The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14, “In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.
10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.
11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.
12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.
14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

So far as many of today’s people are concerned, the pastor is simply a man, who stands before his congregation and declares
Sunday-after-Sunday one or more principles from the Bible that helps them make it through the following week. That’s the only time they see (or hear) him, so what else should they expect?

Well, the truly God-called pastors offer much more than that!
The pastor is something of a builder; he seeks out the meanings
of biblical truths and applies them to the needs of his congrega-
tion. He is to be a wise and studied man, one who knows and
understands the needs of his people and knows and under- standsthe truths of God’s Word.

Yes, “the excssive devotion to books is wearying to the body”;
yet the needs of his congregation are greater than his weariness, thus he toils on heartily “feeding the flock.” Only
those who have walked in shoes like the pastor’s understand
the awesome God-given responsibility to “feed the flock of God.”

The judgment of the LORD, that will one day fall upon us all, will
“bring every act into judgment…whether it is good or evil.” And it is the awesomeness of that day that urges us to follow Him
closely today. There is no escape!

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