The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 40:14-17, “Let those be ashamed and humiliated together who seek
my life to destroy it; let those be turned back and dishonored who delight in
my hurt.
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, ‘Aha, aha!’
16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your
salvation say continually, ‘The LORD be magnified!’
17 Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my
help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.”

Have you ever known someone who simply delighted in hurting other people?
If you have, you have probably been the one on the end of his or her hurt!
I really don’t understand people like that. Oh, it’s one thing if you were officially
asked about someone; but, I mean those who have nothing good to say about
anyone on any subject at any time.

I do remember a rather rotund boy in grade school. We called him names and
he would chase us. (I won’t reveal the names we called him, but they were
simply silly names, not at all hurtful and never profane.) Yet, it’s simply wrong
to hurt someone by saying something that clearly isn’t true.

The verses above teach us that it is to our shame that we rejoice in the hurt
of another person, whether it’s a verbal or physical hurt. We are to live so as to
rejoice and be glad in the LORD! Our demeanor should always be rejoicing in
the LORD! We are to rejoice when the LORD is magnified, and be ashamed
when He is not. (Psst… Are there some areas in your life that need alteration?)

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,

Psalm 33:12-18, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people
whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men;
14 From His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.
16 The king is not saved by a mighty army; a warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory; nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
19 On those who hope for His lovingkindness…”

If there is any passage of Scripture which all nations’ leaders and people need to
hear and heed, it is these few verses from the pen of the ready Psalmic writer.

In context, of course, the passage speaks of the Jewish nation of Israel. Yet, the
clear application fits like a glove on any and all nations in every generation. No people
can engage in any activity without the observation of Almighty God! His vantage point
is from Heaven itself; and from it He observes the thoughts and activities of all mortals.

To be certain, the LORD “fashions the hearts of them all”; however, that is not to say
that every thought of mankind is an acceptable thought to Almighty God! To the contrary,
we often live in adversity to the will of our fellowman, to say nothing of the will of God.

Our human, governmental leaders build and surround themselves with military might;
yet, no “warrior is delivered by great strength.” Our military mechanizations do not deliver us from adversarial groups. It is useless for man to put his trust in such feeble things.

“Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield” –not only nationally, but
personally as well. Is your soul reliant upon the LORD? Are your ways pleasing to Him?
Do you rest upon Him to deliver you from evil and, through salvation in Jesus Christ, to
make you a new person?

“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).

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 11:1-6, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen.
2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that what
is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though
he is dead, he still speaks.
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.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

If my recollection is correct, I have spoken of faith numerous times in this Letter. The
clear, unmistakable definition of faith is contained in the first verse above. It is the
“assurance of things hoped for, the conviction (substance or evidence) of things not seen.”
That takes in a lot of “territory,” to say the least.

The doctor calls out to our hearing what it is that is causing a physical difficulty. It is not
seen, even by the doctor himself, but he knows what it is because he has dealt with it
previously. Some elements in illnesses have to be viewed microscopically. Yet, they can
be identified by the reaction (or lack of it) by the patient to various other substances.

Spiritual faith is somewhat the same. People who seriously trust in the LORD Jesus
Christ, experience His reaction within themselves when they consciously and faithfully
believe in Him as their LORD and Savior. Biblical examples in the above text confirm such. Yet, how do we know those examples are true? We have to trust them, just as we have
to trust Jesus’ words in the Scriptures.

We trust restaurants to be clean without our personal examination. We trust the Health
Department in its examination of the restaurants. I recently had my car serviced. I did
not personally see all that was done to my car. I trusted them. It was a faith venture!

“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).

Eighty-one years ago, I trusted the LORD Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord! He has
guided and supported me throughout many trials. He has always been faithful. That’s
why I commend Him most assuredly to you as LORD and Savior of your soul. Still, you
must be the one to trust Him. Have you? If not, why not? You have nothing to lose if
you do; everything to lose if you do not.

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 John 3:9-14, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed
abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone
who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love
his brother.
11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we
should love one another;
12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason
did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the
brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”

This is a clear and cogent word from the apostle John. Love and sin do not
go together. They do not agree. Love is from God; sin is not. Those who love
are of the LORD, while those who practice sin are of the devil.

The Old Testament Scriptures tell us that Cain killed Abel because Cain’s
deeds were evil and Abel’s were righteous. Remember that when the two
brought their offerings to the LORD, Abel’s offering was righteous and accepted,
while Cain’s was unrighteous and neither he nor his offering were accepted.

Cain thought he could remedy a bad situation by killing his brother. But, he
forgot that God was in control. That’s what is wrong with a lot of people today:
they live outside of the will of God and are sloppy in their offerings to Him.
When people don’t do right by you, you can know that they have first done
wrong toward God. Just be sure you do what’s right toward God.

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 Peter 4:1-8, “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;
5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

Traveling in different countries of the world, it is virtually impossible not to observe various manners of the people. I remember clearly how utterly surprised I was when a Christian layman, treating me to lunch, was shocked that I did not drink alcoholic beverages. I was surprised that, as a Christian, he suggested it.

Only recently, I have witnessed verbal testimonies of some American Christian believers, who speak of the changes in their lives, but never clearly mention that it was Jesus Christ who saved them and affected the change.

Currently, America is aligning with Israel in war against Hamas, who is in league with
Iran. Iranian Christians are paying a heavy price for accepting Jesus Christ as their LORD
and Savior. I am personally ashamed of how lax I am when compared with believers in
Iran. They pay a heavy price for yielding to Jesus Christ and then sharing Him with others
in their culture.

Verse seven above says, “The end of all things is near.” I wonder if we’re aware how
near we are to the end. If we were aware how little time is left –or even how brief life itself
is, we would undoubtedly be more active for Him than we currently are! True love for those who are lost comes only from Jesus Christ. He lives within us, if our lives have been
yielded to Him. Is your life centered in Jesus Christ? It can be… even today!

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