The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 2:11-18, “It is a trustworthy statement: for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us;
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,
17 and their talk will spread like gangrene…
18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.”

Godly, born-again parents will always possess the desire that their children come to know the LORD; thus, they will exercise a behavior that will accredit the LORD to others. The initial four verses in the above passage contain the word “if,” giving the certain impression of their importance. The first two of the four “ifs” are negative; the latter two are positive.

“If we died with Him, we will also live with Him.” Have we truly died to ourselves? Our wants? Our desires? It is imperative that we do so if we intend to live with Him throughout eternity. “If we endure (i.e., “keep on keeping on,” and don’t give up!), we will “reign with Him” throughout eternity. If, however, we are “faithless,” He will nevertheless always be faithful because He cannot “deny” or “disown” what He is!

We, who are believers who follow Christ, are responsible to encourage other believers. We’re not to fuss and fight over the nuances of words. The Bible is clear and understandable to all believers. As believers, we just need to share Him and the Word with others. If we are faithful in sharing the Word with others, the Word will soon take on a life of its own.

Don’t get into wrangles over lesser issues; just stick to the clarity of Scripture and it will itself become alive in the hearts of others. It’s really that easy to share. In the long run, it is not our responsibility whether others believe; it is simply our responsibilty to present the Word in such a way that they will have no difficulty seeing that we believe. I’ve witnessed several people come to faith in Christ in a very short time; others have taken much, much longer. What’s important is our faithfulness. When we are faithful, the LORD will give us His approval. What more could we want?

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 98:1-9. “O sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
2 The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.
7 Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy
9 Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Today, Sunday, 15 September 2024, is a day of worship. The psalmist recollects that the LORD
has done wonderful, including victories for His people. Those victories are “full of wonder!’ They extend much further than we could imagine. Nevertheless, they are victories! The LORD has saved His people. Moreover, He has demonstrated His power to those who lived only to destroy Israel. And neighboring nations have witnessed His phenomenal power!

The shout of joy, which the psalmist expresses is not containable! It is powerful and stretches forth so as to include nations that believed themselves to be unconquerable. Further, it is musical! The people are moved to praise Him with their voices and with instruments –not a performance cloaked as worship—but voices of praise that contain melody and comprehensible words sung to the glory of the LORD alone! Worship such as this is raw praise that shakes the heavens in thanksgiving to the LORD for His glorious love that permeates the depths of the human soul.

But why is all of this praise encouraged? It is because the LORD is coming to judge the earth, so the days will be filled with righteousness, as the LORD intends. Do you believe you will be here on earth when He comes? Believing that is encouraging; not believing that is extremely and eternally dangerous. Yield your life to Him today! Be on the Victory Side of Life!

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,

Ephesians 5:15-20, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

I won’t ask if you’re at all careful about “how you walk.” Three years ago, I wasn’t paying attention
to how I walked and fell! I will spare you the pictures, but I went through several tests, spending the night in hospital. I won’t say it wasn’t “fruitful,” as I had opportunity to witness, but falling is not encouraged.

The word “walk” in our verses above, however, is better translated “live,” since the apostle Paul goes on to say “making the most of your time,” as the days in which we live are evil. We shouldn’t spend too much time here, as few if any readers of this “letter” would contest the reality of evil in our world today.

Paul’s challenge is negative toward wine, but positive toward the Holy Spirit. It’s imperative that we understand “wine” to have been mixed with water in those days. Nevertheless, some were more “generous” with the wine than they were with the water!

Believers are soundly disscouraged from excessive wine consumption, but positively encouraged to be “filled” (i.e., controlled) by the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit controls us, we enjoy speaking to one another “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…making melody (at all times) to the LORD.”
My dear old grandmother used to go about her work singing a hymn to the LORD. Notice that the attached singing that Paul encouraged was the singer’s heartfelt thanks to the LORD! Everything good comes from Him, and everything good accrues to His favor and glory. Think about this the next time you sing a hymn in church.

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,

Genesis 22:1-5, “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.’”

How many times did it take you to become obedient? Obedient to whom? Well, your parents, your grandparents, your uncles, your aunts, your teachers… you know! How many times?

Quite honestly, had you known this was a test, you might have minded them sooner. Abraham, however, did not have the luxury of knowing what God ultimately intended. He only knew what God had told him –and that wasn’t much. In fact, the word “worship” is mentioned only once in our passage above (v. 5). Moreover, the LORD had previously told Abraham nothing other than his son was to be offered as a sacrifice. Wow!

Still, Abraham’s faith was enormously strong. Look at his words to the young men who accompanied them: “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there, and we will worship and return to you.” The word “worship” is mentioned 183 times from Genesis to Revelation; but what does “worship” mean?

We say, “We’re going to worship this morning,” but what does that entail? Do we really worship? The word “worship” is a Hebrew word meaning “bowing down.” Easton’s Bible Dictionary goes further by saying that it is “homage rendered to God, which it is sinful (idolatry) to render to any created being.” It was a homage that Peter refused back in Acts 10:25-26 and Revelation 22:8-9.

Interestingly, it is a “reverence” afforded to Almighty God –a reverence that esists mostly in churches many would not consider as evangelical. From a practical-theological viewpoint, things have become twisted in our day. Some pastors of yester-year used to kneel and bow at their pulpits prior to bringing God’s message to their congregations. The singing of hymns may also be considered “worship,” provided that they are sung humbly to the LORD.

Closing one’s eyes in prayer is also worshipful, provided it is for the right reason. As a boy, I can remember asking my dad why he closed his eyes when prayer was being offered. He said it was to shut out everything that would take his mind off of the LORD! That’s a habit I have continued to use throughout my lifetime.

Join with me in bowing with closed eyes when you pray. Shut out what ought to be, and learn to worship the LORD in true, spiritual, worshipful music and prayer.

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,

Acts 10:34-43, “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.
40 “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,
41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,
35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.
36 “The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)–
37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.
38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

The message of the Apostle Peter in these ancient verses above is as applicable to us as it was to those to whom it was first delivered. The problem we face is not due to the absence of the Message; rather, it is the failure to apply it fully in our worship of the LORD Jesus Christ.

This past week I witnessed on television a “high profile” person being asked if he knew our LORD Jesus Christ. It was evident from his response that “Christianity” meant to him virtually any church that loosely claims Jesus as its founder. Nothing personal was stated by the individual. The young girl who was conducting the interview seemed to know clearly what “trusting Jesus” really meant. Her final question was as clear as anyone could have wished. The interviewee’s response was simply all too generic. How sad.

May we who know the LORD Jesus live and speak so clearly that no one will fail to notice a clear difference in our lives.

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