The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 1:13-17, “But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.
14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’”

Had Zacharias not been attending to his spiritual responsibilities in the Temple, it is conceivable that the angel Gabriel might never have appeared and spoken to him as he did. Zacharias and his wife had no son. Yet, because Zacharias was faithful and responsible before the LORD, he was promised the son for whom he had yearned.

It’s a responsible question to ask how many blessings we have all been denied because we were ignoring the LORD. Of course, this question is applicable to the lost; but in the context of this passage, many of us as believers have been denied what the LORD intended us to have because we focused only upon ourselves. What blessings are you missing because you have elected to live outside of His will?

What is more, while we are not informed of all that Zacharias accomplished, we are told of many accomplishments of his son, John – John the Baptist — who introduced the Father’s Savior, Jesus, to the world and its generations! We are allowed to live for Him; yet greater still is His allowance of our children and grand-children to live and exalt Him through their lives! May our blessed LORD allow us to think beyond ourselves and establish a holy pathway for those who will come after us.

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,

Mark 1:6-9, “John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
7 And he was preaching, and saying, ‘After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.
8 I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”

The man called John in the verses above refers to John the Baptist, not the Apostle John. His dress was nothing to be desired, nor was his diet; yet the Message he declared was the greatest to grace the ears of the Jewish people. Their Messiah was coming!

John was a “rough and humble” kind of man. Look at his diet in verse one. It was so distasteful to me that I honestly almost omitted mentioning it. Yet, his ministry was mighty, although he promised One greater and mightier than he (John) was coming. So mighty was He (Jesus) that His baptism was greater than John’s. Jesus would immerse those possessing faith in the Holy Spirit!

Yet, first, Jesus must be baptized by John in water –symbolic of the Spirit baptism to come. When the lost today turn their hearts and lives over to Jesus in faith, they, too, are immersed in the Holy Spirit –the Spirit that enters and never leaves the believer who has trusted the LORD Jesus in faith.
Have you experienced salvation by faith in Jesus Christ? When you confess you sins to Him and
believe in faith that He has forgiven you, you become a true child of God. Give Him the opportunity to prove Himself to you. Confess your sins and ask His forgiveness. He never fails to forgive!

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,

Matthew 8:1-3, “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.
2 And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’
3 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Leprocy was argurably the most dreaded of diseases in biblical times. It was virtually uncurable; and lepers in the streets were required to cry “Unclean! Unclean!” as a warning to others, lest they fail to notice and come in contact with the disease.

Ordinarily, lepers kept their distance from others; yet, this leper bowed before Jesus and asked Him for cleansing. Jesus must have awed the crowd when He touched the leper and verbally acknowledged, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately, the leper was cleansed.

There is a disease even more dangerous than leprosy. It is called “sin.” Leprosy could hasten physical death; but when death came to the leper, the cessation of life was also a ceassation of leprosy. Sin leads to physical death; but without repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, sin is the pathway to Hell itself. And unlike leprosy, Hell is eternal.

Question: If Jesus could cure a leper of this disease, could He not cure men and women of their sin? The leper believed in Jesus and asked for a cure. Jesus responded by delivering him from his leprosy. Jesus can and will save from sin all who ask Him. He is on record as willing. Have you asked Him to save you? Yes, He cured the leper, and He can cleanse you too from your sin.

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,

Matthew 7:21-25, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

While admission into Heaven is biblically simple, it endures enormous variations when addressed by pastors and teachers in today’s world. Biblical truth is often completely ignored; and human, man-made ideas are substituted for “thus saith the LORD.” Equally ignored is the absolute truth concerning the will of the LORD.

Holy Scripture clearly declares that the day will come when some will substitute their own “truths” for those of the LORD and His Holy Scripture. Mankind will fail to hear the LORD say, “DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.” That day is now upon us! Mankind is so egotistically blinded that he cannot envision any Divine directive as more vital than that of his own thinking.

Spiritual “houses” speak metaphorically of the lives of men. All of our lives are built either upon the loving truth of the LORD Jesus Christ (He is “the Rock!”) or upon the shifting, insecure sands of human effort. Unfortunately, the evils of this world clamor so loudly that it is increasingly difficult to “hear” the Voice of the LORD! We simply must “tune out” all voices except that of the LORD Himself! For time is short. Jesus is coming soon! And we will answer to Him for not obeying Him.

Let me urge you to read His Word, the Holy Bible! Obey its instruction! Trust Jesus as your LORD and Savior! Commit your life into His care! He is our only Hope! His promises are those that never fail!

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,

1 Timothy 1:1-6, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,
4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.
5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,
7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

If ever a passage of Scripture reached its ultimate height of relativity, it is this passage above. First of all, Paul identifies his instruction to be “the commandment of God…” Knowing Paul to have been called by the LORD to be an apostle of the faith, might have been sufficient for the urgency of the matter. Nevertheless, with full authority from Christ Himself, Paul levies instruction he has previously given: namely, that certain men are “not to teach strange doctirnes…”

Is it possible that Paul might have envisioned what our world is experiencing of “strange doctrines” today? Men who have no calling from God, who know nothing of the Word of God, feed indigestable chaf to poor, starving congregations who are in search of something real and soul-satisfying. Instead, they listen to the chatter of smooth-talkers and depart with myths that are less than cotton candy from a meaningless circus.

Paul advocates spiritual instruction in love that emanates from a pure heart and a sincere faith. To be sure, there are some sound teachings from godly men, who are instructing the spiritually hungry. Yes, it takes financial support to keep them all on the airwaves. Yet, close scrutiny will separate those who are sincere advocates of Jesus Christ from those who simply “use” Jesus to fill their coffers and enhance their opulent lifestyles.

Make no mistake! Discover and devour the teachings of those who emphasize Jesus! Reject out-of-hand those who emphasize anything other than He. Jesus alone is True and those who teach His Truth alone are the true ministers of righteousness.

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