The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

Anytime we willfully encounter something we’ve not previously encountered, we can speak of it as a “faith-encounter.” Take bungee jumping. You have to trust the cord that it is designed to withstand your weight as well as its secure binding to something grounded and stable– something with sufficient elasticity to withstand your weight without being disconnected at the terminal point of your jump. In short, you have to believe the cord will withstand your weight when it is thoroughly challenged to do so.

Faith, therefore, may be defined as “believing in something or someone” whom you have
never previously trusted. We exercise faith when we agree to bodily surgery. We exercise
faith when we eat a food we’ve never before eaten. I exercise faith every time I submit
myself to the massage chair because I was once literally “bound” to the chair when the electricity decided to cease its participation!

Yet, these expressions of “faith” are quite minimal when compared with faith in the LORD
Jesus Christ and what He can accomplish. I put my faith in Him when I accepted His
promise to save me 80 years ago. And it was the continuance of faith that prompted me to share His Good News with thousands of people around the world.

If you have never experienced faith in Jesus Christ, I urge you to do it today! He is stable
and able to forgive your sins and to set your feet on paths that He Himself has walked. There’s a ine in a song that epitimizes all I’m saying:

“There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
No, not one! no, not one!
None else can heal all our souls’ diseases:
No, not one! no, not one!”

Now, in simple faith, ask Him to save you; trust Him with your life. You’ll forever be glad that you did!

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,

Daniel 5:1-4. “Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.
2 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple, which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.
3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God, which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.
4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.”

Did you ever devise a plan that turned out all wrong? Have you ever known someone who experienced an unexpected tragedy when he had been drinking? Do you or any of your friends ever honor or mess with gods that do not exist? Doing that is tantamount to mocking the True and Living God. You don’t want to anger Him! He is the Supreme Being of all time! He constructed and maintains the entire Universe in which we live. He is
powerful beyond words; yet He is kind and loving, and understands us and all of our needs.

Galatians 6:7-10, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

Sometimes situations are so complicated that it often takes more time for us to receive what we want than we had hoped or planned. At the same time, there are people who need our attention and the provisions that we have. If we assess that the LORD truly wants us to help others, we need only to trust Him to lead us. Things will occur on time; others will be helped, and we will know the joy of having worked with Him.

Daniel 5:5-6, “Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.
6 Then the king’s face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together.”

You don’t ever want to mock God or even summon the power of His Hand against you. He loves you, but will never overlook our selfish attitudes or unconfessed sins. Trust Him with your life. He loves and cares for you.

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,

Revelation 20:1-6, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

If there was ever any doubt in your mind about who killed the two Murdaughs, the evidence has now brought everything to light and justice, including the true villain. If there is any confusion in your mind about the end
times, this verse that comes to us from the Scripture should be comforting. This verse brings to mind the Scripture that says, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23).

“For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous, so that the righteous will not put
forth their hands to do wrong. Do good, O LORD, to those who are good and to those who are upright in their
hearts. But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, The LORD will lead them away with the doers
of iniquity” (Ps. 125:3-5).

The Scriptures inspire the righteous! The inestimable glory of the Life to come does not shudder in the face of
evil. When I asked you to pray for Alex Murdaugh, it was for his soul I was asking. Many South Carolina
residents are solid, spiritually-minded Christian people. Unfortunately, there are also many who are not.

Yet, the spaces allotted to those who occupy prison cells are not to be compared with the glorious, spaciousness of Eternity’s provisions for the Righteous. It is they, who are committed to Jesus Christ. “I go to prepare a place for you,” He said, “that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:3).

Does your life belong to Him? If not, why not? Are you ready for the challenge to share Christ with the lost? The signs of His Return are rapidly increasing in our midst. We must be ready, lest His Coming catches us unaware! Then, what will become of those who do not know Him? He will simply answer, “I never knew you!”

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 11:20-26, “…there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.
22 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.
23 Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;
24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.
25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;
26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

I want to ask some strange and meaningful questions. Do you know how many times the word “give” is mentioned in the Bible? Would you believe it is in excess of 2300 times? That’s true. Would you hazzard a guess as to how many definitions there are to the word “give”? It is in excess of 30– thirty different definitions of the four-letter word “give.” Don’t get excited! I’m not going to list them for you or ask you to look them up. But, I will admit that I was shocked that there were that many different definitions to that little four letter word, g-i-v-e.

Now, let me ask if you know how many different definitions there are for the word “Christian.” Personally, I have no idea. To some. it depends upon whom you ask. Some people will say that a Christian is someone who isn’t a Jew. Others will say that it depends upon whether you attend or joined a “Christian” church, or whether you believe the Bible or whether you consciously omit from your life some of the things that do not honor or depict Jesus, the Founder of the Christian faith. There are a lot of varying ideas, aren’t there?

Well, the truthful answer to “what a ‘Christian’ is” comes to us from the Bible –especially, the New Testament. A Christian is an ordinary person of any ethnic background, who has learned from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Son of God, and has believed and trusted Him to forgive his sin. That’s the guarantee of Eternal life, as described in the Scriptures. Does that definition fit you? If it does, you can praise thd LORD.

But, if that definition doesn’t fit you, you need to do something about it. Does confessing your sin and accepting Jesus sound like a good solution? It had better, because there is no other person or way to embrace that guarantee. And when you do trust Jesus, you will be called “Christian”; and your life and testimony will begin to show others that the true and only way is in Jesus. God bless you!

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,

Leviticus 6:1-5, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 ‘When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his
companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery,
or if he has extorted from his companion,
3 or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in
regard to any one of the things a man may do;
4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he
took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to
him or the lost thing which he found,
5 or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and
add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he
presents his guilt offering.’”

“I sure don’t have it. I have no idea where it is. I’m not sure that you ever gave it to me.”
Have words like these ever come from you? Maybe not these exact words, but at
some point you have looked a friend squarely in the eye and denied what you knew
in your heart was not true! What you did was Robbery (vv. 2-3), and robbery is a sin
against the LORD!

Deceit is also a sin against the LORD? It differs a bit from robbery in that there need
not be anything physical involved. It’s just a bit more skillful lying. In one way, it’s a
game of pretense.

In any event, Restoration (vv. 4-5) is a requirement of the LORD! Many years ago,
a man I knew and trusted offered me an opportunity to make considerable money by
just investing a small sum. He said he had invested and it was paying back far more
than when he had started. I took him at his word and invested what at that time was
to me a considerable sum.

Time went by and the investment showed no productivity. Worse still, the productivity
had gone down instead of up! Close investigation showed that the money was gone!
Immediately, I contacted the one who had convinced me to invest, and he returned the
earnest money I had given him.

The Scripture passages above are quite clear. None of us wants to be on the losing
end of anything. Money is a commodaty we all need. Yet, we must never rob anyone.
If we do, restoration of the full amount plus 20 percent is the LORD’s clear requirement.
We cannot afford to ignore His command.

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