The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Joel 1:13-16, “Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament, O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God?”

We looked into Joel some weeks ago; still, the Word of God never changes. Circumstances that affect our human lives do change.
As of this writing, an underwater miniature submarine is lost in the
North Atlantic somewhat near to where the great British luxury liner Titanic sank back in 1912. Reports are that the little sub has only sufficient oxygen onboard to last until mid-day Thursday.

Needless to say, those onboard (including a young boy) had not the slightest thought of danger when they boarded the sub. They
were going to view the ruins of the Titanic. Now, the Coast Guard units from several nations search furiously for them!

We never know what a day may bring forth. It was the same with the prophet Joel. “What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; and what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; and what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten (Joel 1:4). Will anyone survive this
devastation?

My prayer has been that those underwater sightseekers will be saved –but that they will realize that life is more than excitement; more than the thousands of dollars it costs to view an 111-year-old
ruin that took 1500 lives! Life is delicate; it’s a gift from the LORD!
Its only assurance lies in its yieldedness to Him who gave it. Have
your yielded your life to Him? Death exists above the waves, too.

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,

Luke 21:10-17, “Then He continued by saying to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,
11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
12 ‘But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.
13 “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
14 “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
16 “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
17 and you will be hated by all because of My name.’”
18 “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.”

If you’ve ever wondered if there were parts of the Bible that indicated just how things would be in the last days of earth, you have read it above. In fact, it’s truly sufficient to read only the first of verse 10: “Nation will rise against nation…”

What is stated in our verses above has always been true; it’s just that until recently we’ve been personally, physically protected from the wars and skirmishes that have devastated most of the nations of the world.

Physical persecution will reach the personal level, if it has not already. Yet, in the sordid mess that befalls us for standing with and for the LORD Jesus Christ, He gives the most encouraging
note when He says, “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.”

What will we say to our adversaries when they assail us? Don’t worry about a thing! “Make up your minds not to prepare before-hand to defend yourselves,” for the LORD says; “…I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute!”

What is worse is the fact that some, whom we thought were true friends –even relatives of our own households– will hate and betray us. They will choose to side against us because to them it will look safer to be with the other side.

Yet, here is the LORD’s solemn promise, ensconced within His loving glory and power: “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.”

Do you count loose hairs when you brush or comb your hair? Think
of this sure promise when you do: “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.” How precious the preservation of our LORD! Do you know Him? He wants to know you! Oh, there’s a Great Day 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,

Hebrews 1:1-4, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”

It’s too long a story to share here regarding how I entered the
teaching arena. I never wanted to be a teacher (at least, that’s what I always said); yet my mother was a teacher and her father before her was a teacher. It must have been inate with me!

I clearly remember the rousing debate in my New Testament class
at Northeastern Bible College in New Jersey. There were half a dozen students, who differed viciously on the authorship of the Letter to the Hebrews. (The school is no longer there, and I emphatically deny that class debate as having to do anything with the school’s demise!)

Of the 27 books of the New Testament, only one carries no name of its author. It is the Letter to the Hebrews. As wild animals fight each other for food, even when it lacks scarcity, so biblical commentators and New Testament scholars struggle and fuss over the authorship of Hebrews. Many ancient biblical scholars attributed the authorship to Paul. While the presence of antiquity is not to be excluded, it must be admitted that antiquity itself is little, if any, actual proof of authorship.

As there is nothing like joining the fray, I have thoroughly searched everything that might serve as a help to the answer to the letter’s authorship. Four aspects, each supportive of Pauline writing, have convinced me of his authorship; and I humbly set them forth for your consideration.

1.When Saul of Tarsus was converted to Christ on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9), he suffered a temporary loss of his eyesight. The result of that loss, while temporary, may have been a reason that he later three times sought the LORD to free him from what he termed a “thorn in the flesh” (II Cor. 12:8). Simultaneous to Saul’s conversion, the LORD tapped Ananias, himself a spiritual convert, to attend to Paul’s need of vision and also instruct him regarding the nature of events forthcoming in his life: “…the Lord said to Ananias, ‘…he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.’” (Acts 9:15-16).

While Paul’s ministry was almost exclusively to the Gentiles, the inclusion of “the sons of Israel” in Ananias’ instructions to Paul (Acts 9:10ff) permits him to minister to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles. Therefore, Paul could well have authored the Letter to the Hebrews.

2.In the final chapter (the 13th) of the Letter to the Hebrews, verse 23 mentions “our brother Timothy.” Timothy is mentioned six times in the Acts of the Apostles, each mention includes a notation of Paul. Further, Timothy is mentioned once in Romans, twice in First Corinthians, and twice in Second Corinthians, twice in Philemon, once in Colossians, three times in First Thessalonians, once in Second Thessalonians, three times in First Timothy, once in Second Timothy, and once in Philemon. All of these letters are unquestionably authored by Paul.

3.In all, Paul wrote 14 letters (including Hebrews) in the New Testament. The closing salutations in 12 of his letters (excluding Colossians and Titus) mention Timothy. This argument speaks for Paul as the author of Hebrews.

4.Hebrew’s conclusion (13:24) also notes that the author is in Italy, the very place where Paul spent his last days on earth.

There are clear answers to all the questions we have concerning the Bible. What’s more, they are found in the Bible itself. We have but to search the Scriptures. Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me…” (John 5:39). Just keep searching!
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 11:21-29, “It was Moses said, ‘The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, “I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.”’
22Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?
23 The LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent.
25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.
27 So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.”
29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”

The young boy was going to camp. His father was thrilled for his son, as he remembered his own youthful days in camp and the spiritual commitments he made in his own life. One thing he needed, however, his father had not purchased for him.
“Don’t worry,” the father said, “I will get what you need and I’ll get it
to the camp in plenty of time.”

These two accounts are not in exact parallel. Moses was worried that the LORD might not provide sufficient food for the 600,000 people, as He had promised. The boy was concerned that what he needed his father would not provide ontime. Spiritual provisions are always superior to the physical. At the same time, when the LORD promises to provide, we ought never to doubt it. His love for us is infinitely superior to our love for those in our families. His Word says, “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).

Is the LORD’s promise sufficient for you? It certainly is; and it ought to be so recognized!

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,

Joel 2:15-18, “Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room and the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the LORD’S ministers, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”
18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people.”

This past week a serious report of what was called “grapefruit-sized hail” fell on some areas of northern Texas, resulting in considerable destruction. Many communities now possess huge siren-alarms that warn people of serious weather that is threatening destruction and death to residents of their area. Those who ignore such warnings, do so at the risk of their own peril.

Not all warnings, however, are concerned with physical destruction or death. The Scriptures warn people of the failure to take notice of the LORD. James says, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (Jas. 4:17). And the wages of that sin is death, too! –spiritual death for eternity.

“Heeding a warning” means taking shelter in a place that will sufficiently protect human life. The same is true with spiritual life. Our Scripture above assures us that the LORD “will have pity on His people.” God is real and He will protect those whom He loves.

At the same time, we must use good judgment and follow His instructions. Ignoring the possibility of death is not “good judgment.” We know that instinctly. That’s why we rush to the Emergency Room of the nearest hospital when we are “attacked” with something we don’t understand. ER doctors are there to help; but they don’t chase us down to see if we have need of their expertise!

The LORD works somewhat the same way. He is always present to help us, and He has just what we need; but we must seek Him out and follow the instructions He gives us. He urges us to repent of our sin and trust Him to be our Savior! We’ve all sinned –no question of that! We must simply ask His forgiveness of our sin, and believe that He will forgive us.

There is no life anywhere that can compare with His! What’s more, the price is simply the yieldedness of our lives to Him! “Thank you, LORD, for saving my soul!” May all who read these lines know You or come to know You. The siren is sounding. Time is ever short.

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