The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 3:10-14, “…that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,

being conformed to His death;

11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of

that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and

reaching forward to what lies ahead,

14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

When was the last time you watched a Little League softball or baseball game? It was his fourth time at bat. All the

other kids were tired and just seemed to swing their bats in the hope of the game being over. But when Billy came up

for his final bat, he looked as if he were determined to at least get a hit. His first two swings were much like those of his teammates. He stepped out of the batter’s box, reached down and got a handful of dirt, rubbed his hands together and looked determined as the final pitch came his way. Billy hit the ball! He hit it hard! The crowd roared and his Dad

hugged him excitedly, as Billy kept saying, “I did it, Dad! I just kept trying, and I hit it!”

The Apostle Paul was a long way from the ball field, when he said, “…that I may know Him…” Oh, he had been saved. That happened on the Road to Damascus. But, there was more, much more! To really know Him! That was part of the “more.” To know Jesus is to possess and understand something of His power –the power that brought Him forth from the dead! Along with that, however, it requires knowing something of His suffering. That would call a halt to knowing more for most of us; but not for Paul. He was more than willing to die, because without death, he could never fully understand the resurrection.

True humility wants to know more: Why did He love me? How could His love prompt Him to give Himself in death for me, especially death on a cross. I don’t understand it yet, Paul said. I’m not thinking back on things experienced thus far. I’m just pressing on, taking one more swing toward the reward of fully knowing Him. It lies somewhere ahead, and it’s worth far more than life as we know it now. Oh, the blessings He has in store for those who love Him and seek Him in His fulness! Is that your challenge? It is mine! What a glorious fellowship we’ll have at the end of the game!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. If you love genuine Christ-honoring music, click on the attachment above. The LORD has blessed my sister, Carol, who

just keeps swinging the bat and hitting the ball!

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Philippians 2:12-15, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now

much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing;

15 that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a

crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world…”

It just might be provable, if we could get the majority of adults to admit it, but my guess is that we all obeyed our parents mostly when they were looking. Paul alludes to that when he says “…you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only…” Philippians is an epistle (letter) of joy! So, Paul is not playing games with the believers. He is simply encouraging them to let their salvation in Christ be fully accomplished. One commentator notes that the word “work” (????????????, katergazomai) “always has the idea of bringing to completion. It is as if Paul were saying: ‘Don’t stop halfway; go on until the work of salvation is fully revealed in you.’

No Christian should be satisfied with anything less than the total benefits of the gospel.” The “fear and trembling” of which Paul speaks is the Christian’s fear that he might be overlooking something that should be within him and yet clearly visible to others.

If as a believer, we can be fully Christian and neither grumble nor dispute with others, we will be demonstrating the purity of the Gospel. At the same time, we will be proving to others in a practical manner that we are truly children of

God “above reproach” (??????, amomos, i.e., without blemish. To be sure, we live in a perverse (?????????, diastrepho) crooked generation. Yet, as we obey the Holy Spirit’s direction within us, we will appear to the lost around us as “lights” in our ever darkening world.

Are we lights for Christ? Is our salvation being worked out within us? Do others see that we are different, that our beauty is internal, not external, like the world’s? Where else is the world to see Light, unless it sees it in Christ and reflected in us? Stay in the Word! Engage in serious prayer! Be conscious of how you live and whether it is a reflection of our LORD Jesus Christ. God bless you abundantly! You are in my prayers. Please keep me in yours.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Philippians 2:5-11, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a

cross.

9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,

11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Over the years, I’ve met and mingled with a huge host of people, many of whom were ministers. I don’t, of course, remember with exactness all that I heard. Yet, as I read the passage for today’s Letter, I remember distinctly hearing one minister say, “I am amazed at how many proud and haughty preachers claim to be followers of the lowly Nazarene.”

That stinging statement from a human observer could easily be a parallel of Paul, when he said, Have the mind set in your life that Christ Jesus had. Jesus was God as much as God the Father, yet Jesus did not think of His equality with the Father as something to be grasped with retention. This presupposes something of a divine discussion in Heaven regarding the sacrifice that was needed for the forgiveness of mankind’s sin. Inasmuch as Jesus possessed equality with the Father, He might have said to the Father, “I don’t want to go; why don’t You go to Earth and become the sacrifice?” But, He didn’t say that. Instead, He humbled Himself and elected to become man and go to the Cross as the Father’s Sacrifice.

The ultimate result was that the Father exalted His Son and gave Him a Name that is above every name. And before this Name,

every living being from every age of human history, will one day bow before Him and confess that Jesus Christ is LORD. That will bring glory to the Father! Now, check that 11TH verse carefully: every person who has ever lived on Earth will on that day confess (agree) that Jesus and Jesus alone is LORD. So, the big question for mankind is: Will you confess Jesus now or on that day in eternity?

Confessing Him now, assures you of an Eternal Home with Him in Heaven! Confessing Him then will be forced – an admission that you were wrong in not having received Him as Savior when on Earth. There will be no second chance to be saved. As with the door of the Ark in Noah’s day: when it was shut, there was no entrance available to those outside. “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). I am earnestly praying for you, while there is time.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Philippians 2:1-4, If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship

of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important

than himself;

4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Anytime we say or do anything honestly, we want to be clearly understood. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians concerned

unity within the Church. He is writing them in Greek and Greek is the most expressive language known to man, even to this day.

There were four “conditional sentences” in Greek. The First Class reads, “If…and it is true…” The Second Class reads, “If…but it is not true…” The Third Class reads, “If…maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not…” The Fourth Class reads, “If…, and I wish it were true, but it is not.”

The first four “ifs” in verse one above are all First Class Conditional sentences. Thus, they read, “If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ –and there is…” and the othere three are all positive that “encouragement,” “consolation,” “fellowship of the Spirit,” and “affection and compassion” are genuinely available to all believers. All of that is God’s part. He sees to that.

Paul then cites the parts that are the responsibility of the believer; namely, “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, and being intent on one purpose. With God’s part all positive and certain, man has to agree with God; and it is required that those four spiritual agreements among the believers work toghether smoothly in agreement with God’s part. “Selfishness” and “emphy conceit” must give way to humility; and the regard for others of the same profession of faith must supersede each one’s regard for himself. We have to cease thinking so much about ourselves and what we want and show interest in the needs of others.

Working together under the LORD’s direction is what provides for everyone’s needs. See how easy it is. Now, let’s try it.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Prayers for our President and his team are showing an increasingly positive result. Keep all of them in your prayers.

This battle with COVED-19 is not over, but it’s showing improvement right along. Keep the faith!

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Philippians 1:12-14, “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the

gospel,

13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to

everyone else,

14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of

God without fear.”

Most of us know what sequestered means. If you hadn’t been acquainted with it before, you certainly are now. It means quaratined, separation from others; it means lonliness, helplessness; and in some cases, even fear. The virus that has spread

to more than 180 countries of the world has imprisoned us from each other. How can we work in separation? How can we survive without the means of survival –food, clothing, warmth, cooling—and above all human fellowship?

I cannot affirm the idea that the LORD specifically intended us to experience this virus because of our sin; one thing, however, seems abundantly clear: we are suffering nothing comporable to the suffering of the Apostle Paul as he sat chained to a Roman

Guard for deeds he did not commit. Understanding his words of encouragement shames us in the light of our temporary inconvenience.

Paul had become well known to all the praetorian guard. Most believers knew him, too. That was good on both counts: the guards needed the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ; and the “brethren,” Christians, needed to pray and bolster their courage in sharing the Good News about Jesus. It’s like having the late Billy Graham come to your city for a series of meetings.

It’s much easier then to share with others that you are a Christian and how they can become one, too. It’s all in one’s point of view.

The COVID-19 virus is serious! Many people have died because of it. The “inconvenience” of sequestration pales in comparison. Yet, it should sober the thinking of everyone! So, I ask two questions: 1) Are you a truly born-again believer in Jesus Christ? Have you confessed your sins to Him and asked His forgiveness? If you have repented and trusted Him, you are a truly born-again believer and His Holy Spirit indwells you right now!. 2) If you are a believer, how avid are you with witnessing? You were not saved just to go to Heaven; you were saved to bring glory to God through your life and to bring His message of salvation to others. Give that some serious thought! And when it all sinks in, you will understand Paul’s thinking while sitting there in Rome.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”