The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Timothy 5:21-25, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.
22 Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.
23 No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
24 The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.
25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

Responsibility is not a word to be taken lightly. Parents, who do not take parenting seriously, will rue the day their children run afoul of the law. Children, who are reared by irresponsible parents, will ultimately regret their failure to learn the meaning of discipline. Irresponsibility breeds irresposibility.

Is it any wonder that our world is in such a mess? Men and women marry irresponsiby. Homes then lack the love and discipline required for procuring stability; thus, society-at-large lacks what God requires for what He intends.

Even ministers of the Gospel, who are responsible to study and live and teach according to the Scriptures, often, for reasons related to their own misgivings, veer off the biblical path and influence others to do the same. Whom are the masses to follow?

Every day reveals more and more parents, teachers and ministers, who have fallen short of their own Scriptural responsibilities, and are thereby misleading those who admire and follow them.

We simply must get back to the Bible! We must adhere to the clear teachings of the Holy Scriptures, regardless of the mistaken leadership of others! We are not ultimately responsible for what others believe and do, except for those whom the LORD has placed under our tutilage. Every day we move closer to Jesus’ return!

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,

Matthew 15:10-14, “After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand.
11 ‘It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.’
12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.
14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Left alone, the finest of foods will ultimately deteriorate, possibly ending up causing serious illness in the participants. If we not careful, the deterioration process will affect us so adversely that we will want to leave food alone for a considerable time.

Such is true of things other than food; therefore, just as we need to be extremely careful what we allow to go into our mouths, we need to be careful what we allow to come out of our mouths, too. Even some carefully crafted words can be misunderstood. Nor do those who communicate with us through words, always possess the finest intention.

There’s a cute little children’s song we would do well to remember.

Be careful little lips what you say;
Be careful little lips what you say;
For the Father up Above
Is listening down in love;
Be careful little lips what you say.

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

Job 14:14-15, “”If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes. You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.”

Romans 14:9-10, 12, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living…For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”

In the Job passage above, we are taught that we will spend our days in struggling, until the day of death comes to us. We will then stand before Almighty God and give account of our lives. He will long to behold the work of His Hands.

In the Romans passage, we learn that the LORD is Lord of both the living and the dead. At that time, we will stand before Him and give account of our own lives. Have our walk and talk always been acceptable to Christ? We will give account in the presence of all who are there! There will be no anteroom where we may share our excuses in privacy alone with Jesus. Think about it! Everything you (and I) have done that has not been confessed and forgiven –or even thought would be exposed before all born-again believers of all time! Ouch!

LORD, may we so live that we may always glorify You!

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,

Deuteronomy 31:20-23, “For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant.
21 “Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants); for I know their intent which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel.
23 Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.’”

Almost every day I hear someone say, or read what they’ve said, about the troubles we’re facing as a country. If we read the Scriptures carefully, we soon learn that it has always been that way.

I hear and read of people complaining that they don’t possess sufficient money. Then, I read where they’ve bought some extravagant items that, truth-be-told, they didn’t need and I begin to understand their “dilemma.”

But, the desire for wealth is not limited outside the church. Some men (I’ll be nice and call them “pastors”) are among those whose eyes are fixed on money. Oh, they “credit” the LORD with the millions they have; the problem is they never seem to have enough.

I’ve been living by and teaching the Scriptures for quite a number of years. My testimony is that when we serve Him and not ourselves, He provides quite adequately for all our needs. Those who seek money for themselves, more often than not, find themselves weighted down in nefarious deeds that always demand more and more.

Whatever you think, just remember: “You cannot out-give God!” If He wants you to give, He will reveal it to
you. If you don’t do what He wants, He knows where you keep it. Thank you, LORD, for all that you give us!

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 35:9-12, “Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him.
10 God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.’ Thus, He called him Israel.
11 God also said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you.
12 ‘The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you.’”

One of the momentous questions of our day is “Does Israel have the right to possess the land which the LORD gave to her?”

I have some things that my parents gave to me. Are they really mine? In some cases, my father said, “This belonged to me; it was made by my father. I want it to be yours.” My understanding is that those things, specifically isolated from the others, were then and there legally mine.

Whatever has been created by the Creator is His. It is not in a state of contention; thereby, no court has jurisdiction to remove what God possesses or assigns to another what He has previously awarded to me.

Nor does Iran, or Iraq, or Egypt, or any other country living on land awarded to Israel by her Creator, possess the right to claim said land as a legally bound possession. Nor does any country have the right to possess what the LORD has awarded to another.

We, too, as born-again Christians, now possess rights, awarded to us by our LORD Jesus Christ. We must, however, be careful how we treasure those rights. One factor is that we allow what the LORD has given to another actually belongs to the nation to whom He has given it. Our failure to treat Israel as His designated recipient, could result in a fight against God. That would lead to our disaster!

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