The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 14:1-6, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
4 “And you know the way where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

My earthly father possessed many gifts. One of the most
memorable was that of poetry. Most of his poems were spiritual
in nature. The one I think I like the best was put to music by my
mother. You are blessed that I cannot sing it for you, but the words will, I trust, be a blessing to your life.

“When the Master went away, He said, “Don’t sorrow.”
I go you mansions to prepare;
I will come again for you some glad tomorrow;
That you may be with Me over there.

“Go, tell the world the sweet old blessed story;
How I bled and died upon a tree.
I conquored death and then went Home to glory;
I paid the price on Calvary.

“Many years have passed since Jesus went to Heaven;
Those disciples are among the blessed;
And I hope some day to reach that lovely haven,
When He says, ‘Come Home unto thy rest.’”

Chorus: “When the Master went away,
He said, “I’ll come again some day;
Be ye faithful ‘till that day shall come;
Keep your lamps all trimmed and bright;
If the Master comes tonight,
Will you hear Him say to you, ‘Well done’”?
(E. H. & Velma Jeffries)

They will both be blessed to know that others have come to
know their Savior through this simple Grands Letter Ministry!
God bless you, especially at this CHRISTmas Season! This
just could be the season He comes again!

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.”

We all experience the absence of peace and happiness from
time to time, causing us to lose hope that anchors us to the LORD. The loss of friends is sometimes the loss of hope. Sick-ness itself often crowds out joy; yet, the lovingkindnesses of the
LORD never cease.

Hope anchors to the soul. He is our strength and stay: a very
present hope in time of trouble. “…I trust in the LORD. I will
rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness, Because You have
seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul…”
(Ps. 31:6-7).

“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,

Lamentations 3:17-26, “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 loving kindnesses 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.”

Life is composed of multiple blessings. Peace, happiness,
strength, and hope are but a few of the desirables that combine to bring joy. Yet, weakness, affliction and bitterness labor together to destroy the very essence of life and joy.

It is the LORD who provides lovingkindness that never ceases. His compassion is always strong and never fails to uphold us
when we are about to fall. What is more, His compassion renews itself within us, just when we need Him most.

We should cry aloud with the psalmist, “Great is Your faithful-ness!”

Just when I need Him, Jesus is near;
Just when I falter, just when I fear;
Ready to help me, ready to cheer;
Just when I need Him most.

Just when I need Him, Jesus is true;
Never forsaking, all the way through;
Giving for burdens, pleasures anew;
Just when I need Him most.
J. C. Poole (1907)

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,

Joshua 21;43-45, “So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.
44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand.
45 Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.”

Children live on promises! At least, that was the way it was for me. I knew that my parents never lied. They taught me never to
lie; and while it might be a bit of a stretch to say that I have never in my life told a lie, they were amazingly few and always totally “non-toxic!”

“Where is this headed?” you ask. Here’s where: It was in the days of Joshua, that the LORD had promised the fathers of Israel the very land where Israel today is waging war against Hamas, her current enemies. The Jewish people are actually living in the land the LORD promised and gave to Joshua back around 1400 B.C.!

All of this says that you and I are witnessing (albeit, via television) what the LORD knew 3,700 years ago would come
to pass! What’s more, the vile, despicable, inhumane activities of Hamas against Israeli women and children is demonstrative of how utterly wicked the human heart actually is!

Someone once said, “The price of sin was so great that only
Jesus could pay it. Still, the price of sin was so great that not
even Jesus could pay it again.”

His death and resurrection is our only Hope in this unrelentingly cruel world in which we live. I accepted Him as my Savior and LORD 81 years ago! I have since shared His love and His opportunity for forgiveness of sin throughout the world now for many years. He is patient, yet there is an end to His patience. “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart…” (Psa. 95:7-8).

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,

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

I’m sure you will forgive me for not recalling the first time I attended a funeral. You may have the same difficulty as I in remembering your first funeral. Yet, what I do remember is that those being buried were professing believers in Jesus Christ.

It’s important to know, however, that those who believed and trusted in Jesus before they died, will one day be raised alive from the dead! This is the certainty of Paul’s teaching in this passage. I have ultimately attended many burials, some in which I officiated. In some, there were delicate smiles of warm
remembrances; in others, there were screams of uncertainty!

Jesus taught us that He would one day come again. His coming
will be announced with the archangel’s shout and with the Trumpet of God! Those who are alive and trusting in Jesus, will hear both; and the dead, who were committed to Him in life will arise from their graves and join the living believers in a gigantic resurrection!

Those who are not committed believers will be forever left behind and without hope. There will be no second opportunity. Belief is not tied to any particular church. It is tied only to a personal, commitment of trust in the LORD Jesus Christ. Do you have a trust like that? Is your hope for eternity grounded in faith in Jesus Christ? The Bible says that He is the only hope. On what are you anchoring your hope? Jesus is the only way! I am praying 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