The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Samuel 8:10-21, “So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people
who had asked of him a king.
11 He said, ‘This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he
will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his
horsemen and they will run before his chariots.
12 ’He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and
some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of
war and equipment for his chariots.
13 ‘He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers.
14 ‘He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive
groves and give them to his servants.
15 ‘He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his
officers and to his servants.
16 ‘He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your
best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work.
17 ‘He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his
servants.
18 ‘Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have
chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.’
19 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they
said, ‘No, but there shall be a king over us,
20 that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go
out before us and fight our battles.’
21 Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated
them in the LORD’S hearing.”

Do “godly people” always behave in a godly manner? Do they always listen to
the LORD or to the leaders He provides to guide them with wisdom?
Does He, nevertheless, always deliver them our of dangerous situations?
The passage before us says, “No!” Of course, they don’t!

Let’s be honest; do we always behave in the manner that is pleasing to the
LORD? I’ll let the finger point to me and indicate “No.” To be thoroughly honest,
I never intentionally leave the worship service at church with an attitude or
thought that defies what I’ve heard from the LORD’s messenger. Absolutely
not! Never!

At the same time, I often fail ultimately to respond in the way that would please
both the messenger and the LORD. Of course, my failure is not intentional. I
don’t listen to the pastor with an attitude that’s pre-determined to just do
whatever I want! Of course not! Nor do I believe that most parishioners have
that attitude, either.

But, intentionality is not all there is to it. Verse 19 says, “…the people refused
to listen to the voice of Samuel…” They said, “No, we want to be like all the
nations, that our king may…go out before us and fight our battles.’” Well, that’s
some attitude! Freedom comes at a considerable cost. Reliance on the LORD
as our Leader is one thing; being unwilling to follow His lead is quite another.

There’s a little rhyme that seems appropriate right here. It says,

“Ours is not to reason why;
Ours is but to do or die” (Tennyson)

Confidence in the LORD is confidence in His leadership. Follow Him, and know
that you will come to a good end. Failure to follow Him, and– well, you’re on
your own! And once of that should be enough –even for the most stubborn
among us.

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 11:1-7, “In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain?’
2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?
4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”

Have you ever seriously contemplated that we are currently “at war”? Well, we are! What’s more, as long as we live, we will be. Consider that most of the world’s population is “anti-Christian,” and much of what we call “Christian” is like faded glory.

The Church-at-large has virtually abandoned much of what it was intended to be. Many have become mere rallying places that gives their congregations a “secular high” once a week. I wrote recently commending our three pastors who are in charge of the spiritual leadership of our church. Thank the LORD that they and we have maintained our spiritual calling.

We must remember that the church is simply comprised of ordinary people. Outside of any church, I’m certain there are numerous personal disagreements. What a problem the parking lot would be if every car were same color –or even the same make and model! Just imagine! People are different, too. They vary in many ways. Jesus, however, is the Supreme One who brings us all together. He is always the same.

A good salad is good because of its varying ingredients. To a degree, so is the church.
We cannot all be the same; but we must all together be focused on the LORD Jesus Christ! He alone is our Supreme Leader. We must always trust and follow Him as He leads us.

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,

2 Corinthians 11:1-6, “I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.
2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.
3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.
6 But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.”

“Do you want to foster a spiritual fight?” At every turn, that’s the essence of what prompts the Apostle Paul to challenge the Corinthian Church. “You’ve been hoodwinked,” says the apostle. “Here comes a preacher, who preaches ‘another Jesus,’ and you just buy into everything he says, as if he were the LORD Himself. (It sounds as if Paul has tuned into some of those “pastors,” we know only from television today.)

That people of every age are spiritually hungry is no surprise. That they fall for every-thing that’s preached, regardless who says it. It’s a surprise, except that they are so spiritually hungry that they rush to “gobble up” everything that’s said, regardless of who says it or why.

The apostle Paul admonishes the Corinthian believers to listen to him! Paul does not in the least consider himself as unqualified to share what the Holy Spirit has taught him from the Scriptures! I often wonder about the biblical qualifications of those churchless pastors, who teach only via radio or television. What are their qualifications? Do we not check the qualifications of medical doctors before we put ourselves into their hands? Why, then, not the “pastors?”

First and foremost, true and faithful preachers must be avid students of the Word of God. There must be evidence of prayerfulness in their lives, as well as in their sermon preparation. We have three such pastors in the church I attend. Their messages are well-studied and earnestly presented from the Scriptures. They give evidence of prayerfulness and serious preparation. There is no “shilling” of their audiences.

I thank the LORD for the ministers under whom I sit. I can invite people (which I have) without having to be embarrassed by my pastor-teachers. Isn’t the LORD good to give us Godly men to lead us? Thank You, LORD! Thank you, pastors!

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,

Proverbs 24:15-22, “Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him.
19 Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked;
20 For there will be no future for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, fear the LORD and the king; do not associate with those who are given to change,
22 For their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?”

I am aware that some of these words of Scriptural instruction do not fit every reader.
Yet, many of them do. For instance, not every person “rejoices when his enemy falls.”
Still, if he does rejoice when his enemy falls, the LORD will be displeased, and will “turn His anger away from” the enemy, and possibly toward the one who rejoices.

We believers always want to think of Jesus as never angry or displeased; still, He is like a loving parent – and they are often displeased when their children disobey. Solomon doubtlessly experienced the displeasure of both his earthly father, David, and his Heavenly Father, when he violated the instructions of the LORD given here in the Scripture.

It seems as if the LORD were saying, “Don’t laugh when a friend falls and skins his knee, or you might fall and skin your knee.” Thoughtful parents want their children to behave properly, even if it seems inappropriate that the children suffer when their friends are hurt. As spiritually magnificent as the LORD is, He nevertheless desires that we love what He loves and despise what He despises. Are you appropriating in your life what the LORD wants? I earnestly pray that you are. We’re talking about much more than “skinned knees.”

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 11:1-7, “In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain?’
2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face.”

These seven verses give no hint of David’s age when he penned them for his choir director. We can only know that he was of sufficient age to understand their depth of meaning. Everything David did centered in the LORD and focused on the preservation of the foundation He had laid forth for His people. Righteous people were the ones who served the LORD. And it is that same righteousness that the LORD utilises to test the foundation of their faith.

The foundation of our human civilization rests upon our faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. Satan seeks to undermine those foundations. He always has and he always will. We who are alive to serve the LORD are facing some of the most diabolical challenges this writer has ever seen. Having lived under the administration of some 14 presidents, commencing with that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, I have witnessed significant variations in their administrations.

It is my earnest belief that we are drawing perilously closer to the end of civilization, as I have always known it. The very foundation of our Republic is being challenged, just as Israel’s foundation is being challenged. If ever there were a need of repentance and prayer, it is today.

Some readers know that some time ago I telephoned the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas to ascertain whether Dr. Jeffress (whom I knew to be a close friend of former President Trump) believes President Trump to be a truly born-again believer in Jesus Christ. I was assurred by Dr. Jeffress’ secretary that Dr. Jeffress does indeed believe President Trump to be a truly born-again believer in Jesus Christ.

I have never met the Rev. Franklin Graham, but I agree whole heartedly with him when he urged President Trump to refrain from some of the saucy language he uses in his addresses to the American people. Vulgar language has no place in the hearts and lives of truly Christian people. Nor does it enable what is spoken to “stick” more firmly with Christians everywhere.

Let me urge you to pray for our beloved United States of America! Undoubtedly, there were some of our Founding Fathers that were not true believers in Jesus Christ, as we know Him. Yet, they possessed a true belief in God the Father and held to His Word, the Holy Bible! Benjamin Franklin urged that every session of their meeting commence with prayer. There is no record of Franklin ever becoming a born-again believer in Jesus; however, he heard the purity of the Gospel from the lips of an able evangelist one quarter mile away! Pray for our Nation! She is cradled in the sure, soft Hands of our blessed Redeemer!

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