The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Joshua 24:13-15, “’I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

One of the most solemn events in life comes at the point of a leader’s passing his leadership to another. It can be a military leader, whose men have witnessed his bravery in the face of the enemy. It can be a long-time friend, whose wisdom has guided friends and families, avoiding their missteps in the vicissitudes of life. Such was the situation with Joshua.

Israel’s leadership had commenced with Moses, who led them out of Egypt
and across the Red Sea. Then came Joshua, who had commanded their forces as they pushed onward toward the Promised Land –the land the LORD had reserved for them.

Now, as the time has come for Joshua to relinquish his leadership, he reviews their victories and credits the LORD as the One who provided it all. He encourages the people to live daily by the words and law of Moses and to resist turning away from the Book’s teachings.

Joshua further warns them not to associate with people that embrace beliefs that are not from the true God. Cling to the LORD your God, as you have up to this very day. For the time will comes when you will be tempted to drift from the LORD.

Just remember where you once were before the LORD came into your life. I’ve made my decision to live and serve the LORD! Have you made your decision for Him? I pray that you have.

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,

Joshua 7:19-26, “Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.’”
20 So Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did:
21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was concealed in his tent with the silver underneath it.
23 They took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and they poured them out before the LORD.
24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor.
25 Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
26 They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day.”

It’s a dreadful story. It was a story of greed and theft. Moreover, it was the commission of sin; and all sin is against the LORD! It was sin that was discovered –sin that Achan ultimately admitted. Yet, it was sin that cost the sinner his life, along with all of his children, his household and wealth.

Moses was dead, and Joshua became the LORD’s choice to lead His people. Free from Egypt, Israel had conquered cities leading to Ai. It was a small city and looked to be an easy foe. Still, Joshua ordered the city to be surveyed prior to Israel’s attack. Only about 3,000 men ventured to spy out the city; still, the men of Ai killed 36 of Israel’s spies.

The story is clear from the Scripture cited above; yet it seriously cautions us over these many years from the actual account. We can no more do wrong and get by than Israel. Sin will ultimately find us out; nor can we successfully hide from God.

It’s exciting to discover something of value –especially, when it is something of real vallue. Achan ignored the words of Joshua, valuing these “things” as more important than the words of Joshua. How like Achan we are! And when things go wrong, we appear innocently before the LORD asking, “What caused this?”

No, there’s a price to pay for sin. Still, we have a choice: we can pay for sin in Hell, or we can allow that Christ Himself has paid the price, and say “Thank You” to Him. The choice is yours. Repent and yield your life to Christ, and His death on the cross will have paid your price. Refuse or neglect to repent and the penalty is yours. “Choose for yourself today whom you will serve…” (Jos. 24:15).

“The price of sin is so great that only Jesus could pay it.
The price of sin is so great that not even Jesus could pay it again.”

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,

Exodus 24:6-8, “Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”
8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Did you ever paint yourself into a corner? You know what I mean. It’s like agreeing to something –something you honestly believe will never come to pass– only to find that it has! Now, you’re stuck! You’ve agreed to something you thought would never happen; but now it has and it’s happened and to you!

Whether these Israelites had overlooked what they said earlier, I’m not sure. Still, they had truly promised what they said. It was an open declaration to the LORD: “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!”

Have you ever made a promise to the LORD? Someone you loved was ill and might not live the night. You pled with the LORD for the life of your loved one:
“LORD, I promise that I will be what I said; just let my loved one live!” Then, the doctor came into the room with good news that your loved one would live!
Did you kept your promise?

The Covenant that the LORD made with His people at the hand of Moses was sealed in blood. An animal had given its life’s blood to assure the covenant relationship between the LORD and His people. That was serious business even beyond what the people knew. That blood foreshadowed the Blood of the LORD Jesus Christ, who centuries later would die on the Cross of Calvary to deliver His people from their sins.

But, how can we substantiate a statement like that above? How do we know that Christ Jesus’ blood saves us from our sins? How can we be assured that He will keep His word? Re-read the words of Holy Scripture:

“Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD
has made with you in accordance with all these
words.”

In yet another place, the LORD covenanted with Abraham:

“And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward
the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count
them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him
as righteousness” (Gen. 15:5-6).

Thus, the end of such matters lies in the Hands of the LORD. Yet, He does not covenant with us unless we believe and covenant with Him. Have you
done so? Have you entered into a covenant with Him?

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,

Exodus 24:1-5, “Then He said to Moses, ‘Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance.
2 ‘Moses alone, however, shall come near to the LORD, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.’
3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!’
4 Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.”

Four chapters earlier, the LORD gave to Moses the Ten Commandments. Moses, in turn, schooled the people in all that the LORD had said. What was the response of all the people? They promised: “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!”

Have you never written down a promise –and then later broken it? I doubt if very many could honestly deny having done so. Why do you suppose that happens? It happens because it is in our nature to sin. Left alone, without internal restrictions, we will always cry out for that “golden calf.” That’s precisely why we insist on personal, written signatures on documents we receive from others.

When we accept the LORD Jesus Christ as our Savior, we effectively sign a document, saying that we will abide by His directives (commands, et al). What He has for us is the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit comes immediately and expressly from the Father and indwells us.

At that point in time, we no longer belong to ourselves. We are His! Our commitment is to follow Him; His commitment is to secure us within Himself, providing everything we will ever need to live the Life He requires. Sound good? Believe me, it is! It’s also the only way to make peace with God. Yield your life to Him today! I promise you will never regret it.

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,

Joshua 1:1-6, “Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying,
2 ‘Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
3 ‘Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
4 ‘From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
5 ‘No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
6 ‘Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’”

What do you do when your top employee dies? Many company owners have faced that very question. What on earth are we going to do? He’s run this company for 40 years! He irreplaceable! We’ll never be able to achieve like we have in the past.

That brief scenario may fit some business leaders today, but the LORD is not just “some business leader.” With Moses dead, the LORD looked immediately to Joshua. There was a land to be conquered, and there was to be no slack in occupying it.

Joshua was not asked if he would like to undertake the leadership of this vast nation. He simply obeyed the LORD’s command and accepted the responsibility! We often do the opposite. We doubt our abilities, and even question the LORD’s directives. Yet, our confidence in the LORD should be sufficient for us to undertake whatever He requires of us.

It’s interesting to view those who replace their leaders. Their tactics are sometimes different, but their objectives are always the same. Often, the replacements fair better than those they’ve replaced. Moses led Israel out of Egypt and to the edge of the Promised Land. Joshua then led Israel into the land, fulfilling God’s intention, when He said to Joshua, “No man will be able to stand before you, all the days of your life.”

Responsibility is also often greater than it first appears. Still, when the LORD is the True Leader, the objective never fails. We all possess responsibilities. Yet, when we rest in the promises of God, those responsibilities become less
cumbersome. Just remember that He said, “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” With backing like that, it’s impossible to fail. So take the reigns of responsibility He gives you and claim victory!

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