The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 1:13-17, “And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

14 knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind.

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.”

When I was a small boy, I used to pray that the LORD would leave a note telling me when I was going to die. I have no idea why I prayed such a thing, unless I was coming under conviction and heading toward an acceptance of Jesus Christ as my LORD and Savior. When I came to know Him, all of that was concern vanished completely.

Simon Peter had a totally different experience. He tells us in the first two verses above that the LORD had made clear to him that his time was just about up. What would you do if the LORD said you had only two weeks to live? For one thing, you would be concerned for your friends and loved ones –especially, too, for those who do not know Jesus. Getting things in order, just as if you were moving to a new house or leaving for an extended vacation, would be your focus.

Peter’s concern was for those to whom he was writing. He wants them to remember what he has taught them, so that they would not be deceived by those who would come along to take his place. “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales,” he said. Instead, “we made known to you the power and coming of our LORD Jesus Christ…” Furthermore, we actually witnessed His power and heard the Father say, “This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well-pleased.”

What the world needs today is to heed the words of our LORD Jesus Christ. Yet, the citizens of the world will never know Him unless we share His witness. We need kids, who mind their parents; and parents, who love and intelligently guide their children. How else can children properly learn to be parents, unless they have a good example? We don’t really need to be concerned about when we are going to die; we need to be concerned about when we’re going to start living so as to glorify God!

Are you a godly parent? Are you training your children in the way of the LORD? Are you a child, living with your parents? Is your behavior such that shows Christ to them?

There’s a short two-line verse that sums it all up:

Only one life; it will soon be passed;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

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,

Psalm 63:1-4, “O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly;

My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory.

3 Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee.

4 So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name.”

How many times have you felt lost? With clear directions from a well-intentioned friend,

I have, nevertheless, lost my way with no one to give me guidance. It’s a ghastly feeling

being lost in a foreign country without the knowledge of a single word of the local language.

What do we do in such circumstances?

David was in dire need of direction. “O God,” he cries, “You are my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly.”

Oh, how I know that feeling! –that sense of lost-ness, not know where I am or how my life is to get

back on track. We must always turn to the LORD. Interestingly, those who do not know the LORD,

also cry out to Him for guidance when the shadows of distress thicken around them. Yet, He is not

responsible to assist those who are not His own.

David, however, had an advantage. He had beheld the LORD in His house. He had previously

seen the LORD’s power and glory, and the remembrance of those times now gave him hope.

He knows the LORD loves him and will not suffer him to remain lost and in need. So, he does

as he had doubtlessly done multiple times: he praises the LORD! And in the midst of his praise,

the confidence he longed for blossomed into help.

We face troubles, problems, difficulties of every kind every day. Some are well beyond our capability

of understanding. Yet, “man’s difficulties become God’s opportunities.” The one who can praise the

LORD for helping before His help has come, are demonstrating faith that the LORD can and will

come to our rescue. And “without faith, it is impossible to please Him” (Heb 11:6).

Trust in the LORD with all thy might,

Lean not to thine own understanding;

In all thy ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct thy paths (Pro. 3:5-6).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Please pray for my dear friend, George Galieh, who lies in Liverpool Hospital in Sydney.

Remember, too, his faithful wife, Rita, who longs for his recuperation.

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 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

First Thessalonians is the Apostle Paul’s very first letter, and it was addressed to the Church at Thessalonica. It’s interesting that this first ever letter should be concerned with the Coming of the LORD. Paul never lost sight of that, and we shouldn’t, either. Just as we ready ourselves when someone is coming to our house for a visit, we should always be ready for the Coming of the LORD. We’re usually advised of our company’s time of arrival. With the Coming of Jesus, it could be at any time! Thus, we always have to be ready.

Paul commends the LORD to the Church when He refers to God as “the God of peace.” It is He, too, who makes us completely and thoroughly holy. And holiness brings with it peace.

The desire of the Apostle is that our total being be entirely complete. He then cites the three areas of our lives to which we must give vital attention: “spirit and soul and body.” Have you ever thought of yourself as being a three-fold person?

Well, you are! The order in which Paul places them is important, too. I often refer to them as body, soul, and spirit. But,

Paul reverses the order. Why does he do that? And why is it important?

Our spirit is most important because it is the human spirit that is God-conscious! Remember when Paul said in Romans 1:19, “…that which is known aout God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them”? He went on to say in the next verse (v. 20) that “they (meaning all of mankind) are without excuse.” The human spirit is the contact point of the Holy Spirit of God. Yes, the Holy Spirit resides in every believer from the point of that believer’s salvation. And it is the believer’s human spirit that is God-conscious and receives what the Holy Spirit brings from the Father.

The human soul is that part of man that is self-conscious. By “self-conscious” I don’t mean shy. In fact, it may be the very opposite of shyness; it may be openly flaunting conceit. The human soul want to follow the crowd and become their leader.

The human body is world-conscious. Of course, we’re all conscious of the world, but being world-conscious is more.

Let me conclude by saying that God begins His work with our spirit; He then move in to control our soul. Finally, He takes control of our bodies. (That’s when we dress properly, so as to reveal Him, rather than ourselves.) When we are

thorougly Spirit-controlled by the LORD, He is glorified and uses us fully and completely in His service.

Satan, however, commences his work with the body and works up through the soul and spirit. When he has conquered a man completely, it may be said that that man is demon-possessed. Because this is such a vital subject, and because I have less than needed room to say it all, I am attaching a diagram for further explanation.

Treat all of this with extreme care! Satan works on all of us. We must be careful to refute him by drawing closer and closer to the LORD, who gave Himself on the Cross for our sins. And remember: He is Coming! May the LORD bless you is my prayer.

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 Thessalonians 5:16-22, “16 Rejoice always;

17 pray without ceasing;

18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19 Do not quench the Spirit;

20 do not despise prophetic utterances.

21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;

22 abstain from every form of evil.”

Whatever you age, you’ve probably already met some “fast-talkers.” Some have wanted you to buy something they had for sale, while others just wanted you to “buy into” their thinking and agree with them for any number of reasons.

Well, the Apostle Paul was decisive in what he said. There is no possible way we could know how fast he talked; but reading the verses above gives us something of an idea how fast he could write! And did he ever cover a lot of ground in 46 words (33 in Greek)!

Analyze these positive verses with me: (1) Rejoice (???????) is a present, active, imperative verb. He means “DO IT!” Whatever the circumstances, just rejoice and keep on rejoicing! (2) Pray (???????????) is another present imperative. It’s a technical religious term that moves us to keep on asking God for help. (3) Give thanks (??????????) means just that, be thankful to God and express that to Him in prayer. All of this is what He wants from us.

Two strong negatives follow: (4) Do not quench (????????) the Holy Spirit means don’t resist or stifle His leadership. He is within us at the LORD’s direction to incentivize us to always obey the will of the Father. (5) Do not despise (?????????), set aside or disregard, the Holy Spirit in any way. Do not treat His leading lightly. He is working within us as believers to fulfill the will of the Father.

The final two emphases of the apostle are first, positive; then, negative. (6) Examine (????????) everything carefully. Whatever it is, don’t jump in or out hastily. Take time for careful scrutiny; and when your examination proves worthy, hold fast to it (7) Abstain (?????) means to “back off, be distant from, have nothing to do with” every form of evil. Stay away from evil (???????), which is not only wrong for you, but is evil-producing in the lives of others.

All of this is strong, sound advice! When we were saved (born again, born from Above) by our Heavenly Father, He gave us the Holy Spirit to protect and to guide us throughout the remainder of our lives. Nurses take directions from doctors; secretaries take directions from executives; Christians take directions from God the Holy Spirit. To fail to follow the Spirit’s directives and warnings is far more dangerous than failing to heed the warnings of weather reporters concerning tornadoes or violent coming storms! Be smart! The LORD wastes nothing; therefore, the Spirit is within us for His purposes, which are always beneficial to us.

Trust and obey, for there’ no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

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 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;

3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Recently, a reporter was granted an interview with Justice Neal Gorshuch of the U. S. Supreme Court. He stated quite clearly that he had only two rules for his law clerks:

Rule #1: “Honor those words (of the Constitution). Don’t make stuff up and don’t take things away,”

Rule #2: If others are trying to convince you of another point of view, go back to Rule #1.

Later in the interview, Justice Gorsuch said: “Our job isn’t to do what we want—what we like. It’s to

make sure that the law—that’s enacted by the people’s representatives—is applied fairly and equally

to everyone.”

When I heard the Justice’s comments on the Constitution, it occurred to me that this is precisely what our LORD said to us and what He desires that we do. I believe the verses above from the Apostle Peter bear this out.

The LORD has granted to us His “precious and magnificent promises.” He has granted us grace and peace and given us “the knowledge of God Himself, along with everything that has to do with life and godliness. Why has He granted us these promises? Simply stated, that we “might become partakers of the divine nature” and “escape the corruption that is

In the world:: namely, lust, the desire to have and do what pleases us regardless of the Supreme Standards our LORD and Savior has given us in His Word.

Being “partakers of the divine nature” is more than simply having trusted Him as LORD and Savior of our lives. It requires our consistent dedication to the “rules” of life He has laid before us both in the Life of His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the pages of His Holy Word, the Bible. We may be certain that the LORD will apply His justice “fairly and equally to everyone.”

That should thrill us and scare us at the same time! The thrill comes in knowning that we serve a just and holy Judge, and that there will be no unfairness or frivolous tactics from the Bench! The scare comes when we examine ourselves and view the vast chasm that lies between what He requires and what we produce in and through our lives.

Rule #1: “Honor those words of the Scripture. Don’t make stuff up and don’t take things away,”

Rule #2: If others, even preachers, are trying to convince you of another point of view, go back

to Rule #1.

This makes sense to me. I hope it does to you. Let’s covenant to pray for one another that we may alter our lifestyles to suit the One before one day soon we shall all stand to give account.

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.”