The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 11:13-16, “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the Earth.

14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

Although, it was many years ago, I can remember being promised things that were never given to me. I clearly remember a friend of the family describing something from the war (WW II, not the Civil War!!). When I asked something about it, he said, “I have a piece of that and I’ll give it to you.” But his promise was never fulfilled. Without any doubt whatsoever, I will die without that promise ever coming to reality.

These people who are listed in the Roll Call of the Faithful here in Hebrews 11, “died in faith without receiving the promises.” Yet, by faith they saw what had been promised them. It was a heavenly city, and they realized that they were not citizens of Earth, but of that Heavenly City –a City that God had faithfully prepared for them.

If you believe that these faithful people were thinking of another earthly city, verse 15 says, they would then have had the opportunity to return to the area from which they had come. No, they were looking for a Heavenly City, a better place than that from which they had come. And because they were trusting God, Who had promised them that City, He was not “ashamed to be called their God.” For truly, He had prepared a City for them.

Have you grasped what this is all about? The totality of persons listed in Hebrews 11 believed that God had something in store for them that was infinitely superior to anything they had possessed on this Earth. What He had prepared for them, He has prepared for us as well. You and I won’t see the place until we die, leaving behind this corrupted, evil world!

When D. L. Moody was dying, he cried out, “I see Earth receding! I see Heaven coming! It is glorious!” Those standing beside Moody, heard and recorded his final words; but they saw nothing because their time for moving from this world into the next had not yet come. What we see and hear of happenings in our world today makes us eager to move heavenward.

Yet for now, we must exercise faith in the clear promises our blessed LORD has made to us. He has prepared for us a City. The sign on the door is marked “THE ENTRANCE FOR THE FAITHFUL.” Can you enter at that door? Have you trusted the LORD Jesus Christ as your Savior? Don’t put that off! “Today is the day of salvation.” And if you have trusted Him, are you sharing your witness of Him with others? One day, I will be writing and —

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.”