The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 18:23-33, Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”
27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.
28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”
30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.”

Did you ever engage in conversation with someone who didn’t know how to quit speaking? Of course, when the other person is notable, you exercise patience as he speaks. Patience is necessary, too, if you are to grasp the full meaning of the other person’s position. This passage above is long, but it is necessary in order to demonstrate the gentle, gracious patience our all-knowing God possesses.

Sodom was a notoriously wicked city, and the LORD had determined to destroy it completely! It might not have bothered Abraham, except this his nephew, Lot, and Lot’s family lived there. Lot had made a serious mistake in sojourning into Sodom. Those of us who have lived in numerous places, know that the geographical area where you live has a unmistakable bearing on your family.

Abraham hurried his initial words, almost as if he had forgotten that he was speaking with God.
He began his plea sighting 50 supposedly righteous citizens, but quickly reducing that number by five. Receiving the LORD’s assurance that He would not destroy the city for the lack of five good
people, Abraham cautiously reduced the number by five again. And again the LORD’s promise held good that He would not destroy the city if 40 righteous people could be found there.

Receiving again the LORD’s promise, Abraham now reduces the number by 10. The LORD’s promise continued to hold. Gaining some boldness, Abraham continues to reduce the number of potentially righteous people all the way down to 10. And the LORD continued to agree.

All of this tells us that the LORD is reasonable! He didn’t have to “play games” with Abraham! After all, He created the world and the people living in it. We should not be brazen in our communion with the LORD; still, He is loving and willing to deal tenderly with those who recognize His superiority. Don’t be afraid to approach the LORD! He tells us over and over to “call unto Me.”
Quite often, “we have not because we ask not.” We simply have to be His children first. Are you truly His child? You can be! Just ask Him to be your Savior.

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,

1 Corinthians 15:51-58, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
55 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

It was intended as a joke. Somewhere I had read that 51st verse and proceeded to tack it to the
door of the Church Nursery. I’m more careful now not to use the Word of God in any humorous manner.

The mystery is that that not everyone will understand. Yet, some will die before the LORD Jesus returns. “Sleep” is a euphonism for physical death. Thus, some will be alive to see the LORD coming for His own in what we know as the Rapture (the catching away) of the Church. It will all occur in a fraction of a second.

At the very moment the trumpet of God sounds, those true believers who had physically died, will be resurrected without corruption. It would not be pleasant to identify the various manners of death for loved ones; still, it is clearly stated here that however the believers died, they will be resurrected and caught up to meet the LORD Jesus coming in power and glory.

Death is the result of sin; and the LORD will manifest victory over death and the sin that has occasioned it. Victory will be the way of the believers who have died. Those believers will have
victory in and through the LORD Jesus Christ. For this, we ought to give thanks in praise to the LORD Himself!

For those who are living and believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation, the Apostle Paul encourages them and us to be steadfast – immovably firm in life and in the Biblical instruction of the LORD Jesus Christ. It may not appear that what you are currently doing for Him is very progressive. Yet, nothing that we do in His Name and for His Glory is without worth. Live in victory! Praise the LORD daily through your life! You will never be sorry.

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,

Jonah 1:1-4, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying,
2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
4 The LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.”

Were you ever ordered by a superior to do something you didn’t want to do? I won’t dare to illustrate the question, because we both already know the answer: you simply didn’t do what you were told to do. This was Jonah’s problem. He thought he had good reason. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, and was indeed a “great city.” Nineveh was “about sixty miles in circumference, covering 216 square miles, with a population of 600,000” (Lee, The Outlined Bible). It may seem an impossible task, still that was not Jonah’s thought.

The Assyrians had long been a formidable and ferocious enemy of Israel. The torturous activities that were inflicted upon the Jews are unspeakable! Jonah knew that were he to declare the LORD’s warning to the Ninevites, they would repent. He simply did not want them to repent! He did not want them to be shown any of the LORD’s mercy.

Did you ever feel that way about someone? “He doesn’t deserve mercy!” you have said. Well, turn the question on yourself: Do you deserve God’s mercy? Do I deserve it? Absolutely, not! If we deserved it, it would not be mercy!

It’s noteworthy, too, that from Jonah’s learning of the LORD’s desire to forgive Nineveh, he consistently went downward! He went “down to Joppa,” went “down into the ship,” and ultimately, “down into the sea.” Such is the warning to us when we question God’s purpose with our lives.

In the end, the LORD’s will was accomplished. Jonah would have done better to have obeyed the LORD’s will from the beginning. As a matter of fact, so would we! Do you know the LORD’s will for your life? Are you seeking to follow it? Think twice before you turn away from His will. His will will be accomplished, and you will then miss His blessing!

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,

Obadiah 1:11-15, “On the day that you stood aloof, On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate And cast lots for Jerusalem– You too were as one of them.
12 “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, the day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah In the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast In the day of their distress.
13 “Do not enter the gate of My people In the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity In the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth In the day of their disaster.
14 “Do not stand at the fork of the road To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors In the day of their distress.
15 “For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.”

Sometimes rifts in families run deep; and like running streams, they seem to flow on forever. Such was true of the descendants of Esau in their relationship with the Israelites. The sin of Jacob against his father, Isaac, and his scheme against his brother Esau, fully deprived the Edomites of their birthright. From that time onward, the Edomites did everything in their power to hinder the prosperity of Jacob’s descendants.

Funny, how we can read and note these rivalries in the Bible, but never give thought to how they might (and do!) apply to us today. We smile and even laugh at the Hatfields v. the McCoys, but ignore such factors as applying equally and realistically to us today. Clearly, the Scripture says otherwise.

The LORD expressly forbids the Edomites’ “gloating” over Israel’s destruction and “boasting” over her misfortune. He forbids “entering Israel’s gates,” presumbly to demonstrate any “smugness” with regard to their adversity. Without equivocation, the Scriptures indicate in the verses above that “As you have done (to others), it will be done to you.”

Not only does this Old Testament book speak to our needs today; it gives promise that the LORD is ever and always awake to our motives, as well as our actions. Simply put, we cannot do wrong and get by. It is to our advantage to hear and heed the Word of the LORD regarding forgiveness.
Failure to do so only leads to disaster, as is clearly noted in these and other Scriptures.

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,

Amos 2:4-7, “Thus says the LORD, ‘For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they rejected the law of the LORD And have not kept His statutes; Their lies also have led them astray, Those after which their fathers walked.
5 “So I will send fire upon Judah And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.’
6 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for money And the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 “These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless also turn aside the way of the humble; and a man and his father resort to the same girl In order to profane My holy name”

Do you remember the times when you were warned against doing something, but went ahead and did it? The end result was not as attractive as the “doing” of it, was it? Oh, believe me! I remember such times! For a time, it seemed as if you were getting away without punishment. Then the warning arose like a sudden storm and you learned what it meant to take heed, lest you fell into doing it again.

Amos became a prophet later in life. Prior to that, he cared for trees and the fruit they produced. But the call of God came to him, and the greater part of his life thereafter consisted in the proclamation of God’s punishment upon the nations who failed to obey Him.

The LORD’s indignation was proclaimed against nations that were occupying land the LORD has previously given to Israel. Other indignation concerned Israel’s own godless behavior. The simple truth of the message to us is that God does not forget what He has promised –be it a blessing or a curse. And the prophet was not permitted to alter what the LORD had proclaimed.

This book of Amos speaks loudly to our current generation. We are guilty of the same ungodliness that was being practiced in Amos’ day. The guilt of a nation’s people reaches into the nation’s government. We like to blame others for sinning, when they are but a shadow of the rest of us who elected them. As with Amos, Hosea also speaks to us with unmistakable clarity:

“Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break
up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD until He comes to rain
righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12).

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