The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 18:25-33, “25 ‘Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?’

26 So the LORD said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.’

27 And Abraham answered and said, ‘Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.

28 ‘Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, wilt Thou destroy the whole city because of five?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’

29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, ‘Suppose forty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not do it on account of the forty.’

30 Then he said, ‘Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there.’

31 And he said, ‘Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.’

32 Then he said, ‘Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it on account of the ten.’

33 And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham, the LORD departed; and Abraham returned to his place.”

Have you ever thought that you could “out-talk” the LORD? I know some preachers who apparently believe they can. Have you ever thought you could bargain with the LORD and win? Well, I’ve never personally known that to be successful. It seems both dangerous and futile to me. Yet, I suppose each of us has, at some time, sought to persuade the LORD to come our way.

There are some decidedly spiritual aspects that must be “in place,” if any facet of such can be successful. Examining the life of Abraham finds him abiding in the way of the LORD. Any child of a wise and loving parent knows that “minding” is key to obtaining future freedoms.

What has the LORD commissioned you to be beyond being a true and faithful servant? “Being” supersedes “doing.” How clearly and often my mother used to say, “Well, if you do what I’ve told you, we’ll see about it.” Are you doing what He has told you to do? Are you reading the Bible? Are you faithfully praying? Do others know you as a true and faithful witness for the LORD? Okay, now we’ll see about those things you’ve asked.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

1 Chronicles 27:25-31, “Now Azmaveth the son of Adiel had charge of the king’s storehouses. And Jonathan the son of Uzziah had charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the towers.

26 Ezri the son of Chelub had charge of the agricultural workers who tilled the soil.

27 Shimei the Ramathite had charge of the vineyards; and Zabdi the Shiphmite had charge of the produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars.

28 Baal-hanan the Gederite had charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the Shephelah; and Joash had charge of the stores of oil.

29 Shitrai the Sharonite had charge of the cattle which were grazing in Sharon; and Shaphat the son of Adlai had charge of the cattle in the valleys.

30 Obil the Ishmaelite had charge of the camels; and Jehdeiah the Meronothite had charge of the donkeys.

31 Jaziz the Hagrite had charge of the flocks. All these were overseers of the property which belonged to King David.”

While the verses above lack the excitement of many verses in the Scriptures, the importance here lies in the numerous instances of the phrase “in charge of.” In each instance, there is a personal name of one who is responsible for the care of a particular item. Some were in charge of tilling the soil; others were in charge of the produce of the vineyard. The key concept, therefore, is the word “responsible.”

Life itself is filled with responsibilities. They are as different as they are numerous. You and I have responsibilities of various values in the home, in secular work, and in caring for the needs of others.

As born-again believers in the LORD Jesus Christ, we have spiritual responsibilities, too. We are responsible to pray for ourselves and for others. We are responsible to witness to the lost. We are responsible to conduct ourselves in the manner that identifies us as belonging to the LORD.

One day we will be called to account for how we lived our lives. The LORD promises rewards for those whose lives have honored Him; and we honor Him in much the same way as we honor our parents by being responsible in our behavior and in the labor that is assigned to us. May the LORD bless you as you show yourself faithful to Him and His work.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

1 Timothy 3:2-7, “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity

5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),

6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

Timothy was a young Christian lad when Paul wrote him this letter. Timothy’s mother was Jewish, and his father was Greek. This was the first of two letters that Paul, now in his seventies, wrote to young Timothy. Paul himself was writing from Lystra but always maintained encouraging communication with Timothy. “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:12). Those five Christian virtues cover the conduct of all believers in Christ. We should all examine ourselves regularly in the light of this verse.

Paul emphasizes doctrines that should be cherished and demonstrated within every believer’s life: sound doctrine, prayerfulness, spiritual oversight, particularly of those younger in the faith, and the careful exercise of one’s own spiritual responsibilities.

Although set forth in Scripture many years ago, the principles of the Christian faith ought ever and always to be observable in a true believer’s life.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

Psalm 126:1-6, “When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’

3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.

4 Restore our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.

5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

This psalm was delightfully voiced by those affiliated with the winning side! Of course, all “wins” come from His divine hand! It’s just that not everyone affiliated with the winning side knows it. In a true sense, when the LORD gives a victory, everyone who embraces Him is victorious! It’s so much fun to win!

All of this reminds me of Mexico. There are some great people there, and they like to have fun. On one occasion, I was riding in the back seat of a car with some young Mexican believers. People were walking on the sides of the street, so we would hand out leaflets for our nightly meeting, saying, Para ti, meaning “for you.” The car never stopped; we just handed them the leaflets and kept going.

This is silly, I thought, just saying Para ti. I know more Spanish than that. So, I added a phrase, making it say, Para ti, y sus mamás y papás! My Mexican friends howled with laughter! I fought to defend my Spanish, but they would have none of it. They just roared! I finally asked why they were laughing. It was then that they told me: everything I had said was correct except that last word; and it was only the accent that was wrong. I was saying, “…for your mothers and potatoes!”

I told the experience to the audience that night. They roared with laughter as well.

Notwithstanding the fun we all had that night, I learned that I had to be accurate. Especially is that so when dealing with the LORD’s Word! Those who were filled with laughter were overjoyed at the LORD’s victory! They claimed nothing for themselves – only the LORD was to be praised! So it must be with us today. Are we giving Him the praise due Him? He alone is to be praised!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

Genesis 22:1-8, “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’

2 He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

5 Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.’

6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So, the two of them walked on together.

7 Isaac spoke to Abraham and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’

8 Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So, the two of them walked on together.”

There were multiple trying times in the life of Abraham. It might easily be argued that no one in the Old Testament had more “excitingly colorful” experiences than he. This one, however, was perhaps the most troubling of them all. It was a straight-line directive from the LORD: “Take your son…and offer him as a burnt offering…!” It had to be the most troubling directive he had ever heard. Yes, if you’ve had children, you’ve had “moments.” But just think of how you would have felt had this been ordered of you!

Still, Abraham never quivered – at least, he never displayed it. What’s more, Isaac never suspected that he was the one to become the sacrifice! I’ve heard men say, “Well, had that been my son…!” Yet, what they undoubtedly meant was far, far less than what Abraham was ordered to do.

I am confident that the very place where Abraham offered Isaac is today covered with a golden dome and rests on what we can safely call “Calvary” in the City of Jerusalem. Many years ago, when it was legally allowed, my family and I entered beneath that golden dome and stood on the rocks where Abraham and Isaac once stood. Many orthodox Jews today hold that as the place of Abraham’s sacrifice.

Although the LORD Himself ultimately provided the lamb for Abraham’s sacrifice, He continues to provide for us what we need and what He intends. Always “trust in the LORD…” He never fails!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

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“We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom