The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Good or bad, I’ve been gifted with a sense of humor. Sometimes, I get a bit goofy, talking to people I’ve never met, but as if we had known each other for 40 years! A tall man nearly hit my cart in Walmart the other day. I looked at him and said, “Uh, I never mess with guys who are bigger than I am.” He smiled and his wife laughed out loud.

Hidden (I trust not too much) beneath my attempt at humor is a genuine love for “the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ.” When I hurt (and I often still do), I am reminded that it is “His great mercy (that) has caused (me) to be born again (from Above) to a living hope.” And from where does this “living hope” come? It comes “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Had Jesus Christ not risen from the dead, His death on the Cross would have had little to no meaning. But, He did rise from the dead and that gives us an unusual inheritance! –not of itself “able to perish,” or to “be(come) defiled.” Further, “it will not fade away,” disappear or become meaningless. Instead, it is reserved in Heaven for those who have come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

The same powerful love of the Father that sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, now protects us through faith for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last days. Do you not see the turmoil in our world today? Those who have done wrong, go unpunished; those who have lived honestly, are subject to lies, ridicule, and often imprisonment and death. I have preached in numerous countries around the world, and without incident. Yet, I would be hesitant about returning to some of those same countries today, due to their furious hatred of my Christian faith.

Listen, dear reader, we are living in the last days of human history! Our only hope is in the protection of Almighty God! Mission fields, some of which I have visited, are now rife with unrest, often due to their own political unrest and mismanagement. Missionaries need our prayers! Our hope lies only in the LORD Jesus Christ, and in the power of Almighty God, who protects us. Today was someone’s “last day.” Tomorrow may be yours or mine. Live courageously! Share “the Faith once delivered to the saints.” May God help us all to be living for Him, when He Comes to take us Home!

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.”