The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 19:1-6, “And He entered and was passing through Jericho.

2 And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; and he was a chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich.

3 And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.

4 And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

6 And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly.”

You might not know it, but there are three cities in Israel named “Jericho”: Old Testament Jericho, where Joshua fought his battle;

New Testament Jericho, where Zaccheus met Jesus; and modern Jericho. The focus of our verses above are on New Testament Jericho.

Tax Collectors were at the bottom of the heap in New Testament times. Still, regardless of their profession, they were still human beings and had the same curiosity about Jesus as one might have had toward the late Billy Graham. Had Zaccheus been satisfied with his wealth, he would probably not have cared about Jesus, even about seeing Him. We sometimes make the mistake of believing that wealthy people have no interest in spiritual matters; but that is not so! What they often do have are obstacles that seek to prevent them from grasping the spiritual.

The crowd that gathered to see Jesus was inadvertently a barrier to Zaccheus. They were many and he was short. But short people know how to compensate for their difficulties. Neither his wealth nor his smallness was going to hinder his desire. He found a tree near the road and climbed it for a “front-row” seat.

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw Zaccheus and beckoned him to come down. It is always a compliment when the Greater calls out to the lesser. That was Jesus’ ministry throughout His three years on Earth. In fact, He is still calling out to people, who only want a glimpse of Him. He’s worth much more than a glimpse. He has a purpose for every life. First, He wants everyone to turn away from sin –their sin that pervades the world around them. Second, He wants those who repent of sin to share His Message of Salvation, because that’s why He came to Earth to die for the sins of all mankind.

Our acceptance of Him repels the sin, and He is glorified in that process. Have you done that? Are you a born-again believer in Him? If so, what is it that He has for you to do? Are you involved in doing what He desires? Zaccheus obeyed and opened his heart and home to Christ. And that’s precisely what the LORD wants of us. He wants our hearts, our homes, to be open to Him. What a wonderful Savior and LORD we have! The Greatest blesses the heart and home of the lesser. Be blessed today!

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,

Nehemiah 6:2-3, “Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.’ But they were planning to harm me. 3So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?’”

It was a terrible time for the Jewish people! The Temple in Jerusalem was in ruins and the walls of the city were down. Everything was in need of repair. Nehemiah appealed to King Artaxerxes to allow him to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls and the Temple. The king not only granted Nehemiah permission to go, he authorized much of the material needed to effect the rebuilding. He only wanted to know how long Nehemiah intended to be gone. But, there would be opposition awaiting when he got there!

Some people seem to believe that their primary –if not their only— reason for living is to aggravate and agitate the people, who want to get things done! Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were the epitome of discouragers. Oh, their voices “sounded” pleasant enough, but what they harbored in their hearts was far from what they said aloud in the hearing of others. Have you ever met anyone like that? Sure, you have. They appealed to Nehemiah to meet and discuss things with them. “Oh, no!” (Ono), said Nehemiah, for he was aware that “they were planning to harm (him).”

Notice, however, that Nehemiah did not simply ignore them altogether. Instead, he “sent messengers to them…” It is a polite gesture to respond to such people, so long as you recognize their evil intentions and don’t invite them to know of your ongoing plans. The message, too, said it all quite politely, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”

Nehemiah wasn’t kidding. The work he was doing was “a great work”; besides, he had given King Artaxerxes a definite time for his return. There just was no time for those who only wanted to discourage and destroy his “great work.”

There’s probably a lot I could add here, but somehow, I don’t think more commentary from me is needed. You know when you’re doing the LORD’s work; and you know how vital time is. There are a lot of “things” that want to get into your way. No question about it, those “things” are appealing. Moreover, they are distractingly appealing! They come packaged with all the glitter that says, “If you had this, you could do that.” But is that your calling? No, it’s not!

Someone once said, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” And remember that whatever the LORD calls you to do, is

“the main thing.” God bless you! Start this New Year right: Stay in the Word and Prayer every single day!

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,

Matthew 27:21-23, “But the governor answered and said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’

22 Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let Him be crucified!’

23 And he said, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they kept shouting all the more, saying, ‘Let Him be crucified!’”

Matthew 7:21-23, “”Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22″Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23″And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

When I was in evangelism on a full-time basis, my information included a notation that I played golf. Possibly, someone who read that took it to mean that I was a superior golfer. In any event, an Australian had matched me

with a local doctor. We met casually one day and he said to me, “I hear that we have a golf game lined up.”

I responded, “Yes, I’ve heard that, too.” Then he asked me, “What is your handicap?” I had heard the term previously, but to this day, this very writing, I could not give you a clear definition of what a golf “handicap” is. So I responded to

the doctor with the first thing that came to mind. I said, “Oh, I’m fully handicapped.” Do I need to say that we never played?

Those people who cried out to Pontius Pilate in Matthew 27, were saying the wrong thing. Undoubtedly prompted by their Jewish religious leadership, they chose Barabbas over Jesus. What’s worse, they cried for Jesus to be crucified.

They were wrong people crying for a wrong thing. Whether they were aware of why Jesus had come is problematic. Yet, they wanted no part of Him –not in their lives!

The people who cried out to Jesus in Matthew 7, were saying the right thing, even calling Him “Lord.” Yet, Jesus said that simply calling Him Lord was not enough. There is a day somewhere on the Divine Calendar, when well-meaning

people will plead for their lives, saying, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name…?” We even performed miracles in Your Name! But, Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me…”

You may not be among those who wished Him crucified. I pray you’re not! It is more likely that those who will be denied acceptance by the LORD Jesus, have simply thought that their religious activities and conduct of moral goodness was sufficient to be accepted. But, it’s not! All of us are sinners in His sight! And sin cannot enter into eternal

fellowship with Christ Jesus. We must be forgiven of our sin to live with Him. To be forgiven, we must ask Him to forgive our sin, and simultaneously commit our lives to Him, to behave according to His will. He then “marks” us as His own, by sending the Holy Spirit into our lives to guide and direct us in all of our endeavors.

If you think just “being religious” is sufficient, you are wrong. He wants us to commit ourselves fully and completely to

Him and His service. The best time for beginning anew on anything is at the start of a new year. Just take a moment right now and ask Christ to forgive you. Commit your life, energy, talents –everything!—to Him. Get into the Bible and learn His instructions! His Spirit will lead and explain how you should live. You will be thrilled at your new life!

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,

Ephesians 6:18-20, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

It truly pays to keep old notes. Today, while rumaging through some old self-made calendars, I came across the names and addresses of old friends I met in Finland, Sweden and Norway. It was like an old “home-coming.”

Along with those addresses and notes of churches where I was blessed to preach, was a notation of some Principles of Prayer, from a fellow minister. I thought you’d like to read them on this eve of the coming A.D. 2020.

1. No believer’s spiritual life will ever rise above the level of his praying.

2. No church’s ultimate effectiveness will ever rise above the level of its corporate praying.

3. No church’s corporate prayer life will be greater than the prayer life of its membership.

4. No individual’s prayer life will be greater than the time spent alone daily with God in His Word.

5. No person’s practice of prayer will rise above his view of prayer.

6. Praise is a vital and indispensible factor in the prayer life publicly and privately.

7. The only way to lear to pray is to pray.” –Dr. Jack Taylor

A dear and longtime friend of mine phoned me last night. Our prayer-relationship goes back to early college days, where we used to meet and pray in a dusty old unused room that still retained the odor of old chemicals. Yes, it was an old chemistry lab. As our extended conversation began to trend toward a conclusion, I sensed the LORD wanted us to pray, Interestingly, however, it was my friend who suggested that very thing, and we concluded by talking to our LORD Jesus Christ.

Several biblically savy people have mentioned to me recently that the world situation was in line with what the Scriptures say it will be when the LORD Jesus returns for His own. Whether we should be on our knees or

verbally witnessing to the lost at that time must be left to the Holy Spirit of God. But, He IS Returning! So, we need to be sensitive to the Spirit’s daily leadership over our lives. A.D. 2020 could be the year! Don’t be caught napping!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Let me recommend the materials listed on https://www.heraldofhope.org.au/. The editor, Dr. John Ecob, is a longtime friend from “down under” (Australia, to the uninitiated!). The materials on this website (many of which are free and downloadable) are of sound, biblical eschatology.

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,

Colossians 3:23-25, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men;

24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

There are many different kinds of work in the world. The work that some men do, I wouldn’t dare to attempt. There is other work that I could do, but just don’t want to do that kind. There are those who do the work that I do, and many of them do it better than I. In all of this, Paul seems to have no concern for the kind of work others do; it’s just that he wants it to be done heartily, with encouragement and satisfaction. Furthermore, he wants it to be done for the LORD!

Whatever work you do, if you delight to do it, it’s pretty certain that it’s from the LORD. He’s the one who gives us the strength and ability to do what we do; but what we “reap” by doing it, definitely comes from the LORD. I’ve been blessed to have had the opportunity to do a number of things in my lifetime. Almost all were related to some form of ministry, like radio, television, writing, Chaplaincy –numerous things, all of which were ministry-related. Embedded in each of those areas was a genuine excitement in knowing that it was all for reaching others with the Gospel of Christ.

But, beware! The one “who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong…” That’s a two-edged sword, because when we do that which is wrong, we are simultaneously not doing that which is right. And God is no respecter of persons! So, watch out that you always walk on His side of the road of life and attend only to those things of which

the Holy Spirit gives leadership. God bless you and you demonstrate His Love to those you encounter in your walk.

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.”