The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 1:1-6, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand
in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its
leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

It is heart-warming to read something that commences with a blessing of warmth. There is so much corruption that makes its way to the front pages of our information systems today. I understand the controversy that is raging over the down-taking of DIRECT-TV; but apart from the right to know, don’t we already have enough available news? Knowing too much of what’s going on is like walking “in the counsel of the wicked,” is it not?

We should be delighting in the Law of the LORD! His Word provides us with peace and joy! The psalmist calls it a “delight.” Thus, we are instructed to fill our hearts and minds with delightful things! To do otherwise is like drinking sour milk. Ooo!

Yet, when we abide in glorious and refreshing places, it’s like eating luscious “fruit in its season.” And it’s that fruit that gives us the strength to “prosper” with just about as many things as you can name.

The contrast between the “blessed” and the “wicked” could hardly be greater. The wicked are like the “chaff which the wind drives away.” They are evil people who neglect even the knowledge the LORD has granted them. And for that negligence, they will one day be divinely judged. They will be accused, but not able to “stand” in that day. Their way is wicked, and the wicked will surely perish. There will be but One Judge and Jury in that day –the very One they neglected to follow.

Join me in urging those without Christ to listen carefully to His Word today. Elsewhere the psalmist says, “Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your heart” (Ps. 95:7-8). May it be that we will not only hear His Voice, but carefully obey it, as we see the nearing of THE DAY of His 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,

Genesis 22:2-3, “He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”

There are over 850 love-related words throughout the Scriptures. At the same time, there are many instances where love is injected into writings without mention of what the word actually means in its original language.

In our English language, with one word for “love,” we might say, “I love apple pie,” but mean much less than when we say, “I love you,” to a special person. In the Biblical languages, there are separate words that carry the various meanings of the word “love.”

In Greek, for example, the word agape is the strongest word for love. We find it in Luke 6:35, where it says, “…love your enemies…” One formidable Greek scholar says that there is no trace of the word agape in any heathen writer anywhere. Thus, the word is protected and preserved for its highest usage in Holy Scripture.

The Greek word phileo (as in Luke 20:46), offers a lesser meaning of love, when it says that the scribes walk around in long robes, and love (phileo) to hear the respectful greetings they receive in the market places.

Eros, is a Greek word that translates as “love” in English, but carries such a vile and coarse meaning that it is eliminated completely from the Greek New Testament.

All of this is to say that words have meanings. We must take extreme care in how we use them. What is intended by the user may be understood in a totally different way by the hearer. My great-grandkids often mean something quite differently than what I understand. We are blessed to have a Savior who hears with understanding.

All this is to say that we need to guard what we say, and how we “flavor” it, lest it be heard differently than we intend. We are so blessed to have a God who understands our hearts, even before the words come forth through our speech.

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 Kings 11:1-12, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, ‘You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.’ Solomon held fast to these in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon.
8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD had commanded.
11 So the LORD said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.
12 ‘Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.’”

There is no question but that the vast number of women that Solomon collected was an
affront to the LORD! The LORD knew (and He told Solomon) that foreign women would ultimately turn his head and heart away from the LORD Himself. Solomon ignored the warning!

The LORD was right. In time, the foreign women moved Solomon’s heart away from the LORD, and he commenced worshipping the foreign gods, and, as the LORD’s warning had said, it all ultimately cost Solomon his kingdom.

Neither you nor I, my dear reader, can ultimately escape the solemn warnings of the LORD. Almighty God is no respecter of persons. We simply cannot do wrong and get by! The man responsible for the death of my uncle was himself a nobody; yet, he paid the penalty for what he had done. How equally you and I are to the “nobodies” of this world; yet, the all-seeing Eye of the LORD is ever and always upon us.

Moving beyond this account into the New Testament, we learn of Christ Jesus’ love for us. At the same time, He expects and deserves our love above that for any other. Do you love the LORD? Do you know that He gave His own Life on the Cross for you? He is, therefore, deserving of the fullness of your love? Don’t ever turn away from Him for any other!

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and
sent His Son to be the propitiation (appeasement) for our sin (1 Jn. 4:10).

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 Samuel 5:1-5, “Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon.
3 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again.
4 But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

Some days it just doesn’t pay to get up. Sometimes it’s worse than that. The Philistines, arch-enemies of the Israelites, had dared to positioned their god Dagon overnight and in close proximity to the Ark of God. What they discovered the following morning was that Dagon had fallen on its face, so they had to reset the idol once again to a standing position.

When something we adore or even reverence as a “god” cannot keep its own face out of the mud overnight, it ought to say something to us. Yet, the trust that some people place in the “games of life” are as worthless as a wooden idol that can’t fend for itself.

Gambling, drinking, driving while drinking, and taking pills known for their “high effect” are simply a few of the countless “gods” that labor to ruin the upward stance of other self-made gods today.

Not every god, however, is an activity. Pride and arrogance may be easier to conceal; however, they ultimately fall into disrepute and humiliate those who so clothe themselves. In time, as with Dagon, pride and arrogance experience downfalls. Dagon’s head and the palms of his hands signaled his uselessness of both mind and work-achievement.

There are enormous Dagons in our world today! They beg for our admiration and service. We should be encouraged to use our “heads and hands” only for the glory of Almighty God!

Take a moment and assess yourself. What are you doing to honor the LORD? Has He commissioned you to do something honoring His Name? Are you faithful to Him? The hour is late. False gods abound. Jesus calls us! Time is running out.

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 Samuel 3:1-10, “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent.
2 It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well),
3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was,
4 that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 The LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he answered, “I did not call, my son, lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him.
8 So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy.
9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

There is something about the inexperience of young children that is delightful! So, with my youth well behind me, I am approaching this passage with both fear and knowledge.

The LORD’s call to the young Samuel was for the purpose of bringing him more completely into the work the LORD had for him to do. Just abiding in the temple was hardly sufficient. He was being prepared to serve the LORD.

I can remember when I heard the LORD’s call upon my life. Like the boy Samuel, I initially possessed no knowledge whatsoever regarding what He wanted of me or what constituted the work. It’s like that with all of the “firsts” in our lives, is it not? Instruction comes before the labor.

Thankfully, Samuel was a “first responder.” He did not initially inquire regarding the call. He simply obeyed. Obedience is vitally important! It enculcates both the “what to do,” as well as the “how to do it.” We all need excellent training before launching out into the LORD’s work!

It took time for young Samuel to understand the Voice of the LORD. It took even more time
for him to learn to do the work with efficiency. Poor old Eli. He, too, even with the years of
dedication and obedience to the LORD, did not immediately discern that the Voice Samuel heard was the Voice of the LORD. Yet, when he did understand, he moved quickly and efficiently into “obedience mode.” When he did, he quickly and clearly instructed Samuel.

There’s nothing quite like obedience! Parents love it, and children love it –when they become parents! And when we reach the age that “looking back” truly becomes “looking forward,” we understand more than ever the value of obedience.

“Am I being obedient to the LORD today?” is an invaluable, daily question. We are where we are in life because the LORD wills it for us. Regardless of age or health or companion-ship, there is daily work to be done for the LORD. Are we listening? Are we obeying? One day we will be called upon to give a full and complete accounting of our faithfulness in stewardship. May He ever and always keep us mindful of 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