The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Proverbs 3:1-8, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
2 For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them
on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.”

There’s a verse in this passage that reminds me of my youth. It’s verse one.
I cannot recall a time when my mother sent me to the store without repeating
the phrase, “…don’t forget…” Why would she use a negative phrase instead
of saying, “Now, remember what you’re going to get”? Perhaps little boys are
prone to remember the negatives and forget the positives!

Solomon’s wisdom is not to be taken lightly, either. “Keep my commandments”
equals out to “obey His law.” If man’s law is fair, just and beneficial, it is because
it derives from God’s law. When we live in obedience, we have no fear of things
harming us because we are living under the ultimate protection of the LORD.

When we live as the LORD directs, we have no reason to fear what anyone
thinks or says. Our speech, too, lies under the blanket of His protection. And
when we believe that, we soon discover that true life comes from His peace.

Sometimes the bodily ills that we experience come from our failure to follow
His teachings in Scripture. I hope you know Him! If you do, you will understand
your need to trust Him. If you do not know Him, you can know Him by confessing
your sin and asking His forgiveness.

The kippot (skull cap) that Jewish men (and some women) wear is their means of reverencing the LORD. Born-again believers in Jesus should always live reverently
before the LORD. He is our life, and we are to live reverently (“in fear”) before Him.
If our trust is firmly fixed in Him, our lives will demonstrate that trust. We will always
be living with the awareness that He is beholding all that we are and do.

Are you a true, born-again believer in Jesus? Have you confessed your sins
to Him and asked His forgiveness? When you trust the LORD as your Savior, He manifests Himself in everything you do and say. He then becomes your Spiritual Parent, leading and teaching you throughout all you life. There is no other way!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Genesis 20:1-7, “Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.
2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.’
4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, ‘Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless?
5 ‘Did he not himself say to me, “She is my sister”? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
7 “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

Do you believe in prayer? I mean really believe! I’m not talking about the kind of prayer we pray when we’re facing something minor. Nor am I thinking of prayer even when a loved one is seriously ill. I’m thinking of the kind of prayer when we’re wanting something, not knowing it to be outside of the absolute will of God.

Abraham faced a similar situation. His was potentially hazardous –life threatening, in fact! Nor was it lessened by the fact that Abimelech faced it, too. It all occurred due to the standards of marriage in Old Testament days. Sarah was Abraham’s wife. She was also his half-sister. They shared the same father, but their mothers were different.

It would not have been out-of-character for Abimelech to have taken Sarah as his wife. Abraham, on the other hand, was more fearful of being killed by Abimelech.

Everything eventually came good, as the LORD revealed to Abimelech in a dream that Sarah was indeed Abraham’s wife. When everything came to light, Abimelech feared the LORD more than Abraham did. Moreover, Abimelech (I’m sure he was sweating!) then gave Abraham 1000 pieces of silver along with the freedom to travel wherever he wished in his kingdom. (Just get out! –and take that beautiful woman with you!)

Serious prayer on our part will ultimately result in our doing the LORD’s will! There are so many things that trouble us –things that must be trivial to Almighty God. So, just
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).

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 Timothy 2:1-6, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions
and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet
life in all godliness and dignity.
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

The media today is literally so filled with troubling news that it is difficult to absorb
and live “a tranquil and quiet life.” Nevertheless, we are commissioned to overcome
such difficulties, using sincere “prayers, petitions and thanksgivings.”

Too often, however, we succumb to cramming our minds with everything except “prayers, petitions and thanksgivings.” We sometimes wonder how we can be
thankful for life that is so encumbered with such austere circumstances. Still, it is
the LORD’s directive; therefore, we must view it as important and attainable.

Admittedly, it is difficult to pray for anyone whose life and purpose are diametrically opposed to what our LORD desires. Yet, as we think more clearly, we know without
a doubt that we belong to Him, Who is Self-enabled to right all the wrongs that occur
–even in high places. Such is “good and acceptable” for us, as it is from the LORD.

Perhaps He is testing our faith, as with the shepherd-boy, David, who faithfully faced
the giant Goliath. Nothing was more out-of-sight than victory in that situation. Still,
when the shepherd did his thing, Goliath fell dead at his feet. Victory is ours by the
hand of Almighty God. We have but to pray and believe! Are these a part of your 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,

John 8:31-36, “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free?’”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

Things that are important are often mentioned numerous time in documents of
extreme importance. The word true, for example, is mention 484 times in the
Bible. Only the book of Jude in the New Testament omits the word true. Jesus
emphasized His relationship with the word truth when He said, “I am The way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

It used to be that truth and honesty were “warp and woof” of a person’s life. Only
when something stated is so intensely difficult to believe would someone challenge
the validity. Not today! Falsification is so common today that listeners to anything
must utilize “focused concentration” to be assured of clear understanding.

Titus exhibited boldness when he said, “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are
always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’

“This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men
who turn away from the truth.”

Pray earnestly and often for those who are charged with making and enforcing our
nation’s laws. Many of them need Christ as their Savior and LORD! When He is
theirs’s, they will be His; and His Spirit, who indwells all true believers, will teach and train them in the ways of our LORD.

Still, not all will be well, nor will nations then be our allies. Still, things will be better
for our world when we become His! It all starts with our yieldedness to 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,

Numbers 32:20-23, “So Moses said to them, ‘If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for the war,
21 and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He
has driven His enemies out from before Him,
22 and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return
and be free of obligation toward the LORD and toward Israel, and this land shall
be yours for a possession before the LORD.
23 ‘But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be
sure your sin will find you out.’”

As a child, I was told that “a promise is a promise; it must always be kept.” Yet,
I was a man before I fully realized the importance of keeping promises. The vow
I took at my wedding contained words of a serious promise followed by “so help
me God.” Yes, vows are important, especially when taken in the Name of God.

Israel had been led to land promised by the LORD. Yet, standing on the bank of
the river, the tribes of Gad and Reuben decided they did not want to occupy that
land. Where they stood was sufficient for their livestock. Yet, it would have been
a serious fissure in their promise.

People who promise and then want to back out are always suspicious to others.
Moses then proposed that the tribes of Gad and Reuben join their brothers’ tribes
in the fight to possess the land –then they would be free to return to the land across
the river. Then Moses added…

“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against
The LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Currently, our nation seems to be plagued with officials who are not keeping
their promises –the oaths they took for their current government positions.
Words, particularly promises, seem to mean little-to-nothing these days. Just
say what you need to say to get on the inside; then do whatever protects you
in that position, even if you have to lie to maintain it.

Are such people not aware that there is a God who views everything that takes
place on earth? What were they thinking when they said, “…so help me God”?
God helps no one who lies, no matter what their station in life might be! The
Word of God clearly states, “…if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned
against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

We need to pray for our nation! We need also the prayers of you who receive
this GRANDS LETTER in your country. We live in desperate times; and we all
need the daily guidance of the LORD Jesus Christ –in our own lives and in the
lives of our nations. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God”
(Heb. 10:31).

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any
people” (Prov. 14:34).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We may never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom