The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 3:14-18, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

I have always been quite out-spoken. I won’t mention the names of any of my ancestors, but there were some from whom I undoubtedly “inherited” that trait. I have not always been correct in my assessment of things, but no one could ever say that it was impossible to know what I believed.

The people of God –those whom He had led out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land—“spoke against God and Moses…” (Num. 21). It’s often easy to forget how blessed we are with our leaders! The Israelites had plenty of food and water, but they tired of the same old food; so, they criticized Moses and the LORD! There was a penalty for such criticism; and the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people –serpents that bit people and caused them to die. Now, they are in a dilemma! They need the LORD they criticized and they need His servant, Moses!

What the LORD commanded, Moses obediently produced. He made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole, allowing the people to repent. When they saw other suffer death, they appealed to Moses for help. Isn’t that the way it always works? The ones we criticize are the only ones on whom we can count to help us.

The brazen serpent on the pole typified the coming Messiah, Jesus, who was sacrificed on the Cross for our sins. Now, the Apostle John tells us that our only means of forgiveness is to look to the Savior, Jesus Christ, who died in our place on that cross. Have you looked to Him in faith for salvation? If not, why not? And, if you have, you are now deputized as a witness to others that by believing on Christ Jesus, they, too, will be saved! Just think: every Christmas hereafter, you will not only remember the Savior’s birth, you will remember your own spiritual birth in Him that came by simple faith. God bless you! And may this CHRISTmas be your best ever!

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