The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Timothy 4:1-8, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.
6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.
7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

If these verses do not fit the times in which we currently live, nothing does! From what we experience in the news, it could hardly be denied that we are living in the last days. “Preachers,” who have never been called of God, and know nothing of the truth of Holy Scripture, amass congregations of hundreds, whom they convince to deny the truths of God and live unto themselves.

Advocates of truth do exist, but from what one can observe, few are aligning with their encouragement to follow Scripture and embrace its truths. Thus, those who stop long enough to hear and believe, are often swallowed up in the conglomeration that leads to nowhere of value. Confusion reigns, false teachers display the opposite of what little truth they profess to value, and the world races madly toward the fires of Hell!

Timothy cries and shouts the truths of Almighty God! “Have nothing to do with worldly fables” that lead men away from the truth. “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness,” for “godliness is profitable for all things!” Furthermore, “it holds promise for the present life, and also for the life to come.”

Place your faith in the LORD Himself and in His Holy Word! “…search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me…” (Jn. 5:39).

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,

John 8:28-32, “So Jesus said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.’
30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”

Recently, I witnessed a powerful address that strongly advocated “telling the
truth.” Was it not Mark Twain who said, “Always tell the truth and you don’t have to remember anything”? I can remember giving that advice to a friend, who was summoned to court for petty theft. He told the truth and was exonerated for having committed a crime. Lying only hurts the liar. It always suggests that he is lying and that he has something to hide.

Jesus never lied! Throughout his trials, He exonerated Himself in that He always did what pleased His Father. To the contrary, men resort to lying in the hopeless
effort to exonerate themselves.

Jesus’ example of honesty throughout His life ought to encourage us all not to
lie. His truthful clarity should be our encouragement. Moreover, His truth not only
supported Him; it supports all who are committed to Him by faith.

My dear old grandmother, who was sometimes pushed into revealing something someone had said, used to reply, “I couldn’t say.” Harmless and inoffensive, no one ever knew whether she did or did not know about a particular situation.

Be prepared to always tell the truth. In the long run, you’ll be thankful you did!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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 8:31-36, “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,
‘If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’
33 They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet
been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, “You will become free?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin
is the slave of sin.
35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

The nations of this world vary considerably with respect to the word “freedom.”
Some countries differ considerably in the meaning of “freedom.” Laws are a true
necessity in every corner of the globe, yet in some places the laws inhibit freedom, while in others, they do not.

What Jesus said to the Jews regarding freedom was that truth produces freedom. “…you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” That the Jews did
not understand is revealed in their reply: “We…have never been enslaved to
anyone.” Oh, but they had!

Jesus said to them that “everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” Have we
committed sin? Assuredly so! Thus, we are slaves to sin. Just try to stop sinning! Breaking a promise not to tell something is sin. It may not be something of a gargantuan nature, but breaking the promise is sin– no doubt about it!

No way around it; but a sure way of forgiveness! That is the Son’s business! “…if
the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Have you been born-again?
If not, why not? And if you have been born again, are you telling others that they
need to know Christ and be bereft of sinning?

We have a current Speaker of the House who courageously shares his faith in Jesus Christ. Surely, we who share his faith can share his courage.

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,

Leviticus 7:12-15, “If he offers it by way of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil.
13 ‘With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread.
14 ‘Of this he shall present one of every offering as a contribution to the LORD; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.
15 ‘Now as for the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offerings, it shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it over until morning.’”

Most of the history books tell us that “Thanksgiving” was an occasion when the settlers who landed at Plymouth Rock, later banded together to praise Almighty God for safety over the ocean and friendship with the Indians they had
discovered in the “new world.”

Our passage above, however, gives us the initial use of the word “thanksgiving,”
as it appears in Scripture. The word “thanksgiving” and “thanks,” apart from other related words of praise, are mentioned more than 160 times in the entire Bible.

The numerous usages of “thanks” should inspire and encourage us greatly! Especially, should we glorify the LORD for the untold times He has blessed us
in the years He has allowed us. We have more than reason to praise Him for our
parents and grandparents, many of whom sacrificed for us as we grew to maturity.

We have reason to praise and thank Him for life itself and the opportunity to know
the LORD Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We also live in a “free” country. No, it’s not a country bereft of problems; but it is a country that allows us to know
and worship the One who cares for us and solves many of our problems.

We are blessed as we are encouraged to cry out with the angels of Heaven,
“saying, ‘Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’” So, today and on every Thanksgiving Day, let us be thankful and praise the LORD for His Son, Jesus. For it is He who has delivered us from trouble and encouraged us by His example in the Word.

How do we praise Him? We praise Him by yielding our lives to Him in total trust!
I have done that. I hope that you have, too. Who else could be so worthy?

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 28:16-21, “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’
17 He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’
18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,
21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.’”

A vow is a promise, a very serious commitment. There’s no question but that you’ve made several in your lifetime. Anytime you sign your name to a paper, you are virtually saying that the contents in the paper is true, if only true to the best of your knowledge.

Contracts of all sorts are promises. Signing for a loan at the bank is a promise that you are going to honor and abide by the statements you have made. Even a driver’s license is a form of a contract –whether or not you knew it at the time.

Jacob was certain that the LORD had deeded him the land upon which he slept, that he took the LORD at His Word that the land now belonged to him and those who would comprise his posterity.

Vows are sometimes accepted verbally, sometimes sealed in writing, Sometimes witnesses are present, sometimes only the one who promises is present; and sometimes it’s the one who believes and holds the vow. The only negative factor is when one of the parties later declares the vow improper or illegal. That’s where written signatures become invaluable. They often have the binding of law.

When the LORD vowed that He would give eternal life to those who confessed their sins and vowed trust in His Word. His Word can never be broken. That’s why “eternal life” is eternal to those who repent of sin and believe the LORD’s promise.

Have you ever made a promise to anyone and then broken it? It would be good
counsel for you to search your heart on such a matter and then rectify your wrong with an apology. It’s the Christian thing to do. If the other party refuses to accept the apology. It then becomes his or her problem, not yours.

Moreover, trusting God at His Word, confessing your sins to Him, and asking His
forgiveness is the most important. This guarantees Eternal Life, and gives meaning to life here and now. God bless you. You are in my prayers.

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