The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 107:17-24, “Fools, because of their rebellious way, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.
20 He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men!
22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters;
24 They have seen the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep.”

Matthew 8:24-27, “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.
25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’
26 He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
27 The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”

The verses above from the Old and New Testaments possess a clear semblance of “togetherness.” We could hardly find any that are more closely associated than the two above. What the Old Testament says is complemented by what the New Testament says. Such gives sure and certain evidence of the unity of Scripture!

The psalmist speaks of affliction so severe that no selection of food
could heal the afflicted. They were, in fact, nearing the doors of death. Yet, their cries reached the ears of God and He healed all of them!

Subsequently, they were enjoined to “give thanks to the LORD” through “sacrifices of thanksgiving.” Such was for His lovingkind-ness and the wonders of His healing power! Notice, too, that those delivered by the miracle of the LORD’s touch were encouraged to praise Him in the joy of singing and telling others of His good works!

Interestingly, too, is how all of this is demonstrated through us!
The disciples had forgotten the LORD’s previous attention to their needs when the storms began to rage. In fear, they cried out, “LORD, save us!” And He did!

Then, we forget that He saved us from the storm, and we cry out to Him again for help. He helps us, then we forget and fall into fear at the next sign of trouble. It just goes over and over again. When will
we learn?

“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.” (Prov. 3:5-6)

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We may never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Exodus 15:1-8, “Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said,
‘I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
2 ‘The LORD is my strength and song,
‘And He has become my salvation;
‘This is my God, and I will praise Him;
‘My father’s God, and I will extol Him.
3 “The LORD is a warrior;
The LORD is His name.
4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has cast into the sea;
And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 “The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a
stone.
6 “Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power,
Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence;
You overthrow those who rise up against You;
You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as
chaff.
8 “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,
The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.’”

Most of you, who will read the lines above, will immediately
recognize the passage as the historical reference of the Egyptian
army being drowned in the Red Sea, as they endeavored to over-
come the Children of Israel, who were escaping in their effort to
reach the Promised Land.

All praise, however, for the Israelites’ safety goes to the LORD, by
Whose direction and protection they reached the other side. It is
much the same with us today. As a small boy, I jerked loose from my mother’s hand and dashed into the face of an on-coming car.
Miraculously, the Hand of the LORD was my deliverence!

How many of us can recount near-disasterous experiences that
could have snuffed out our lives, except that the LORD’s Hand
reached out and delivered us?

If calculations are near-to-correct, the Titan is near to the end of its oxygen supply; and five persons are aboard. I am praying that they will be successfully rescued and whether Christians or not, they will give praise to the LORD for their lives. How many rescues the
LORD has accomplished is not to be known until we meet Him. In
the meantime, we can pray and praise! “He does all things well.”

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,

Joel 1:13-16, “Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament, O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God?”

We looked into Joel some weeks ago; still, the Word of God never changes. Circumstances that affect our human lives do change.
As of this writing, an underwater miniature submarine is lost in the
North Atlantic somewhat near to where the great British luxury liner Titanic sank back in 1912. Reports are that the little sub has only sufficient oxygen onboard to last until mid-day Thursday.

Needless to say, those onboard (including a young boy) had not the slightest thought of danger when they boarded the sub. They
were going to view the ruins of the Titanic. Now, the Coast Guard units from several nations search furiously for them!

We never know what a day may bring forth. It was the same with the prophet Joel. “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 (Joel 1:4). Will anyone survive this
devastation?

My prayer has been that those underwater sightseekers will be saved –but that they will realize that life is more than excitement; more than the thousands of dollars it costs to view an 111-year-old
ruin that took 1500 lives! Life is delicate; it’s a gift from the LORD!
Its only assurance lies in its yieldedness to Him who gave it. Have
your yielded your life to Him? Death exists above the waves, too.

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,

Luke 21:10-17, “Then He continued by saying to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,
11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
12 ‘But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.
13 “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
14 “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
16 “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
17 and you will be hated by all because of My name.’”
18 “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.”

If you’ve ever wondered if there were parts of the Bible that indicated just how things would be in the last days of earth, you have read it above. In fact, it’s truly sufficient to read only the first of verse 10: “Nation will rise against nation…”

What is stated in our verses above has always been true; it’s just that until recently we’ve been personally, physically protected from the wars and skirmishes that have devastated most of the nations of the world.

Physical persecution will reach the personal level, if it has not already. Yet, in the sordid mess that befalls us for standing with and for the LORD Jesus Christ, He gives the most encouraging
note when He says, “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.”

What will we say to our adversaries when they assail us? Don’t worry about a thing! “Make up your minds not to prepare before-hand to defend yourselves,” for the LORD says; “…I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute!”

What is worse is the fact that some, whom we thought were true friends –even relatives of our own households– will hate and betray us. They will choose to side against us because to them it will look safer to be with the other side.

Yet, here is the LORD’s solemn promise, ensconced within His loving glory and power: “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.”

Do you count loose hairs when you brush or comb your hair? Think
of this sure promise when you do: “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.” How precious the preservation of our LORD! Do you know Him? He wants to know you! Oh, there’s a Great Day coming!!!

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 1:1-4, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”

It’s too long a story to share here regarding how I entered the
teaching arena. I never wanted to be a teacher (at least, that’s what I always said); yet my mother was a teacher and her father before her was a teacher. It must have been inate with me!

I clearly remember the rousing debate in my New Testament class
at Northeastern Bible College in New Jersey. There were half a dozen students, who differed viciously on the authorship of the Letter to the Hebrews. (The school is no longer there, and I emphatically deny that class debate as having to do anything with the school’s demise!)

Of the 27 books of the New Testament, only one carries no name of its author. It is the Letter to the Hebrews. As wild animals fight each other for food, even when it lacks scarcity, so biblical commentators and New Testament scholars struggle and fuss over the authorship of Hebrews. Many ancient biblical scholars attributed the authorship to Paul. While the presence of antiquity is not to be excluded, it must be admitted that antiquity itself is little, if any, actual proof of authorship.

As there is nothing like joining the fray, I have thoroughly searched everything that might serve as a help to the answer to the letter’s authorship. Four aspects, each supportive of Pauline writing, have convinced me of his authorship; and I humbly set them forth for your consideration.

1.When Saul of Tarsus was converted to Christ on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9), he suffered a temporary loss of his eyesight. The result of that loss, while temporary, may have been a reason that he later three times sought the LORD to free him from what he termed a “thorn in the flesh” (II Cor. 12:8). Simultaneous to Saul’s conversion, the LORD tapped Ananias, himself a spiritual convert, to attend to Paul’s need of vision and also instruct him regarding the nature of events forthcoming in his life: “…the Lord said to Ananias, ‘…he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.’” (Acts 9:15-16).

While Paul’s ministry was almost exclusively to the Gentiles, the inclusion of “the sons of Israel” in Ananias’ instructions to Paul (Acts 9:10ff) permits him to minister to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles. Therefore, Paul could well have authored the Letter to the Hebrews.

2.In the final chapter (the 13th) of the Letter to the Hebrews, verse 23 mentions “our brother Timothy.” Timothy is mentioned six times in the Acts of the Apostles, each mention includes a notation of Paul. Further, Timothy is mentioned once in Romans, twice in First Corinthians, and twice in Second Corinthians, twice in Philemon, once in Colossians, three times in First Thessalonians, once in Second Thessalonians, three times in First Timothy, once in Second Timothy, and once in Philemon. All of these letters are unquestionably authored by Paul.

3.In all, Paul wrote 14 letters (including Hebrews) in the New Testament. The closing salutations in 12 of his letters (excluding Colossians and Titus) mention Timothy. This argument speaks for Paul as the author of Hebrews.

4.Hebrew’s conclusion (13:24) also notes that the author is in Italy, the very place where Paul spent his last days on earth.

There are clear answers to all the questions we have concerning the Bible. What’s more, they are found in the Bible itself. We have but to search the Scriptures. Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me…” (John 5:39). Just keep searching!
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