The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Joshua 5:13-15, “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
15 The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

For 40 years Moses had led the children of Israel from Egypt. When he died, Joshua was commissioned to replace Moses as Israel’s leader. Now, Joshua had reached the outskirts of
of the Promised Land and met a Man with a drawn sword. “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” Joshua asked.

The Man replied that He was the Captain of the LORD’s host, the pre-incarnate Christ. He then commanded Joshua to remove his sandals from his feet– the same command God had given Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5).

When we follow the LORD’s leading in our lives, we can always be assurred of His presence with us. It is not wrong for us to ask Him to assure us, but it is wrong for us to advance without His presence.

Many years ago, I had the privilege to stand on the ruins of
old Jericho and look down upon the ruins of that city. The LORD was with me then, as He was with Joshua. He is always with us when we are trusting Him. And it is vital that we not advance in any endeavor without His permission.

Knowing Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord is primary. Following Him in every activity is our assurance of vistory. He does not fail. Yet, we must surrender to Him as Joshua did.
Have you done that? Have you accepted Him as your Savior?
Are you following Him as your LORD? It our only assurance
of life and peace.

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 1:1-4, “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.”

If you were asked to identify Israel’s greatest leader, who would it be? The answer is simple: whomever the LORD Him-self nominates. Undoubtedly, there were those in Israel who viewed Moses as their supreme leader. There will never be another leader like Moses! Yet, in time –the LORD’s time—their leadership changed. Moses died and the LORD replaced Moses with Joshua. He would lead that mighty nation of some millions of people. The LORD never allows His people to be without a leader.

I was a young preacher, serving in a small Missouri church. When I returned home from church that Sunday night, I learned that my home-church pastor had that day tendered his resignation. We were close friends, and I was pained at the thought of losing him. The next morning, I knocked on his home door and gave my best effort to dissuade him from resigning. Yet, my efforts were all in vain.

In time, my home church called another pastor. His leadership
style varied considerably from the former pastor; yet, I learned that when the LORD moves one man out, He moves another man in. The LORD is not without His servant-leaders.

Leadership styles do vary; yet when the predominant emphasis comes consistently from Scripture and focuses upon the LORD Jesus Christ, the responsibility of the congregation is to faithfully and prayerfully follow the leader.

Are you praying for the pastoral leadership of your church? You should be! For unless you’ve “walked a few miles in his shoes,” you have no idea of the multiple pressures that fall upon leadership.

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 34:11-18, “Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.
13 “But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim
14 — for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God–
15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice,
16 and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods.
17 “You shall make for yourself no molten gods.
18 “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.”

There were a number of abandoned houses in the area where I lived as a kid. We kids were always interesting in perusing those places, noting especially the things former tenants had left behind. I wonder if they built this house… Was this their kitchen? I’m guessing this was the dining area? We had fun just wondering about things…letting our imaginations run wild.

Israel didn’t have to wonder about things. The LORD clearly revealed to the nation what He was going to do and warned the people against becoming interested in their gods and their practices in worship.

We live in a day when we need to be careful, too. We live in a world with a host of nice people –except for some of their worship. I remember a relative –a very nice person. We were always glad when she came to visit, but her religion was anything but Christian.

Many young Christians stray from the faith when they become attracted, then attached, to the wrong person. The warning of Moses serves us well today. Moses prayed: “…let the LORD go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate…” (v. 9). “Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land…” (v. 12).

With solemn words that have enjoyed life well beyond Moses’ day, we are warned against worshipping any god other than the LORD Jesus Christ. In principle, intermarriage with non-Christians is never acceptable to the LORD! (vss. 15ff).

While the principles in this Letter have been drawn from the Old Testament, they are our LORD’s sure intention for people living today. Be very careful! However you frame it, it’s never right to do wrong. Always follow Jesus! He is our Abundant Life!

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 15:22-28, “And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.’
23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”
24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Subsequent to the landing of Noah’s Ark, Noah became drunk on wine, resulting in an exposure of nakedness, while sleeping in his tent. His son, Ham, who witnessed it, subsequently had a son, whose name was Canaan. The woman, who is here begging Jesus to heal her daughter, was a descendent of Noah’s grandson, Canaan.

Whether Jesus’ disciples were aware of the woman’s ancestry, we are not told. Obviously, however, they were more interested in protecting Jesus from the crowd than in caring for the needs of the little girl. I’m afraid we’re often like that. But, the mother possessed a steadfast concern for her little girl. God bless Christian mothers!

Jesus was steadfast in His position, too –perhaps as a test of the mother’s faith. He was thoroughly able to heal the girl; and in the end, Jesus healed the girl, as her mother exhibited steadfast faith.

There’s an old hymn Christians used to sing in church. We may
have outlived the song, but we will never outlive it’s message:
Faith Is The Victory! “Oh, glorious victory, that overcomes the
world.”

So much could be said about victories that come through faith. Are you not getting answers to your prayers? Please, just keep on believing! Christ is the answer and faith is the key to unlocking the door of His presence.

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,

Acts 2:6-9, “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

Were you ever in a work-situation where the boss gave you some simple I instructions and then left you virtually alone to carry out all he had said?

It was something like that with Jesus and His disciples, except that in a sense, the disciples started it all by asking a question. They asked if it were at that time He was restoring the kingdom to Israel. His response was that the Holy Spirit would come, and when He arrived, it would then be time for them to become His witnesses.

Several years ago, I was privileged to speak to a convocation of missionaries in Papua New Guinea at their annual convention. I cannot recall exactly how I came to be chosen as their speaker. Still, the Holy Spirit was involved and He made His presence well known.

Years later, I received an email from one of the children who was there. She said she was seated up in a tree and heard every word. If memory serves me correctly, that young girl later became a nurse and subsequently went to be with the LORD.

Recently, I received a communication from that mission, citing missionaries, who are sharing the Gospel with people in areas of which I had never heard. It caused me to assess my own missionary activity with those I encounter throughout the day.

There is no question but that Jesus has always known where we are and what we are doing. He knows all about all of us. As Christians, we ought to be witnessing of Him to those around us.

There are many ways to witness, but how we conduct ourselves is crucial. What we say of Him will have value only if our demeanor is honest and loving. I can’t help but wonder if those missionaries are thinking and praying for us. Surely, we are praying for them.

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