The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 4:9-17, “Make every effort to come to me soon;
10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.
12 But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
13 When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
15 Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.
16 At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.
18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Did you ever meet someone of genuine importance? Remember what you thought as you looked at him? He really is an important person! He must make a ton of money! And he must encounter the most valuable people on the Planet! The problem is that you had no idea of what the man really did! You saw only the externals of his person, not the internals of his work!

It’s much the same when we read of Paul’s personal needs. In the first sentence above we learn of Paul’s dilemma. Paul’s close companions were gone! Crescens and Titus had left to attend to spiritual duties elsewhere; Tychicus was in Ephesus. Demas had abandoned all spiritual responsibilities. Paul had been left alone, thus he pleads for them to bring Mark with them when they come.

Following his plea for spiritual, physical companionship, Paul asked for the books and parchments he had left behind. Oh, and that cloak! Do bring it! It’s getting colder by the day in this dark, damp old prison. And be alerted to Alexander the coppersmith. He has done much to limit the LORD’s work here.

Having said all of this about his team, Paul warns them against those who were bitterly antagonistic to the Gospel! We have some strong opposition here! At the same time, I am praying for them. They simply do not know the value of the LORD Jesus Christ.

Those who are truly important may not be dressed the way we envision them. Enemies of our LORD Jesus Christ are often “sophisticates” in their own realm. Just be careful.

And so it is with us, who are active believers in Jesus Christ. Our activity often calls out those who want to keep Christ and His people quiet and out-of-sight. Let us pray daily for one another. You are in my prayers; I trust that I am in yours.

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 Timothy 4:1-8, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Who can seriously read these verses and deny that Timothy was viewing what we are experiencing in our own day? He does well to admonish the serious, God-called preachers to “preach the Word”! There is less and less honest ministering of people today through the clear declaration of the Holy Scriptures.

From what is apparent among the “prosperity gospelers,” and the accompaniment of the moral infidelity among their ministers, Timothy has clearly spoken words that need adherence today! Is it any wonder that the clarity of Scripture is absent among their numbers?

Where sound doctrine is ignored and rebuke and exhortation to righteousness are blatantly omitted from pulpits, people move rapidly into sin. When righteous ministers are removed, they are often replaced by teachers who feed their adherents poison from outside the Scriptures.

Timothy urges believers to “be sober in all things, endure hardships,” and engage in evangelistic ministries. It is futile to harbor medicines that bring physical benefit, if we refuse or neglect to ingest them. So it is with failing to minister the Gospel to others. If you know the LORD as your Savior, you have the spiritual responsibility to share Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him. If you do not know Him, you have the opportunity to receive Him as your Savior and then the responsiblity to share Him with others. The problem is that time is quickly running out by the day.

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 Timothy 3:1-7, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.
6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Does is seem to you that every day’s news brings forth a new avalanche of evil? Much of it is doubtlessly encouraged by intentional news reporting; yet the fact remains that what is being reported has long been viewable in the Scriptures.

In no way am I seeking to trouble you readers of this letter; the facts are simply undeniable. Many leaders that once seemed reliable are now not to be trusted! We have inched our way into deeper sin leaving the Word of God to the dustbins of history.

We are plagued by diseases and then intentionally misdirected with regard to the medication needed to resist them! Pseudo drugs hit the market, producing millions of dollars for some who were once-trusted to guide us back into good health. Who knows whom to trust in these turbulent times?

There was a time when spiritual leaders were themselves trustworthy. Today, the open knowledge of pastoral thirst for riches, personal indiscretions (with retention in their pulpits) creates a serious difficulty for honest, spiritual seekers. Who can they trust?

Anyone who denies that we are living in the Last Days, as described in Scripture, is simply lacking the basic ability of discernment. Far too many pulpits are occupied by those who want to keep pace with the excessive profit that robs the poor in the name of religion. May God grant us all the good sense to read and absorb and live by His Divine Word! It is by that Word alone that we will one day be judged!

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,

Mark 8:1-9, “In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them,
2 “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.
3 “If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.”
4 And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”
5 And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”
6 Jesus directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and distributed the food to His disciples, who served them to the people.
7 They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well.
8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.
9 About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.”

Were you ever with a group that was hungry, but together lacked sufficient funds for a meal? That’s precisely where Jesus and his disciples found themselves. The people were so gripped by Jesus’ message that they had gone without food for three days.

Jesus cited an additional problem: if the crowd were dismissed to go home, some, living a great distance, would simply lack the strength to reach home.

Jesus, of course, knew all along what He would do. At the same time, He posed the problem in the effort to provoke His disciples to think and ultimately depend upon Him. After all, the people had but seven small loaves of bread and a few fish.

The LORD then blessed the meager provisions and His disciples distributed them to the waiting congregation. And the Scripture says, “They ate and were satisfied…”

Are we aware that every provision of food we have comes from the hand of Almighty God? Our computer screens plead for money for food for the starving people in various nations of the world. Even in our own countries, there are people who lack funds for food– and for clothing? Are we thankful for what we have? Are we willing to share with them the Christ who is able to save?
Are we praying for those who need His provisions?

The greatest need in our world today is for those without Jesus to accept Him as their LORD and Savior. Once they belong to Him, He will meet the entirety of their needs, according to His will. Such is not to exclude our giving what we are able to give; it simply lays them before Christ Jesus, who can adequately meet all of what they need. In the meantime, we should pray for them all.
There are those who are praying for you right now!

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.”

Having completed a 600-page book –something I ought to have read many years ago, I turned to a much smaller volume. The books are entirely different in style and content. With only two chapters of the smaller volume having thus far been read, I am already keenly aware that the smaller is of more immediate value than the former.

In our verses above, Simon Peter quickly identifies himself as a “bond-servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” What he has received from the LORD, however, is not exclusively his alone. He is but one of the faithful who is humbled by the joint title, the same “grace and peace” that Peter received through the righteousness of Christ, he is anxious for others to receive. Hence, his two short letters have inestimable value for us today.

That “grace and peace” from the LORD Jesus Christ contains everything pertaining to a life of godliness. It accompanies the knowledge of the “glory and excellence” of Christ Himself. These qualities are only bestowed upon those who have confessed their sins and become “partakers of the divine nature.” Have you experienced this? It is not something you attain apart from faith. It comes to you when you confess your sins to the LORD Jesus and ask His forgiveness. Read again verses 3 and 4 above. Then read the paragraph below —

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is
no other name under Heaven that has been given
among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

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