The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 3:8-12, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”

Things are not always what they seem to be. Sometimes they’re better; sometimes they’re not! It all depends upon the context in which one is speaking. Peter is telling us in the verses above that with the LORD, every day is the same. God does not reckon time as we do. By that I mean, He certainly knows what time means to us; He is simply not governed by its brevities or its extremities.

On the other hand, we mortals live by the clock! The Bible teaches us that “There is an appointed time for everything… a time for every event under heaven…” (Eccl. 3:1-a). I can almost hear my mother’s voice saying, “Alright, it’s time for bed.” You’ve heard a voice saying that, too! Solomon’s list of innumerable times supports the contention that mankind has always lived by the clock.

Living by the clock, however, assures us that we’re on time for every necessary event in life. We also need to be well prepared for the life events we encounter incidentally. Most especially, we should be prepared for the Coming of the LORD. Without question, we will one day meet Him! We should encourage others to be ready to meet Him, also. His Coming will be sudden and unannounced. There will be no time to prepare; making it mandatory that we be prepared!

Knowing Jesus as your Savior and LORD is vital for today and for eternity! Now, you know why your mother insisted that you get to bed on time!

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,

Psalms 10:8-13, “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.

7 He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.

9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

10 He smote many nations and slew mighty kings,

11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan;

12 And He gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.

13 Your name, O LORD, is everlasting, Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations.”

Multiple things occur in life for which there appears to be neither reason nor human origin. Yet, the Psalmist tells us that the LORD is the One who orders them all.

What child is there who has wondered and asked for answers for which neither parents nor teachers could respond with satisfaction? Science has delved deeply into multiple mysteries of life, yet without clear and satisfactory resolutions.

How did the world begin? How will it end? What is the purpose of life? How are we to know whether we are satisfactorily fulfilling the reason we are here?

When “push comes to shove,” the only answer is the LORD. He is our Maker. He originated the plan for life; and He alone controls the whole of the universe and all that lives and thrives therein! His will is set forth in His Word, Holy Scripture. And He has preserved it as His instruction for all mankind.

Do you read the Bible daily? Do you read it meaningfully? Do you evaluate the things you do in the light of your understanding of the Word? One day, we will all give an account of how we have lived. It is my prayer that my life will have been lived for His glory. I pray that for you, too.

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,

Romans 10:8-13, “But what does it say? ‘THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART’– that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, ‘WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.’

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

13 for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’”

I came to know the LORD Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was but seven years of age. I had always been in church and had doubtlessly heard the Gospel being preached numerous times. Still, I cannot recall any particular sermon or Bible lesson that weighed upon my heart; still, I was concerned about dying and particularly, dying without Christ Jesus as my Savior. That concern weighed so heavily on me that I awakened my parents in tears. And it was that very night that they prayerfully led me to faith in Jesus Christ.

“…with the heart a person believes…; with the mouth he confesses.” Salvation is the result. The spiritual capstone is “calling on the name of the LORD.” It’s the LORD’s promise that “whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Disappointment resides alone –outside of belief.

If only you could experience the joy that I have seen in the changed lives of those whom the LORD has saved, you would rejoice immensely! Pray for those whom you know to be lost. The Lord wants them to be saved more than we do! Yet, He graciously uses our prayers and witness to bring them to Him. What a blessing it is to be so used!

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,

2 Peter 3:10-15, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation…”

Doubtlessly, we’ve all experienced numerous encounters with unexpected difficulties: accidents, illnesses, financial reverses, and the deaths of friends and loved ones. There are a host of things that we never saw coming! One thing, however, we know without question: the LORD Jesus, who came into this world as a baby and ultimately went to the Cross for the salvation of mankind, will one day come again! And it is our responsibility to be ready!

The clearest information we are given regarding this momentous event is contained in the verses above by Simon Peter. A huge roar will accompany the destruction of the elements that comprise our atmosphere, and absolutely everything, visible and invisible, will be destroyed! How long this will take, we are not told. The recent earthquake in Venezuela was quite sudden and caused innumerable casualties! Yet, it was measured at only 7.2 on the Richter scale. Without question, the destruction of the Earth will immensely supersede anything previously known or unknown to mankind!

Simon Peter’s warning is superseded by his encouraging notification that we be diligent and found in peace, spiritually clean, and personally blameless. Make no mistake! There will be no “warning sound” prompting humanity’s preparation! The time to get ready is now!

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,

Daniel 3:13-18, “Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?’

15 ‘Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?’

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.

17 ‘If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

18 ‘But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’”

Young men in every generation of life are often charged with being brash and foolish; yet, none of that can be attributed to these three Hebrews. They were not brash. They were not discourteous. They had no notion of challenging King Nebuchadnezzar’s authority. They simply refused to obey his demands. What’s more, their refusal was spiritually founded.

We’ve all had experiences where our “biblical teachings” were challenged. None, however, were as seriously grounded as this. What would we do if we were challenged with life itself hanging in the balance? Submit? Run? Or rise to the occasion? Remember a few months ago when a group of Buddhist priests were murdered under similar circumstances?

We must commit ourselves to the LORD Jesus and learn to stand firmly in and for our faith! There will be a day when the exercise of that faith will become imperative! There’s no time like the present for being prepared. Take note of the bravery of those Hebrew lads and determine to stand true to Jesus Christ.

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