The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 9:25-27, “And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to

receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;

27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be

disqualified.”

I’ve always liked sports. Something tells me that Paul did, too. But, whether he “liked” them or not, he understood the

underlying principles of sports-preparedness. A good motto for all sports is “self-control in all things.” Basketball is now

“in season,” and you don’t have to watch any game very long to see who has practiced and who has not.

Virtually all sports, too, require excellence in both offence and a defense. Making a score is one thing; but defending your goal is just as important. I watched a heavyweight boxing match this week and observed that boxers don’t only need to hit their opponents, they also need to keep their opponents from hitting them. It takes skill and courage, either way.

As believers, we are always engaged in spiritual struggles that demand self-control. And self-control is not just when we’re engaged in a spiritual battle; we have to be self-controlled all the time. We have to be on offence, but without being offensive. We have to be on defense, but without appearing defensive. How on Earth can we accomplish all of this?

We have to observe the verse I omitted; namely verse 23. “And I do all things for the sake of the Gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.” If our purpose is to glorify the LORD, then we simply live-out the Gospel Message in front those who have yet to believe. That’s the “offensive” part. When those who do not know Christ Jesus as their Savior attack our right to witness or the witness itself, we must revert to the “defensive” part. That’s where we smile lovingly and trust Christ to give us the words of defense. Hint: the words of defense are found in the Bible. When we read, we qualify ourselves to be in the “game.” Yet, it’s not a game; it’s far more serious than a sports contest. The spiritual battle in which we engage has eternal consequences. So, prepare well and you will do well. Oh, by the way, the reward itself is imperishable!

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 Corinthians 11:1-6, “I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.

2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you

as a pure virgin.

3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity

and purity of devotion to Christ.

4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you

have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.

5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.

6 But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to

you in all things.”

In our last Letter, we established that the Corinthian Church was a difficult group. They would never have had the Gospel of Jesus Christ, had it not been for the Apostle Paul. Paul introduced the Corinthians to Jesus! But, they have grasped every conceivable opportunity to criticize him! (Know anybody like that?) The Greeks were a sophisticated lot! They prided themselves on their correct usage of the Greek language. And despite Paul’s knowledge of Christ, and his willingness to share His message with them, they delighted in criticizing and demeaning him.

Paul shuns defense of himself somewhat, but he gives a strong defence of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ. He warns them of listening to “ministers,” who preach a “different” Gospel. That introduces another fault of the Corinthians: they loved to hear of “new things.” Thus, a new preacher with a “new thought,” was an open invitation for false instruction.

Maybe I am unskilled in speaking, Paul said; but I am not unskilled in knowledge!”

Some of you readers, who know me personally, know how I hate to hear people misuse the English language. Yet, I have to say that I’d rather hear language misused than to hear the Message of Christ distorted. Tomorrow is the LORD’s Day.

Listen carefully to your pastor. He may misuse the language, as we preachers often do. Just be sure he doesn’t distort the Gospel. You’ll never know if you don’t listen carefully. God bless you! Pray for your pastor, even as he preaches.

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 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are

taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…”

The Church at Corinth was about as worldly as a church can get. They were not only at odds with the LORD,

they were at odds with the Apostle Paul. In fact, when any church is at odds with a godly pastor, they are at

odds with the LORD. They criticized Paul for being strong and bold in his letters them, but not so tough when

he came to them in person. Some of the outspoken “worldlies” in the Corinthian Church accused Paul of being

worldly himself, i.e., living a fleshly lifestyle.

Paul’s response was that he did live in a human body and was subject to human ways, but he did not battle

in human, physical ways. His battles were spiritual, not physical. His weapons were “divinely powerful” and

could destroy spiritual fortresses. In fact, Paul assesses he was “destroying speculations (reasonings) and

everything that was working against the knowledge and will of God. And what was Paul’s starting point?

It was in “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Just pause for a moment and think about that –“taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

I see two “doors” in Paul’s thinking: one is that every thought not obedient to Christ was imprisoned; and

two, every thought that was obedient to Christ could be loosed and become operative for His glory! Give that

some careful thought. What is there in your thinking that ought to operate to the glory of God? And what is

there in your thinking that ought always to be captive and never acted upon? Humm…

Whether the LORD uses us, clearly depends upon our spiritual cleanliness and willing availability to Him.

Are we clean (I say “we” because I’m involved in this, too.)? Are we willing to be used of Him for His glory?

Every person who enlists with a team wants to play in the game! So, every person, who has signed on with

the LORD, wants to be used. Are you being used? If not, why not? And, if you are, what points have you scored

for His glory? Let’s pray for each other; and let’s hold ourselves –not someone else—accountable unto 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 Samuel 30:1-6, “Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the

Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and

carried them off and went their way.

3 And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons

and their daughters had been taken captive.

4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in

them to weep.

5 Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal

the Carmelite.

6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were

embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the

LORD his God.”

Sometimes it is severely difficult to understand the ways of Old Testament personalities. Take David, for example. Almost from the time he first met King Saul, he was on the run to keep the king from killing him. Yes, it can easily be attributed to the evil spirit that plagued Saul’s life; but it was much more than that. David had only about 600 men, who traveled with him –men of war! They often went without sleep, without food, even without water! What’s more (if we need more!), just about every pagan nation was out to kill David.

On the occasion of our verses above, they discovered that the Amalekites had devastated the city of Ziklag, set it on fire, and had carried away captive all of the women and children. Do hardened soldiers cry? If you have read the verses above (if you haven’t, do it now!!), you know that David and his men “wept until there was no strength in them to weep.” Yes, even hardened soldiers cry! But David’s problem was not erased by tears. His own people talked about stoning him because of what had happened to their loved ones. How inconsiderate even close friends can sometimes be!!!

What was David to do? The last sentence of verse six reads, “But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” Subsequent verses tell us how he did it, but the message to us has already been laid out. When the worst possible situation looms angrily before us –when we survey our surroundings and find there is no way out—we strengthen ourselves in the the LORD. But how is that accomplished?

David’s life had already been committed to the LORD. That fact, however, did not hinder the adversity of the situation. David already knew the LORD was with him. Our LORD is with us when we have committed our lives to Him in salvation. We further strengthen ourselves when we read and study the Bible every day. We strengthen ourselves when we spend quality time with the LORD in earnest prayer. And we must cover everything in the cloak of faith! If you needed to borrow something, from whom would you borrow it? Yes, from a friend. But the friendship has to precede the borrowing. So it is with Christ. First, you must be saved; then you must faithfully trust in His closeness and help. Try all that on Jesus! You’ll be amazed at what He will do to erase your worries and depression!

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 Corinthians 8:1-5, “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given

in the churches of Macedonia,

2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of

their liberality.

3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability they gave of their own accord,

4 begging us with much entreaty for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,

5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”

One method of procuring money is to point to others who have given. “See that poor man with shabby clothes and worn out shoes? He gave five dollars!” The psychology behind such fund-raising is to cause one to think: “If he can give, when it obvious he has very little, I should be able to give something, too.” And so he does.

Paul was not operating a shenanigan when he appealed to the Corinthian Church. Rather, he was challenging them to trust the LORD in their giving. The Churches of Macedonia were very poor. Paul was challenging the

Corinthian Church to give to the Mother Church in Jerusalem. He pointed to the attitude of the Macedonians in the effort to encourage the Corinthians. “In a great ordeal of affliction,” he wrote, “their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.” They didn’t have much money at all, but they possessed an abundance of joy and were wealthy in their liberality.

I’ve never given what the LORD prompted me to give without receiving a blessing and often a remuneration.

Simply put, you cannot out-give God! In truth, what we call “our own,” is actually His! Whatever you do to support yourself and your family, God gives you the strength and the knowledge necessary to accomplish it.

Paul was not urging the Corinthians to give without the LORD’s blessing. But, he knew that the LORD would bless, if their giving was initiated by the LORD Himself.

Some years ago, I challenged some senior young people to prayerfully select a missionary and commence to give to their support. Whether they followed my instructions, I never knew. Knowledge of what they did was not my business; I simply felt the Spirit’s leadership to challenge them. I sought to follow that instruction myself. And I can truthfully say that I have never “lost money” giving to the LORD as He directed. Give yourself to the LORD! Follow His biblical and spiritual instructions daily. Solomon said, Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days” (Eccl. 11:1). You’ll be amazed at what He will do!

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.”