The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 8:1-9, “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens!

2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, because of Thine adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him?

5 Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and majesty!

6 Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth! “

One of the finest compliments I ever received came from one of my grammar school teachers. Kids in the early grades are always into something; and on this occasion, someone had said or done something to a fellow student, and the teachers had launched an investigation to ascertain who had said what to whom and, if necessary, how many times. Whew! But reportedly, she said, “I’ll ask Gene. He always tells the truth.” How I wish that could be said for the entirety of my life.

A similar situation is observable in this eighth Psalm. The nine verses focus praise solely upon the LORD! Whether the psalmist actually believed that the LORD physically crafted everything with His hands, as opposed to speaking them into existence, is problematic. It is, however, undeniably, the LORD’s doing. “It is marvelous in our eyes” (Psa. 118:23).

May we all remember that His hand is upon us for a purpose: namely, His glorification!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Genesis 18:25-33, “25 ‘Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?’

26 So the LORD said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.’

27 And Abraham answered and said, ‘Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.

28 ‘Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, wilt Thou destroy the whole city because of five?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’

29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, ‘Suppose forty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not do it on account of the forty.’

30 Then he said, ‘Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there.’

31 And he said, ‘Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.’

32 Then he said, ‘Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it on account of the ten.’

33 And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham, the LORD departed; and Abraham returned to his place.”

Have you ever thought that you could “out-talk” the LORD? I know some preachers who apparently believe they can. Have you ever thought you could bargain with the LORD and win? Well, I’ve never personally known that to be successful. It seems both dangerous and futile to me. Yet, I suppose each of us has, at some time, sought to persuade the LORD to come our way.

There are some decidedly spiritual aspects that must be “in place,” if any facet of such can be successful. Examining the life of Abraham finds him abiding in the way of the LORD. Any child of a wise and loving parent knows that “minding” is key to obtaining future freedoms.

What has the LORD commissioned you to be beyond being a true and faithful servant? “Being” supersedes “doing.” How clearly and often my mother used to say, “Well, if you do what I’ve told you, we’ll see about it.” Are you doing what He has told you to do? Are you reading the Bible? Are you faithfully praying? Do others know you as a true and faithful witness for the LORD? Okay, now we’ll see about those things you’ve asked.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

1 Chronicles 27:25-31, “Now Azmaveth the son of Adiel had charge of the king’s storehouses. And Jonathan the son of Uzziah had charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the towers.

26 Ezri the son of Chelub had charge of the agricultural workers who tilled the soil.

27 Shimei the Ramathite had charge of the vineyards; and Zabdi the Shiphmite had charge of the produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars.

28 Baal-hanan the Gederite had charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the Shephelah; and Joash had charge of the stores of oil.

29 Shitrai the Sharonite had charge of the cattle which were grazing in Sharon; and Shaphat the son of Adlai had charge of the cattle in the valleys.

30 Obil the Ishmaelite had charge of the camels; and Jehdeiah the Meronothite had charge of the donkeys.

31 Jaziz the Hagrite had charge of the flocks. All these were overseers of the property which belonged to King David.”

While the verses above lack the excitement of many verses in the Scriptures, the importance here lies in the numerous instances of the phrase “in charge of.” In each instance, there is a personal name of one who is responsible for the care of a particular item. Some were in charge of tilling the soil; others were in charge of the produce of the vineyard. The key concept, therefore, is the word “responsible.”

Life itself is filled with responsibilities. They are as different as they are numerous. You and I have responsibilities of various values in the home, in secular work, and in caring for the needs of others.

As born-again believers in the LORD Jesus Christ, we have spiritual responsibilities, too. We are responsible to pray for ourselves and for others. We are responsible to witness to the lost. We are responsible to conduct ourselves in the manner that identifies us as belonging to the LORD.

One day we will be called to account for how we lived our lives. The LORD promises rewards for those whose lives have honored Him; and we honor Him in much the same way as we honor our parents by being responsible in our behavior and in the labor that is assigned to us. May the LORD bless you as you show yourself faithful to Him and His work.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

1 Timothy 3:2-7, “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity

5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),

6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

Timothy was a young Christian lad when Paul wrote him this letter. Timothy’s mother was Jewish, and his father was Greek. This was the first of two letters that Paul, now in his seventies, wrote to young Timothy. Paul himself was writing from Lystra but always maintained encouraging communication with Timothy. “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:12). Those five Christian virtues cover the conduct of all believers in Christ. We should all examine ourselves regularly in the light of this verse.

Paul emphasizes doctrines that should be cherished and demonstrated within every believer’s life: sound doctrine, prayerfulness, spiritual oversight, particularly of those younger in the faith, and the careful exercise of one’s own spiritual responsibilities.

Although set forth in Scripture many years ago, the principles of the Christian faith ought ever and always to be observable in a true believer’s life.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Psalm 126:1-6, “When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’

3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.

4 Restore our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.

5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

This psalm was delightfully voiced by those affiliated with the winning side! Of course, all “wins” come from His divine hand! It’s just that not everyone affiliated with the winning side knows it. In a true sense, when the LORD gives a victory, everyone who embraces Him is victorious! It’s so much fun to win!

All of this reminds me of Mexico. There are some great people there, and they like to have fun. On one occasion, I was riding in the back seat of a car with some young Mexican believers. People were walking on the sides of the street, so we would hand out leaflets for our nightly meeting, saying, Para ti, meaning “for you.” The car never stopped; we just handed them the leaflets and kept going.

This is silly, I thought, just saying Para ti. I know more Spanish than that. So, I added a phrase, making it say, Para ti, y sus mamás y papás! My Mexican friends howled with laughter! I fought to defend my Spanish, but they would have none of it. They just roared! I finally asked why they were laughing. It was then that they told me: everything I had said was correct except that last word; and it was only the accent that was wrong. I was saying, “…for your mothers and potatoes!”

I told the experience to the audience that night. They roared with laughter as well.

Notwithstanding the fun we all had that night, I learned that I had to be accurate. Especially is that so when dealing with the LORD’s Word! Those who were filled with laughter were overjoyed at the LORD’s victory! They claimed nothing for themselves – only the LORD was to be praised! So it must be with us today. Are we giving Him the praise due Him? He alone is to be praised!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom