The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 9:1 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;
4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting…”

1 John 1:5-7, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

As far back as I can remember, I have been “fascinated” with this Acts passage. As a young man, Saul of Tarsus was the chief persecutor of the Church. He hated Christians, and with full Jewish authority, he imprisoned and executed many of them. Yet, on the Road to Damascus, Christ Jesus arrested him with His own heavenly Light. It was to be the end of Saul’s persecution work and the beginning of his sharing salvation through Jesus Christ his LORD!

The Apostle John enlarges the witness of Christ, calling Him the Light of the Christian Message. In the three verses of his first letter to the Church, John says that “God is the Light” (the same that Saul of Tarsus saw); and we are to walk in His Light and enjoy fellowship with other believers. We have access to Jesus Christ through His blood that cleanses us from our sin.

Stop and think: Do you truly know Jesus? You know about Him; but a lot of people know about Him. You can know Him personally. When you yield your life to Him, He changes you from inside out! He then gives you the Holy Spirit to guide and stabilize your life. Saul was so grateful, he changed his name to Paul, the name that fit his new life! Sound good? Believe me, it is!

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,

John 3:13-18, “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
14 “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.”

What would be your best guess as to which verse above is the most often quoted? If you said, “John 3:16,” you are right! While it is unfortunate that most children have never heard that verse (let alone not having memorized it), verse 16 is still the most often quoted verse in all of the Bible.

Many parents, who were “forced” to attend Sunday School when they were small children, and who know only one verse of Scripture, still know the John 3:16 verse.

Verses 14 and 15, however, speak ahead of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Further still, verses 16 and 17 declare that you and everyone you know can possess Eternal Life by acknowledging the death and resurrection of the LORD Jesus and trusting Him as your LORD and Savior.

Verse 18 declares that salvation is issued to every person “who believes in Him.” Belief, however, is more than just acknowledging that Jesus died on the Cross. It is a deep-seated confidence that Christ died in your place and mine. We deserved to die on the Cross, yet Jesus took our place.

Ask Him to forgive your sins. He loves you and gave Jesus to die in your place. Life is not truly life until you know Him. Trusting Jesus exchanges your life for His, and His Life is eternal!

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,

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