The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 30:1-5, “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin;
2 Who proceed down to Egypt without consulting Me, to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 “Therefore, the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
4 “For their princes are at Zoan and their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
5 “Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach.”

The word “woe” relates in meaning not only to “stop,” as one might say to a horse, but it’s
also an expression of grief. The usage of the word in our verses above could easily have
the meaning of both “stop” and “grief.” Isaiah could easily have utilized both meanings in
his warning.

Absolutely nothing occurs anywhere, but that the LORD has a plan for His people. It’s as
true for us as it was for Israel. Pray tell, why do they and we devise and execute plans, rather than waiting patiently on the LORD? It’s almost as if we trusted ourselves more than
we trust Him.

Shame is equal to disapointment; therefore, when we seek anything (comfort, shelter, etc.)
from anyone other than the LORD, we are, in effect, saying that He is less dependable
than those who don’t even know Him. It compares with a child who disowns and degraces his own father when he asks money from a stranger.

“The safety of Pharaoh will be your shame,” the prophet says! And so it is with all nations,
who seek the provision of their needs (or even wants) from anyone but the LORD! Do you
pray to the LORD for the things that you need? You ought to do so if you truly belong to
Him.

There are two young boys who live across the street from me. The always wave and
greet me (“Hi, Mr. Gene!”) when I am outside and visible to them. Yet, they never ask me
for anything, however needful it might be. How would their dad feel if they relied upon me
instead of upon him? He is their responsibility, and he enjoys being their responsibilty.

Oh, that we might trust the LORD! First, He wants and needs to be our Father. Then, He
wants us to rely upon Him for our needs. Believe me, He can provide anything! And, as the
Provider, He has the responsibility to assess what we need and precisely when we need it.

None of this is hard. Take Him as your Father by trusting in His Son, Jesus! Once you are
spiritually related to Him, He will meet your every need! Even things you need that you
didn’t know you needed –He will provide. Trust Him! Give Him your life! That’s the Key!

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,

Psalm 12:1-4, “Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be, for the faithful disappear
from among the sons of men.
2 They speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips and with a double heart they
speak.
3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks great things;
4 Who have said, ‘With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own! Who is lord
over us?’”

How many times have you and I spoken when it would have been to our advantage
not to have? I shudder when I think of such times in my own life. At the same time,
I fear that I have also failed to speak when the occasion demanded it. Where was the
voice of the godly man or woman? Surely, someone has the courage for a verbal challenge!

Our verses above cite some who speak falsely and flatteringly, while knowing better in
their hearts. Has that ever been the occasion with you? I pray it has not! The psalmist
denounces all false and flattering speech. He knows and reveals in these verses the
flattery that claims it will prevail, while it denies that anyone is “lord over” those who
employ ungodly tactics through their speech.

Our hearts should cry for the LORD to silence such voices! At the same time, our
self-determination should be that we stand in fearless opposition to all things false!
Stand determinably? Yes, but always in love, for His death on the Cross was not for
us alone.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Please find attached for your reading, my book, ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT!

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,

Psalm 1:1-6, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand
in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its
leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

It is heart-warming to read something that commences with a blessing of warmth. There is so much corruption that makes its way to the front pages of our information systems today. I understand the controversy that is raging over the down-taking of DIRECT-TV; but apart from the right to know, don’t we already have enough available news? Knowing too much of what’s going on is like walking “in the counsel of the wicked,” is it not?

We should be delighting in the Law of the LORD! His Word provides us with peace and joy! The psalmist calls it a “delight.” Thus, we are instructed to fill our hearts and minds with delightful things! To do otherwise is like drinking sour milk. Ooo!

Yet, when we abide in glorious and refreshing places, it’s like eating luscious “fruit in its season.” And it’s that fruit that gives us the strength to “prosper” with just about as many things as you can name.

The contrast between the “blessed” and the “wicked” could hardly be greater. The wicked are like the “chaff which the wind drives away.” They are evil people who neglect even the knowledge the LORD has granted them. And for that negligence, they will one day be divinely judged. They will be accused, but not able to “stand” in that day. Their way is wicked, and the wicked will surely perish. There will be but One Judge and Jury in that day –the very One they neglected to follow.

Join me in urging those without Christ to listen carefully to His Word today. Elsewhere the psalmist says, “Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your heart” (Ps. 95:7-8). May it be that we will not only hear His Voice, but carefully obey it, as we see the nearing of THE DAY of His Coming!

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,

Genesis 22:2-3, “He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”

There are over 850 love-related words throughout the Scriptures. At the same time, there are many instances where love is injected into writings without mention of what the word actually means in its original language.

In our English language, with one word for “love,” we might say, “I love apple pie,” but mean much less than when we say, “I love you,” to a special person. In the Biblical languages, there are separate words that carry the various meanings of the word “love.”

In Greek, for example, the word agape is the strongest word for love. We find it in Luke 6:35, where it says, “…love your enemies…” One formidable Greek scholar says that there is no trace of the word agape in any heathen writer anywhere. Thus, the word is protected and preserved for its highest usage in Holy Scripture.

The Greek word phileo (as in Luke 20:46), offers a lesser meaning of love, when it says that the scribes walk around in long robes, and love (phileo) to hear the respectful greetings they receive in the market places.

Eros, is a Greek word that translates as “love” in English, but carries such a vile and coarse meaning that it is eliminated completely from the Greek New Testament.

All of this is to say that words have meanings. We must take extreme care in how we use them. What is intended by the user may be understood in a totally different way by the hearer. My great-grandkids often mean something quite differently than what I understand. We are blessed to have a Savior who hears with understanding.

All this is to say that we need to guard what we say, and how we “flavor” it, lest it be heard differently than we intend. We are so blessed to have a God who understands our hearts, even before the words come forth through our speech.

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 Kings 11:1-12, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, ‘You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.’ Solomon held fast to these in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon.
8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD had commanded.
11 So the LORD said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.
12 ‘Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.’”

There is no question but that the vast number of women that Solomon collected was an
affront to the LORD! The LORD knew (and He told Solomon) that foreign women would ultimately turn his head and heart away from the LORD Himself. Solomon ignored the warning!

The LORD was right. In time, the foreign women moved Solomon’s heart away from the LORD, and he commenced worshipping the foreign gods, and, as the LORD’s warning had said, it all ultimately cost Solomon his kingdom.

Neither you nor I, my dear reader, can ultimately escape the solemn warnings of the LORD. Almighty God is no respecter of persons. We simply cannot do wrong and get by! The man responsible for the death of my uncle was himself a nobody; yet, he paid the penalty for what he had done. How equally you and I are to the “nobodies” of this world; yet, the all-seeing Eye of the LORD is ever and always upon us.

Moving beyond this account into the New Testament, we learn of Christ Jesus’ love for us. At the same time, He expects and deserves our love above that for any other. Do you love the LORD? Do you know that He gave His own Life on the Cross for you? He is, therefore, deserving of the fullness of your love? Don’t ever turn away from Him for any other!

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and
sent His Son to be the propitiation (appeasement) for our sin (1 Jn. 4:10).

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