The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 4:1-8, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'”
5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'”

Almost everyone, even those who are only slightly knowledgeable of the Scriptures, are acquainted with Satan’s attempts to gain control of Jesus. In each instance, Satan had no concern with Jesus’ well-being. Satan only wanted worship! He sought with persistence to persuade Jesus to worship him!

Turning stones into bread was a subtle attempt to force Jesus to do Satan’s will. Interesting, too, was Satan’s offer to give all the glories of the heavens to Jesus –when the Scriptures assure us that Jesus was the One who created the heavens and all they contained! Once again, Jesus refused the devil’s plot. Jesus’ reply was “You shall worship the LORD your God and serve Him only!”

Today is the first day of a new week. It is the time when we gather to worship the LORD. The Greek word for “worship” (????????? proskuneo) means “to reverence…to bow down” before Him. “Reverence” bespeaks quietness. It can and ought to include prayer. The presence of His holiness should be of such respect that were Christ physically present in our churches, our eyes would not be worthy to behold Him. His holiness would refute the slightest glimpse of our mortal, sinful gaze.

Hopefully, those who guide us from the pulpit today will allow nothing but His glory to be acknowledged. May all thought of human mortality be erased from the pastors’ minds. May the holiness of Almighty GOD overwhelm us all with His grace; and may we surrender ourselves fully and completely to Him at the foot of the Cross.

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