The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Exodus 14:11-14, “Then they said to Moses, ‘Is it because there were no graves
in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt
with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?
12 ‘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.’”

Crowds can be a scarry thing –especially, if they are seeking reprisal against you!
Israel was en route from Egypt to –well, we know it as the Promised Land. At the
moment of this exodus, however, most (if not all) of the Israelites saw “promise”
as another word for “death!”

Do you not recall a time when one of your parents called you away from danger
to what they believed to be a safer position? You were young; you had never been in
a dangerous position; therefore, you had no idea of the serious of your situation.

It was much like that with Israel. The LORD’s call upon Moses to lead them out of
Egypt made the LORD responsible for the people’s safe deliverence. Their objection,
however, was not merely against Moses; it was against the LORD! That’s precisely
why we need to live according to the Bible.

God has given us instructions in the Bible. Well, where in the Bible do we look for His
instructions? Just start reading. He will tell when you get there! What’s more, “The
LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.” Just obey Him and keep on reading…

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 71:1-8, “In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be ashamed.
2 In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline Your ear to me and
save me.
3 Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; You have given commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the
wrongdoer and ruthless man,
5 For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth.
6 By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from
my mother’s womb; My praise is continually of You.”
7 I have become a marvel to many, for You are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with Your praise and with Your glory all day long.”

This particular psalm speaks of the conscientiousness of a man who has “taken
refuge” within the LORD Himself. There might well have been a time when he
had reason to be ashamed, but not now! He clearly looks to the LORD God for
his deliverence.

Have you even been in such a situation? Others had looked only to themselves
and had come forth virtually unscathed. Yet, this was far too difficult for you. It
was “now or never!” The need for assistance beyond moral man was clearly
required. Thus, you calculated being Divinely rescued and suffer the humiliation
of your companians or risk not being rescued at all.

The ring of redemption is in your ears: “Trust the LORD! Call upon Him!” Such
has been my teaching from my youth. Now, the time is present for trusting
Him!

“I have become a marvel to many,” you say; “the LORD is my strong refuge.
It is He who has delivered me from death. I shall always praise and glorify Him!”

Will you not also comply with the Psalmist’s declaration and always praise and
glorify Him? I pray you will.

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 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