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.”

From the earliest of times, the LORD has always instructed mankind to be honest. The
perversion of justice has always been forbidden. Perversion is equated with intentional bias, despite which side is favored in the dispute. Man is to keep himself free from making false charges, regardless of who is ultimately found guilty of the crime.

Altering the standard of justice is equally as wrong as the falsification of known facts or biasing a jury or misinforming a judge regarding an aspect of an element of truth. The tendency of evil is always to seek to sway judges and juries, so as to produce whatever outcome is desired. Honesty is often set aside; yet it does not escape the ever-seeing eye of the LORD!

Justice is always to be administered, regardless of who is being charged or whether he is well-known within the community. Despite the inability of earthly justice to be free from all bias, it is nevertheless the goal of the judicial process. The Israelites understood injustice; and that is why they were and are forbidden to engage in it.

Yet, the responsibility of justice rests with every generation. Children should learn justice
from their parents, and the lineage should reach far into the past –well beyond grandparents and great-grandparents. But, with justice eroding everywhere today, the Church becomes the major barrier against injustice and all wrongdoing. The Scriptures have been given to the Church, and the Church is responsible for dissemination of the Word. You and I are personally responsible, too –responsible to read and study the Word
and live it out in our daily lives. We just never know who is watching and learning from 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,

John 1:1-12, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that
has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know
Him.
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name…”

There is much more to the account of Creation than the above 12 verses. But, there is none anywhere clearer or more succinct. Before there was anything, there was God. He pre-existed all things. And before Creation, darkness prevailed everywhere.

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface
of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the
waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Gen. 1:2-3).

The “light” in these Scriptures is used in a two-fold meaning. In the Genesis verses, light means what we mean when we say, “It is light outside.” Darkness is the opposite of that light. Yet, the verses in John’s gospel refer to Jesus Himself as the Light. Until mankind meets Jesus, life itself wrangles and wrestles in meaningless darkness. Life has no meaning without Jesus. He alone gives meaning to life. More accurately stated: Jesus is Life! That’s why John the Baptist, cousin of Jesus, came to introduce Him to the world.

Skeptics abounded in biblical times, just as they do today. Still, the Father’s requirement for our understanding of what we need to know, begins when we accept Jesus Christ as His sacrifice for our sins. Have you accepted Him? Have you truly trusted Jesus as God the Father’s Sacrifice for your sins? A simple, yet truthful prayer of faith is all He requires for your acceptance into His spiritual family. Pray it in faith and trust Him.

“LORD, I know that I am a sinner. I know I’ve done many wrong things
in my life. I’m sorry for my sin. I know that Jesus loves me, and that He
died and rose again to save me from my sin. Right now, in my heart, I
willingly turn from my sin. By faith, I receive the LORD Jesus Christ as
my Savior. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

Heartily yours 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,

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