The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Joel 1:1-7, “The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 ‘Hear this, O elders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days or in your fathers’ days?
3 ‘Tell your sons about it, and let your sons tell their sons, and their sons the next generation.
4 What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; and what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; and what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.
5 Awake, drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you wine drinkers, on account of the sweet wine that is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has invaded my land, mighty and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has made my vine a waste and my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; their branches have become white.’”

If there is anyone you know who doubts the LORD’s ability to control nature, both human and non-human, he needs to read the Book of Joel. Author Irving Jensen says, “Joel could not have used a better symbol to prefigure the coming ‘terrible day of the LORD.’” Certainly, that was true in Joel’s time.

It may be, however, that it will take something even more sinister to awaken our current world –something like a worldwide virus in connection with a plague of no mean description. Where are the sermons that warn us of coming disasters, or those that equip us and encourage us not give up? Well, I witnessed one last Sunday!

Parents, who love and cherish their children, equip them with life principles designed to keep them “keeping on” whatever the cost! Our LORD is even more alert that the best of human parents. The days of His Coming seem just around the corner. Let the locusts come! We have shelter in the King of Kings!

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,

Joshua 10:12-14, “Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘O sun, stand still at Gibeon, and O moon in the valley of Aijalon.’
13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar (Joshua) ? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
14 There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.”

Apart from the LORD Himself, it is probable that no man in all of human history witnessed more of the LORD’s miracles than Joshua. It is not merely that Joshua lived at the time of the LORD’s miracles, it is, rather, that his spiritual dedication to the LORD permitted him to witness them.

I’ve heard some people say, “Well, we could have witnessed what Joshua witnessed, if we had lived at the time that Joshua lived. But, it was more than “when” Joshua lived, it was “how” Joshua lived that attracted the LORD. We miss so much today, in large part because we lack the spiritual trust in what the LORD can do.

At the time I was pastoring in the Saint Louis area, we were still printing church bulletins on the mimeograph machine. Computers were just beginning to be used in places like McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft. Two Christian men at McDonnell-Douglas searched the computer and discoved the very day where the sun stood still while Moses’ hands were raised. The LORD is indeed the sole Ruler over the Universe.

“…the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness’” (2 Tim. 2:19). Our abstinence from sin is, therefore, is an acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior. May it ever and always be so!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

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,

Joshua 10:12-14, “Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘O sun, stand still at Gibeon, and O moon in the valley of Aijalon.’
13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar (Joshua)? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
14 There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.”

Apart from the LORD Himself, it is probable that no man in all of human history witnessed more of the LORD’s miracles than Joshua. It is not merely that Joshua lived at the time of the LORD’s miracles, it is, rather, that his spiritual dedication to the LORD permitted him to witness them.

I’ve heard some people say, “Well, we could have witnessed what Joshua witnessed, if we had lived at the time that Joshua lived. But, it was more than “when” Joshua lived, it was “how” Joshua lived that attracted the LORD. We miss so much today, in large part because we lack the spiritual trust in what the LORD can do.

At the time I was pastoring in the Saint Louis area, we were still printing church bulletins on the mimeograph machine. Computers were just beginning to be used in places like McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft. Two Christian men at McDonnell-Douglas searched the computer and discoved the very day where the sun stood still while Moses’ hands were raised. The LORD is indeed the sole Ruler over the Universe.

“…the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness’” (2 Tim. 2:19). Our abstinence from sin is, therefore, an acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior. May it ever and always be so!

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,

Matthew 6:24-30, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”

I just don’t know what I’m going to do! Everything looked so right – until
the situation changed! Now, I’m locked into that situation I so dreaded!
What am I going to do?

Did you ever find yourself in a situation like that? Maybe it seemed so serious that you couldn’t even sleep. You tossed and turned all night, and could hardly wait until daybreak. Then the day broke and things were just as bad as you thought they would be –but they were no worse.

Jesus’ words in the verses above dispells concern that could not be helped by worry. Yet, where is the answer? It lies in our trust in the LORD. When we were children, we learned to trust in our parents. They were with us, consoling us with their words, promising to be with us every step of the way.

What we cannot foresee is decidedly to our advantage. We are then forced to trust in others, who have previously walked in that pathway. Even more so are we forced to trust in the LORD.

Solomon said, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones” (Prov. 3:5-8).

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,

Hebrews 2:13, “…‘I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.’ And again, ‘BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME.’”

The dictionary describes the word “trust” as the “reliance on and confidence in the truth, worth, and reliability of a person or thing…” In other words, it is one’s faithful trust in the ability and/or reliability of another person, place or thing, to accomplish a given task.

Although the word “trust” is mentioned but once in the Epistle to the Hebrews, it is quite evident that the author (whom I believe to be the Apostle Paul) expressly and carefully places the care and trust of himself into the Hands the LORD. Surely, if he can commit himself securely to the LORD, so can we.

By contrast, the word “worry” (?????? daag in Hebrew) is mentioned only once (Isaiah 57:11), while ???????? (merimnao), a Greek word), is mentioned some 19 times, perhaps suggesting that the unsaved Greeks might have had greater hesitancy than the Greek and Roman Christians.

Although to my knowledge, neither of my parents had any familiarity with foreign languages, I can and do recall a neighbor saying with regard to “worry”: “Don’t tell me it doesn’t pay to worry! Nothing I ever worried about ever happened!”

With all due respect to those who read the Scriptures only in English, I do suggest that worry is a negative word that translates as: “not trusting God.” Thus, I most heartily urge that you trust Him implicitly!

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