The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Exodus 23:2-9, “You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice;
3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.
4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.
6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.
7 “Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8 “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.
9 “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

It seems like yesterday. I could not have been more than 8 or 9 years of age. Walking along and alone, my eyes fell upon a wallet that someone had lost. Quickly, I seized it; and to my delirious excitement, I discovered that it contained money! – three bills: two $1 bills and one $10! Wow! Was I excited, or what?

I quickly reported it to my mother. She was happy for me, but insisted we needed to advertise the discovery and wait… wait to see if the true owner reported it missing, for there was no indication anywhere regarding who the owner was. Quite a discussion followed as I learned the principles outlined in our verses above.

The key instruction in the verses above is verse 6. It is a strong warning not to pervert God’s justice that is due to someone else. Such an instruction includes physical properties, but also goes well beyond them! That’s why I almost always include the Bible’s teaching that we all need to become children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. It’s far more important than anything else! What’s more, I am responsible to share what I have found of the Love and Grace of Almighty God.

Do you know Jesus? –not just that He lived and died and arose from the dead. Do you know Him as your LORD and Savior? A small Gideon New Testament here on my desk reads:

“Confessing to God that I am a sinner, and believing that the Lord Jesus
Christ died for my sins on the cross and was raised for my justification,
I do now receive and confess Him as my personal Savior.”

If you believe this and pray it to God, you will be saved! May God help you to do so!

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