The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Revelation 14:14-18, “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”
14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a Son of man, having a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
16 And He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth; and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven; and he also had a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.”

I’m not certain how other people treat death; nor am I wishing to scare
anyone by saying this, but the older I become, and the more I study the
Scriptures, the more excited I am about Heaven!

When I was younger and pastoring churches, I officiated at many
funerals. I counseled Christians in the effort to allay their fears of death,
and sought every opportunity to win people to Jesus Christ; for it was He who over-came death that we all might live with Him eternally.

Heaven is not a place to be feared. The Scriptures are replete with the
glories of an eternal life with Christ in a spectacular home in Heaven!
Every Scriptural description of Heaven is glorious! When we think of
the devastation many people suffer here on Earth, we should rejoice.

I lost my wife after 64 years of marriage. Losing her was not a happy experience. Death never is. Still, her home in Heaven is exceedingly more glorious and bright than anything she could ever have known here on Earth.

It may be a bit more than difficult to grasp, but it is true:

“Blessed are the dead who die in the LORD…that they
may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

What is your destiny? What causes you to think so?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not
lean on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths
straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).

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,

Psalm 19:7-11, “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”
11 By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward.”
Reading these verses brings to mind how far removed we are from what the LORD requires. We thought the same of our parents when we were quite young. “Why?” became an often-used, one-word question. Yet, it was met with the simple and understandable response: “…because I said so!”
So, why do we now retain childish objections when we are faced with the LORD’s eternal directives? Whenever and wherever we have strayed, the restoration of our souls in the LORD is surely our only hope.

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making us wise beyond ourselves.
The directives that come from the LORD are always right and beneficial. Our hearts warm when we obey them.

The LORD’s commandments are always pure and holy; they erase the
obscurities that would ultimately harm us by enlightening our pathways.

The fear we have of the LORD keeps us spiritually and morally clean, much like the fear of our parents kept us pure and safe in our childhood. We knew the punishment we would endure for ignoring their directives.

In retrospect, we now understand how much more precious than gold, and sweeter than honey, are the ways and directives of the LORD. We know now, too, the ultimate value of purity that resides in the teachings of the LORD.

Thus, we ought daily to pray, thanking Him for His protective custody of
our lives and our eternal souls. May He ever and always be praised!

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,

Lamentations 3:17-25, “My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness.
18 So I say, ‘My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the LORD.’
19 Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.
22 The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
24 ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him.’
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.”
26 It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD.”

We’ve all been there. Some of us have been there more than once. Where? In the valley of despondence, of course. We’ve encountered difficulties of various sorts –things we never dreamed would come to us. So, we prayed; still, nothing happened. It was as if the LORD wasn’t listening.

We’ve confessed every sin we can remember; still, there is no answer from the LORD. What are we to do? Ah, but the prophet experienced some of the same –only his suffering was much more and exceedingly greater! What did the prophet do?

Jeremiah first resorted to positive thoughts. He said, “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.”
Just hearing yourself repeat the prophet’s words aloud seems to engender a ray of hope.

Not every prayer that a child of God offers is answered immediately. Some prayers are so long in reply that we begin to doubt that they’ve even been heard.

Ah, but don’t give up! The LORD has purpose in all that He does. That food that you wanted and wasn’t available, was ultimately found to have been tainted with poison. That airplane you missed—crashed; and several people were severely injured!

The prophet encourages us by reciting his own situation. He says, “It is good that (we) wait silently for the salvation of the LORD.” You can do that. Remember that “the LORD is good to those who wait for Him…”
Just relax and trust His judgment. He never fails; and He’s always on right on time!

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,

Jeremiah 32:16-19, “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I prayed to the LORD, saying,
17 ‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,
18 who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name;
19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds…”

Times change; yet, many things seem not to change. Jeremiah had just engaged in a monetary exchange with Baruch. The exchange closed with Jeremiah praying to the LORD.

He recognizes the power of the LORD in constructing the universe! He grants that the LORD’s power had made the heavens and the earth. He made the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets. He made everything!

“Nothing,” Jeremiah says, “is too difficult for You.” Yet, the construction itself was practical in that it demonstrated the LORD’s lovingkindness for those whom He had created.

One would also believe the LORD to be able to repay the iniquity of those who do not honor and respect Him in all that He says and does. Yet, the power of the LORD exists primarily for the benefit of His own children. At the same time, that same power can be used to destroy. How vital it is that we reject sin that destroys and embrace the Savior who died and rose again to put sin away!

Through His death and resurrection, the LORD enables us to be cleansed from sin and live “to the praise of His glory!” Is that where you are today? Is that what you are doing? …how you are living? … today?

Remember the words of this old hymn…

His power can make you what you ought to be;
His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free;
His love can fill your soul, and you will see
What it means for Him to have His way with thee.

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,

II Timothy 4:13-18, “When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
15 Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.
16 At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.
18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

I was conducting an evangelistic meeting in a church in Virginia. I had said to the audience that the mention of Jesus will often produce an objection from those who do not know Him. I then cited someone by name, illustrating a real life situation.

The meeting had hardly closed when I was approached by someone with a very serious objection to my openly mentioning the name of a person. Immediately, the LORD put Alexander in my mind, and I defended my open usage of the person’s name based on Paul’s citing
of Alexander the coppersmith, who did him much harm.

All of that being what it was, we are to be on guard against those who oppose the message of Jesus Christ. The more vigorous the opposition, the graver the sin in the life of the objector. Still, the LORD will support us in our opposition to sin, if we contend with others in the spirit of love, and the hope of His forgiveness.

When Paul says, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed…,” he was pointing again to the evil deed of Alexander the coppersmith –not to some evil deed that had been committed by the apostle himself. If we live as closely to Christ as did the Apostle Paul, He will deliver us from opposition, also. Don’t be afraid! Seek an “opening” in your conversation with others—an opening for the introduction of Christ to those who need Him. And with regard to that, we all need Him, even those who deny His very existence.

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