The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 11:29-30, ““Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (KJV).

More literally Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me (??? ????); because (???) I am gentle (?????) and lowly (????????) in heart: and ye shall find spiritual rest (???????? ?????????) to your souls. 30 For My yoke is kind (???????), and My burden is easy to bear (???????).”

When Jesus spoke to the people in this Matthewen text, He expressed it in soft and endearing words. He was certainly concerned that they learn the content of His teaching; however, He was equally concerned that they learn from Him. In the truest sense, to learn from Him was to learn of Him. And so it is of us today.

The Daniel text (1:5) is far less soft. Daniel growls, “..grow up; become great!” Why do you suppose He saved you, anyway? Some of us need that stiff language at times, do we not? We tend to “baby” ourselves, when we’ve been His far too long to be handled with kid gloves. The twigs that are intended to become trees need support. And stiff language is often the very support we need.

The John 7:15 verse is softer, yet it still carries the mandate: learn from Me. If we are to do just that, and become what our LORD intends us to become, it is imperative that we study His Word daily! There is always the tendency to peruse what others have said about Him. Yet, even the most humble, dedicated, scholars know less of Him than He knows of Himself. Therefore, always choose the best scholar. He wrote the best Book!

Acts 4:13 was both startling and self-identifing of me! Agrammatos translates “without learning, uneducated!” In an honest self-assessment, there was a time when I thought I had a pretty good handle on the Scriptures. Yet, if truth be told, I am now like a small child just commencing to learn the alphabet. Serious study in the Word of God reveals human inadequacy. Could that be why we’re tempted to slight our Bible study?

Acts 7:22 and 22:3 utilize the same Greek phraseology that urges us “to train and “chasten” and “correct” children. What the Scripture knows, however, is that as we obey the instruction it gives regarding others (i.e., the children), we cannot help but learn what the LORD has there for us.

Let me urge you to engage in serious, daily study of the Holy Bible. Start with prayer because without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you can quickly find yourself in a Biblical quagmire. The Spirit leads us as we pray and brings the Scriptures to life! And when they come alive, we soon learn that we are alive, as well. 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