The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 8:34-38, “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them,
‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and
follow Me.
35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake
and the gospel’s will save it.
36 ‘For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
37 ‘For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 ‘For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father
with the holy angels.’”

There is as much difficulty, if not more, in following Jesus than there is for Hamas to
surrender to the Israeli forces with whom they find themselves locked in severe conflict.
I site the physical difficulties of the two opponents to note how difficult it is for all people
to allow the LORD to control their lives.

Believing that we are already spiritually right, immediately places us in opposition to the
LORD Jesus Christ! Were we “already spiritually right,” He would never have come and
willingly died as His Father’s sacrifice for our sins. Furthermore, how do we answer the
One who died for our sins? Surely, we wouldn’t say, “I didn’t need You.”

Surrendering to Jesus means acknowledging Him to be who He claimed to be. It also
means the surrender of our lives to Him. His Word, the Holy Scriptures, tells us who He
is and what He wants us to become. Surrender is a complete denial of ownership with
respect to one’s life. It’s somewhat like enlisting in the military. From the moment of
induction, you lose complete control of your life. It then belongs completely to the military!

Yet, the exchange of your life for His is thoroughly beneficial. There exists no credible
insurance other than that which the LORD supplies! “I am with you always,” He says,
“even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

To help you to further understand salvation, I have placed a digital version of the Gospel
below for your convenience. I wrote it many years ago and it has proved helpful to those
who need to meet Christ. I trust that it will help you to come to know Him.

You may also feel free to forward it to others who need Him. From the way things are
developing in our world today, it may not be long before the LORD Jesus comes again,
just as He said. God bless you abundantly! You will be in my prayers.

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