The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 122:1-9, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’
2 Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together;
4 To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD– an ordinance for Israel– to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 For there thrones were set for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.
7 ‘May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.’
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be within you.’
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.”

Recent news stories claim that the International Criminal Court (ICC)
“is preparing arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials for alleged war
crimes, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a revelation that has drawn silence, if not acceptance, from the Biden administration” (via
Eric Mack of Newsmax).

I was in Australia when the 6-day War occurred. Israelites freed the Wall, enabling prayer to be offered there for the first time in many, many years.
Miracles were cited in Israel for the occupants, just as had occurred at the
days of our Scripture cited above.

Israel has almost always been on the defensive side of her historic
battles. Historically, the LORD has fought for Israel –and won!—when
Israel was in the right. Those who would currently face-off with Israel should have more than mere “second thoughts.”

Granted, Israel is Jewish, not Christian; and granted Prime Minister
Netanyahu (so far as I know) is not a “secret disciple” of Jesus. Yet, the
right of the Jewish people to live in the Land of Israel has never been
rescinded. It is the gift of the LORD to His people.

Nor has the right of worldwide Christians to pray for Israel ever been
rescinded. Many Israelis have trusted in Jesus as their LORD and Savior.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” my friend. Such is the LORD’s will for
all believers in Jesus Christ.

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 31:16-21, “’Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.’
17 Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels;
18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his property, which he had gathered,
his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of
Canaan to his father Isaac.
19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols
that were her father’s.
20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.
21 So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.”

Did I not recently quote the saying, “It’s not right to do wrong to do right?” Well,
that’s exactly what Jacob and his children did to his father-in-law, Laban.

No question about it, Laban was a cheat. Read the whole account and just try to
Keep track of how many times in various ways Laban agreed to something, and
then changed his mind. Truth be told, he probably intended it that way from the
start. Still, it’s always wrong to devise evil against someone else, whether it be
planned way ahead or excuted on the spur of the moment.

like Laban), but if you’re truly deep-down-honest, you’ve probably schemed some
along the way. I’m sure I have.

But, what do we do about the schemes we’ve executed against others? The very
first thing to do is recognize the scheme (however miniscule it may be) as sin!
Acquire the LORD’s forgiveness first. The acquisition itself will give you strength
to “fess up” to the one against whom you sinned. Then, apologize! It must be a
sincere apology, and exhibit genuine remorse. Often, the apology itself will shock
the one to whom you’ve apologized. Just do it! Be sincere! Promise that you will
never be devious again.

The reactions you will receive may vary. That doesn’t matter. Just apologize first
to the LORD, and He will give you strength to apologize to others. Everyone will
feel better when honesty names the steps you take thereafter. God bless you!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the
lake of fire.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Remember the saying, “You can’t do wrong and get by”? While it did not come in that
fashion from the Scriptures, it is a truism indeed! Virtually every day we read and watch
people doing wrong and apparently getting by with what they’re doing. They may elude
their parents, their friends, even law enforcement; however, they cannot escape the
all-seeing eye of Almighty God!

The Scripture passage above reveals the solemn fact that while some things that we do may escape the notice of our fellowman, nothing we do will ultimately escape the
Eye and Judgment of Almighty God! Every one of us will one day stand before God
and give account for the sins of our lives.

Some sins are overt; they can be clearly viewed by other mortals like ourselves.
Other sins are covert; they are not known by anyone except Almighty God Himself!
Some sins are virtually unknown. Other sins are open and clearly known. Nothing, however, will escape the notice of the LORD at the Judgment Seat of Christ!

Prepare for His Judgment! Learn to trust His Word! Yield your life and all to Him!
It’s like a marriage commitment in that He is your only Companion, and He will be
our only Judge.

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 14:1-6. “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
4 “And you know the way where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Heart conditions that are not life-threatening can still be troubling. In fact, any
physical condition that is not a normal function of the human body is usually
troublesome. We can, in fact, self-inflict trouble in our bodies by assuming an
attitude of fear.

Thus, the advanced warning of the Apostle John, is that belief in God is in
itself antidotal. Thus, those with strong confidence in the LORD often avoid
physical difficulties.

Confidence grows upon hearing that the LORD is “preparing a (speicific) place” for those who trust Him. Such preparation, however, ranks far beyond
our thoughts of Him building a place for us. Thomas says clearly that he
knows nothing of what Jesus means. Few people understand the physician’s
diagnosis; therefore, they ask, “What does that mean?” or even, “Do we take it with anything other than water?”

We simply need to trust; and our limited knowledge of the Scriptures puts us little, if any, ahead of Thomas’ thinking. Our lack of knowledge requires us to simply trust Jesus in what He says. Yet, there are 28 passages of Scripture
that cry out to us: “trust in the LORD!” He knows what is best; and will neverlead us astray.

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,

Exodus 14:12-16, “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’
13 But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.
14 The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.’”
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.
16 As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry
land.’”

Things weren’t looking good for the Israelites. They did not want to work
for the Egyptians, but they worried about the future. When they compared
dying in the wilderness to working for the Egyptians, they were inclined to
favor working for the Egyptians. It’s something like “being between a rock
and a hard place.”

Both places, however, required what the Israelites seemed not to possess:
faith. Were you ever in that place, not knowing for sure which way to turn?
Of course, you have. We all have. Yet, when we read further about the
dilemma Israel faced, and what ultimately occurred, it should support our
determination to follow Him at every turn!

What did Israel have to lose by following the LORD? Absolutely nothing! What do we have to lose when we face circumstances we’ve never
previously faced? Absolutely nothing! What do we have to lose by following
Him? Absolutely nothing! There are 38 verses of Scripture that contain the
the admonition: “Seek the LORD…” Why then, would we look elsewhere?
Christ Himself is “the way, and the truth, and the life…” (Jn. 14:6).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom