The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Job 11:7-11, “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
8 “They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?
9 “Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10 “If He passes by or shuts up, or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?
11 “For He knows false men, and He sees iniquity without investigating.”

When Job experienced devastation and lost everything –even his beloved children—one of his three friends, Zophar, challenged Job’s position with Almighty God. “Can you discover the depths of God?” Zophar asked. “Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?”

Recently, I witnessed a testimony of a man, who claimed he died, went to Heaven, and was permitted either to remain in Heaven or return to earth. In effect, this man was attempting to respond to the question Zophar had put to Job.

His testimony was obviously inconsistent within itself. It was also inconsistent with other testimonies I have personally heard from those who encountered near-death experiences.

The depths of Almighty God have no limits! Thus, it is clear that no one knows all that God knows. When you hear an experience that conflicts with that of the LORD in Holy Scripture, you may rest assured it is mixed with human flaws.

The man I reference here said the LORD gave him the option of staying in Heaven or returning to earth. More-over, the man never gave any witness to his having accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as his Savior. Nor did he urge others to accept Christ.

I’m like the man who said, “I don’t believe all I hear?” Any
person who claims to have had a “saving encounter” with
Jesus, but never shares that encounter as part of his
testimony, is lacking the experience of the “new birth.”

Have you been “born again”? Has there been a time in your life when you turned consciously away from sin and accepted the LORD Jesus as your personal Savior? If not, you need to turn to Him today! I would love to hear of your conversion. You will have my promise that it will not be published! You will only cause me to rejoice!

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,

2 Peter 1:1-9, “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge;
6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness;
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”

If you have been saved and then engaged in sin so that you doubted your salvation, you desperately need to read these verses!

Just think: it was Simon Peter, the very author of those verses above, who openly denied before a spiritually lost crowd that he neither knew nor followed Jesus! Yet, what Peter states in this letter soundly affirms that he trusted Jesus as his LORD!

Not only had Peter been forgiven for his sin, he had been granted the LORD’s own “precious and magnificent promises.” What are those promises? They are inclusive of everything pertaining to life and godliness, as well as the true knowledge of Christ, His divine power, and everything that pertains to godliness.

It is through the spiritual application of these virtues that we escape the the corruption that is in the world – you know, the same corruption we see in some, who occupy
prominent positions in business, in politics, and even in
some churches.

The hope of redemption, whether public or personal, lies in our acceptance of the LORD Jesus Christ. It’s not just being a member of a church; nor is it an earnest endeavor to live a clean, moral life. Redemption is a gift that only Christ Himself can give. And it ours for the asking! Have you asked Him for your gift? He’s only waiting for you to ask.

Prayerfully, 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 Peter 3:8-17, “To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
9 not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
10 For, “Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile.
11 “And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 “For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?
14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,
15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
16 and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

Recently, I was seated beside a law enforcement official at a luncheon. It was incredible to see how much gear he had to wear just to insure his own safety.

I grew up in a small mining town that was for a time a pretty tough area; so it may well be said that residents there had their share of problems like we do. At one point, however, the town’s law enforcer carried no gun.

As the story goes, two boys were anticipating a break-in, when the unarmed officer quietly approached them and said, “Boys, I don’t think what you’re about to do is a wise thing at all.” The boys bolted like lightning! It was indeed a different time.

Simon Peter could well have lived in our own time. The instruction he gives is applicable worldwide and to every generation. When he says, “sanctify Christ as LORD in your hearts,” he means recognize Christ as Master of your life! He is ready also to support your good lifestyle. Having a good lifestyle, of course, commences with accepting Him as LORD and Savior of your life. He then is ever-present to advise you with respect to your daily lifestyle.

Peter offers no guarantee against the slander you may receive for possessing and living a Christ-like life. Yet, he says it is better to suffer slander than to engage in the shameful and decadent ways of an ungodly world.

Accepting Christ as your LORD and Savior is more than belonging to a church. It’s living with the awareness that He is living within you and guiding your lifestyle. “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18).

Yes, even the Christian cop continues to carry a gun. But he is continuously guided by the LORD regarding when and how to use it. Think about this.

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,

Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

This was the assessment of the faithfulness of Noah, recorded for us by the Apostle Paul. Now, we move back in time in the Scriptures to understand the nature of the mankind in the days of Noah.

Genesis 6:4-8, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

Moving on into the Psalms of David, we read in Psalm 5:3-7,

3“In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer
to You and eagerly watch.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.
6 You destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and
deceit.
7 But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy
temple I will bow in reverence for You.”

Our verses today open and close in reverence. By definition, the word “reverence” means “a feeling or an attitude of profound respect that is both internally and externally reserved in the presence of holiness.”

Quietness is what is expected toward the One, who occupies the position of worth and honor. Reverence ought to be the mark of how we behave in worship toward our LORD Jesus Christ. The next time you are in a worship service, assess whether you are truly worshipping the Almighty? Would your attitude and your actions meet the standard definition of “reverence”? If not, you have some serious matters to consider.

Heartily in Christ,

(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,

Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

This was the assessment of the faithfulness of Noah,
recorded for us by the Apostle Paul. Now, we move
back in time in the Scriptures to understand the nature of mankind in the days of Noah.

Genesis 6:4-8, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

Moving on into the Psalms of David, we read in
Psalm 5:3-7, “In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.
6 You destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.”

Our verses today open and close in reverence. By definition, the word “reverence” means “a feeling or an attitude of profound respect that is both internally and externally reserved in the presence of holiness.”

It is expected quietness toward One, who occupies a position of worth and honor. In reverence is how we are to behave in worship toward our LORD Jesus Christ.

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