The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 5:14-24, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit;
20 do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Were you ever in such a hurry that you didn’t have time to fully explain those elements of last minute advice? You just quickly said what needed to be said and hoped the one to whom you were speaking would understand. Well, these last verses in 1st Thessalonians meets that criterion.

It will do us well to savor each and every element of Paul’s last words. He urges us to give instructions to those who are weak much like a mother instructing her young children as she hurries off to work. Let them see your best expression as you leave them for a time. Be joyful!

At the same time, be prayerful as the Holy Spirit leads you. Don’t be angry, as that depresses the Holy Spirit in you life. Just be faithful and look for the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ. Remember how faithful He has always been in leading you. He will always be faithful and lead you in the right way.

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.”

We are now living in the Church Age, and the next event to unfold is the Rapture (or catching away) of the Church (i.e., all truly born-again believers irrespective of all denominational names).

Paul explains in Romans 8:1 that there will be no “judgment” (condemnation) upon believers. In First Thessalonians 4:13-18 that the LORD Jesus Christ will return and believers will be “caught up to meet Him in the air.” Christ will not come entirely down to the Earth, but believers will rise to meet Him in the air. We will then go immediately to the Judgment Seat, where we will give an account for all unconfessed sins, and will then be united with other believers. We will also be given “rewards” for work we have done for Him while we were on the Earth. Only truly born-again believers will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Meanwhile, on Earth, there will be seven years of Tribulation. The Antichrist will NOT BE KNOWN until the Church is gone. The seven years of Tribulation will be divided into two parts of 3.5 years each. In the first part, the Antichrist arises in pretense of friendship with Israel. Israel will believe he is the Messiah! In the second 3.5 years, the Antichrist will lash out against Israel with such fury that the most far-left liberal will look like a “conservative Sunday School teacher.” The Tribulation will then end in the Battle of Armageddon!

Following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Christ will return to the Earth. This is the Second Coming (as differentiated from the Rapture of the Church). After Armageddon, the Nations will be judged according to how they treated the Jews during the Tribulation era.

Parenthetically, I need only to mention that Satan’s Group comprises Satan, the opposite of God the Father; Antichrist, opposite of God the Son; and the False Prophet opposite of the Holy Spirit. They are currently alive and quite active in their nefarious opposition to our LORD Jesus Christ. That is why you and I need to be “about our Father’s business.” The time is shorter than we think!

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 37:3-9, “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 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, as it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.”

Life presents multiple problems! There is no denial, and often, no escape. But, how do we help those whose lives are simply flooded with serious difficulties? “What do I do now?” is their major question. It’s often our major question, too.

If we are to follow the order of the verses quoted above, trust comes first. I’ve often encountered questions regarding “Christian deportment” –questions regarding some things I had never previously tackled. That’s when we “breathe” a silent prayer, asking the LORD what we are to do. “How do I handle this, LORD?”

The psalmist says we are first to “delight” ourselves “in the LORD,” trusting Him to provide what is necessary. In other words, we’re not to panic! We are to trust Him to provide not only our verbal response, but to enable us to respond in a warm demeanor, as well.

If and when we Trust, Cultivate, Delight, Commit, Rest, Cease, and Forsake (as noted above in the text), we will have fulfilled the LORD’s requirement of faithfulness. Answers for friends who are asking will then come more easily. It’s not as hard as it looks; it’s just vitally necessary.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

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

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

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 18:1-8, “Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.
3 He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.
4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan (the name of Moses’ bronze serpent). He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.
6 For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.
7 And the LORD was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.”

The Scriptures are literally filled, almost to overflowing, with those who served the LORD and were blessed, along with those who served themselves and were punished! Once again I will quote the truism: “You can’t do wrong and get by!”

Hezekiah (mentioned in verse one) was only 25 years old when he became king.
“He did right in the sight of the LORD,” as he followed the pattern of his father David. Note well that 25 is the minimum age required for one to serve in the Congress of the United States (U. S. Constitution – Art. 1, Sect. 2). It’s one thing to know what is right, quite another to do what we know to be right. Perhaps we’ve failed to note the difference between “knowing” and “doing.”

Yet, even if we do right in the sight of the LORD, we must believe that He will bless what we do because we’re honoring Him in the doing. It is my firm belief that the LORD will bless the United States if we honorably support Israel in her warfare with nations set to thoroughly destroy her!

According to the passage before us, we can count on the blessings of the LORD only when we’re trusting in Him! It’s not an age-factor; it’s a belief-factor. At my age, my life is encumbered with far more things than when I was a child. Oh, I worried as a child, but about things like whether our ball game would be delaid, as clouds were gathering for what looked like rain. Big stuff, it was to a kild.

Today, I look at our nation’s leadership and those ball games don’t seem to be that important. Even adults suffer from that syndrome. We concern ourselves with “things” that (as my grandmother used to say) “…don’t amount to a hill of beans.” Truth be told, we had better get right with the LORD or we may lose our nation.

It all begins with you and me. I pray for our nation and her leaders. But, I pray for myself, too, not being willing to align myself with those who seem without care for what happens to our nation. Currently, we have some truly Christian leaders in our Congress. They need our prayers. But, we’re in no position to pray for them until we are straight with the LORD ourselves. Do you know Him? You’re not the help our nation needs, until you yield totally in faith to Him.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

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

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

Dear Grands,

Genesis 20:1-7, “Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.
2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.’
4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, ‘Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless?
5 ‘Did he not himself say to me, “She is my sister”? And she herself said, “He is my brother.” In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.’
6 Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
7 ’Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.’”

If you were raised in a home like mine, the cardinal sin was lying! I learned it first from my parents, being taught it as a cardinal truth from the Scriptures. I was a “normal” kid in other respects, too; so I’m not endeavoring to convince anyone that my “rank” as a kid was above my peers. I had my share of “knocks and scrapes,” as much as anyone. But, I did not lie –to my parents or grandparents or teachers or anyone! I knew better.

Abraham knew better, too, when he lied to Abimelech. In fact, he involved Sarah, in the deception, when he convinced her to say that she was his sister instead of his wife. Truth be told, Sarah was both! Still, it was a deception, and deceptions are lies.

There are added reasons why we should not lie. Inevitably, the truth will prevail, leaving us with “egg on our faces.” This does nothing to enhance us or the situation that is involved. Also, lying rarely ceases with one untruth. A good attorney (or the like) could soon reveal our attempt at deception, and our reputation would, thereafter, always be in doubt.

As Christians, we should always espouse truthfulness. It is valid to say that there are things we know (or think we know) that should never be told, lest they damage the reputation of another person. But, following the directives of the LORD should always supercede others in our reasonings
regarding truth. Remember: “Always tell the truth and you won’t have to remember anything.”

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