The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 2:36-41, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ– this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”

The Nation of Israel is the geographic central of the known world. It was designated so by the LORD Himself. Thus, it is highly appropriate for Simon Peter, himself a Jew and a believer, to cry out accusingly to his fellow countrymen that God the Father had made His Son, Jesus, both LORD and Christ.

This announcement on the heels, as it were, of the message of salvation spoken by those amazing “tongues of fire.” Yet, for the people who heard the message, it was not sufficient. Those who heard the message, cried out “What shall we do?” They were required to act with truthfulness upon the message itself.

Peter identified Jesus Christ as the One who died on the Cross –the Father’s atonement for the sins of all humanity, Jews and Gentiles alike. Yet, for that atonement to apply, mankind must act in faith, believing that Jesus died for them.
The baptism of which Peter spoke was not for salvation. It was intended then (as of now) as a public demonstration of one who has repented of his sin and, in full immersion, is identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not awarded for any “works,” regardless of how meaningful and sincere one might be.

“Jesus paid it all;
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.”

Have you turned from your sins and put your faith in Him? He died on the Cross for you! All He requires is that you repent (confess and turn from your sins) and yield your life to Him. He always does better for us than we can do for ourselves. May God help you to trust Him!

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,

Acts 2:22-28, “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know–
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
25 “For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.
26 ‘THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;
27 BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.
28 ‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’”

Luke is the author of the Book of Acts. He was, by profession, a medical doctor, making him an excellent scribe for the Apostle Paul, as well as a supreme historian.
He clearly and definitively testifies to the LORD’s miracles, as he lays out the Father’s plan for man’s redemption.

The key to our redemption is no less than the Father’s sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the Cross of Calvary. (Remember Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his
son, Isaac? It was a precursor to the Calvary experience of the LORD Jesus Christ. Further, too, it demonstrated Jesus’ Resurrection. Luke tells us what all of this meant to David –that he would “not (be) abandoned to Hades…” or suffer decay (death).

David credits the LORD with having given him life when he says, “YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.” Isn’t that what we all desire? Why, then, do we turn to the
lesser things of life instead of the LORD Jesus? There is no “gladness” like the gladness we experience in when we yield ourselves to Him! What He worked in the life of David, He will work in your life as well. Trust Him and experience True 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

Dear Grands,

Acts 2:8-16, “And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?
9″Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11Cretans and Arabs– we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
12And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
“And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?
9 ‘Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11Cretans and Arabs– we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
12And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’
13But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”
14But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
15″For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;
16but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel…”

Whenever there’s a miraculous occurrence, there is always someone who believes he knows what it’s all about, and he willingly and boldly gives his opinion. Others simply believe the occurrence is some kind of trick. On this occasion, some jokingly said that the men were drunk.

I have personally witnessed people who uttered sounds that they claimed were from the Holy Spirit; but the “language” was not at all discernable. The words themselves were not discernable words; nor were they like any language I had ever heard. Yet, they credited what was said to have been from the Holy Spirit. All I could say was that I had no idea what the “words” were or what thoughts they intended to convey.

In the passage above, Peter identified 15 or more language groups, and those in each group heard and understood the message of salvation in their own language. Clearly, this entire experience was the work of the Holy Spirit, and each language group understood the LORD’s message in their own language.

We need to understand that there are people in our world today who need the LORD. He longs to save them, and reaches out to them in ways that they are able to discern and respond to His message. What is also important is that we live for Him so that people will see Him living through us. Do you know Him? Does your life “speak” the language of salvation? Have you shared Him with someone? If this were important in Peter’s day –and it clearly was—it is exceedingly more important today!

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,

Acts 2:1-8, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
5Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.
6And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.
7They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8″And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?”

The word “Pentecost” means 50; so, the “day of Pentecost” always occurred on the 50th day following the ingathering of the first fruits. Our text assures us that the believers were “together in one place.” The origin of this holy ordinance is mentioned in Leviticus 23:17.

The idea of them being “together” might well indicate that they were not only together physically, but together in their mental and spiritual focus on the LORD. Nothing works well without “togetherness.” Remember mom saying, “Well, if you kids can’t get along with each other here at home, we’ll just not go out where others can witness your despicable behavior!” It’s far-fetched to believe the LORD would not have withheld what He ultimately allowed them to witness if there had been disagreements within the group.

What arrested the attention of those early Christians that day was first, “a violent, rushing wind.” When the LORD had their attention, He sent forth visible “tongues of fire” that rested on each believer in the group. “Tongues” (?????? glossa) may be translated either as “tongue” (as in the mouth) or “language” (as also from the mouth).

The Galileans’ language dialect differed significantly from that of the Israelites, leading the Jews to ask, “…are not all these who are speaking Galileans?” Yet, despite their inability to understanding the Galilean language, they understood what was being said in the alien language (dialektos). Miracles like this can (and I am persuaded) do occur, when people are spiritually compatible.

Yet, these miracles had a far deeper mission: it was for those who were spiritually ready. Maybe our focus today is on the “miracle” instead of the “message” the miracle contained.

What kind of miracle do you need in your life? Get clean with the LORD and ask. He lives for you just as He died for you. Trust Him and see.

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,

Acts 1:1-11. “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’
7 He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.’
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’”

One of the most difficult things in the world is waiting! As a kid, I hated waiting! It seemed we were always waiting for something or someone. My aunt was coming from Baltimore, and we were waiting for her arrival! Yes, I was allowed to play with my cousins just a few blocks away; but for now, we were waiting! It never stopped! –at least, it seemed that way.

I can only imagine the frustration of Jesus’ disciples, as they were gathered and waiting in the upper room. It was the LORD Jesus’ directive that they should wait –but for what? and for how long? All He had told them was that the Father had power and control over everything. Something big was going to occur. But for now, they were waiting.

Some things are worth the wait! This occasion certainly was, because while they waited and watched, Jesus suddenly started “floating” upward into the air. He was ascending to His Father in Heaven. It was all just as He had promised. And then it was over.

The Scriptures teach that this same Jesus, born in Bethlehem, crucified in Jerusalem, and now ascending to His Heavenly Father –would return! When? Again, we’re merely waiting! Still, Jesus said He would return. Those who have trusted Him as LORD and Savior have good reason to see His return. Those who have not – well, the Scriptures say they will face Great devastation in the fires of Hell! What a sobering thought! If you have not personally trusted Him as your Savior, do it now!
It will make waiting for His Return that much more worthwhile.

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