The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Revelation 14:12-13, “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may
rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

Dedicated to the Memory of my dear friend,
Dr. Donald Joseph Ralston

The short passage above skillfully intermingles life and death. The 12th verse speaks of the perseverance of life for the saints. At the same time, the 13th verse allows that believers do in fact die. Yet, the death is not the end; it is merely a rest from spiritual labors for the one who belongs to the LORD.

Today’s telephone call rocked my world! It, too, was mingled in message, much like the passage of Scripture. It was brief, warmly conveyed, yet succinct in delivery: Dad passed away in his sleep.

“Dad” was my dear friend, Don. We first met on the evangelistic platform of the Mary Ann Baptist Church, St. Ann, Missouri. I had been asked to preach in a week-long evangelistic outreach, and Don Ralston had been selected to lead the music. Interestingly enough, the meeting that first night was underway before the two of us had had opportunity to actually meet. Yet, when we did meet, our meeting was one of instant, spiritual loving friendship that clearly focused on the LORD Jesus Christ.

Don Ralston, I learned, had come to know the LORD in one of the strangest ways I’ve ever known. A girl he knew, and was dating at the time, expressed a desperate need to know Christ as her Savior. Not being a Christian himself at the time, all Don knew to do was contact the Director of Youth for Christ in the St. Louis area. Don phoned Bill Weston, and was invited to bring the girl to his home.

Don saw her to the door, but said he would wait outside. Bill Weston, however, insisted that they both come inside. Bill presented the plan of salvation to the young woman, praying aloud with her, but ignoring Don, who sat quietly on the other side of the room. Still, as the girl prayed, Don prayed, too. Both of them were saved that night; and from that moment onward, Don Ralston began to grow spiritually.

Don and I were both in college at the time, but in different states. Still, we managed to unite and conduct summer evangelistic meetings. The blessing of the LORD on our meetings led us to continue reaching youth in subsequent summers.

Don possessed a marvelous baritone voice that thrilled our audiences and doubtlessly brought scores of adults out to the meetings, too. Young people were saved; pastors were thrilled; churches were strengthened; and the LORD was honored. We, too, were burdened to pray and give all the glory to the LORD.

As the LORD would have it, Don ultimately stayed in Florida and became the pastor of a church. The accounts of his superb ministries are best told in and through the lives of those whom he, over the years, led to Christ. Churches grew, Christian schools were built, and deep, spiritual men from home and abroad ministered to congregations where Don Ralston pastored. They made an indelible, spiritual imprint on Don’s life; and he made a deep, spiritual imprint on their lives, too.

In recent days, I often found Don at the end of his phone, either at home or in hospital. The stories he shared of witnessing to doctors and nurses and hospital personnel were almost endless. We spoke frequently by phone. Sometimes his voice was strong; sometimes, it was not. Yet, it always rang with joy and a story of someone with whom he had engaged concerning Jesus.

I will miss the phone calls. His family and friends will miss his presence. But now, he is free from the woes of this life. He has graduated into that Blessed Home the LORD has prepared for all who trust Him.

Farewell, my dear and loving friend. One day (who knows how soon?), we will meet again. We will stroll down the Golden Streets together and recall the glories of life we once knew as young men of faith. Yet, on that occasion faith will have succumbed to Life, and we will mingle freely with our loved ones and the saints of the ages, who have preceded us. God speed, my dear brother! You are already deeply missed.

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,

James 5:14-20, “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

I love football, yet I was not watching when Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills
collapsed this week on the field. Damar had been hit by the football while attempting to catch a pass.

As I write, Hamlin is alive in hospital and receiving competent treatment for his injury. I have prayed for him and invite you to pray for him also.

What grabbed my attention was that members of both teams knelt on the field
in what was a joint time of prayer for their teammate. That is not to say that I was surprised. I have known former NFL players who were true, strong believers in
the LORD and in prayer. It was rather to say that I rejoiced to see that thoughts
of the LORD were at that moment in the players’ hearts and minds.

Truth be told, we are all like that. When disaster occurs, we immediately seek the
LORD for help and for blessing. Our passage above gives us clear instruction regarding prayer. There are several “directives” in the passage (calling for the elders; anointing the sick with oil), but none is more telling than the phrase, “the prayer of faith.”

Admittedly and embarrassingly, I confess to having prayed while thinking, “Will He really do this?” Such is hardly a “prayer of faith.”

I know better now; and it’s sometimes actually scary to pray, knowing that the
LORD is going to answer, despite what all appears to operate against His answer.
Don’t let Satan discourage you! Just ask the LORD in pure faith. Let Him speak
for Himself. It’s “the prayer offered in faith (that) will restore the one who is sick.”
Trust and obey.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

correct this, as we continue to publish daily. Your prayers are deeply appreciated.

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,

Genesis 1:1-5, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

As we commence a new year, God first and once created everything! His creation was unique and remains uppermost in all that has ever been created. It was the commencement of everything! According to Robert Lee, author of The Outlined Bible, it was the commencement of the material universe, the beginning of the human race, and unfortunately, the commencement of sin.

Have you not noticed that all that comes to us from the Hand of Almighty God, Satan attempts to distort and destroy? Yet, because God is greater, He has provided atonement for our sin in and through the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, mankind is enabled to know forgiveness and redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.

The redemptive work of the LORD is both complete and incomplete. How can this be? It is complete because the physical death and resurrection of the Son of God has rendered it possible for mankind to be spiritually resurrected. Yet, the salvation that Jesus Christ offers is not thoroughly complete until it is received. Have you received it?

Only recently, I learned of a life that was completely resurrected when the person trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Things done wrong, were forgiven. It was almost as if those wrongs had never been committed. Life in the person became new!

The same can occur in your life, if you confess your sins to Christ and trust in His saving grace! And when you receive Him, write me that I may rejoice with you! Happy New Year! Happy New Life!

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,

Proverbs 15:1-8, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly.
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good.
4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit.
5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but he who regards reproof is prudent.
6 Much wealth is in the house of the righteous, but trouble is in the income of the wicked.
7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not so.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.”

“Practical advice” literally amounts to thoughts and actions that make sense when practiced in daily life. Furthermore, it amounts to Divine instruction that produces peaceful living among people of various ethnic and religious beliefs.

In the few verses cited above, Solomon sets forth some sound advice that will, when it is obeyed, stand firmly in every situation. Verses one and two above relate
to a conversation that boasts of two sides. One side is wise; the other is foolish.

Furthermore, the LORD observes and evaluates everything: the evil and the good.
Recognizing who is taking notice of our words and deeds should surely control us.
The LORD has given to children the parents they need to guide them in their
formative years. Only fools ignore that instruction.

Wealth itself is neither righteous nor sinful. How it is obtained and how it is utilized
are what determines its importance. If wealth is not controlled, trouble will arise from its possession.

Wicked individuals can offer sacrifices; however, owing to their wickedness, their sacrifice is deemed unacceptable by the LORD. What delights the LORD is the
confessional prayer of an upright people.

Review all of this carefully. May we all be spiritually and morally upright because that is what produces delight in the LORD we all love and serve.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. My grandson, who is a computer genius, has removed the “bugs” that were
interfering recently with The Grands transmission. It has now all been corrected.
Thanks, Ricky!

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 21:1-7, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,
4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’
5 And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’
6 And He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
7 ‘He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.’”

Today, 01 January 2023, is the first day of a new year. While there is no possible way we could know, it is probable that thousands of persons have made resolutions they intend to honor and keep throughout this New Year. Those of us who have been blessed to live through numerous “new years,” can testify that intentions differ significantly from keeping.

Our verses above, however, speak clearly the LORD’s promise: “Behold, I am making all things new,” to which He added, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” This specific promise, however, speaks of a future time, when the LORD will renovate the worlds and all that He has made. At the same time, He is both able and willing to fulfill now the promises He lists for us in the Bible.

Notice that He says He will give to the one who thirsts “the water of life without cost,” and says, “I will be his God and he will be My son.” Most of us, just like small children, have needs we cannot satisfy through our own efforts. Physically, we look to our parents for help. It is much the same spiritually. We must look to our Heavenly Father for help.

May this new year, A.D. 2023, find us all depending increasingly on the LORD. It is His delight to help us, just as a parent delights in helping a young child. Read the Scriptures daily! Spend serious time daily with the LORD in prayer! Trust Him for help in every situation! He will make “all things new.”

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