The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 6:5-7, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man
was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually.
6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and
He was grieved in His heart.
7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from
the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and
to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”

I won’t ask you, dear reader, whether you have ever been sorry.
I’m more than certain that you have. I am exceedingly certain I
have. I’ve been sorry for things I’ve done; things I’ve not done;
things I’ve said; things I’ve neglected to say, and the list goes on
and on…

The word “sorry,” with it’s cousin, “sorrow,” appears more than
60 times in the Scripture. The list below covers a lot of sorrows:

God is sorry – Gen 6:6-7 (Does that surprise you?)
Benjamin’s brother is sorry – Jdg 21:6
David is sorry – Psalm 13:2; 31:10; 38:17; 39:2
The Wicked are sorry – Psalm 32:10
Christ is sorry – Isa 53:3
Jeremiah is sorry – Jer 8:18
God will NOT be sorry – Ezekiel 24:14
Paul is sorry – 2 Cor 2:1-7, 6:10; 7:8-11; Phil 2:27; Heb. 12:11
Peter is sorry – 1 Pet. 2:19

Sorrow works in two dimentions: we are sorry for what we have
done; and we are sorry for what we have not done! Sometimes
sorrow comes from forgetting to say “Thank you” to someone who
has helped us. Perhaps, more often than not, sorry comes from
doing or saying something we ought not to have done or said.

Quite often, our emotions get ahead of our intentions, and this sets
in motion a new list of “ought nots.” Don’t kick yourself! At my age
(left for your best guess), I still have to work on this. Even our LORD said, “I am sorry…” (Gen. 6:6-7), although He never sins.

Being sorry allows the entrance of prayer. Prayer erases sorrow,
when we confess the wrong we have done or left undone, or spoken contrary to the truth, or intimated our ignorance or knowledge of something, so as to deceive. Prayer is an excellent “conscience
eraser.” At the same time, we must yield to whatever encouragingly opens the door for sin, because sin –OUR SIN– is what sent Jesus
to the cross.

If you truly know Him, you ought to say “Thank You” every day! If
you have yet to know Him, be thankful that you are still alive and are
able to know Him. Then reachout to Him in thoughtfully sincere prayer. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin and make you one of His children. Then, you can sincerely say, “Thank You, LORD!”

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,

Revelation 20:1-4, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding
the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years;
3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that
he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony
of Jesus and because of the Word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

As John the Apostle moves steadily toward the end of the Revelation, he speaks
of an angel coming from Heaven and holding the key to the bottomless pit (abyss).
The angel controls the key, and enables the door to be shut and sealed, making it impossible for the prisoners to escape.

At the end of the 1,000 years, the dead will be released for a brief time. They
will be judged for not having repented of their sins on earth and for not having
accepted Christ as LORD and Savior. There will be no escape!

The righteous dead, who had trusted the LORD and had refused to take the
mark of the beast, will come to life and reign with Christ for 1,000 years! In which
group do you currently reside? I earnestly hope and pray you are in the righteous
group. Those in the righteous group will rejoice forever in the worship of the LORD!
I am praying for you and urge you to trust the LORD as your Savior and LORD
today! Don’t put it off! Who knows how little time is left before He comes?

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,

John 20:22-29, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said
to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you
retain the sins of any, they have been retained.’
“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when
Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But
he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put
my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not
believe.’
26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.
Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said,
‘Peace be with you.’
27 Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands;
and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving,
but believing.’
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

Have you noticed how some news media give you what they deem their
account of what occurred? Yet, if you want the whole account accurately
given, it’s necessary to solicit someone else’s view of what happened. I’m
sure you have witnessed similar things occur many times.

It’s possible that disciple Thomas had previously been deceived and was
less ready to believe than others. In fact, he was quite adamant about it!
Still, things are not always what they seem; therefore, it behooves us to
examine all the evidence in any matter before reaching a conclusion.

The other disciples, however, had personally witnessed Jesus’ presence;
therefore, belief came easier to them than it would to Thomas. He was
adament, much like the one who said, “Don’t bother me with the facts, my
mind is made up!”

Eight days later, Jesus appeared again to His disciples. This time, Thomas
was present. He softly challenged Thomas to see and feel His Hands. Thomas
then proclaimed: “My LORD and my God!” Jesus then blessed Thomas, but
added, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

How much do you trust Jesus? Before you answer, remember that your
placement in eternity rests heavely upon what you say in true faith. Do you
want or need to seriously think and pray about it before you reply?

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,

Job 37:9-13, “Out of the south comes the storm, and out of the north the cold.
10 “From the breath of God ice is made, and the expanse of the waters is frozen.
11 “Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.
12 “It changes direction, turning around by His guidance, That it may do whatever
He commands it on the face of the inhabited earth.
13 “Whether for correction, or for His world, or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.”

Have you ever discovered something you couldn’t explain? Maybe it was some-
thing you read… Maybe something you experienced… Whatever, it was, the
answer to the mystery lay just out of reach, just beyond your understanding.

There were some mysteries that stymied Job of old. He lacked the understanding
of many of life’s vicissitudes; yet, he was quick to allow that whatever fell upon him came from the LORD. If such things were good, they came from the LORD. If they
were punitive, they came from the LORD. For Job, everything that occurred in life
originated with the LORD.

A friend moves away… a loved one suffers a severe setback… one you saw just
yesterday is today with the LORD. How are such things to be explained? Job said,
“Whether for correction or for His world, or for lovingkindness, He causes it to
happen.”

There’s an old hymn that used to be sung in churches:

“Trials dark on ev’ry hand
And we cannot understand
All the ways that God would lead us
To that blessed Promised Land;
But He guides us with His eye,
And we’ll follow ‘till we die.
For we’ll understand it better by and by.”

The Scriptures tell us that “…faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the
Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). And there are 61 verses of Scripture that
assure us that we, who know and serve Him, are “in His Hands.” And if you
don’t know Him, I can only say “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

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 3:13-18, “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show
by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be
arrogant and so lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural,
demonic.
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil
thing.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable,
full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who
make peace.”

Arguments and debates are usually thought of as having been born in the human
mind. The Apostle James, however, looks beyond the more visible and cites such
as having originated in the decadence of the human heart, and ultimately from
the devil himself.

Listening to debates of a serious nature, we have all wondered how anyone with
such impeccable credentials could be so wrong in his evaluation of the subject
under discussion. Could it be that our understanding is limited to the words we
hear? No matter how intelligent another might seem, or how impenatrable his
position may appear, if the source of an argument is not from the LORD, it is
ultimately from Satan.

The truthful approach in any discussion must originate from Christian purity. It
must focus on that which is ultimately beneficial and that which honors and glorifies
the LORD! Even a cursory evaluation of James’ position reveals that he is not out
to win anything other than the hearts of believers to the purity of the LORD Jesus.
May we always strive for the same in all our endeavors.

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