The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Exodux 33:12-16, “Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘See, You say to me, “Bring up
this people!” But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, “I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.”
13 “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.”
14 And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’
15 Then he said to Him, ‘If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up
from here.
16 ‘For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people?
Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from
all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?’”

There are a number of ways a person can be known. One can be known by the
company he keeps. One can be known by the language he uses. It’s not even
whether our physical features favor those who have given us birth; it’s a matter of
whether our behavior reveals that we have absorbed those with whom we are
keeping company.

Moses originally doubted whether he was capable of accomplishing what the LORD
intended for him to do. Ultimately, he resigned himself and the task to the LORD.
He had to come to the place where he recognized that it was not whether he could
accomplish the LORD’s task, but whether the LORD could accomplish it with him
in the way.

Don’t we resemble Moses more than we admit? When the LORD gives us a task,
Instead of just trusting Him and forgeing ahead, we take a long a look at all of the
difficulties and want to resign altogether. “Send somebody else,” we say. “I’m not
up to Your task. I don’t know enough Bible. I get tounge-tied and don’t know what
to say.

I had a friend in Australia — a one-time German soldier, yes, an unwilling Nazi –
who came to know Christ through an elderly woman who stu..t..ter…ed. Don’t tell
the LORD His business. He knows who’s who and what’s what. Just trust Him to
use you as He wants. In the end, you will thank and praise Him for what He has
done! God bless you –abundantly!

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 5:27-33, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;
28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;
32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’”

These words of our LORD Jesus Christ are quite pointed and intended for us all. They
are not words that are easy on our ears or on our eyes. It is indeed difficult for us to
even imagine such to be true in the lives of those that we love. Nevertheless, we are
to accept Jesus’ words as directed at us, not merely at others. His intention is obviously
a display of the sinfulness of all human hearts.

What makes this even more difficult is the fact that we all (you who are reading and I
who am writing) have here within been accused of immoral attitudes as well as activities.
Christ commences these accusations by noting the external activity of the human eye. Undoubtedly, the lustful observation of the eyes leads eventually to the physical activity
of adultery. Jesus’ forthright remedy is to savagely sever either the hand or the eye
rather than suffer being cast into hell.

Divorce, too, is unacceptable in His sight. He does not pause to consider who in the
marital relationship was right and who was wrong, He only allows that divorce of the
union of two persons is unacceptable, just as it is for either to then remarry another, so
long as the original party still lives.

It is the clear understanding of this Biblical position that ultimately led to the phrase “’till
death do us part” in the wedding ceremony. In all of the Scripture, the validity of these situations is clearly stated. It is also a prohibition to make any “false vows” (vs. 33). The
LORD takes seriously the attitudes that precede and accompany the union of His people.
May we always live by His standards, knowing that He will always provide for the needs
of those who love 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,

Matthew 5:16-20, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

There is an old Johnny Mercer – Pied Pipers’ song that contained the following lyrics:

Accentuate the positive;
Eliminate the negative;
Latch on to the affirmative;
And don’t mess with Mister In Between.

I haven’t heard those lyrics for years or the music that enveloped them. Yet, as I thought
of the Matthew passage above, that old song came to mind. Verses 16 and 17 are positives. We are to let our light shine – not that others might glorify us, but that they might glorify our LORD Jesus Christ. Is He being glorified by your demeanor? by your language? by your
associations?

There is coming a day (vs. 18) when all that the LORD has constructed will be destroyed (eliminated). The heavens and the earth and all that is in them will be divinely destroyed; and in their place everything will be newly constructed.

The Commandments of the LORD are also to be obeyed! When we ignore or discard the LORD’s teachings, by default, we encourage others to ignore them, too. We learn, then we teach –sometimes intentionally, sometimes by default. Nevertheless, it is teaching, and we will be held accountable for ourselves and for others.

The scribes and the Pharisees taught people; and they are to be held accountable for their teachings. What we possess from the LORD and from His Word far surpasses what the scribes and Pharisees taught. Yet, if we neglect to teach what the LORD taught us, we are sure to be held accountable!

Get into the Word! Read and study it daily! Share it and its principles with others. Reach out and make a difference in someone else’s life. That brings glory to our LORD Jesus!

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 21:22-23, “Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, ‘God is with you in all that you do;
23 now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.’”

When you have lived in a country all of your life, it’s understandable that you know how things
are done, who is in authority, and to whom you should go for information regarding things you
don’t know. This was somewhat the situation with Abraham. He had ventured into the land of
the Philistines and was conversing with Abimelech, who was the Philistine leader.

Phicol, the Philistine military commander, had noticed and liked the demeanor of Abraham. “God is with you,” he said. What we notice of someone we meet for the first time, is the impression we are likely to have of them thereafter. Phicol’s impression of Abraham is probably
what encouraged Abimelech’s impression of him also. We just cannot dismiss that first impression!

It’s important also to notice that Phicol insisted that Abraham swear by the LORD that he would not deal falsely with him. I have to wonder how some troublesome things would work out if we were always closely connected with the LORD! Undoubtedly, there were those in that day, who pretended to be servants of a god, but were not truthful. Hopefully, such will never be true of us. People perceive of God what they see in us!

How spiritually stimulating it is to hear someone say, “Oh, you gave me too much money!” Not
many people are like that today. But, when someone says that to you, it’s an “open door” for
the sharing of the Gospel of Christ: “You must be a Christian!” Whatever the reply, the door is
open for sharing.

There’s always someone, who’s out for all he can get. True believers are out for all they can give! Be always a true Christ-like believer!

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

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

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

Dear Grands,

Genesis 12:4-8, “So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.

Make no mistake about it, we’re never too old to serve the LORD! Still, age is not the primary factor. What is of supreme importance is that 1) the LORD spoke to Abram; and 2) that Abram obeyed the instructions of the LORD to the letter! The LORD had led Abram and his family to the land of Canaan.

When the LORD saw that Abram was strictly obedient regarding His instructions, He gave the land as an inheritance to Abram and his descendants. It was then that Abram responded by building an altar to the LORD. Thereafter, Abram prayed incessantly to the LORD and obeyed His commands.

Does this sound terribly difficult to you? It doesn’t sound that way to me, either. So then, why are you and I (note that I am including myself here) not more dedicated to Him and more obedient to His command? Surely, we don’t think we can do better on our own…or that there is some error in the LORD’s directives! Perhaps, it’s because we assess our way better or easier or just more productive than His.

For shame! We would not be in the land of our birth were it not for His will and directive. Nothing at our hand would be productive in the course of His work, were it not for His leadership!

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart”
(Ps. 37:3-4).

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