The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Joel 2:25-31, “Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
26 “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame.
27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other; and My people will never be put to shame.
28 “It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke.
31 “The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”

An historically unparalleled calamity had befallen the land! Joel was himself as insignificant as the catastrophe that had come upon the land. Yet, the LORD had obviously selected him to sound the alarm to the nation of Israel.

A severe drought had visited the land, with unprecedented swarms of locusts gleaning what they could of the remnant. Joel’s ministry was to highlight the seriousness of the spiritual condition of the people –a condition that was an irritant to Almighty God!—and to call the nation to repentance!

We’re not under attack from streams of locusts today, yet our situation is far more severe. “Spiritual locusts” have invaded our religious world and are gnawing away in every possible manner against our reverence toward God. These “locusts” have
removed virtually all meaningful, sacred songs from our itinerary. There is no quiet time for prayer and inner reflection. Instead, we are often left with noise and homilies that have replaced Scripture!

Men, whose “callings” into ministry fail the spiritual, moral and biblical tests, now occupy the pulpits of the spiritual churches of the past; and those men feed their congregations with chaff that even the locusts could not devour.

The emphases of these pulpits no longer ring with “thus saith the LORD”; rather, they focus upon receiving the monetary offerings of people, while in turn they dispense a pablim of humanistic “feel good isms” that clearly attack or ignore the purity of the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ.

When will all of this “playing church” nonsense end? There is no end to the locusts’ attacks in Joel’s prophecy. True worship is, therefore, relegated to the earnest hearts of the true believers.

Are you a true believer? The Word of the LORD, the Bible, exists for your spiritual nourishment. Devour the Scriptures daily! The “church players” are intent on taking even them away.

Prayerfully 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,

Proberbs 15:27-33, “He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.
28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
30 Bright eyes gladden the heart; good news puts fat on the bones.
31 He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
32 He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.
33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility.”

Have you noticed how many names in the news are connected with theft? Politicians, sportsmen, actors, even pastors — “men of the cloth”? There seems to be no limit to what some will do for a mere monetary increase.

The only humorous aspect of these cravings lies in the manner of how some of them are caught. “Nobody will ever know,” they think; yet, that very thought belies their human ignorance. They would do well to listen to Solomon.

Solomon says, “Craving for dishonest gain brings trouble on a house…,” while “…hatred of bribery earns life.” Simultaneously, he notes, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3). Still, stories abound of thieves who believed they would escape the next time.

Ananias and Sapphira lied about keeping back some of the money they had pledged to the LORD; and they paid with their lives (Acts 5:1ff)!

Still, the root of theft is not always about money. It’s the human ego that erroneously believes it is more intelligent than the Mind of Almighty God! Some, in fact, deny the very existence of God; yet, in the finality of all, those men lose.

When our minds are trained to focus on Jesus, and when we endeavor to live in His Word every day, we will avoid the thoughts and activities that run counter to His will. It is then that He will bestow upon us far more than we had thought to bestow upon ourselves. Trust Him and see!

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 15:7-10, “The lips of the wise spread knowledge, not so the hearts of fools.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is abhorrent to Yahweh, dear to him is the prayer of the honest.
9 The conduct of the wicked is abhorrent to Yahweh, but he loves the person whose goal is uprightness.
10 Correction is severe for one who leaves the way; whoever hates being reprimanded will die.”

There are five emphases in these four verses that are as mandatory as they are instructive.

1.Who gains anything by listening to the muttering of fools? The instruction here extends far beyond mere nonsense from a person; it extends to what we see and hear via radio, television, the internet and elsewhere.

2.Only the fool believes his ungodly behavior is covered from the knowledge of God by some “self-sacrifice,” “good deed,” or “superficial prayer.”

3.Only the fool believes that his daily, wicked conduct –even in part– escapes the all-seeing eye of the LORD.

4.Only severe correction will straighten the life of the fool who departs from the way of the LORD.

5.Hatred for reprimands leads to death for the one who resists sincere, godly instruction.

The wisdom of the LORD is partially contained in Holy Scripture. All who read and heed His words of instruction are wise. Pray for me, too, that I might always heed His instruction.

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,

Numbers 27:3-11, “’Our father died in the desert. He was not a member of the party who banded together against Yahweh, Korah’s party; it was for his own sin that he died without sons.
4 Why should our father’s name be lost to his clan? Since he had no son, give us some property like our father’s kinsmen.’
5 Moses took their case before Yahweh,
6 and Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,
7 ‘Zelophehad’s daughters are right in what they say. You will indeed give them a property to be their heritage among their father’s kinsmen; see that their father’s heritage is passed on to them.
8 Then speak to the Israelites and say, “If a man dies without sons, his heritage will pass to his daughter.
9 If he has no daughter, the heritage will go to his brothers.
10 If he has no brothers, his heritage will go to his father’s brothers.
11 If his father has no brothers, his heritage will go to the member of his clan who is most nearly related; it will become his property. This will be a legal rule for the Israelites, as Yahweh has ordered Moses.”‘

“That’s mine! Give it to me! You have no right to that; it’s mine, I said!”

Ever hear anything like that around your house?
Well, maybe… when you were a small child. But,
this was serious business. Korah and his kinfolks had gone against the LORD and the LORD dealt with them, putting them to death.

Now, the daughters of Zelophehad go to Moses
with the plea that they have no inheritance in the new land because they had no brothers. They reminded Moses that their father had stood for the LORD, but now his name would be omitted from the inheritances in the new land.

It was a unique situation; so Moses took the matter directly to the LORD, and the LORD sided
with the daughters of Zelophehad. Further, He said, when a family has no sons, the father’s heritage will go to his closest relative. In this case, with no male relatives in the family, the heritage went to Zelophehad’s daughters.

The LORD always makes provision for His children. If you are His child, He loves you regardless of your gender. Whatever He sets forth in His Word becomes the responsibility of those to whom He has assigned it.

What responsibility has the LORD assigned to you? Have you fulfilled it today? If not, why not? There is still time. Go do it now! Time is running out!

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,

Numbers 21:4-9, “They left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt round Edom. On the way the people lost patience.
5 They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the desert? For there is neither food nor water here; we are sick of this meagre diet.’
6 At this, God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.
7 The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against Yahweh and against you. Intercede for us with Yahweh to save us from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people,
8 and Yahweh replied, ‘Make a fiery serpent and raise it as a standard. Anyone who is bitten and looks at it will survive.’
9 Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived.”

It’s an Old Testament account of sin and forgiveness; yet careful assessment shows that it is very close to what the LORD says and does for us today.

It all began when the people lost patience and spoke against the LORD. Impatience occurs when things don’t go the way we want them. It’s a focus on selfish desire and an accusation of blame on anyone other than ourselves.

The people’s immediate focus was upon their diet. They were acting like little children and complaining instead of being thankful for what they had to eat. We’re often like that. Yet, their complaint resulted in a still worse situation that brought about numerous eternal deaths.

Despite the fact that the people deserved to suffer for complaining, the LORD in mercy gave them a reprieve. At His command, Moses constructed a brazen serpent, so that those who looked upon it could be healed.

Who could deny that this brazen serpent typified the crucifixion that the LORD Jesus Christ would later experience on the cross? It was God’s preparation that enabled mankind to be saved from sin and the consequences of eternal Hell?

Have you looked to Christ Jesus for your salvation? Simply confess your sins to Him and ask His forgiveness. If you are sincere, He will forgive you, just as He promises in the Scriptures. No one can blame his sin on God! It is God who provided for salvation through Jesus’ death on the Cross.

Surrender your life to Him today! I have never met anyone who has trusted Christ and who was sorry. Never!

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