The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 2:4-13, “Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.’

Someone once wrote —

“English is a strange language;
It’s as strange as it can be;
It killed the ancient Romans,
And now it’s killing me.”

Sometimes what is said with specific intention is misunderstood because the words are unintentionally twisted or simply put in the wrong place. This, I fear, is what happened when the Magi said, “We have seen His Star in the east…”
It was not the star that was in the east; it was the wise men. Thus, it might better have been stated, “We in the east have seen His Star.”

Where you currently are in life may not be of first importance; but it is of vital importance whether you have found and accepted Him! The wise men were wise because they sought Him. They were wiser still when they found Him.
Have you found Him? Have you honestly sought Him? The Bible teaches that He is seeking you!

That was true of the Magi, too. When they found Him, they worshipped Him.
It is the Father’s desire that we, too, worship His Son, Jesus. Is Jesus the object of your worship? There is no time like the present to yield your life to Him! Just pray with me –

Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner and have done
many wrong things in my life. I know that Jesus loves
me and died on the Cross to save me from my sins.
Right now, I yield my heart and life to You. Forgive
me of my sin and come into my life and save me.
In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

Now, thank Him for His forgiveness and for His love and for saving you.
Start reading the Bible every day. You will experience a difference in your
life. His love will take charge of you more every day. You will sense the
difference, and you will commence to love those whom you could not
love before.

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 1:1-5, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,
2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,
3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;
4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.”

From the verses above, we can learn that the Herod was King of Judea when Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was serving as a priest in the Temple of the LORD. The approximate date is 37 BC–4 AD. Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, was a relative of Mary; and Elizabeth gave birth to John only a few months before Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Luke 1:6 gives us the LORD’s requirements, which were attended to most carefully. “They (the families) were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the LORD.”

The key to the LORD bringing these boys into the lives of the two families
was that the families were “walking blamelessly” in every way before the
LORD. We have no idea how faithfully the LORD could deal with our lives if
we were spiritually all that He wants us to be!

Would you believe that even CHRISTmas could be more meaningful to us if we were committedly obedient to Him? Shamefully, however, we have allowed the celebrated time of our Messiah’s birth to be cluttered with virtually everything except Christ Jesus Himself!

Certainly, the LORD does not expect us to withdraw from everyone and hibernate until the day of celebration has passed. We celebrate Thanksgiving and we also celebrate Christmas. Yet, the very meaning of the word “celebrate” indicates that we have not forgotten the true meanings of these days.

Thanksgiving remembers the LORD for His watchcare in safely bringing our forefathers to this then New World. Christmas remembers and celebrates the LORD Jesus’ birthday. Without His guidance and protection, we would not be a politically free people. And without His love, death and resurrection, we would not be spiritually free with Heaven clearly in view. Do you know Him in true salvation? “He only a prayer away.”

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 1:26-32, “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David…’”

Do you remember the old saying, “God gave us two ears and one mouth, so we’re to listen twice as much as we talk.” Some things we encouter simply defy a verbal response! Bless her heart, Mary didn’t panic!

Think about how you would respond if an angel suddenly appeared and spoke to you, saying, “Greetings, favored one! The LORD is with you.’! It’s almost amusing to read the words “very perplexed,” as the attitude of Mary’s non-response. Apparently, she was exceedingly frightened because the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid…” Not many things frighten me, but I have to admit that I’d be surprised even if an angel appeared and said nothing!

Another surprise is about to come, too. It’s when the angel announces Mary’s coming pregnancy! She’s not even engaged to a man, much less, married. Yet, the announcement is not really about Mary. It’s delivered to her; and, yes, she’s involved; but it’s not about her!

Some of you dear readers are yourselves afraid! Otherwise, you’d be reading
your Bibles every day! Do you know that some people are actually afraid of what the Bible says? There are a lot of “bewares” in the Bible, and some are downright scary! But, they’re put there for our instructional betterment. I’m confident there will be many who will contend, “I didn’t know that!!” when they stand before Jesus! Well, it’s all in His Book!

Determine today to start reading the Bible every day! Set a goal! Read the
Bible through this next year! Learn to pray to God as you read. It’s all there…for you and for your benefit! What have you got to lose?

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 1:5-16, “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.
11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
13 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.’”

I have to wonder how many readers of this Letter are faithful in praying to the LORD. Far too often, we all neglect to pray as we should. Then suddenly, difficulties surround us and our thoughts turn immediately to the LORD for help. We are blessed that the LORD is always near and faithful to us, and that we also have friends who are timely in trusting the LORD!

Who would have believed that Zacharias and Elizabeth, like Abraham and Sarah, would bear a son in their old age? They had been faithful to the LORD; now He is being faithful to them.

Can any reader of this Letter deny that he would have been frightened to have had an angel from the LORD suddenly appear before him? Yet, despite his sudden fear, Zacharias learned that his prayers had been answered and his wife would indeed bear a son. The son would be called John –John the Baptist– and like Elijah, John would turn many Israelites away from sin and back to the LORD their God.

John’s life and ministry would be directed by the Holy Spirit. Simultaneously, he was to refrain from wine and liquor, and be controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God. Oh, that our lives were so thoroughly controlled!
Are you and I what we ought to be in the sight of the LORD? Are we faithful? prayerful? obedient? Could it be that is why we see so few coming to 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

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 12:25-29, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.
26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.’
27 This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
29 for our God is a consuming fire.”

The 11th chapter of Hebrews is commonly known as the “faith chapter.” In it, the Apostle Paul lists a number of believers who suffered death as they stood for the LORD in earlier days. It is Paul’s contention that the opposition to Jesus Christ will continue as long as there are unbelievers.

Paul offers an historical list of those who paid for their faithful stand with their own blood. He then turns to warn us –his readers– lest we encounter the same. He further states that there is coming a greater devastation. Earth will be shaken even more violently than ever before! Everything that is “loose,” will be further dislodged by the Celestial power of Almighty God!

It is perhaps helpful to remind ourselves of the Worldwide Flood that occurred in the days of Noah! Mankind had become so vile and antagonistic toward God, that God said, “I’VE HAD ENOUGH!” And the world was destroyed by water! The celestial destruction, however, will be far greater! Things hidden from us by the LORD will be temporarily revealed, then suddenly destroyed!

The mind of this writer admits to an inability to even partially conceive of what Paul envisions in these verses. It is sufficient to say that world devastation is coming and mankind’s only hope of survival lies in the LORD Jesus Christ. Do you know Him? Have you accepted Him as your LORD? He is our only avenue of escape. Ask Him into your own heart and life today! Salvation lies not in any specific church; it lies only in the LORD Jesus Christ, who went to the Cross for your salvation. Ask His forgiveness today! Time will slip by, He will come, and you will be left behind.

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