The Grands Letter

Nehemiah 9:10-15, “Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants and all the people of his land; For You knew that they acted arrogantly toward them, And made a name for Yourself as it is this day.

11 “You divided the sea before them, so they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground; and their pursuers You hurled into the depths, like a stone into raging waters.

12 “And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, and with a pillar of fire by night To light for them the way In which they were to go.

13 “Then You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven; you gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.

14 “So You made known to them Your holy sabbath, and laid down for them commandments, statutes and law, through Your servant Moses.

15 “You provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger, You brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst, And You told them to enter in order to possess The land which You swore to give them.”

My maternal grandmother was a superb cook! I mean no criticism of my late wife or my mother, but there were few, if any, equals and none better than my grandmother. What’s more, she wasted nothing! Uneaten leftovers that I would have given to my dog were carefully retrieved and miraculously transformed into superb edibles for the next meal. Of course, grandmothers of that era had survived a depression and knew firsthand the value of what I simply thought of as “scraps.”

In a sense, the State of the Union Address that our President delivers annually is an assessment of our care for what remains to be utilized by the citizens of our nation.

Of course, there’s more to his assessment than the monetary. Moreover, we are responsible to the LORD for how we treat His provisions. We must ever and always be thankful; never be wasteful; and always be grateful for His goodness!

As you listened to our President’s Address last night, I trust you were thankful for him. Pray for him daily. I have it on good authority that Donald Trump is a born-again believer in our LORD Jesus Christ. Yet, as a newly born baby has to grow physically, so we believers have to grow spiritually. Do we, as true believers, ever do or say things that we oughtn’t? Of course, we do. Therefore, we must ask for forgiveness for our sin and be tolerant of others, who may not be as “old” in Christ as we are. Forgive us, LORD; and may our lives ever reveal Your Life to those about us.

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,

Exodus 18:17-23, “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good.

18 ‘You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.

19 ‘Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God,

20 then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.

21 “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

22 “Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

23 “If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”

One of the more difficult things in life is to take issue with someone in your own family. Previously, I’ve told you how my cousin Jim and I used to argue. Our arguments, however, were not truly real. We solved problems by debating them; and sometimes the debate became pretty “heavy.” Still, we always walked away satisfied with what we had done and learned.

As the leader of the nation, Moses was the judge who determined who was right and who was wrong. He was virtually “worn out” when the sessions were concluded. His father-in-law saw his dilemma and stepped in to give some serious advice. There could have been some genuine family trouble between Moses and his father-in-law, but Moses was wise. After all, he was used to giving counsel to squabbles within the nation of Israel.

It’s good to have wise people around. From families to government, we all need wisdom. At the same time, all individuals and groups need the wisdom of the LORD! There is none greater! Remember verse 23 above: “If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure.”

So, don’t “fight” with one another, like Jim and I used to do. It frightens family members, even if it’s only done in fun. Trust always in the LORD. He does all things well.

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,

1 Samuel 8:1-9, “And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel.

2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.

3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

5 and they said to him, ‘Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.’

6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

7 The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.'”

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a nation that had no laws? It would be just as bad to live under laws that were never enforced! Imagine what it would be like to have an old man, who was either incapable of controlling peace in your town or, simply due to his advanced age, neglected his duties. That’s precisely the condition that existed in our verses above.

Samuel was not objecting to law and order; he was just too old to keep up with all that was going on. What would you do if you were in a situation like that? You would probably do exactly what Samuel did: he appointed his sons to conduct law and order in his place.

Then Samuel had a problem with the people! Whether they thought Samuel’s sons were too young to be in authority, or whether they did not see in them the ability to produce stability among the people, we’re not told. Yet, they objected to the boys taking charge.

What do you do in a situation like that? “Samuel prayed to the LORD.” Prayer is always our first line of defense. Why not make it our first line of operation? So, the LORD said to Samuel: “Listen to the voice of the people. They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Now, then, listen to their voice, solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them” (1 Sam. 8:7-9).

We never know what’s coming next! We may surmise that all will be well, but we cannot guarantee it. The LORD is our only hope. We must trust Him, knowing that He truly loves us.

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,

Ecclesiastes 7:8-12, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning; patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

9 Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools.

10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good, and an advantage to those who see the sun.

12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection. But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.”

For those who witnessed the television “kerfuffle” between the President of the United States and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the current President of Ukraine, “the end of (the) matter (was hardly) better than the beginning.” Still, differences of opinion have always existed, and from what was witnessed recently, they always will.

For “the end of a matter (to be) better than its beginning,” patience must exist with both parties and be present simultaneously throughout the discussion. Too often, however, personal haughtiness in attitude prevails. Solomon might well have been personally observing the confrontation in the Oval Office when he said, “.wisdom is protection just as money is protection. But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves (rather than destroys) the lives of its possessors.”

Perhaps the time has come for true believers throughout the world to humbly beseech our Heavenly Father for a true and unifying spirit on the part of all parties. Such is vital because never does one party alone possess all the solutions to such a serious dilemma.

At the same time, both parties (in whatever confrontation might exist) must prayerfully beseech Almighty God for a true and thorough resolution. The matter under discussion has a far-reaching perspective that encircles more than the constituents of both countries. It is the people of both countries, however, who ought to be uppermost in the minds of all parties. If the LORD is their Shepherd, they shall not want, except for universal prayer; and such is earnestly requested.

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,

Numbers 32:15-23, “Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.

15 “For if you turn away from following Him, He will once more abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”

16 Then they came near to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones;

17 but we ourselves will be armed and ready to go before the sons of Israel until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

18 “We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has possessed his inheritance.

19 “For we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.”

20 So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for the war,

21 and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven His enemies out from before Him,

22 and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the LORD and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours for a possession before the LORD.

23 “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

With all the LORD had done for His people, when they came up against a difficulty they had not previously encountered, they rebelled against Moses and against the LORD. Have you and I ever considered that truly spiritual leadership has been given to us that we might learn to love and follow the LORD?

Certainly, the obstacle that Moses’ people encountered looked difficult. What they needed, however, was to look to the LORD instead of the obstacles before them.

How like this crowd we often are! We know His will, and we’ve been told to face it in His strength and move forward. But we’re gripped with fear because we’ve taken our eyes off of Him!

Being the wise leader that he was, Moses challenged the people by reminding them of the LORD’s leadership; then saying (in effect): “Do what you want – just remember that your sin will ultimately catch up with you. You can’t do wrong and get by!”

What was true of those who doubted Moses is true of us when we balk at following the LORD’s leadership: our sin will ultimately be our undoing! So, be careful. Who knows best? You simply cannot do what’s wrong in God’s eyes and get by.

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