The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your

salvation– having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14 Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own

possession, to the praise of His glory.”

In the last few days of 1966 and the first few of 1967, I was preaching in a youth camp in Western Australia. There was great blessing of the LORD in that place, and far more took place than I have

room to share here. One young girl, who had come to camp with her older sister, gave her heart

and life to Christ. Following her commitment, she asked, “Why didn’t they ever tell me that I needed

the LORD Jesus in my heart? I might never have known… Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?”

The Ephesians might well have said the same thing. Notice that their first step was “listening to the

message of truth.” The message of truth is the good news of salvation. We don’t need to live with

the devastating regrets of our sins; Jesus died on the cross as the Father’s sacrifice for our sin. We

have only to believe, to trust, to take Him at His Word.

The LORD’s promise to those who believe is to seal them “with the Holy Spirit,” Whom He has

promised. Remember the account of Daniel and the lion’s den? Read what the king did after Daniel

was cast into the den….

And a stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it

with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing might

be changed in regard to Daniel (Dan. 6:17).

The king’s seal was equivalent to a lock. No one dared to break the seal; for to do so, was to forfeit

his own life. So it is with the LORD’s “seal.” After listening and believing in Jesus Christ, the Father

locks us to Himself with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not seal us! He IS THE SEAL! He is

the LORD’s pledge –His promise– of our inheritance when, in God’s own time, we stand before Him!

In that day, the LORD Himself will be glorified, just as parents are at the births of their children.

The twp questions that remain are for us: 1) Have we listened to His Good News of salvation?

2) Have we believed and trusted in Him for that salvation? If you have, the Holy Spirit now resides

within you and you are secured in the LORD throughout all eternity. The Holy Spirit living wthin you

will also direct you in the way of the LORD, so that He will be glorified through your life. Continue to listen to His Word (the Bible) and obey the directions of the Holy Spirit. Joy will fill your life and you

will ask, like the little girl, “Why didn’t anyone tell me before?”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 1:1-4, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at

Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual

blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless

before Him.”

Letters are wonderful blessings! Ask anyone in the military. But to all believers, the letters from Paul

are superb! Yet, lest we overly credit Paul, he notes that they are “by the will of God,” just as his

apostleship. It is helpful to write letters to faithful believers, too; everyone is involved.

Grace and peace tell all readers that this letter is intended as an encouragement. Both are from God and are advantageous to the readers, as well. Paul praises the Father and the Son, Who have blessed

them with “every spiritual blessing” in the heavenlies! What’s more, the Father chose us to be in Christ

even before He laid the foundation of the world, “that we should be holy and blameless before Him.”

Think of what he just said! The Father has myriads of angels shouting glorious hymn notes of praise

to Him, yet “He chose us” to be in Him! He is glorified when we praise Him. Two sweet little boys live

across the street from me. They are so polite and enjoyable. “Hi, Mr. Gene,” they say so gleefully. Can you not tell how I enjoy their greetings and joyfulness? Yet, I have a great-grandson, who calls me “Dado”; and notwithstanding the other two loving boys, I love and enjoy JoJo’s greeting even more. JoJo is family! If other children cry, it is for their parents to comfort them. If a child of mine cries, his comfort is my responsibility.

There’s nothing like living in the comfort of God’s grace and peace! Do you know Him? If not, you have

no idea what you’re missing! If you do truly know Him, then He longs for you to make Him known to others! My pastor today urged our church family to be missionaries! Some will go overseas to share the glories of Jesus! All the rest of the LORD’s family are responsible to share Him here at home. Write a letter, send a text, forward an email, hand out a tract: DO SOMETHING to glorify Christ Jesus!

Time is running out. . . .

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,

1 Corinthians 1:22-24, “For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom;

23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,

24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the

wisdom of God.”

In reading through some old documents, I learned (again) how different people are. We tend to

forget those differences and how much they mean to a select people. Paul had not forgotten. He

was Jewish, and prior to his conversion to Christianity, he was doubtlessly “seeking signs” with

respect to everything he did. A “sign” (???????, semeion) was something that authentically distinguished a one person from another, or thing from something else. The Jews wanted a sign

from Jesus, that He was authentically from God. He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days

I will raise it up.”

Greeks, on the other hand, were in a constant search for wisdom. Wisdom (????? , sophia) was to

them the insight into the true nature of things, the ability to discern different kinds of actions with a

view to their different results. Such things get complicated.

Paul was a Jew who understood both Jews and Greeks quite well. Yet, his emphasis was upon

Christ. He knew the Christian faith was a stumbling block to the Jews and was foolishness to the Greeks. Yet, he had discovered something that was better than both. To Paul, Christ was “the

power of God and the wisdom of God.”

This is what we all need: faith and trust in Christ! No matter how severe a matter, Christ has the

power and wisdom to overule it. Why then, do we need medical help in times of severe crisis?

We need it because the LORD has ordained help for us despite our faithlessness in Him. Were

we as infinitely strong in our trust of Him, we would acknowledge and receive His unique power.

Inasmuch as we are weak in faith, He provides additional means for our physical deliverences.

Peter walked on the water until he took his eyes off of Jesus; but Jesus reached out and saved him.

Jesus’ reaching out to Peter was a physical salvation, albeit a secondary one! May we learn to

trust Christ Jesus implicitly! He will always be our Supreme Help.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

John 2:1-5, “And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus

was there;

2 and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding.

3 And when the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

It was Mark Twain who said, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

My mother was a wise woman! Oh, I didn’t think so when I was small kid. She was strict, but she was

loving with it—always a teacher at heart. Such things are the discoveries of old age.

What those attending the marriage at Cana thought about Jesus’ mother, we will never know. But, what little we do know about her is good. She surely would not want to be known as some think of her today. Really great people don’t think that way of themselves. As a boy of about 14, I clearly recall commending a preacher for what I considered an outstanding sermon! He looked surprised, smiled, and did his best to correct the level of excellence on which I had placed him.

Mary saw a problem that needed to be corrected at the marriage feast. The hosts had run out of wine.

She was not the hostess; she was only an invited guest. So, it was not required of her to correct the deficiency. But, she knew her Son was competent for what was needed. Thus, she said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” In the margin of my Bible beside that verse, I have written, “Excellent advice for every situation.” Leave everything in the Hands of Jesus! That’s not to say we ought never to work or do good things for others. Rather, it is that we should talk everything over with Him in prayer before we act on anything!

Should I go to college? Should I change jobs? Should I get married? Whom should I marry? What church should I attend? –and the list goes on. Each of these short questions fits everyone; yet the “who, what, why, when and where” may differ completely. Sometimes, it’s just best not act too quickly on anything –certainly, not without praying! “The LORD knows those who are His…” (2 Tim. 2:19); He also knows what’s best for each of us.

As we grow older, we look back with a very different perspective than when we were young. There are things we ought to have done, that we failed to do. And then, there are things we ought not to have done that we seriously regret. In most cases, our regrets come from not having laid everything before

the LORD Jesus Christ in serious prayer. We can’t change the past, but we can better the future. We can also be a spiritual model for others. Whatever He says to you, do it! That, you will never regret!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

NOTE: For those who might want to justify drinking today, based upon Jesus’ turning the water to wine, this instance

will not work! Wine in Jesus’ day was not what it is today. In that day water was mixed with wine to purify the

impure water. The Romans, known for their lavish drinking, mixed three or more parts of water with the wine.

Believers have a testimony of separation to uphold. Even Paul said, “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine,

or to do anything by which your brother stumbles” (Rom. 14:21 NAS).

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Luke 24:44-48, “Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with

you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms

must be fulfilled.’

45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

46and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the

third day;

47and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations,

beginning from Jerusalem.

48’You are witnesses of these things.’”

“Where on earth did I put them? Where did I leave my keys?” Have you ever said that or words to that effect? Of course, you have! I’m confident that everyone who has keys to anything has said that more than once. A friend of mine in Australia always left his keys on the floor immediately in front of the living room door. That way, he never had to hunt for them in the morning.

In our verses above, Jesus is meeting with His disciples. He has already risen from the dead and is reminding them how His death and resurrection were a fulfillment of the Law of Moses. Perhaps He sensed that they were not really grasping all He intended; thus, “He opened their minds to understand

the Scriptures.”

We have the same trouble today. There are passages of Scripture that we hurry by because they don’t immediately have meaning to us. We just shouldn’t “hurry by.” We should pray and ask the LORD to “open our minds” to their meaning. Preachers often neglect passages they don’t quickly understand. It would do us all well to remember that “they were written for our instruction” (Rom. 15:4; I Cor. 10:11). Thus, they ought to be savored like a delious, juicy steak.

Look now at Jesus’ final words in verse 48 above: “You are witnesses of these things.” What a privilege they had to have been witnesses of His Resurrected Life! Now, what? What would you have

done? The privilege of a witness is both to see and to tell. To be sure, there are many scriptures that

we have difficulty understanding. But, we know what He has done in our lives, and we can and must share that with others. Will you endeavor to do that today? There are lost souls who are waiting for your witness.

And if you yourself have never trusted Jesus Christ, let Him open your heart and mind to Him today.

Ask Him to forgive your sins and open your mind to spiritual things –things that really matter. You will never regret having Christ in your life!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom