The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 41:1, 8b, “And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one
who could interpret them… “Pharaoh had a dream… and he said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about
you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give
Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

Have you ever had a dream? Of course, you have. But, have you ever had a dream you couldn’t figure out? Maybe it was a silly, senseless kind of dream where you were walking around in a huge crowd, looking for, but never finding
the friends you sought.

Maybe it was one like one I had. I was invited to preach in this country church;
and I was seated on the front pew when I suddenly realized I had come all that way and forgotten my Bible! (Fortunately, I awoke before I got to the pulpit, so
no one ever knew! Whew! Great it was just a dream!)

In the text above, Pharaoh had a dream that none of his servants could interpret.
One of the servants, however, had knowledge of Joseph’s interpretation of
Dream (You see, both of them were at one time in Pharaoh’s prison; and it was
there that Joseph had interpreted a dream for this servant. He remembered
Joseph and Pharaoh had Joseph summoned from prison so he could interpret
Pharaoh’s dream.

“Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’” It was in that very moment that Joseph could have rehearsed
what he knew and taken credit for it. Yet, he refused to lie and gave Pharaoh a
truthful, humble answer.

It is not said that Joseph knew the answer to every dream. For all we know, he
only knew one: but he was careful to be humble and exalt the LORD as the One
who knows all the answers to everything! May the LORD help us to always be
humble about the things we know, and careful not to pretend we know everything!

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,

2 Timothy 4:9-15, “Make every effort to come to me soon;
10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to
Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful
to me for service.
12 But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
13 When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the
books, especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him
according to his deeds.
15 Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.”

There are but three passages of Scripture that mention Demas: Colossians
4:14; Philemon 1:24; and II Timothy 4:10. The former two (Philemon and
Colossians) mention him in a good sense. Philemon sandwiches Demas
in between Mark, Aristarchus, and Luke. Mentioning him secondly seems to
Indicate that he was in good standing. Paul’s mention of him in Second Timothy,
however, is just that –a one-word mention! “Demas is here…”

Why do pastors fail? Why do evangelists fail? We fail when we take our eyes
off of Jesus. When we lose sight of Him, we lose sight of our calling. And we
lose sight of Him, when we “deep dive” into things that are not of our calling!

My late wife and I were members of a church in our “educational days.” Later,
long after we had left school and that church, they called a man whose sermons
were the most colossal, well-thought-out, brilliantly delivered messages I believe
I have ever heard to this very day! But, he had a problem that he evidently wouldn’t address, and today, he’s totally out of the ministry.

Pray for your pastor! Pray for your deacons! Pray for your Youth Directors! Just
don’t skip lightly over them when you pray. They need the LORD’s guidance; and
He has so designed things that when we pray, He acts! When we don’t, He doesn’t.
It’s all so designed that the LORD and His Family (the true Church) are to work
together. Design a Prayer List. Look at it when you pray. Keep those who teach
you in focus! They have the responsibility to teach you; you have the responsibility
to hold them up in serious prayer. Such will be good for us all to keep our name
early on His List!

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,

Colossians 3:2-11, “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,
7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him–
11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”

Yes, this is a long passage. In the Scripture itself, it is longer still. The doctrinal section of the epistle is largely covered in the first and second chapters. The practical section (3:1-4:6) concerns the believer’s union with the LORD Jesus Christ, and how believers are to behave. If we are heavenly minded at all times, we will consistently live holy lives.

The greatest influence believers can possibly have on unbelievers is to live holy lives! The greatest hindrance to anyone’s trust in Christ is for believers to live as non-believers. Too
often we identify and speak forbidingly of the sins of the flesh, but find ourselves involved
in the very things we have spoken against. In other words, we have to be what we profess
if others are to seriously consider believing what we say about Jesus!

You and I may need to beg forgiveness for things we have said and done. If so, Jesus is
the first who should hear our confession. Once He has forgiven us, we need to ask
forgiveness from those who are aware of our sin. That can open doors for sharing the
Gospel with those who don’t know Him. Confession of sin, expressed to the Father, Himself strengthens the confessor. How strong are you right now?

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,

Ecclesiastes 5:4-7, “When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it;
for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow!
5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account
of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
7 For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.”

“Caution!” is the word from Solomon! Those to whom he writes (for his theses are
always current.) Regardless, of what he says, or to whom he addresses his
message, it is always timely and relevant. Make a promise – keep the promise!

I remember well one who sometimes spoke too quickly. When challenged as to
the meaning or intention of his words, he would seek to escape by saying, “That’s
what I meant.” It grew old with those who had previously heard it more than once.

My dear old grandmother used to say, “You’ll give an account for every idle word.”
You know, I think I’ve almost come to an understanding of that value!

Have you ever listened to someone’s intentions, only to leave “thinking and saying”
to a friend, “Did you get anything at all from what that guy said?” If there is value in
such valueless contentions, it would surely be to avoid the speaking of the useless.

The Psalmist says, “Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He
has done for my soul” (Psa. 66:16). James said it well: “…everyone must be quick
to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the
righteousness of God (Jas. 1:19-20). Think of this before you speak –if you want
anyone to profit from what is said.

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 5:22-27, “Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he
became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.
23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech.
26 Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the
father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters.
27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he
died.”

To a large number (perhaps I should say, “most”) of the people living on earth today
seek to avoid even thinking of death. Many pastors avoid the subject of death because
it is “uncomfortable” to them and their congregations. Things that we don’t understand
are always discomforting. At the same time, reality must be allowed to invade our
thinking. I have twice experienced hand surgery (once without anesthetic). The latter
was so painful that I still cringe at the thought of it.

Yet, there were two men in the whole of history whom the LORD preserved from
physical death: Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (II Kngs 2:11). What’s more, you and I are promised eternal life if we turn from our sin and humbly ask the LORD Jesus to forgive
us and save us eternally. The experience is as simple as it is sincere.

There is no clear explanation in Scripture as to why the LORD spaired Elijah. But, Paul says in Hebrews 11:5: “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death;
AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the
witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God (Heb. 11:5). The answer
seems all wrapped up in the old hymn: “We’ll understand it better by and by.”

For those of you who have genuinely trusted Jesus as your LORD and Savior, let me
urge you to pray for your pastor, your family, your nation, and for Israel. Say what you
will, Israel is “the apple of His Eye” (Zech 2:8).

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