The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 18:1-7, “Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.

3 And he did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.

5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.

6 For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.

7 And the LORD was with him; wherever he went, he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.”

Do you ever wonder where you were when you were the age of someone else, maybe someone famous? I’m guessing that most of us have wondered about that. Our passage says that Hezekiah became King of Judah when he was 25 years old. Our text says he then reigned for 29 years! What is even more important is that “he did right in the sight of the LORD.”

Those who hold serious positions of authority do well when they “do right in the sight of the LORD.” They do well when they fear the LORD and follow His leadership. Hezekiah commenced his reign as king by destroying Judah’s false gods—even those that Moses had made—because he trusted in the LORD! “he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments.”

Is it not possible that those who are younger are yet able to trust the LORD and keep His commandments? We could do with a few leaders who possess the spunk to follow the LORD. But where do we find them? We pray for them. Currently, they are in the LORD’s hands. He releases them to assist us when we show we’re ready to follow Him! If we’re not ready, we will ultimately suffer the consequences!

To be quite honest, I was recently challenged by someone who didn’t know he was challenging me. But I felt the brunt of his challenge and was all the better for it. Be ready to challenge others to follow the LORD! Be ready to accept His challenges, too. That’s how we grow spiritually!

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,

Judges 11:16-21, “For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh,

17 then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land,” but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.

18 ‘Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

19 ‘And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.”

20 ‘But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

21 ‘And the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.”

It looked as if Israel had met her match. Israel had ventured into some unlikely territory where other nations already occupied the land. The proper way to gain the right to cross the occupied land was to ask permission from those who were the current occupants. How long the leaders of the two nations were in deliberations, we do not know; yet, in the end, Israel was denied the right to cross the land.

Israel then sought the able assistance of Sihon, but he “did not trust Israel to pass through his territory.” This caused a fight – a fight that Israel won! Ultimately, Israel “possessed all the land of the Amorites.”

What we learn from Israel’s experience is 1) always respect the rights of others. They were the occupants before Israel came into the land. 2) Always look to see if there are other ways or people who could help you to gain your objective. 3) Trust the LORD, even when you have to fight to gain the objective. 4) Never forget that the LORD is with you! Always remember that whatever is gained becomes HIS possession!

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,

2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him,

2 that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?

6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed.

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming…”

Have you ever had someone relate something to you that you ultimately forgot? I surely have! Especially is that true as I grow older. Well, don’t despair. It happened to the Thessalonian Christians, too.

Paul had previously been to Thessalonica and had shared with the believers what he knew of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apparently, however, as is often true, once the bearer of the news to the church departed, confusion arose and it became necessary for the apostle to write to the church and repeat what he had previously said.

Notwithstanding, these words from Paul have as much relevance for our own day as they did for the Thessalonians or any group in all of human history.

It’s easy to misunderstand. It’s even easy to have forgotten the matter altogether.

The “lawless one” of whom Paul speaks is the antichrist. Elements of his presence are within our midst even now! People who claim to be Christians proudly acknowledge belonging to a religion that denies what they claim it believes.

Let me urge you to read and study the Bible regularly! God’s truth is in His Word. Not every church, not every pastor, believes what the Bible contains. Still, unless you read the Scriptures yourself, you won’t know whether you are receiving the truth. If you’re not currently reading the Bible daily, you need to start today! Be prayerful as you read. The Lord will 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,

John 10:1-6, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

2 “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.

4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

5 “And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.”

If you’ve ever been around animals (i.e., cows, horses, etc.) when a storm was brewing, you will surely have noticed how the cows gather with other cows, and the horses gather with the other horses. Isn’t that strange?

Well, not really. I can remember being at a church youth meeting at the Pastor’s home when I got a telephone call from my mother about a similar situation. It’s just normal for “relatives” (animal or human) to want to be with their own kind when ominous conditions arise.

Jesus cited this very situation in the passage mentioned above. Those who truly belong to Jesus (i.e., have been born again of Him) truly belong to Him; so when ominous, worldly situations occur, those who are His just naturally gather around Him! We read the Scriptures more fervently; we think about praying; we might even attend church services more frequently.

Now, consider this: if gathering to Jesus is normal in ominous times, why isn’t gathering to Jesus valuable all the time! “How’s that,” you say? Why isn’t reading the Bible valuable all the time? Why isn’t attending church also valuable? Why do we visit close friends when they are in the hospital?

Being “Jesus’ people” means behaving like Jesus’ people. No, we aren’t always able to literally be where our Christian friends are. But a phone call, a text message that says we care means far more than we might think.

“This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them. they did not understand.”; but we now understand, because He has just reminded us in His Word!

See you in church on Sunday!

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,

“‘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 And 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'” (John 14:2-3)

“.’Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven'” (Acts 1:11)

I have often kidded bankers, saying, “If you can’t trust your banker, who can you trust?” It gets a laugh, and at the same time, it’s demonstrative of my sincere trust in them: what they say, what they do.

But, I have a greater trust than in my bankers. I trust the words of my LORD Jesus Christ, who said, “I will come again.” His first coming was to fulfill the Law and to die on the Cross for our sins. He vindicated His death and its value to us by rising from the grave three days later. Evidence of His Resurrected Life is vindicated in the testimony of those who visibly saw Him after His Resurrection and from testimonies elsewhere in the Scripture.

The Apostle Paul said: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (1 Cor. 15:3-8).

Why do firemen respond to fires? Why do they often enter burning buildings? Why do they respond to calls that relate to human health issues? They do it all for the preservation of lives! If you follow the news even casually, you know that the world at large is in turmoil! Wars, domestic disturbances, and riots abound! People are harassed and killed because of what they believe. Jesus is coming to end the strife and turmoil that prevails on the Earth He once created.

The times that I have called the first responders, I was told to be prepared – to have the door unlocked, to move furniture or anything that would impede their quick and safe entry. Time was of the essence! And so it is with Jesus’ Coming. We must be prepared. We must unlock the recesses of our hearts and move sinful impediments out of the way. His coming is rapid; there is no room for hesitation.

Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior and LORD? I’m not asking for your church’s denomination. What is imperative is whether you know Him! If you don’t, please turn your life over to Him now! Don’t put it off!

“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (Matt. 24:43-44).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We will never know that God is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

–Corrie Ten Boom