The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

It is virtually impossible to avoid an encounter with a liar in today’s environment. There was a
time when young people were taught that lying about anything was a serious offense. Yet, many youths today have parents who lie –some, even to each other—making it virtually impossible to teach the children that lying is totally unacceptable in all situations.

Somewhere in my youthful days, I learned that people who will lie will do anything that’s wrong.
Perhaps that is because they have done wrong and are lying in the effort to escape the punishment. Some lies are so preposterous that no one in their right mind would ever believe them. The key to understanding whether something is genuinely true comes by exposing it to true light.

Our passage above indicates that the dead, both “the great and the small” (meaning the prominent in this earthly life and the insignificant), will be brought to justice before the LORD. The passage also speaks to two books. One Book, we understand to contain the deeds of all, who stand before the LORD, while the other Book –the Book of Life– contains the names of those who have accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior, the born-again believers in Christ Jesus.

That “the sea gave up her dead,” indicates those who perished at sea. Their dead bodies were
undoubtedly devoured by hungry sea creatures. Yet, they feasted only on the corpses they discovered in the sea. God had not lost track of their spirits or spiritual conditions prior to their deaths. They will not escape God’s Judgment.

The only true and sure escape from God’s Judgment is to confess sins while we are alive and able to do so. God already knows every sin you and I have committed over the entire span of
our lifetimes. He even knows who will and who will not accept His Son Jesus as their Savior.
Nevertheless, He does not consign anyone to Heaven or to Hell without the opportunity for them to confess and believe.

Thus, we need to seriously confess our sins and accept the LORD Jesus Christ as our Savior. Have you confessed your sins to Him? Have you believed upon Him as the Father’s Supreme
Sacrifice for your sin? It’s far more than attending or even belonging to a church of any faith.
The LORD accepts nothing but faith and trust in His Son, Jesus, as the sacrifice for our sin.

Why not accept Him today? Just pray this simple prayer and mean it! You’ll then understand the
difference.

“Dear LORD Jesus, I confess to being a sinner. Your Word says that You will save
those who come to You confessing their sins. Please forgive me for all the things
I have done that have not been pleasing and acceptable to You. I know Your Son
Jesus died on the Cross for me. He died to save me from sin. I am grateful for Your
love and His sacrifice. Please forgive me and accept me as one of Your children. In
Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.”

When you have prayed and received Christ as your LORD, I would love to hear from you!

And to those of you who are already saved, thank you for praying for those who are not,
and remember that many have yet to trust Him. Pray and witness as time gets shorter.
God bless you abundantly!

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,

Romans 15:1-6, “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.”
4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

How well I remember “Sugar Kane!” She was an elderly member of our church and taught us kids what being a Christian was all about. One day in class, she commenced by saying, “Now today, we’re all going to do just as we please.” Wow! There were a lot of us who were thinking what a great day this was going to be! (Yes, I was one of those…)

But, those words had not completed her thought. “Now today, we’re all going to do just as we please, so long as we please to do right.” Gurrr, we all thought. Why did she go and mess things up when we were headed for a really good time? Yes, we knew why. In a sense, she was speaking of the weaknesses of those of us who were wanting only to please ourselves.

The Apostle Paul points out that even Christ Jesus “did not please Himself.” As He went went to the Cross, He was pleasing His Father. How often do we undertake things to please other people? How are we to know what pleases others? or what pleases God?

The Apostle Paul clearly indicates that the Scriptures (Paul’s “Scriptures” were the books of the Old Testament) were “written for our insturction” and for the encouragement of others. What kind of encouragement? Encouragement to agree with others “according to Christ Jesus” (vv. 5-6).

Sometimes in team sports there are those “hot shots,” who try to impress others with
their personal athletic ability, but end up causing the team to lose the game. Sugar Kane knew the ultiment cost if we didn’t all work together. It’s just a factor of life. That’s why Christ wants us to work together with others. Is that what you are doing? Are you
sharing Jesus with others? Are you praying for others? Christianity is more than a sport; but together we will do as He pleases: working together and sharing Him with others. Still, the time is short.

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