The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 11:1-3, “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.”

The word faith is mentioned no less than 250 times in the Bible. It is closely related to the word trust, which has 83 mentions in the Scriptures. The three verses above could be translated,

“Now, trust is the confidence of the expected, the proven test of things not seen.

For by it the elders bore witness. By faith we understand that the worlds were

prepared (created) by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from

things already visible.”

Faith and trust in this passage mean virtually the same thing. It is undoubtedly true that “by (trust) the old men gained approval.” However, my Greek text says that ????????????? in verse two means “the activity of a witness.” The old men of that time, the elders, had confidence in what they expected the LORD to bring about, so they witnessed to others of their confidence in the LORD and what they trusted He would bring to pass.

All of this is a challenge to you and me as to whether we truly believe that the LORD has created the universe just as He said. By the way, the phrase, “the word of God,” uses ???? instead of ?????. Both words translate “word,” but ???? (rhema) refers to the spoken word, while ????? (logos) refers to the written Word, the Scriptures. All that is to show that the LORD God said, “Let there be – and there was!”

Some scientists stumble over the truth of Scripture which declares that God spoke and it was done! Yet, there are scientists who are also true Christian believers. Science knows quite a lot about the building blocks of the universe; still, they search for what unseen force holds the basic blocks of the universe together. They call it the “Colossian force,” from Colossians 1:17, that says, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

I was preaching in a church in Honolulu one Sunday, and I quoted what I have said the scientists called that “unseen force.” Greeting people at the door, after the service, I was introduced to a scientist. As we shook hands, I asked him

If he could corroborate my pulpit statement. He grinned as he said, “That’s it. You’re absolutely correct.”

Everything in the Bible is true! It is also true that sound, accurate science will bear out the truth of Scripture. In the meantime, for those of us who are not scientists, we can accept by faith the Scriptures and all they contain. I hope you read your Bible every day. I hope you thank the LORD in prayer for the wonderful truths He has given us in Scripture.

Join me as I seek to live-out in my life what I understand the Scriptures to say. Let’s pray for one another! This same Scripture says that Jesus is coming soon! There will come a day when we will wish in tears that we had spoken God’s truth to someone we loved. You can pre-erase that day by sharing Him with them today!

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 10:28-31, “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

How often have you hear someone say, “Oh, she’s the nicest, sweetest person I’ve ever known,” when you knew she wasn’t that kind of person at all? We’re pretty clever, we are. We know when to turn on the charm and when to show

our fangs in sheer hatred! All that is to say, we don’t really know a person until we experienced all sides of their personality.

We think of God as being fair and all-loving –and He is! But He visits vengeful punishment on those who fail to adhere to His Law. Parents are often like that. They love and treat their children with all kinds of kindness –until the kids misbehave and go against what they have been taught. Meeting out punishment doesn’t make the punisher an evil person. Punishment’s intention is to make the evil person good.

Let’s be as honest as we are clear: there are some children and some adults that give no evidence of ever becoming what human society demands of them. They can be fined and jailed over and over again; but when they are released, they fall right back into the acts that put them away in the first place. No fair-minded judge would, who cares for the people in his city, will release such persons to prey on honest citizenry. The LORD is fair-minded, and He openly declares vengeance upon those who intentionally trample on the principles of His teachings in His Word.

It might do each of us (certainly, myself included) to examine our lives –the lives we live in the presence of Almighty God every day. If we are true believers, who have repented of our sins and trusted Him as LORD of our lives, we cannot be said to have “trampled under foot the Son of God”; but, we have ignored many of His teachings. Parents can’t easily be compared with God, especially in the area of punishment. But, we can be sure that His punishment for our wrong-doings will be greater that of parents.

Engage in a good check-up of your life. Be sure you’re right with the LORD. ‘Cause if you are, you have nothing to fear when you meet Him. And if you’re not — you will not escape the sting of His wrath. Bye the way, He IS COMING!!!

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 10:19-25, “Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,

20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,

21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

22 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,

25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as

you see the day drawing near.”

With the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the whole human race was plunged into sin! They had defied God’s orders and they were totally dependent upon Him to bail them out. Temporarily, the LORD clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins. Such animal sacrifices would have to do until the Father sent His Son, Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the Cross to pave the way to forgiveness. Jesus Christ then became the “great Priest” over the House of God on Earth.

Paul then challenges the Jewish believers (to whom the book of Hebrews was originally intended) and us to “draw near” to the LORD, possessing a sincere heart full of faith and a conscience cleansed from all evil by the precious blood of Christ Jesus. Everything good and subsequent in our lives depends upon our spiritual cleansing. It is not something we do; it is what Jesus does for us when we repent and trust in Him for His cleansing.

Paul then challenges us further, saying, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our faith.” Loved of the LORD, and now forgiven, the challenge is to avoid wavering in doubt. Did not the LORD promise to keep us close to Him? Is He not faithful? Of course, He is! Just remember what He did on the Cross, and how He arose from His tomb three days later. Can One who did this not be imminently trusted in all things?

Finally, Paul becomes very practical. “Let us consider,” he says, “how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”

The word “another” is the Greek word ?????????? hupenantios, meaning “another of the same kind; i.e., a believer.

I am endeavoring to do that very thing as I write to you. I want you to be encouraged, even stimulated, to love fellow believers and even encourage lost friends to turn their lives over the Christ and dispose all of their ungodly activities.

The Day of Christ Jesus’ Return draws closer day-by-day. We may think we have sufficient time to get ready, but when His Trumpet sounds, the Holy Spirit within us will answer and lift us up to meet Him in the air. From that point onward, we will live with Him in Heaven! Don’t waste time! Pray for your lost friends! Witness to them of the salvation in Jesus!

No one knows when He will come. It could be tonight!

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,

2 Peter 1:13-17, “And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

14 knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind.

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.”

When I was a small boy, I used to pray that the LORD would leave a note telling me when I was going to die. I have no idea why I prayed such a thing, unless I was coming under conviction and heading toward an acceptance of Jesus Christ as my LORD and Savior. When I came to know Him, all of that was concern vanished completely.

Simon Peter had a totally different experience. He tells us in the first two verses above that the LORD had made clear to him that his time was just about up. What would you do if the LORD said you had only two weeks to live? For one thing, you would be concerned for your friends and loved ones –especially, too, for those who do not know Jesus. Getting things in order, just as if you were moving to a new house or leaving for an extended vacation, would be your focus.

Peter’s concern was for those to whom he was writing. He wants them to remember what he has taught them, so that they would not be deceived by those who would come along to take his place. “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales,” he said. Instead, “we made known to you the power and coming of our LORD Jesus Christ…” Furthermore, we actually witnessed His power and heard the Father say, “This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well-pleased.”

What the world needs today is to heed the words of our LORD Jesus Christ. Yet, the citizens of the world will never know Him unless we share His witness. We need kids, who mind their parents; and parents, who love and intelligently guide their children. How else can children properly learn to be parents, unless they have a good example? We don’t really need to be concerned about when we are going to die; we need to be concerned about when we’re going to start living so as to glorify God!

Are you a godly parent? Are you training your children in the way of the LORD? Are you a child, living with your parents? Is your behavior such that shows Christ to them?

There’s a short two-line verse that sums it all up:

Only one life; it will soon be passed;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

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,

Psalm 63:1-4, “O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly;

My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory.

3 Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee.

4 So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name.”

How many times have you felt lost? With clear directions from a well-intentioned friend,

I have, nevertheless, lost my way with no one to give me guidance. It’s a ghastly feeling

being lost in a foreign country without the knowledge of a single word of the local language.

What do we do in such circumstances?

David was in dire need of direction. “O God,” he cries, “You are my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly.”

Oh, how I know that feeling! –that sense of lost-ness, not know where I am or how my life is to get

back on track. We must always turn to the LORD. Interestingly, those who do not know the LORD,

also cry out to Him for guidance when the shadows of distress thicken around them. Yet, He is not

responsible to assist those who are not His own.

David, however, had an advantage. He had beheld the LORD in His house. He had previously

seen the LORD’s power and glory, and the remembrance of those times now gave him hope.

He knows the LORD loves him and will not suffer him to remain lost and in need. So, he does

as he had doubtlessly done multiple times: he praises the LORD! And in the midst of his praise,

the confidence he longed for blossomed into help.

We face troubles, problems, difficulties of every kind every day. Some are well beyond our capability

of understanding. Yet, “man’s difficulties become God’s opportunities.” The one who can praise the

LORD for helping before His help has come, are demonstrating faith that the LORD can and will

come to our rescue. And “without faith, it is impossible to please Him” (Heb 11:6).

Trust in the LORD with all thy might,

Lean not to thine own understanding;

In all thy ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct thy paths (Pro. 3:5-6).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Please pray for my dear friend, George Galieh, who lies in Liverpool Hospital in Sydney.

Remember, too, his faithful wife, Rita, who longs for his recuperation.

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.”