The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

I remember well the deaths of my parents and my grandparents. Since I had trusted the LORD when I was seven years of age, I was a Christian at the times of their deaths. It would be years before I would have any formal theological training; yet I knew that those who died, having believed in the LORD Jesus Christ as their Savior, would one day arise from the dead and live forever with Him.

I was pastoring a church at the tender age of 17, thus the understanding of the passage cited above was well-known to me. Subsequently, I have delved deeply into the Scriptures both in personal study as well as in formal theological studies.

It has for years now been my earnest, studied conviction that the next event on God’s timetable is what is known as the Rapture. At that time (as Paul describes in the Scripture above), the LORD Jesus Christ, who arose from the Tomb and ascended to God the Father in Heaven, would suddenly come again, and snatch up into Heaven all those dead and alive (like my parents and grand-parents) who have trusted Him as their LORD and Savior. According to the Scriptures, it is unquestionably the next major event on God’s timetable.

Simultaneously, the clouds of wars and rumors of wars are today gathering clearly as the LORD has predicted. At my current age, it is unlikely that I will be alive on Earth when the Rapture occurs. But, like my parents, grandparents, and my dear wife, Rose Marie, I will then be caught up from the grave with them to meet the LORD in the air!

That garguantian event will still not be the end of the world. There will be wars arising from Satan’s deceitfulness –wars that will occur on the Plains of Megiddo in Israel. I have seen those plains –flat and extending for miles! Some of the great ancient battles of the world have been fought right there; yet, none like that what will be generated by the Antichrist in his day.

My dear reader, consider carefully what the Scriptures say! The same Jesus, who went to the Cross as the Sacrifice for our sins, is Coming Again! Please, please be ready. Trust Him today as LORD and Savior of your own life. That’s the preparation you need to be ready. And when you’ve been saved, share Him with others! Jesus is the only Key to a Heavenly Eternity!

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 6:6-10, “…godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
8 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Perhaps I’ve simply failed to notice it in previous years, but it seems that virtually every email that finds its way into my inbox this year wants money! Other than email from family and close friends, there’s little-to-nothing said about the Christ Child. It is He, who came to give us hope and salvation. It is He, who is ignored; everyone wants us to focus on them.

Certainly, Christmas time is a time for giving –at least, it ought to be. It’s a time when God the Father gave us His only begotten Son that we might be saved from sin and from all the ugliness that awaits so many in the hereafter. It’s when we receive Him, that we have opportunity for true rejoicing! And as we rejoice, we then want to give!

We want others to know Him as we do! So, we verbally share Him with them. We pray that they will come to know Him and rejoice with us.

Often, too, we share gifts and money with others in celebration of Christ’s coming! Yet, there’s nothing we have to share that comes even close to Christ Jesus Himself, or the gift He has given us through His death on the Cross for our sins.

If you’ve trusted Him as your Savior, rejoice and share Him with those who have not. If you’ve not trusted Him, give yourself the best Gift ever: Jesus Christ! He will bring hope and love beyond
any physical gift you will ever receive. Pray this prayer most sincerely:

“Dear Lord, I know that I have sinned
and need your forgiveness. Please
forgive me for all my sin, and come
into my heart and life. I want to live
and serve You as my Lord and Savior.
In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.”

Now, trust Him to have heard your prayer and thank Him for
loving and saving you. Start reading the Bible every day and
find a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching Church. You will then grow in your faith and in your love for your Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayerfully and 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 7:7-12, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you
want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

I witnessed a powerful testimony in a Sunday School class today. A man who was en route to hunt deer, stopped to visit a long-time friend, who had never trusted Christ as his LORD and Savior. Interestingly, the LORD had brought the two friends together and alone, so one could be free to listen and the other free to share the LORD. It was a simple, spiritual meeting where the lost man came to know Jesus!

The passage of Scripture at the top of this letter exhibits both sides of the salvation story: “Ask, and it will be given to you” is the directive for the one who is lost. “…for everyone who asks receives…”

There are no restrictions regarding the asking, only that you ask. Still, the directive in our first verse above says that asking is definitely required. God is not playing games. He is in the “rescue business.” He died on the cross and arose from the dead to rescue us from sin. Are you looking to be saved? “Ask,
and it shall be given to you…”

You may have heard it said that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Nothing could be truer than that. We would not be celebrating His birth if He were not the Christ. We could not know the joys and benefits of salvation if He had not died and arisen from the grave.

Make this the greatest CHRISTmas you have ever known! Ask
Jesus into your heart and life! His promise is clear. You will find Him; and all that He is and has to offer will be opened to you.

Oh, and for those of you who have already trusted the LORD, go “dear” hunting. There are scores of people who have need for Christ in their lives. God’s plan of salvation is the greatest gift you can give them!

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,

Micah 4:1-5, “And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say, ‘Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.
4 Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.”

Although these words of the Prophet Micah may not precisely speak to the current needs of our nation and other nations of the world, they do insist that the focus of all mankind be upon the LORD alone!

The hands of the LORD control the machinery of the world. Those who focus only upon the developments of science are prone to ignore the presence and power of the LORD. Thus, everything to them lies in the hands of mortal man. If they believe that all power originates from and relegates only to science, they are contributing to the works of the Adversary the Scriptures call Satan.

We must return to God! He is our only hope! He is the only Light in these darkening days of world disaster! That “return” commences with you; for if it is not from you, from whom will it originate? “Today is the day of salvation!” If not today…when?

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 1:1-6, “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 would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

These words from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians were composed when he was enroute to Jerusalem to complete a religious vow. He also distinctly teaches that the Father prepared the body in which the LORD Jesus Christ would suffer, but that it might also be a body in which His Son would ultimately be glorified.

Unfortunate as it is, many (dare I say most?) churches today demonstrate little-to-nothing of the glory the Father intended of them. His intention that His Church should be prayerful, unified, edifying of its members, bathing the areas of humanity it serves with His love, too often falls short of the intention.

In far too many instances, the Church has diminished into a “religious” social-club that worships itself rather than the LORD, who is the Author’s intended. Pastors of those “megaclubs” devote their focus on the personal-social betterment of their audience, rather than on the LORD, who gave His Life on the Cross for their sins and ours.

Our purpose in attending church ought always to be to prayerful and reverent of the LORD, giving close attention to the ministry of His Word that we might become more like Christ Jesus in our love for Him and for others for whom He died. We should pray that our nation’s leadership might know and follow the LORD’s directive, that we might always praise Him and follow His leading.

Still, it always commences with our yielding to His love and directive. So, let us be prayerful and faithful to His leading.

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