The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 28:10-15, “Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun
had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head,
and lay down in that place.
12 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.’”

Do you generally dream when you sleep? I don’t; but I remember someone telling me that he dreamed in technicolor! Whether he did or not, I’ve never known. How
would you know?

However, I’ve always been interested in Jacob’s dream. Apparently, a number of others have been interested in it, too. Originally a 16th century African American spiritual, it was first popular with salves. Ultimately, it became a favorite of just about everyone.

“We are climbing Jacob’s ladder;
Soldiers of the cross.”

How Jacob slept with his head on a stone, I’ve never figured out! Maybe stones
help dreams. Still, he not only slept, he dreamed of a ladder that reached into heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Moreover, the
LORD God Himself stood above the ladder and spoke. He allowed that He was giving the land upon which Jacob slept to Jacob and his descendants.

The LORD’s promise was broader than just the land. He promised to go with Jacob wherever he went and to bring him back to this very place in the land He had given to him. Does the LORD still make promises? Are you holding to a
promise the LORD made specifically to you?

The promises of God are sure and certain. What He says He will do, He does it.
How many promises in the Bible has the LORD made to His people? How many
Scriptures have you read where you sensed that He was promising something to
you? I have found that what the LORD ultimately gives supercedes what I thought
He was going to give. That’s even better! So, don’t give up! Keep trusting Him!
Jacob did; and his blessings became exceedingly numerous!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene

(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 15:5-9, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”

The word “disciple” is mentioned more than 270 times in the Bible. It is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament (Isa. 8:16 & 50:4). According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “a disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes His doctrine, (2) rests on His sacrifice, (3) imbibes His Spirit, and (4) imitates His example (Mt 10:24 Lu 14:26,27,33 Joh 6:69).”

What is of vital importance, however, is not how many times the word is mentioned in the Bible as it is how much of what “disciple” means is implanted
and operative in our daily lives. For example, how sincerely do you and I believe
the teachings we receive from the Scriptures? Belief is not just a convenient word;
it is something that is buried deeply within our hearts and souls, and operates to
the glory of the LORD!

How much do we “rest on His sacrifice”? Too often, when things “go wrong,” we
act as if we should be exempt. Yet, we are to rest on Christ’s sacrifice! Oh, how many throughout the ages have suffered and died excruciating deaths for His cause! It is then that we should (as it were) take a deep breath, as of His Spirit, recognizing that to follow Him means to walk in His steps, irrespective of how hurtful it might be.

We are also to imitate His example in life. Such is not to mimic, but to learn to walk and speak as Jesus did. When difficulties assault us, we are to rely upon His
Holy Spirit to see us through them. Whatever questions assault us, we are to reply in a manner like unto Jesus. You may say, “Well, all of that sounds good, but I’m
not sharp like Jesus. I don’t think that quickly. You don’t need to be quick; you just
need to trust Him to say through you what is necessary at the moment.

Yes, we have to “put ourselves out there.” No one said it would be easy; yet the
more often we encounter such situations, the more often we will trust Him to be
with us. And when you are amazed at the answer He gives you, don’t forget that
it was He who spoke through you and was not of yourself alone.

Dear LORD, teach me to abide in your love!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,
Gene
(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,

Joel 2:11-17, “The LORD utters His voice before His army; surely His camp is very great, for strong is He who carries out His Word. The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
12 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And rend your heart and not your garments.’ Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.
14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, even a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?
15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room and the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the LORD’S ministers, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, “Where is their God?”

Remember how your mother used to call you? Megaphones in those days were
reserved for the city officials (police and fire). Well, my mother WAS the megaphone, as far as I was concerned. She didn’t have to call me but once! Why she called was infinitely of greater value than what I was doing, whatever it was! Here, the prophet urges the people to return to the LORD. And what He had for
them (and has for us!) is infinitely greater than what we are gaining for ourselves.

The cry that Joel urges upon the people is identical to what we need today! Joel knew that they were living in their last days! We may well be living in our last days,
too! In any event, His days are certainly superior to ours! Is it not to our advantage
to live as He wills us to live? Do we not know that it is His Love for us that prompts
Him to be so urgent for our redemption?

There are some interesting, old abandoned cities in the west. As interesting as they are to visit, no one would want to live there today. None of the amenities we require (running water, et al) are available there now. Such is the contrast between the stupendous living conditions in Heaven and the conditions we have available on earth today.

Listen to Joshua (24:15): “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…, but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Please don’t miss out! There is life beyond this life. And
the LORD longs for you to spend eternity with Him. Accepting Jesus as your LORD and Savior is the key to heaven’s door.

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,

Joel 2:1-7, “Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; surely it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations.
3 A fire consumes before them and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like war horses, so they run.
5 With a noise as of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the people are in anguish; all faces turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like soldiers; and they each march in line, nor do they deviate from their paths.”

The days of the prophet Joel were indeed devastating! Earlier in his message, the
prophet warned the people of Judah of the devastating judgment that had befallen their land. Millions of locusts had devoured the crops upon which the people depended for their own sustenance. Still, it was no ordinary judgment. The LORD
was getting the attention of His people!

It was indeed “…a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness… There has never been anything like it, nor will there be again…”

Children often dismiss the warnings of parents, thinking nothing will occur to them
that they cannot handle. It’s only when situations previously unknown befall them, that they recall the parental warning. How like that we are as a nation! Flooded
with diseases heretofore unknown, we retaliated with submission to vaccinations.
But, there is no sure retaliation against a swarm of locusts! Crops are destroyed!
Food supplies are diminished before our eyes – all because we would not listen.

Israel is winning the war against Hamas, notwithstanding the thousands of lives
that have been slain. Had circumstances of the past been properly and carefully
attended, the devastation we are witnessing today might never have occurred.

So it is in our personal lives, as well. We wait until the “gate is open and the livestock have escaped” before we assess how all the loss might have been avoided.

“For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of
the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality” (Col. 3:25).

Let us faithfully search our hearts with all diligence, for from it
flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth
and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly
ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch
the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do
not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil”
(Prov. 4:23-27).

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,

Isaiah 38:15-19, “What shall I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it; I will wander about all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 “O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit; O restore me to health and let me live!
17 “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; it is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 “For Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 “It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.”

I’m sure in the past that I have utilized a small part of this space to tell of a man,
whose house was on fire, whose horse was tied and could not escape, and who
himself was inside his house and, baring rescue, would certainly have died in the flames. Although rescued by his loving neighbors, he never said, “Thank you.” What he did say was, “That’s what neighbors is for.”

When was the last time you said “Thank you” to someone? Earlier today (as of this writing), I received an email from a friend. I immediately responded with a “Thank you!” It’s a two-word sentence that anyone can express. Even a child’s
sweet little “tank to” is meaningfully expressive and graciously appreciated.

Most, if not all, who are reading these lines, have friends or loved ones to whom
they failed to say “Thank you.” Sheol is the place of the dead. There is no current
communication with those in Sheol; thus, we cannot say “Thank you!” to any
whom we neglected when they were living.

There are few mentions of “thank You” in Scripture, yet even fewer than from those for whom the Scripures were written. It doesn’t take long to say two words. And whatever else might be said, those two words will be remembered without fail. Look for opportunities to say them. They will soften and sweeten the spirit
of those for whom they are intended; and they will soften and sweeten the spirit
of the doer. “Thank you for reading this Grands Letter.”

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