The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 4:1-8, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'”
5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'”

Almost everyone, even those who are only slightly knowledgeable of the Scriptures, are acquainted with Satan’s attempts to gain control of Jesus. In each instance, Satan had no concern with Jesus’ well-being. Satan only wanted worship! He sought with persistence to persuade Jesus to worship him!

Turning stones into bread was a subtle attempt to force Jesus to do Satan’s will. Interesting, too, was Satan’s offer to give all the glories of the heavens to Jesus –when the Scriptures assure us that Jesus was the One who created the heavens and all they contained! Once again, Jesus refused the devil’s plot. Jesus’ reply was “You shall worship the LORD your God and serve Him only!”

Today is the first day of a new week. It is the time when we gather to worship the LORD. The Greek word for “worship” (????????? proskuneo) means “to reverence…to bow down” before Him. “Reverence” bespeaks quietness. It can and ought to include prayer. The presence of His holiness should be of such respect that were Christ physically present in our churches, our eyes would not be worthy to behold Him. His holiness would refute the slightest glimpse of our mortal, sinful gaze.

Hopefully, those who guide us from the pulpit today will allow nothing but His glory to be acknowledged. May all thought of human mortality be erased from the pastors’ minds. May the holiness of Almighty GOD overwhelm us all with His grace; and may we surrender ourselves fully and completely to Him at the foot of the Cross.

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,

Matthew 24:25-27, “Behold, I have told you in advance.
26 “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.
27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

From what we read, outside of the Scriptures, mankind is exceedingly skeptical regarding any and every thing having to do with the Return to Earth of the LORD Jesus Christ. At the same time, there are those who love to play games with the idea, despite the exceeding seriousness of the situation.

Say what you will and believe what you will; but when clouds darken and gather in deep blackness over your head, it is a serious indication of a heavy rainstorm. Admitedly, too, when serious television programs (and there are still a few) are interupted with the announcement of tornadic activity headed your way, “It makes good sense to prepare a defense!”

The Scripture passage above is ever more serious than a tornado warning. We cannot deter tornadic activity, but we can and should always prepare for it. In the same sense, no one can delay Jesus’ Coming, but it makes good sense to prepare for it.

Within the space of my lifetime, there have been numerous books, pamphlets, sermons –all predicting the time of Christ’s Return. All were wrong; still, there is an accurate time – known only to the Father. Jesus Christ IS Coming Again, and preparation is personal.

Salvation does not lie in how moral a life you live, or in what church you attend or belong. Salvation is the business of Jesus Christ Himself! “Believe in the LORD Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “”You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” (Lk. 12:40) Have you committed your life to Him? Time moves swiftly. Don’t be left behind!

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,

2 Peter 1:5-9, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”

Just in case you’ve missed what’s going on, our current Congress is seeking to further corrupt our nation by side-stepping the Supreme Court’s recent scrubbing of the no-hold’s-barred Roe v. Wade. Every day it seems our government is focused on how to corrupt our nation even more.

In the preceding verses (vss. 1-4), Simon Peter has spoken to us about escaping the corruption that is in the world. He now furthers that theme with some well-chosen Christian attributes. Moral excellence is high on the apostle’s list. Morality is “conformity to the rules of right conduct.” Those rules are easily discovered in Holy Scripture. It’s not that the rules are not there, they are simply being ignored.

Knowledge is a questionable comodity today, especially in Congress. Self-control and Perseverance are “factors of clear and steady persistence in a beneficial course of action.” It is intended for everyone, not simply for those who are ably focused on themselves. The lack of Godliness is embarassing for both our Congress and our Nation! It fleshes out in Brotherly Kindness, yet every day human kindness becomes more difficult to discover. Far too often, we just “do each other in” before “they do us.”

Congress makes some colossal mistakes! But the “error-makers” are the same individuals that “we the people” elected! Spanking Congress starts with the abolition of sin within ourselves. Jesus Christ died on the Cross to abolish sin. We have to open our lives to Him for all to become right. Have you opened your life to Christ? I implore you to do it today! We cannot be effective in influencing others correctly until we allow Christ to influence us.

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,

2 Peter 1:1-4, “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Six days ago, I again became a great-grandfather to a newborn baby boy. What made it all-the-more exciting is that he was born on my very birth date, 22 July!

Now, think about how exciting it is to be a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, just as Simon Peter was –same faith, same righteousness, same God and Savior. Moreover, it is the same grace, same peace, same knowledge, and it is the same glory and same excellence!

Sharpen your focus: Simon Peter had no more of the saving grace of Jesus than you have,
provided you are a born-again believer in the LORD Jesus. When Jesus saves you, He
injects you with the same Holy Spirit that resided in, say, Billy Graham or Billy Sunday or one of a thousand missionaries over the past hundreds of years. He grants to you and to me the same grace He grants to everyone who confesses and turns away from sin and pledges his or her life to Jesus!

We may differ from each other in a thousand ways, but we’re all the same with Jesus. Do
you know Him? Have you turned away from sin, asked His forgiveness, and trusted Him
by faith? Peter says in the first verse above you can “receive a faith of the same kind as
ours.”
“Trust and obey; for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

You are in my daily 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,

Psalm 2:7-12, “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’
10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

Were you ever promised something only to receive more than you were promised? I’m sure you won’t have to think very hard to come up with something. I can remember small work jobs I did for neighbors –neighbors who paid me more than they had said they would. I was never sure that I had earned it, but it was their joy to encourage me with some extra.

If you have carefully read the verses above, you will have noticed that in verses seven through nine the LORD promises what He will do for His Son. In verses 10 through 12, He admonishes His believers to show discernment, heed warnings, and worship the LORD with reverence. At the same time, believers are permitted to rejoice, but to do it with trembling. We’re not to treat the LORD God as we would a fellow human being.

I am deeply concerned that we are not truly worshipping the LORD! We sing and shout and call it worship, yet He demands that all worship be with reverence. We can rejoice, but we’re to be careful that it is with trembling, remembering that it is the LORD OF THE UNIVERSE Who is to be our focus. Our very lives are His gift to us. His only Son is our Savior and LORD. We should literally prostrate ourselves in abject silence before Him. He is LORD!

It’s been well said, “It’s not how loud you shout or how high you jump; it’s how you run when you hit the ground.” Are you running well? –and for His glory?

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