The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 10:22-24, “…let us draw near with a sincere heart

in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean

from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for He who promised is faithful;

24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and

good deeds…”

Paul has been speaking of the blessings we have because of the

shed blood of Jesus, and on the basis of those privileges, he

admonishes us to do three things: 1) draw near to the LORD

with absolute sincerity and complete assurance of faith. Satan

would like to discourage us, even causing us to wonder if we

are worth anything and even if we have been truly saved. Our

faith in the blood of Jesus at the Cross took care of all of that.

2) Hold fast to what your salvation belief. Don’t waver! Again,

that’s Satan, wanting to discourage you. Don’t fall for that!

The LORD is the One holding us firmly; He is faithful. 3) Consider

how you can encourage other believers to love and engage in

good deeds. There are a lot of saved people who drift spiritually.

Be an encouragement to them. Help them to become what the

LORD wants of them. It’s not easy –any of it. But it’s valuable!

This is the beginning of another week. Stand firmly of Him!

We Love and Pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper

than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul

and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts

and intentions of the heart.”

Would you find it pleasant to get slashed or stabbed with a sword?

Of course not. Now you know why many people avoid reading the

Bible and going to church. When you read the Bible or hear it

preached, it pierces you and reveals the wrong in your life. That’s

also why some churches feature “entertainment.” They are trying

to make the church services more pleasant. “No stabbing here!

You won’t be pierced or slashed by what we say and do.” No surgeon

is good for his patient unless he is willing to cut him. That’s what

surgeons do. And that is what the Word of God does! But, how

does the Word judge us? It judges us in the same way a human

judge does when he gives a decision in our case. We read God’s

judgment and how He loves us and wills to make us good again.

And when we’re possessed by the Holy Spirit, we listen and obey.

Listen carefully to your pastor as he declares the Word of God today.

The LORD has a message in His Word for you and me.

We love you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,

righteously and godly in the present age,

13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and

Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed,

and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

These four verses constitute one of the most exciting passages in all of Scripture!

Verses 11-12 tell us that God’s grace made it possible for all persons to be saved!

In that context, God instructs us how to live: we are to “say no” all ungodly and

worldly lusts, and live wisely and righteously in our lifetime. Further, we are to

anticipate the Coming of our LORD Jesus Christ (the Rapture) –the same Jesus

who died on the Cross to “buy us back” and away from everything evil, and cleanse

us for Himself and make us excited to do good things.

“To deny” and “to live” are in Greek forms that mean they “are to our advantage.”

Everything the LORD forbids us to do is for our advantage. Everything He calls

us to do, He enables us to do; and everything from Him is to our spiritual and

physical advantage.

We LOVE you and pray for you every single day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

Acts 20:24, “But I do not consider my life of any account

as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the

ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify

solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

You’ve probably heard the saying, “He’s his own worst enemy.”

Strangely enough, that’s true of all of us. Paul must have thought

so, too, because he said his life was of no account to himself.

Self is our biggest and worst enemy! It gets in the way of

everything. Paul’s calling from God was to minister to people

everywhere and bring them to faith in Jesus Christ. We need

to remember that Paul, and even Jesus, got physically tired.

Don’t you have days when you just don’t want to get out of bed?

(Yes, you say, like today…and yesterday…and –) Self stays in

bed! Self eats what self wants, regardless of its value to health.

Self goes where self wants –and the list goes on. Self is our

enemy. Paul knew this; and in this verse, he TOTALLY

ABANDONS Self! He knows he faces opposition and will die;

but the only thing that matters is his doing what the LORD wants

until his final day comes. WOW! Is that not dedication at its finest?

Don’t we all fall far, far short of that kind of dedication? Die to self,

and we will all know the rejoicing Paul knew, as he labored only

for the LORD.

May the LORD bless you today and everyday! We love you!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 2:11-13, “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.”

Paul often spoke in positive-negative statements. Just as

electricity requires both a positive charge and a negative

charge, so does the Christian life. ~ This is a reliable word,

he says. Here then are the two positives: 1) If we died with

Him (and we did), we shall also live with Him. 2) If we patiently

endure (and we will), we will also reign with Him. Then, he

give us the two negatives: 1) If we say “no” to Him or deny

Him to others, He will deny knowing us. 2) If we are faithless

in being and doing what He desires and has given us to do,

He will remain faithful. Why? Because the LORD cannot

be or do what is contrary to His holy nature. ~ Think of it

like this: Have you ever done anything contrary to what

your parents desired of you? Did your parents then do

what they had told you not to do? Of course not! Had they

done what they told you not to do, they would be denying

the very thing right they had desired in you. While this may

sometimes break down with human beings, it never breaks

down with God! Always trust Him and do His will. That

always brings His blessings!

Love you; and may the LORD make us faithful always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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