The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Exodus 15:11-16, “”Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?
12 “You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 “In Your lovingkindness, You have led the people whom You have redeemed; in Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.
14 “The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 “Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 “Terror and dread fall upon them; by the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone; until Your people pass over, O LORD, until the people pass over whom You have purchased.’”

Israel was not the easiest nation to command. They were and are a stubborn people. The nations, among whom they mingled, believed in many gods. When things didn’t go well for Israel, she occasionally got sidetracked herself. Yet, when things were going well and the LORD was blessing, Israel cried out in praise, “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?”

The word “holy” (?????? qodesh) means “apartness, sacredness, consecrated.” In various forms the word is mentioned some 685 times in the Scriptures. Thus, when the Simon Peter says, “…be holy yourselves…in all your behavior…” (1 Pet. 1:15), he is calling us to adopt the same attitude of life as the LORD intended when He called Israel.

The Exodus passage above calls us to holiness just as Israel was in Old Testament times. The LORD wants us to be pure in heart and life, and to live out everything holy that permeates our lives. We are to be and live to the glory of the LORD! When we live holy lives, others will either be fearful of us or will long to become more like us. We, of course, want them to be like Him and be ever and always under His control.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

Numbers 14:2-9, “All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3 ‘Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’
4 So they said to one another, ‘Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.’
All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’
4 So they said to one another, ‘Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.’
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.
6 Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
8 ‘If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us– a land which flows with milk and honey.
9 Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.’”

Some days are just beyond belief! And some are even beyond that! The LORD had led His people under the guidance of men like Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Caleb — great men of faith! Men obedient to the LORD and His every command. Wouldn’t you love to have a pastor like that? Some of us do; but do we listen? Are we following their directives, as they are following the LORD?

The LORD gives each congregation the men He has singled out to be the leader. They’re human, like Moses and Joshua. But are we listening? Are we praying for them? Are we following their lead
as they understand it to be from the LORD? In other words, do they have our trust? –our complete trust?

In one church where I pastored, the previous pastor had stolen money from the church. When the finance committee sought my signature that was required for signing checks, I naturally refused to sign! It was, however, to their credit they trusted me. We have to trust the leadership of our pastors.

It’s not easy to be the leader of anything that is spiritual in nature. The slightest variation can mislead others, bringing the wrath of God down upon them, as well as upon those that they lead. We must trust those whom the LORD has appointed to leadership. And we must follow them willingly and prayerfully, remembering that they, like us, are seeking to follow the supreme leadership of the LORD.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 2:11-18, “It is a trustworthy statement: for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us;
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,
17 and their talk will spread like gangrene…
18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.”

Godly, born-again parents will always possess the desire that their children come to know the LORD; thus, they will exercise a behavior that will accredit the LORD to others. The initial four verses in the above passage contain the word “if,” giving the certain impression of their importance. The first two of the four “ifs” are negative; the latter two are positive.

“If we died with Him, we will also live with Him.” Have we truly died to ourselves? Our wants? Our desires? It is imperative that we do so if we intend to live with Him throughout eternity. “If we endure (i.e., “keep on keeping on,” and don’t give up!), we will “reign with Him” throughout eternity. If, however, we are “faithless,” He will nevertheless always be faithful because He cannot “deny” or “disown” what He is!

We, who are believers who follow Christ, are responsible to encourage other believers. We’re not to fuss and fight over the nuances of words. The Bible is clear and understandable to all believers. As believers, we just need to share Him and the Word with others. If we are faithful in sharing the Word with others, the Word will soon take on a life of its own.

Don’t get into wrangles over lesser issues; just stick to the clarity of Scripture and it will itself become alive in the hearts of others. It’s really that easy to share. In the long run, it is not our responsibility whether others believe; it is simply our responsibilty to present the Word in such a way that they will have no difficulty seeing that we believe. I’ve witnessed several people come to faith in Christ in a very short time; others have taken much, much longer. What’s important is our faithfulness. When we are faithful, the LORD will give us His approval. What more could we want?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

Psalm 98:1-9. “O sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
2 The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.
7 Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy
9 Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Today, Sunday, 15 September 2024, is a day of worship. The psalmist recollects that the LORD
has done wonderful, including victories for His people. Those victories are “full of wonder!’ They extend much further than we could imagine. Nevertheless, they are victories! The LORD has saved His people. Moreover, He has demonstrated His power to those who lived only to destroy Israel. And neighboring nations have witnessed His phenomenal power!

The shout of joy, which the psalmist expresses is not containable! It is powerful and stretches forth so as to include nations that believed themselves to be unconquerable. Further, it is musical! The people are moved to praise Him with their voices and with instruments –not a performance cloaked as worship—but voices of praise that contain melody and comprehensible words sung to the glory of the LORD alone! Worship such as this is raw praise that shakes the heavens in thanksgiving to the LORD for His glorious love that permeates the depths of the human soul.

But why is all of this praise encouraged? It is because the LORD is coming to judge the earth, so the days will be filled with righteousness, as the LORD intends. Do you believe you will be here on earth when He comes? Believing that is encouraging; not believing that is extremely and eternally dangerous. Yield your life to Him today! Be on the Victory Side of Life!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
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,

Ephesians 5:15-20, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

I won’t ask if you’re at all careful about “how you walk.” Three years ago, I wasn’t paying attention
to how I walked and fell! I will spare you the pictures, but I went through several tests, spending the night in hospital. I won’t say it wasn’t “fruitful,” as I had opportunity to witness, but falling is not encouraged.

The word “walk” in our verses above, however, is better translated “live,” since the apostle Paul goes on to say “making the most of your time,” as the days in which we live are evil. We shouldn’t spend too much time here, as few if any readers of this “letter” would contest the reality of evil in our world today.

Paul’s challenge is negative toward wine, but positive toward the Holy Spirit. It’s imperative that we understand “wine” to have been mixed with water in those days. Nevertheless, some were more “generous” with the wine than they were with the water!

Believers are soundly disscouraged from excessive wine consumption, but positively encouraged to be “filled” (i.e., controlled) by the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit controls us, we enjoy speaking to one another “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…making melody (at all times) to the LORD.”
My dear old grandmother used to go about her work singing a hymn to the LORD. Notice that the attached singing that Paul encouraged was the singer’s heartfelt thanks to the LORD! Everything good comes from Him, and everything good accrues to His favor and glory. Think about this the next time you sing a hymn in church.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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