The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 2:1-3, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who

will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon

themselves.

2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is

not asleep.”

There’s an old expression that says, “Don’t put the cart before the horse.” The meaning is simply that some things come before others. In fact, the first things often cause second things. If you were to read 2nd Peter 1:1-21, you would discover that Peter’s emphasis is on moral corruption. Now, in chapter two of 2nd Peter, the moral corruption has brought about corruption in the doctrine of the Church.

I knew an Australian pastor who used to be a boxer. He was a sweet fellow and loved the LORD; but if he were challenged

and knew his position to be biblical, he would not hesitate to resort to his former way of life. Not all pastors, however, are gifted with a tough skin. And if they hesitate to address biblical subjects that often “step on the toes” of parishioners, they eventually become as worthless as those who preach heresy for material gain.

Peter despises “destructive heresies” and those who “deny the Master,” the LORD Jesus Christ. Failure to “stay on course”

is a downward path; and it’s often so greased that even the most gifted find they cannot stand as they once did. Thus the

truth is maligned. Those who choose that way soon discover they are facing judgment and destruction.

Let us never forget that the LORD is ever and always in control. The Scripture says, “…the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment…” (2 Pet. 2:9). We who belong to the LORD, need not fear those things that threaten us. But, we should fear His judgment when we neglect His Word. May the LORD shield all of us from evil, and use us to lead others to faith in Him. God bless you!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S.: I am particularly concerned for those who do not know the LORD as their Savior. These are difficult days, but they offer

believers an open field to harvest. May we be diligent in prayer and faithful in sharing Him with those who are lost.

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,

1 Kings 21:22-29, “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because

Jezebel his wife incited him.

26 And he acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out

before the sons of Israel.

27 And it came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay

in sackcloth and went about despondently.

28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

29 ‘Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the

evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.’”

Most of us have somewhere-sometime done something that we later assessed as wrong before the LORD. Knowing His Word, we knew that what we needed was to consider it as evil and repent and receive forgiveness. Has that not happened to you?

Well, as our verses tell us, Ahab, King of Israel, was an evil man. Whatever was left in him that was good turned evil very quickly when he married Jezebel because she was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians –all of whom were idol worshippers. In addition to his own sin, Jezebel encouraged Ahab to ignore the LORD and do what he wanted. But, when serious devastation beset Israel, Ahab suddenly became humble before the LORD, fasting and praying and asking the LORD’s forgiveness.

Elijah was the LORD’s prophet in those days, and the LORD spoke to him, asking if he had noticed how humble and repentant Ahab had become? The Scripture does not allow us to know what Elijah saw and knew; but, the implication of the LORD’s question suggests that the prophet had observed everything related to Ahab. It was then that the LORD determined not to bring evil on the nation of Israel in Ahab’s day. But that is not the end of the LORD’s determination.

“I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days,” the LORD said. There is a principle here that we must not miss.

Yes, Ahab had done evil, and he was responsible not only for his own evil doings, but also for doing the evil that Jezebel suggested. Further, Ahab had repented of the evil he had done. But repentance, regardless of its sincerity, does not dispel the consequences of the sin. For example, the gossip intentionally spread against someone is not erased because you repented. Thus, we need to be extremely careful, allowing our conversation to be “Yea, yea and Nay, nay.”

Somewhere the insincerity of our words will come back to bite us. It’s what my grandmother us to call, “the chickens coming home to roost.”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. With more than 144 countries in our world suffering from COVID-19, we should be praying for the nations’ leaders,

medical and logistical people that are working to squelch its devastation. We should also be praying for those who

have been affected by the virus. Some have asked if the LORD is sending a signal to all mankind. I do not know;

but we would do well to receive it as His warning of even worse things to come. If you do not know the LORD, now

is the time to repent and believe and call upon Him as your LORD and Savior. If you are saved, it is time to share

Him with those who are not. May God bless and protect you is my prayer.

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,

1 Kings 22:5, 7-8, 13-14, “Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.’

7 But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not yet a prophet of the LORD here that we may inquire of him?’

8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him,

because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.’ But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not

the king say so.’”

13 Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, ‘Behold now, the words of the prophets are

uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.’

14 But Micaiah said, ‘As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak.’”

Our world today is in a “medical war!” It is Best Medics v. CORVID-19. Wars abound everywhere! In fact, according to answers.com, there have been 250 major wars since World War II. Currently, there are 27 major wars raging in the world.

The king of Israel had persuaded Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to join him in a battle. Jehoshaphat had agreed, but asked if they should’t inquire of the LORD first. It’s always good to pray before we do anything! The king of Israel said there was a prophet named Micaiah, but he didn’t like him because everytime he inquired of the LORD, the LORD’s answer went against the king of Israel. Some people are still like that. They want preachers who say what they want to hear.

So when Micaiah came, the king of Israel told him to say something good about the battle –something that cast a good light on what the king wanted to do. But, Micaiah was no “pushover!” Knowing that his life might depend on how he replied, nevertheless, he said, “As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” Talk about boldness! When

challenged, Micaiah spoke more explicitly,

“I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains,

Like sheep which have no shepherd.

And the LORD said, ‘These have no master.

Let each of them return to his house in peace.’” (1 Ki. 22:17)

The message here is that we should always seek the LORD in all things –even things we think we understand. And we must always be bold in love in declaring what the LORD has said in Scripture. There will always be those who don’t like what we say; and they often become hateful and want to destroy us. Yet, we were not saved and called to be witnesses according to the likes and dislikes of others. We are the LORD’s servants, and we must be and do as He commands us. Yes, Micaiah was struck by Zedekiah (v. 24), but the Word the LORD gave Micaiah (v. 25) prevailed and came to pass.

We have our “marching orders” from the LORD: Pray; Read Scripture; Proclaim the Word; Trust the LORD! He will win the war!

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,

2 Peter 2:1-3, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you,

who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift

destruction upon themselves.

2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction

is not asleep.”

There is no question but that we are currently living in the midst of a world crisis! Daily updates from the President and his team are no joke. News reports continue to remind us to take care how we live, but not to panic. The finest, most reputable medical and scientific personnel throughout the world are laboring fervently to find a solution to the virus COVID-19.

What should concern us most, however (and I am home-sequestered, as I write), are the fraudulent proclaimers whose are intentionally working the crisis for their own financial gain. Everything that Simon Peter notes in the verses above meet the critical situation we are now facing. He mentions “false teachers,” who “secretly introduce destructive heresies,” and who “follow sensuality.” He speaks about preachers and teachers, who are supposed to be spiritual leaders and encouragers, feeding scared people the Word of Life from the Holy Scriptures. Of course, many are; but those who “exploit…with false words,” do it out of “greed.”

Space in this Letter forbids the reiteration of verses four through nine from the passage above; yet, it is vital to see

in verse nine that “the LORD knows how to rescue the godly…” We must keep our eyes upon Jesus. We must read and study the Word of God daily, keeping our hearts and minds focused on Him! We must engage in serious prayer for all people, friends, pastors, missionaries, medical personnel, scientists –all who are engaged in discovering the human solution to this crisis! “Oh,” you say, “you’re looking to the scientific field personnel to give us a solution?” I am

saying that the LORD caused the rain and flooding in the days of Noah, but Noah, under God’s direction, built the ark!

And he preached to the doubters of his age, while he built it.

Everyone today is busy! Businesses warn telephone callers that there may be an eight minute or more wait before they get to us. The opportunity for witnessing in such situations is not the opportunity we would like; however, a simple “God bless you!” to the person on the other end brings to their minds the awareness of the LORD. Use the crisis to witness. Ignore the doom and gloomers, who see the Earth as theirs rather than the LORD’s. Pray for the godly pastors and teachers. The LORD –our LORD!—is ever and always in control. Believe always in Him!

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,

1 Kings 12:3b-8, “Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

4 “Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he

put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 Then he said to them, “Depart for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed.

6 And King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying,

‘How do you counsel me to answer this people?’

7 Then they spoke to him, saying, ‘If you will be a servant to this people today, will serve them, grant them their

petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.’

8 But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up

with him and served him.”

From time-to-time, we all need counsel from someone. If you stop and think for a moment, you will realize that not

long ago there was something you either didn’t understand or understood, but needed counsel from someone you

trusted as to what you should do or say in that situation. Yet, how do we know where to go for counsel?

Solomon had died, and Jeroboam, who had fled from Solomon, had now returned from Egypt. Rehoboam, Solomon’s

son, now occupied the throne, and Jeroboam, for reasons not give us in Scripture, gathered his motley crew and

feigned the need for Rehoboam’s counsel. Jeroboam lied about serving Rehoboam if he but lessened the workload

that Solomon had laid upon them.

Rehoboam was no Solomon. The only thing he did that had merit was telling Jeroboam and his group that he would give them an answer in three days. It all looked good at that point, and it continued to look like wisdom when he

counselled with the elders, who had served under Solomon. They noted that things had gone well under Solomon

and counselled Rehoboam to continue just as his father had done.

Whether Rehoboam wanted to placate Jeroboam and his crew, or whether pride mounted up within him as he

thought about being king, we can only guess. But when the three days came, Rehoboam announced that his “little

finger (was) thicker than his father’s loins” and that he intended to “add to (their) yoke” and discipline them with scorpions! He was indeed the son of the wisest man of his time, but he sure blundered with that decision!

Where do we go for good counsel? Sometimes, it comes from the words of an old hymn –those good old songs

we used to sing in church. Our biblical theology was encased in those hymns, and as children we learned God’s

truth as we sang praises to His name.

Where could I go, oh where could I go?
Seeking a refuge for my soul;
Needing a friend, to help me in the end,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

Ultimately, the best counsel is straight from the LORD’s Word! Stay in the Word! Stay before Him in daily prayer. There is no better council anywhere than from the LORD!

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.”