORD. He will never let you down.

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,

Genesis 43:29-32, “As (Joseph) lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, ‘Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?’ And he said, ‘May God be gracious to you, my son.’
30 Joseph hurried out for he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he sought a place to weep; and he entered his chamber and wept there.
31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he controlled himself and said, ‘Serve the meal.’
32 So they served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is loathsome to the Egyptians.”

Have you ever been faced with eating something you vehemently disliked? Have you ever been faced with eating with someone you vehemently disliked? Probably you could recall several instances.

Now, together in Joseph’s house in Egypt, the twelve brothers came together for a meal. It was Joseph’s first glimpse in many months of his youngest brother, Benjamin. Emotionally moved by the situation, Joseph rushed from the room to hide his tears. When he composed himself and returned to his brothers, Joseph was served separately from his brothers and from the Egyptians of Joseph’s household.

We are told in these verses that the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews. In all probability, there are some people with whom (for various reasons) we would elect not to share a meal. Perhaps, the most acceptable reason for such a refusal would be our unwillingness to be thought acceptable with some of their ways.

It is necessary, however, that we show Christian love to those who do not follow Christ. We just must not neglect to show love, even to the unlovely. That was Jesus’ way. He suffered ridicule for eating with sinners, while those who ridiculed Him were as guilty of sin as were those they accused. It was Solomon who said, “The heart of the wise instructs his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips” (Prov. 16:23). May God richly 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,

Isaiah 45:23, “”I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.”

Philippians 2:8-11, “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Our world is currently in trouble! A host of people throughout the world are wondering about the difficulties they now face. Will our differences with them ultimately lead to war? If so, which countries will align together? Which will line up against the others? Moreover, which country will emerge successful? What leaders can we trust?

While these questions have considerable relevance to the era in which we live, we need have no doubt as to who will direct the ultimate victory. Isaiah records the LORD’s words as the guarantee of His victory. And the Apostle Paul assures us in his Letter to the Philippians that “every knee will bow” to the LORD and Creator of all the Earth!

Furthermore, “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” That does not mean that every soul will be saved from eternity in Hell, but that even they, who will not recognize the LORD Jesus in this life, will be forced to acknowledge Him in their eternal existance. Those who ignore Him now will nevertheless be forced to acknowledge Him throughout eternity.

Whatever the outcome of raging nations here on Earth, Jesus Christ will be successful, reaching throughout eternity. We can bow willingly before Him now and live with Him eternally in Heaven; or we can resist bowing before Him now and be forced to bow before Him from Hell. May His love encourage all mankind to bow before Him daily for the victory is His guarnteed!

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