The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Judges 9:50-56, “Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it.
51 But there was a strong tower in the center of the city, and all the men and women with all the leaders of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up on the roof of the tower.
52 So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.
54 Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, ‘A woman slew him.'” So the young man pierced him through, and he died.
55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each departed to his home.
56 Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers.”

There’s an old saying, “You cannot do wrong and get by.” Long before the occasion of these
verses above, Abimelech had murdered 70 of his brothers (Jud. 9:5). And for a short while it looked as if he was going to get away with it. Yet, there was indeed a payday coming. The word is true:
“For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings
will return on your own head” (Obad. 1:15).

The death that befell Abimelech repaid the wickedness he had dealt to his brothers. In fact,
it was more humiliating because of the way he died: that unknown woman who threw a
millstone from the tower and “crushed his skull.” It was not a warrior that hit him; it was not a
crew of brave young men; it was a woman –possibly a grandmother!– but too lowly for her
name to be included in the text. What a way for an egotistical young man to be remembered!

All of this is a stark lesson for us. It may be that we’ve not physically murdered anyone; yet we
have discolored someone’s reputation by the things we’ve said and the attitude we have conveyed. May the LORD enable us to escape the footsteps of Abimelech. We cannot do wrong and get by!

Have you done wrong to someone? It would be wise to confess that wrong. The LORD stands ready always to forgive.

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,

Romans 5:6-9, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

Strange are the stories of those who are saved. The church of which I am a member is sponsoring a new church in London, England. We weren’t told all of the story, but the pastor was witnessing to a man, who, apparently in anger, arose and stalked out of the restaurant where the two had been in conversation. A week or so following, the man came to faith in Jesus Christ!

Only recently, I heard a man testify that while he had consistently resisted the Savior, a pastor had visited his home and led his Mormon wife to faith in Christ. When together the man and his wife attended the pastor’s church, the man came to faith in Jesus at the close of that morning worship.

As I heard these testimonies, the thought raced again through my mind: this is but one of the reasons the LORD saves us. He not only wants us to be saved; we are to bear a faithful witness that others might come to know Him, also.

Who have you encountered lately that needed the LORD? Sometimes, it’s difficult to know. Therefore, we should be alert. Both of the men mentioned above seemed not to want to hear the Gospel. Yet, they hungered within themselves to know Jesus! That London pastor could have given up. So could the pastor who visited the other man’s home.

There’s an old saying that goes, “The tougher they are, the harder they fall.” External toughness is the cloak with which people cover their known need for the Savior. They know; and when they know that you know, they pull the cover about them all the more tightly. Yet, Jesus cannot be avoided. Pray for His leadership. You never know to whom you are speaking.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Use this tract! Email it to someone too far for a personal witness.

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,

Leviticus 5:14-18, Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
15 “If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the LORD’S holy things, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation in silver by shekels, in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering.
16 “He shall make restitution for that which he has sinned against the holy thing, and shall add to it a fifth part of it and give it to the priest. The priest shall then make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and it will be forgiven him.
17 “Now if a person sins and does any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.
18 “He is then to bring to the priest a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his error in which he sinned unintentionally and did not know it, and it will be forgiven him.”

The two human activities in the verses above are both similar and yet they are different. Both
Individuals are guilty of sin. The first person appears to have acted against an edict of the LORD, yet, though he did it unintentially, it was still a sin at the time of its commitment.

The other individual appears to have done something the LORD had already commanded not
to be done, yet his activity was considered sin, although it was unintentional. I guess I could
liken this to a child who was absent when the teacher announced a forthcoming test. No one
told the absent child about the coming test; yet, he failed nevertheless.

When I was a child and told to do something, I often asked, “Why?” The response I received
from my mother was: “Because I told you to!” Had I known at that time in my life that no sentence should ever end with a preposition, I would still have best refrained from correcting my mother!

In my mind, the laws of the LORD in Old Testament times were very strict and often not as clear to our thinking as we might like them to be. Nevertheless, the LORD intends us to know
all He has said; thus, He intentionally gave us the Scriptures.

I will be the first to admit that there are verses in the Bible that I find very difficult to grasp and apply to my own life. Still, if the Holy Scriptures were to read like the few words in a small child’s coloring book, we would not be challenged! So, when I come across verses like these cited above, I know that it will take more than a casual reading to grasp their understanding. Yet, when we do understand them, they will continue to be a challenge to our lives!

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 9:1-7, “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he
would be born blind?’
3 Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so
that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 ‘We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming
when no one can work.
5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.’
6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and
applied the clay to his eyes,
7 and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which is translated, Sent). So
he went away and washed, and came back seeing.”

Reading this passage reminds me when I had my first ophthalmic surgery. It wasn’t
that I couldn’t see; rather, it was that my head was hurting and nothing helped. My
darling wife suggested that I see an eye surgeon –my son! The hurt was somehow
connected with my eye, and a short, quick laser shot or two did the trick!

Not to speak against my son (or against any other ophthalmic surgeon), but Jesus
was quicker when he healed the blind man in our verses above. Nobody is going
to object if you see a doctor about your eyes; but the Pharisees (and there are
always Pharisees about!) complained not about the healing, but that it was done on
the Sabbath! Picky, picky!

The Pharisees so reveared the Sabbath that nothing else mattered. There is value
in our keeping the LORD’s Day. Chic-fil-a closes on Sunday out of reverence for the
LORD’s Day. Years ago, when I was in evangelism, I often had to purchase fuel for
my car on Sunday. Hospitals, emergency personnel, police officials –all have to
occasionally work on Sunday. They don’t work in irreverence to the LORD, but out
of necessity.

I’ve seen the Pool of Siloam in Israel. It’s not water with which I would long to be
washed. Still, seeing (or healing) on any day is superior to pain. I have to wonder
what those Pharisees would have done, had Jesus’ healing been 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

Dear Grands,

Obadiah 1:1-4, The vision of Obadiah. “Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom—
we have heard a report from the LORD, and an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, ‘Arise and let us go against her for battle‘ —
2 ‘Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you are greatly despised.
3 ‘The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock,
in the loftiness of your dwelling place, who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down
to earth?”
4 “Though you build high like the eagle, though you set your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.’”

The Book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. There are several
Obadiahs mentioned in the Scriptures, and we have no indication as to which of them
wrote this small book. In any event, according to Robert Lee, “it forms a sharp menifesto against the fierce Idumeans, who were ever and always the enemies of Israel.” They
were the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob.

Careful examination of this small book reveals it to be 1) “a warning against sinful pride
and godless defiance,” and 2) a solemn warning against the perils brought on by personal
pride and anti-semitic hatred, i.e., of the nation Israel.

It is sad to see hatred expressed toward anyone. Of course, as we journey through life,
we encounter various people, some of whom we find difficult. Remember that the word
“difficult” often relates to the word “different.” As a child, I asked about people I didn’t
know: “Why are they…?”; “Why do they…?” Yet, I soon learned that we are all different
in many ways, and for various and sundry reasons.

We ought, however, never to be judgmental. Have we all never thought about what
others think of us? What’s more, think of the pattern of behavior we are setting. Jacob
set his mind on the family birthright, and his actions have produced little but hatred down through the centuries.

To some degree, we are all like our parents. Our children are somewhat like us. Yet,
when we yield our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ, He enables us to change and be
more like Him! I sure want my progeny to be more like Christ than I am! Don’t you wish
that for your children and grandchildren down-the-line? Remember: “More is caught than taught.” Neverless, it all starts with yielding your life to Jesus! Have you done that?

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