The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 1:14-20, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

When an employer hires you to perform specified duties, it is then your responsibility to carry out
those duties for which you were employed. It is somewhat the same with salvation, only that once
you are saved, you are forever employed with the responsibility of sharing your Employer and all
He is with others. There is no shame involved because He is what no one else is or ever could be.

Nor is there a lack of those who need Him! There are far more who need Him than we can ever
reach. There are even some who doubt His ability to perform a transformation in their lives. Your
life will be the prime example of His handiwork, and day-after-day they will witness the change in your life into His likeness. Exactly how all of that works is somewhat difficult to explain, but your fellow-workers will see the difference increase in you and will acknowledge that you are not the
same person that started work with them in the weeks previous.

You will be praying for the LORD, who transformed you, to do the same in the lives of your fellow-
workers. The same power of the LORD that made changes in your life will cause them to ask how
you became what you now are; and you will have the opportunity to share the LORD with them.
You will then be able to verbally share you testimony with them.

The LORD, who saves us, will put within us the desire to share Him with others. That’s what Paul
meant when he said, “THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” May the LORD bless and
use you for the praise of His glory!

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,

Matthew 16:1-4, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
3 “And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?
4 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.”

Oh, I know you’ve done it! So have I –probably more times than either of us would want to admit. Done what? We’ve asked a question of someone either in jest or just to see whether he could answer it. It’s often more humorous for the respondent than it is for the questioner. Only Jesus could know what was truly in the minds of the inquirers. No one could know for certain, but my guess is that Jesus smiled within Himself as He answered the question.

The Pharisees believed in miracles and aligned with many things that were spiritually true. The Sadducees denied miracles and virtually everything for which the Pharisees stood. (That is why they were sad, you see.) Although Jesus knew what both groups believed, He replied to them anyway. His response was one of those “gotcha” replies that left both groups astounded and not a little embarrassed. It was almost like saying, “You know all about the weather around you, but haven’t the slightest knowledge of what the people around you believe or are doing.”

Then having given His answer to their inquiry, He introduced them to Jonah, the prophet who feared going to Nineveh with the Gospel, but found himself in the midst of a spiritual revival as he preached the Gospel to them.

There are many today, who simply adore the ministry of certain ministers, but haven’t the slightest knowledge of what they acturally believe. We need to be careful and stay in the Word of God, listening only and carefully to pastors and teachers who adhere closely to the Holy Scriptures. It’s easy to become intrenched in wrongful teaching. It’s as true of ministers as it is of us: “It’s not how loudly we shout, or how highly we jump. It’s how we run when we hit the ground.”

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,

Jude 1:18-24, “…in the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”
19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting;
23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy…”

If there’s anything that irritates me, it’s useless waiting…! I hear the words: “I won’t be but a minute,” but it’s more like 60 minutes, if the truth be told. A new traffic light system was installed in the area where I live that’s supposed to “move” the traffic in an more orderly fashion. Still, it seems I’m waiting longer for the lights to favor me!

Today, I hastened too quickly in a mission and arrived at my destination with only 50 minutes for the place to open. That occasioned waiting. The Bible encourages waiting when it says, “… keep… waiting anxiously for the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ…” We hurry too often at our own expense!

Nothing is life is worth the risk of excessive hurry, except trusting the LORD Jesus Christ as our Savior. What’s on your agenda for today? Are you preparing for it in plenty of time, or will you have to hurry? I have a Bible on my iPhone, so I used that 50-minute wait to excellent advantage.

Investigate closely how you use time. It’s important, because once it passes, it never comes around again. The moments we have today are precious. Let the LORD guide you in how you use them.

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,

Genesis 28:12-16, “He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.
14 ‘Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 ‘Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’”

Have you ever had a dream? Well, have you ever had a dream that seemed absolutely real? If it were a good dream, you wouldn’t want it to quit. If it were an exceptionally good dream, you would want to remember it forever!

Jacob’s dream concerned a ladder that was based on Earth and extended all the way to Heaven. What was even more exciting was that there were angels who were ascending and descending on the ladder. In the New Testament, Jesus said to Nathaniel, “…you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). Jacob’s experience was a dream; Nathaniel experienced a truth from the Words of Christ Himself.

It’s not likely that you or I should have a dream like Jacob or hear the words that Nathaniel heard from Jesus. What we have are the experiences of them both encased in the Scriptures themselves! For if we read the Scriptures carefully (word-by-word) and savor the meaning and application of each word, it will be better than any dream we might have!

Personally, I “see” Jesus as the Bible’s only means of our salvation. I “see” the souls of those who have trusted Him as LORD and Savior, ascending via Him into Heaven itself and for eternity. Yet, I live among people (many of whom are dear friends) who have never trusted Jesus as their Savior.

We must share Him with them! He is the only “Ladder,’ the only “Stairway” to Heaven itself.

Read my book below and share it with a lost friend.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

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,

Romans 5:6-10, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

The Apostle Paul never misses! Had he been an athlete, say in baseball, he would have been
awarded the Grand Prize for the most “hits and homers” in every season of the game.

With the blessings of the LORD attending, however, and despite our helplessness, Paul (and all of us), are potentially the recipients of the Grace of God. Jesus died for the ungodly; and that includes all of us. His love was more than that of Elizabeth Barrett Browning who wrote, “How do I love Thee? Let me count the ways.” As earnestly as she cared for her ill husband, Robert, she never died for him or for any of us. Only Jesus did!

The “reconciliation” of which the Apostle Paul wrote, comes to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death proves His love for us, and His Son’s resurrection proves the His Father’s love for us and for Him! How could anyone ignore that kind of Love?
We should live in a perpetual state of praise! And we do when we live by His Life!

Are you living within His perpetual praise? If not, you can. Simply genuinely tell the LORD that
you are truly sorry for your sins and ask His forgiveness. It’s a simple confession. He takes
everything from there. God bless 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