The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

Were you ever required to do something that didn’t make sense to your friends? “What are you doing that for?” they would ask. Funny, but you were asking the same thing, and you probably made up something to answer to get them off your back. If you have ever experienced something like that, you have something of an idea how Noah felt.

It probably embarrassed his wife and family, too, out her far away from a stream of any kind, and building a kibotos, a wooden box 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. But when you have been instructed to do anything by the LORD, you do it. You do it because you have faith in God and you are confident He knows what He’s doing, even if you don’t.

Noah didn’t have all the answers, but he did the work cautiously and reverently. It was a work of faith; and when we labor in faith, we need to be cautious. Noah did the work knowing that it was “for the salvation of his household.” At the same time, the ark was a condemnatory judgment against the world. What was judgment against the world was salvation to Noah and his family. Think about that! It’s true today. Those of us who are saved by believing in Jesus are, through our salvation, a condemnation to those who do not believe.

Peter calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness.” It is reasonable to believe that Noah preached to those who jeered and laughed at him as he went about building the ark. Some will laugh at us. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that we know the LORD, and that in love we are presenting Him to them! In the end, the LORD did cause a great flood to cover the Earth, and those who refused to believe were swallowed up in the chilling waters of death without a second chance!!

I am aware that some of you, who are reading this, work in environments that prohibit witnessing. Certainly, we don’t want to defraud those for whom we are working by defying their rules. But, we can always exhibit the LORD through our lives; and when questions are asked, the LORD will give us opportunities to respond and tell how we met Him! Just be alert!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 11:5-6, “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

The 11TH chapter of Hebrews is known as the Roll Call of the Faithful. Abel was the first one listed in this Roll Call. The next is Enoch.

Enoch is the seventh from Adam, and is the first of only two men in all of Scripture (Elijah was the other) who was translated into Heaven without having to experience death. Enoch walked with God for 300 years and must have had an extraordinary faith in the secrets the LORD shared with him. Oh, what He has in store for us, if we are faithful!

Enoch was 65 years old when he became the father of a son, whom he named Methuselah. The meaning of Methuselah’s name indicated that the world would be destroyed when he died. It was in the very year of Methuselah’s death that the Flood in the day of Noah destroyed the Earth. It’s both interesting and meaningful to note that Enoch’s translation without death parallels with the Rapture of the Church, and that the destruction of the world of Noah parallels the Great Tribulation that follows the Rapture.

The witness of Scripture regarding Enoch is that “he was well-pleasing to God.” You know, when we really get down to it, being “well-pleasing to God” is all that matters. First, He is pleased when we repent of our sins and trust His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior. At that point, the LORD gives us the Holy Spirit, who guides and instructs us to follow the LORD. He is pleased when we listen and follow the Holy Spirit. He has also given us His Word, the Bible, that feeds us spiritually and keeps us “on track” with His will. He is pleased when we saturate ourselves daily in His Word.

All of that raises the question: “Are we ‘well-pleasing’ to the LORD?” If we know Him, we will be “caught up to meet Him in the air” at the Rapture. But, then, there’s the Judgment Seat of Christ, where we will be reprimanded for unconfessed sin, and be rewarded for having been “well-pleasing” to Him in our lives here on Earth. Please take all of this seriously! These are not rambling words from me!

They are spiritual truths that come to us from Holy Scripture! In summary: BELIEVE and BEHAVE! The LORD is our Judge! And He is Coming soon!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 11:1-4, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”

It was a seminary class and one of the students was called upon to speak. He said that the pastor (presumably, not his own) had just concluded a sermon based upon verse one above, when a parishoner approached him and asked, “What is faith?” The pastor asked if he knew Mrs. Schnickel (not her real name). “Oh, yes,” the man said, “She has the best fried chicken in the county.” The pastor then stated that he had been asked to dine at Mrs. Schnickel’s. “And while I was there,” the pastor said, “Mrs. Schnickel’s daughter brought out a huge bowl filled with delicious, chicken gravey.” Then he added, “Now, THAT is faith! For THAT is the substance of the thing that is hoped for!” Whatever you may think, verse two says, “…by (faith) the men of old gained approval.”

Faith is believing that the worlds were created by the word of God.” Word here is ???? (rhema) and means “spoken word.” As in Genesis one, where God said, “Let there be light; and there was light” (Gen. 1:3); so He spoke openly and verbally in His act of creating all creation. God did not use a recipe or a formula or ingredients, He just spoke and things suddenly came into existence! Funny, how we marvel at the ability of the magician, who tricks us into believing that he does phenomenal things right in front of our eyes; yet, we stumble trying to believe that God could do

all and more in creating the Heavens and the Earth.

The same kind of faith was used by Abel, the younger brother of Cain, when he offered the first of his flock as an offering to the LORD. “And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering” (Gen. 4:4). God always rewards true faith. “Believe,” the Word says, “on the LORD Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved…” (Acts 16:31). Paul says in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word ???? (rhema) of Christ.” Obviously, Abel had heard the LORD’s requirement to offer a proper sacrifice, and he did! Cain, on the other hand, gave the best of his crops, but they were not according to the LORD’s requirement, so He rejected both Cain and his offering.

Faith is what the LORD requires of us; but not offerings of just any kind. God the Father gave His best when He offered His Son Jesus in sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Jesus is the only sacrifice the LORD God will accept. We have but to believe upon Him and receive His salvation. Have you done that? If not, let me urge you to do it and do it quickly! “Why so quickly?” you ask. Because I

read the obituary of a very young child in today’s paper. Any one of our names could appear in that column tomorrow or the day after. “Now is the acceptable time…today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2b). Please, don’t put it off! God loves you. Love Him back! Gain

approval with the Creator today! I guarantee that you’ll be glad you did.

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.”

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 48:16-19, “’Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.

18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand, And your offspring like its grains; Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.’”

If you’re regular in attendance at a Bible-believing church, you’ve heard your minister refer to “the Trinity.” What you (and possibly your minister) may have overlooked is that while the word Trinity is not mentioned in the Scriptures, the Members of the Trinity are. Look closely at verse 16 above: “And now the LORD God (this is the Father) has sent Me (this is the Son), and His Spirit (this is the Holy Spirit).” These are not three gods; they are the three Persons of God in what is theologically called “the Godhead.”

The LORD is our Redeemer and the One who teaches us how to benefit (profit) from every situation. Further, He leads us “in the way (we) should go.” It grieves the LORD when we stray from His intentions. You can almost “feel” the intensity of His words when He says, “If only you had paid attention to My commandments!” Great gain always follows those who are obedient to the LORD. “Their name (will) never be cut off or destroyed from (His) presence.”

I get regular text messages from President Trump. We’ve never met, and I know that his hopeful intention is that I would reciprocate with some monetary funds. I have not reciprocated in any way, but not out of any disrespect toward him. If he were personally known to me, and I to him, a discontinuace of the texts would be hurtful. It would be as if he were no longer interested in our friendship. When we fail to adhere to our LORD’s intentions for us, it could easily seem to Him as if we were no longer concerned about affiliation with Him. None of us what that! And moreover, neither do we want that for our children and grandchildren. We want them to be His as well and innumerable “like the sand.”

Thus, it all begins with us as parents and grandparents.

“Train up a child in the way he should go,

Even when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).

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.”

Dear Grands,

Numbers 13:30, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.”

Revelation 17:14, “”These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

I have a confession to make! But, before I reveal it, I need to remind you that there are different kinds of confession. There is a confession of sin, where one has done wrong and needs to reveal it to clear the conscience. There is also a confession of faith, where one has discovered something worthy of benefit and, therefore, worth being declared to others. My confession is of the latter kind, a confession of faith! Stay tuned, and I’ll share it.

The word “overcome” means “to get the better of someone or something in a struggle or conflict.” The first of only 25 mentions of the word “overcome” in Scripture appears when the LORD led the Israelites out of Egypt. Now in the wilderness of Sinai, Moses wants to explore the land of Canaan prior to moving Israel in that direction. The twelve spies searched out Canaan and reported their findings to Moses. They all found the land to be rich and fertile, but the people were strong and lived in fortified cities. Ten of the 12 spies thought it was too great a risk to attempt a takeover. Only Caleb and Joshua possessed the faith to believed they should forge ahead. “…we shall surely overcome it,” Caleb said. Ten of the leaders were not so enthusiastic, but Caleb and his friend, Joshua, stood their ground.

It’s interesting, too, that the last mention of the word “overcome” in Scripture is found in Revelation 17:14. Saying, “…the Lamb will overcome them (meaning, His adversaries). In one sense, it is difficult to understand why anyone would be in opposition to the LORD. But, when men become enamored with themselves and view themselves as authorities over all, they resent all others, even the LORD God. Yet, unlike mere mortal men, He will not yield to His adversaries. He is God, and He will overcome all adversaries!

In warfare, participants generally identify themselves with their fellow-soldiers by wearing uniforms that correspond. Those who are opponents wear different uniforms that identify with those on their side. In spiritual battles, we identify either with the LORD or against Him; and we identify not by what we wear on the outside, but what we wear in our hearts. It doesn’t take long for either side to identify the position of the other. Those of us who genuinely identify with the LORD Jesus Christ, show love and concern that flows from the heart. We are the ultimate victors because we identify with Christ. He will overcome all of His adversaries! I truly and honestly trust that you are with Christ in this battle!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Now, for my confession: A close friend took me to the theater to view the Christian film, OVERCOMER! Now, that may not

strike you as a “big deal”; but for this non-theater-going boy, it was indeed a BIG DEAL! Flywheel, Fireproof, Facing the

Giants, War Room, Courageous have all been good productions from the Kendrick Brothers; but in my estimation, this film

exceeds all the previous in that it contains numerous varied themes that weave throughout the storyline. I simply urge you to

see OVERCOMER with a clear, personal presentation of the Plan of Salvation. You might witness to a lost friend by inviting

him to attend. Pray about it!

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.”