The Grands Letter

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 And 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 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you.”

6 And 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 And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father 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 And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.”

The Order (22:1-2) – I never served in the military of my country. I have friends, however, who did; and their stories were much the same: first, they learned to take orders!

Following orders would not have been difficult, except for the order itself: “…go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering.” (It’s easier to relate this order than it would have been to obey it, had the order come to me.)

The Obedience (22:3-6). We must, however, learn to obey the LORD! Nothing we encounter, however trivial, however serious, lies outside of His domain. He has no obligation to let us in on what He is doing. Although it is in a secular context, we would do well to remember Tennyson’s rhyming couplet:

“Ours is not to reason why;

“Ours is but to do or die.”

The Offering (22:7-8). Everything was now in place – except for the offering! Young Isaac saw what was missing and spoke reverently to his father Abraham: “Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Doubtless, his words struck heavily at Abraham’s heart! For he knew what his young son did not know: namely that Isaac himself was the intended sacrifice!

The reprieve came to Isaac when a ram was caught in the thicket and became God’s substitute for the young lad. Whew!

And so it is with us: we are destined to die for our unforgiven sin – but, Jesus Christ stepped in and took our place. He died for our sin!

Jesus alone can substitute for mankind’s sin! And He did so from a loving, yet broken heart!

What Jesus did for us in dying on the Cross will never be forgotten. Yet, it will never atone for our sin unless we accept the LORD Jesus’ death and resurrection as being for us!

Have you accepted Him? Do you know others

who have not? Share Him today! Even if you discover in sharing that the one to whom you are witnessing already knows Jesus, he (or she) will be encouraged that you cared enough to share Him with them. God 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 8:30-34, “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. 31 Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You shall become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 “And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the Son does remain forever. 36 “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”

What does Jesus mean when He says, “the Son shall make you free”? That means that because Jesus died on the cross for our sin, there will never again be a judgment brought against us for our sin. Christ Jesus died on the cross, taking our place. He died that you and I might be forgiven. He paid the supreme penalty for our sin.

Our acceptance and acknowledgment of His dying for us is what is required. That is what is meant when Scripture says, “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”

If you have never trusted Him, you are not free; so, trust Him today! If you have already trusted Him, rejoice and help spread the word of His Redemption!

Check the attachment: It’s Not How You Play the Game

You may use the Gospel Tract that is attached above. It’s colorful, easy to read, and clear on the Gospel. It can easily be attached to your regular emails or texts.

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,

Matthew 27:24-29, “And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.’

25 And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’

26 Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

28 And they stripped Him, and put a scarlet robe on Him.

29 And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!'”

What had Jesus done to deserve this? His claim to be the Son of God could not be refuted. He had come to give His life a ransom for the very ones who wanted to crucify Him. Yet, the furious crowd wanted Him out of the way.

Isn’t that often the way for all of us? What the LORD has prepared for us is best and far beyond what we can imagine. Yet, we think we know best. But to realize our best, we must first remove Him. Can so many shouting “Crucify Him!” be wrong? What’s more, we have the legal authority of Pilate on our side.

Centuries pass, but we seem to have learned nothing! Can so many be wrong? Yes, how wrong we can be; how wrong we are, despite the ever-maddening crowd!

“Look and live, my brother, live!

Look to Jesus now and live!

‘It’s recorded in His Word, Hallelujah!

It is only that we look and live!

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,

Ezra 1:1-4, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

3 ‘Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

4 ‘And every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.'”

The prophet’s proclamation in the first two verses above demonstrates the LORD’s plan and purpose. God never engages man to comply with His plan, but that He has a spiritual purpose in mind.

At the same time, the LORD’s purposes are not always fully disclosed. We discovered that as we endeavor to follow what we assess to be His divine purpose with and for our lives. Without fully revealing His purpose, the LORD moves upon His own, complying insofar as we mortals can understand.

My late wife and our three young children were often led to places we had only known by name. We were not told beforehand what we were to do or say. Yet, in the right place and at the right time, He used us for His glory and often to our utter amazement!

We were just people, following a new procedure in a new land, until the LORD Himself more fully revealed His will and purpose to us. Things we thought at the time were intrusions to ministry, He then revealed precisely why we had been “stationed” where we were.

Yes, there were times when our needs looked impossible. Yet, He always came through, often providing more than we needed, perhaps just to show that His Hand was never empty and always outstretched and timely, always meeting our necessities.

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness” (Psalm 37:3). The LORD is incapable of failure. We can always trust Him!

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,

Psalm 122:1-9, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.'”

2 Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem,

3 Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together;

4 To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD– an ordinance for Israel– to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

5 For there thrones were set for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.”

7 “May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.”

8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be within you.’

9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.”

The word “glad” is mentioned in Scripture 146 times, 25 of which are in the New Testament. It’s the Hebrew word samach, which means “rejoice!” It’s a word that appears numerous times in the Scriptures! It’s interesting, too, that the word also means “fruitful.” It is an expression that often links the Jews and Gentiles in a religious bond.

Physically going to church originated with the Jewish people. David was always glad when it was time to worship the LORD. I wish we could say the same for Jews and “Christians” today. Oh, there are quite a number who attend worship on the LORD’s Day. But I often wonder whether people are there to truly worship the LORD—or just attend?

There will come a day when Jesus will return. Were He to return this LORD’s Day, would He find us truly “worshipping Him?” Or would He only find us physically in a building that was ostensibly constructed for worship?

Pray earnestly for your pastor. Pray for all pastors, who hold to the truths of Scripture. One day the LORD Jesus will return! Not every believer will be able to be physically “in church” at that particular time. But, when our hearts are tuned to Him, His Church (all true believers) will be ready to answer His call.

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