The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 9:1-3, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing me witness in the

Holy Spirit,

2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.

3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my

kinsmen according to the flesh…”

It was Mark Twain who said, “If you always tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”

Only once was I called as a prosecution witness in a trial. At the time, the defense counsel asked me several questions, but challenged my answers. He then asked me the nature of my occupation. I replied, “I am a minister of the Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ.” There was a brief stunned moment of silence, when the judge asked the defense counsel if he would like to ask me if I understood the oath I had taken. Everyone burst into laughter!

Perhaps anticipating some questions as to his truthfulness, the Apostle Paul commenced by stating that he was indeed telling the truth. He supported the veracity of his statement by adding that his conscience was governed by the Holy Spirit, so that he was virtually compelled to speak truthfully. Further, he had deep pain and unrelenting sorrow concerning the Jewish people – people who had not accepted Jesus as their Messiah.

The apex of Paul’s cry, however, exceeded everything – perhaps, everything he had ever said regarding his love for his Jewish people. “If it were only possible, I would spend eternity in Hell, separated forever from Christ, if only my Jewish kinsmen would come to faith in Him as their Messiah!”

Whom do you love that much? “Oh,” but you say, “he only said that because he knew it was not possible to do.” Really? Do you truly believe that of the Apostle Paul? Well, put yourself in his place and answer the question truthfully! I know some mothers, whom I’m certain would die for their children. Fathers? Not so many. Friends? Well…

The basic truth here is that none of us love the lost like we ought. If we did, we would witness of Him more fervently! We value our own lives too much. Paul had already died to himself. Perhaps that’s the place where we ought to start.

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,

Romans 8:28, 37-39, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who

love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor

things to come, nor powers,

39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,

which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

How often recently have you asked yourself, “Why are things like they are? What is going on in our world?” Historians, philosophers, psychologists, educators and many others are asking the same questions. They all see and experience the same things, yet these groups often differ as to the cause of the troubles in our world.

There is an answer in Scripture as to why things are as they are. The sinfulness of mankind exists because God has been omitted from the equation of life. Once we write God out of our lives, life begins to totter and smolder and stink! Still, it doesn’t have to be that way for everyone. Paul has excoriated man for his sinfulness; yet he come immediately back to say that everything lies in God’s Eternal Hands. In fact, all those things we don’t understand are things God has working together to produce good for those who love and recognize Him. We have conquered in Christ! We just haven’t realized it yet. We’ve won the war because we’ve trusted Christ. We just haven’t realized it yet.

Paul closes this chapter with what some consider the three most powerful verses in the whole of his letter to the Romans. They are a supreme encouragement to all who read them thoughtfully. We Christians are the conquerors! We conquer because Christ has conquered and we belong to Him.

Then Paul lists nine extremely severe element that threaten Christians everywhere. Yet, none of them

are “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our LORD.” We are victorious!!

“But,” you say, “the battle still rages; the war is not over.” To which Paul affirms, “Oh, no? Jesus arose from the dead! Who stands victoriously over Him?”

May we never become discouraged because lawlessness stalks our streets, because looters steal and burn, because monuments to fallen heroes are being toppled. GOD IS STILL ALIVE!! And because He is, we are victorious! God bless you abundantly! Keep a good thought! Memorize verse 28 above!

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,

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Let’s say that you have an opportunity to witness to someone who is lost and needs to be saved. How

do you do it? What Scripture do you use, and how do you use it?

LEADING A PERSON TO FAITH IN CHRIST:

1. Let’s look closely at this verse. What does the word “wages” mean to you?

Answer: Wages are payments in return for something.

2. The next word we want to examine is “sin.” What is “sin?”

Answer: Sin is everything God isn’t and things of which He doesn’t approve.

3. What does “death” mean?

Answer: Death is the opposite of life and may be temporal or eternal. (You may need to describe what “temporal” means. (It is physical death to the body.)

4. What is a “gift”?

Answer: Gift is something freely given and for which nothing is required except receiving it.

5. What is “eternal life?”

Answer: Eternal life is like God’s Life: it’s life that never ends. The body may die, but the soul never dies. This means we will one day live forever in Heaven with God.

6. Why would God give you “eternal life?”

Answer: God is love. He loves you and desires that you love Him in return.

7. Who is Jesus, and what did He do for us?

Answer: Christ Jesus is God’s first and only Son; He died for our sins, and then arose

from the dead, proving the Father’s sufficiency concerning His Son’s death.

8. How would you tell God that you are sorry for your sins?

Anticipated answer: Talk or Pray to Him.

That’s right. Wouldn’t you like to pray to Him right now and ask Him to forgive you?

Okay, you just talk to Him and tell Him you’re sorry for your sin and ask Him to forgive you.

Then, I will pray when you have finished. Okay?

Let’s bow our heads and you just talk to Him like you would talk to me. He will understand.

9. After the person and you have prayed, you ask, “Remember, our verse? It used the word “gift.”

What do you do when someone gives you a gift?

Answer: They will say, “You receive it…” You need to affirm every correct answer they give:

“That’s right. Anythng else? (At some point they will say “Thank Him”?

Your reply: Yes! Wouldn’t you like to thank the LORD for saving you?

Then have the person pray first and you will follow by thanking Him, too.

At this point, saying “Thank You” to the LORD is where the person becomes aware of what has

truly taken place in his/her heart and life! Joy in the heart will then show on the face!

Don’t be stilted. Be warm and tender. You don’t have to use exact words, just be sure to emphasize

the words that really count in this process: wages, gift, life, etc. Just be sure to Thank Him!

You may ask if the person has a Bible (New Testament). If they don’t, and it’s possible, arrange for him or her to receive one from you. But, don’t promise if you can’t deliver!! That will cast a shadow of doubt in the person’s mind over all you have said.

Use this method at your next opportunity; then let me know how it went. If you have questions, I’ll be

more than happy to answer them. God bless you abundantly!

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,

Daniel 6:3, 5, 7, “Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps

because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire

kingdom.

5 Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it

against him with regard to the law of his God.’

7 “All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the

governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction

that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast

into the lions’ den.”

It was a conversation I shall never forget. My mentor, Dr. Earl L. Pounds, was discussing a situation with me when he said, “Sometimes, you have to be smart enough to be a little bit dumb.” The context of that particular situation has long escaped me, but that one sentence has glued itself tightly to my memory. It’s the dumb and the smart that we survey tonight.

Although he was a Jew and technically a foreigner, Daniel had distinguished himself before Babylonian kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and now Darius. He had explained kings’ dreams and had been elevated to third highest position in the kingdom. But, that’s where the problem began. Jealousy raged in the hearts of the other kingdom officials! They had to do something to displace him from his position and authority over them.

These pagans rulers had to displace Daniel. They concocted a scheme against him. And they reasoned well that their scheme would not succeed unless they found something wrong with Daniel’s God! I’ve had my share of adversaries in my lifetime, but my problem was that no one had to go outside of me to find fault. Does your life more resemble mine than Daniel’s? I was afraid of that!

So the schemers feigned pride in King Darius, heaping praise upon him and procuring his signature on a spurious 30-day document designed to consign Daniel to a Lions’ Den! Darius should have smelled a rat because the law he signed was only for 30 days! Why stop at 30? Why not 30 months or 30 years? Be warry when others heap too much praise on you. Something’s not quite right…

And all the while, Daniel was in prayer before the LORD God (v. 10)! The LORD had delivered him from

Nebuchadnezzar’s Fiery Furnace! He would deliver him from Darius’ Den of Lions!

The lesson here is two-fold: 1) Beware when others speak too highly of you. “There’s a monkey in the

woodpile somewhere,” as my mother used to say. And 2), stay close to the LORD in prayer. Let your life show forth “to the praise of His glory”; and always depend upon Him to be your Advocate and Deliverer! He never fails!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Please pray for my friends, Lenoid and Elena Kolker! They are dedicated Christians, who want to live and work in this

country. They desperately need our prayers and support!

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,

Romans 5:6-10, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having

been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

“Helpless” is a devastating situation. It indicates that nothing that can be done! Paul says that that is exactly where we are! Yet, at the “right time” – the exact time – Christ died for the ungodly. Mark it well that “the ungodly” includes the entire population of the world from the era of the Garden of Eden to the end of the world as we know it.

It was the Divine Love (?????, agape) of our Heavenly Father that initiated and merged with the Divine Love of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who willingly became the Father’s Sacrifice for our sins. From the sacrifice of Abel in the Garden of Eden to the Sacrifice of Jesus, blood was required to satisfy the Father and stay His wrath.

Prior to Christ’s Sacrifice, mankind lived under the wrath of God. God’s own creation found reconciliation with Him throuh the shed blood of His Son. Prior to Christ’s death and resurrection, mankind lived at enmity with God. Now, all mankind can be reconciled through faith and be “rescued from a hazardous condition” through His life.

You are, therefore, not without help as before. Jesus’ Resurrection proves the power of His blood to satisfy the Father’s forgiveness. All you need do is admit your sin (i.e., repent) and believe (trust, and commit yourself) to Jesus for salvation! AT that point, the salvation of your soul will have never been in more Trusted Hands. God bless you!

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.”