The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 9:14-18, “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
16 “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.
17 “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

My dear, sweet mother was a worrywart! She worried about a lot of things! She used to say it was okay to worry because nothing she ever worried about ever happened! Dad was humorously phlegmatic (if that’s not a contradiction in terms)!

Jesus talked a bit about worry when He spoke of the good seed falling among thorns. A verse or two later in our passage above, He said, “…nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

Does that resonate when compared with the news we are hearing today? It certainly should! It clearly parallels with the saying, “You can’t do wrong and get by.” Somewhere, sometime, someone will
discover your wrong and you will pay the price! It doesn’t matter how much money you have or how secretive you’ve been, the truth
will ultimately come out!

I won’t try and kid you by saying that I never did anything wrong. I certainly have! Yet, everything I ever did that was wrong came back to haunt me. All sins need to be soaked and scrubbed in the forgiveness of our LORD Jesus Christ! But, the Good News is that Jesus will forgive you!

Thoughts themselves are often in need of forgiveness. “No one knows,” you say. Ah, but the only One Who really counts knows! All sin is ultimately against Him. The Good News is that He will forgive us. You and I just need to confess (admit) that we’ve been wrong. It’s so easy to see the sins of others; but what about our own sin? That’s why Jesus died on the cross. He was the Father’s Supreme Sacrifice for the sins we’ve committed. Will He really and truly forgive us? He will; and He says He will. Give Him that opportunity in your life. I’ve found it to be true in mine!

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,

Ephesians 2:1-7, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Sin produces death; and human participation in the things of this world is sinful. “What things?” you ask. Ungodly things of the flesh and of the mind.

“But, doesn’t everyone engage in things like that?” More than likely they do; yet, it’s still wrong, according to the Word the LORD.

“It must call for a natural way of behavior, don’t you think?” That may be; yet, according to the Scripture, it is wrong, and God is displeased with us when we allow wrong things to occupy our minds and our hearts.

“But if this is the way I am, what can be done about it?” God has a plan, and He has shared that plan with everyone through His Holy Scripture, the Bible.

“But if we’re ‘dead in our transgressions,’ as the Scripture says, how are we to be made alive so that we can live as the LORD God intends? The passage introduced above in this Letter, tells us how. It says that God is “rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.”

The word “mercy” means “to take the hurt out.” Yet, it’s even more than that. Because God loves us, “He will make us alive together with Christ.” Jesus Christ became His Father’s sacrifice on the Cross for our sins. Someone once said, “The price of sin was so great that only Jesus could pay it. In fact, the price was so great that not even Jesus could pay it again.”

But how does that apply to my life? God applies it to all of the lives of those who believe and trust in Jesus as the Sacrifice for their sin. When we are rescued from sin, Jesus becomes our Savior! Heaven then becomes our home for eternity. There’s an old hymn that says, “The way of the cross leads Home.”

If what you’ve read above has yet to become real in your life, just ask the LORD to forgive your sins; then, believe that He has. If you’re sincere, you can become a Christian before this Letter is completed. Just believe in Jesus and thank Him for dying on the cross for you. He will then let you know that you have been saved.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We may never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Haggai 1:6-9, “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
7 Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways!
8 “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the LORD.
9 “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the LORD of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

Sometimes the Old Testament seems difficult to understand when viewed in the context of our own time. Take these verses listed above. They seem absolutely foreign in many ways; yet, if we pause and think carefully, we can see a clear parallel between the days of Haggai and our own time.

It was a time of economic decline. Those who had work received wages, but they were so meagre it was as if they had tossed the coins into a rabbit hole. Could the root of the problem possibly lie somewhere else? Indeed, it could! In fact, it does!

“Consider your ways!” said the LORD. The people had neglected the LORD’s House! Translating that into our time and allowing somewhat the same circumstances, we have grossly neglected the will of the LORD for our lives. It’s not today’s church buildings that concerns the LORD; it’s the our lack of spiritual focus on those around us. It’s our failure to speak to our neighbors and those we meet incidentally in stores as we shop.

Initially, we witness via our attitude toward others. Some we just encounter in our day-by-day “explorations.” It’s stopping someone walking a dog through our neighborhood. It’s returning a wave with a big smile to someone who has waved at us. It’s saying “Hi!” with a smile to some kids riding their bikes up and down the street.

It’s showing genuine sympathy when someone is moving away from the area, or when a family’s in sorrow over losing a loved one. It’s all part of our showing the love of Jesus Christ to those around us.

Of course, it’s even more than all of that. “Building” the LORD’s House is quite different from giving to the Church’s building fund. The real Church is not where people gather to worship. The real Church is the people, who are gathered to worship the LORD.

Although Haggai was looking for a material building where the LORD lived in his day, worship goes much further for us. Reading the Bible is worship. Prayer is worship. Singing is worship. If Christ lives in us, it will be believed when people see that we love them, and want them to know and love Him!

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 37:12-17, “The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him, for He sees his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow to cast down the afflicted and the needy, to slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart, and their bows will be broken.
16 Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD sustains the righteous.

So much evil prevails in the days in which we live! The psalmist
sees our days just as he saw his own. We live in days that excuse
the evil and chastise the good. Those who have done evil, act as if they have done no wrong. Instead, they openly behave as if the wrong exists within those who are good.

Unfortunately, we live in an era that overlooks the way of the transgressor and lays all blame upon those who do good. The Word clearly states that it is the “wicked (who) have drawn the sword and bent the bow…” intending “to slay those who are upright in conduct” (Psa. 37:14).

The Word of the LORD says that for those who live and behave wickedly, their only hope is to repent of their sin and trust the LORD Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Otherwise, the “arms of the wicked will be broken” as “the LORD sustains the righteous.”

“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand all things. Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked, though he be rich (Prov. 28:5-6).

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil…out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Lk. 6:45).

“But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the
things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from
whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which areable to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:13-15).

May the LORD preserve us and maintain our nation on the right
course; and may we be led to pray for those upon whose hearts
and lives the preservation of our blessed nation depends!

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 37:4-11, “Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
11 But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”

Have you ever honestly felt the need for encouragement? Things just seem to go wrong and there’s no easy way to make them right. You could ask your best friends to help; but they face the same dilemmas you face. Where can we (oh, I’m in this, too!) find help?

Clearly, true and honest help begins when we delight outselves in
the LORD. I have never been one to allow discouragement. I do not mean that discouragement never steps on my welcome mat; what I mean is that I’m not easily discouraged.

But, in those few times when I am assailed with things that seek to bring me down, I look to the LORD and rest in His Word! I delight in Him, and I refuse to give in to discouragement! Of course, negative things have sought to drown me, just as they have you. Yet, the promises of His Word are that “evildoers will be cut off…, and the wicked…will be no more.”

How are we to realize the downfall of the wicked? It is by trusting the LORD without the slightest of doubt. Oh, yes, Satan will seek to discourage us; but our spiritual affiliation with the LORD Himself will utterly prevail. Trusting and resting in the LORD is the key. It may not appear so, but He is in control; and no one is able to stand against Him!

Earnest prayer and consistent daily Bible study “feed” the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Just “trust in Him” and “He will give you the desires of your heart.” I will be praying for you! Please pray
for me, as well.

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