The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 12:1-7, “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
4 So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.”

We should all be embarrassed over the attitudes of liberals when Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed the American Congress this past week. Some were intentionally absent (presumably as a protest), while others simply snubbed the Minister as he passed them en route to the podium from which he spoke.

“During the speech, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, held up a sign that read ‘war criminal’ on one side and ‘guilty of genocide’ on the other.” Ultimately, someone asked her to refrain from holding up the sign, and she complied.

Whatever one’s religious affiliation, we move no closer to convincing them of salvation in Jesus Christ by acting as a non-believer ourselves. I’ve shaken hands with men (and women) for whom I had no personal respect. But I refused to weaken my position as a believer in Jesus Christ by eliminating a small gesture of respect, like a handshake.

We are not called to become like those who disrespect Jesus Christ. We are called to demonstrate a Christ-like attitude to everyone. Jesus demonstrated His love through wisdom when He ate with sinners. Israel is our friend!

When we recognize Prime Minister Netanyahu as Jewish, we are viewing him as a member of the Family of Abraham, from whom came our LORD Jesus Christ. The Scriptures say: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you’” (Psalm 122:6).

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