The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 1:18-23, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His
mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was
found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace
her, planned to send her away secretly.

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy
Spirit.

21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save
His people from their sins.”

22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through
the prophet:

23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A ON, AND THEY
SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, “.which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

Someone recently ask me how old I was. Just Imagine! What a impertinent
question from a long-time friend. I had to laugh when I shared what was my
non-shared “secret.” Can you remember the day of your birth? You were there!
What an obvious question!

As silly as it seems now, I can remember when a few of us boys plotted to
learn the age of one of the older (and mysterious) women in our small town.
It was a good plan, yet it didn’t work. Two or three of us went into the
ministry, leaving such boyish pranks behind and emphasizing the Birthday of
the Greatest Gift to the world!

To the glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we celebrate His
Birthday!

Galatians 4:1-7, “Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not
differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,

2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.

3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the
elemental things of the world.

4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the Law,

5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might
receive the adoption as sons.

6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our
hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir
through God.”

Dear Grands,

Ezekiel 13:1-6, “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,

2 ‘Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say
to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the
LORD!

3 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Woe to the foolish prophets who are following
their own spirit and have seen nothing.

4 ‘O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins.

5 ‘You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around
the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD.

6 ‘They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, ‘The LORD
declares,’ when the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope for the
fulfillment of their word!”

There’s an old, but short spiritual that contains the phrase,

“Ever(y) body talk about Heaven ain’t a-going there.”

That old saying speaks the truth when applied properly against the
background of Holy Scripture. Not everyone is going to Heaven. What
constitutes obtaining a valid “ticket” for entrance and residence is
confession of one’s sins and acceptance of and commitment to the LORD Jesus
Christ.

The old concept, perpetrated by ungodly pretenders of biblical
truth, is that living the best that one can is all that is required. Simply
stated: that is not true! For were it true, then Jesus went unnecessarily to
an agonizing death on the cross.

Our supreme responsibility is to believe and trust the LORD Jesus
Christ, allowing Him to live His pure and sinless Life through us. Those
among whom we live will unmistakably see the difference.

All Salvation is activated by the LORD Jesus Christ. The results
are viewed as if from us; thus, our spiritual legacy lives on forever.

Heartily in Christ,

(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