The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 13:11-18, “When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
13 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14 “But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
15 “The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house;
16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
17 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
18 “But pray that it may not happen in the winter.”

It’s interesting to observe how winter affects people. I remember the
dear people of North Vietnam racing south as fast as possible with their little children in the effort to escape the war that raged in their country.
Some of them were battling cold weather, too.

I’m not “up on” how things are in Vietnam these days, although I did hear
that Franklin Graham had been allowed in the area for the purpose of
bringing the Gospel to those dear people. Does that seem strange to you
that a thoroughly Communist country that imprisons some of our military
would allow the Gospel to be proclaimed on their soil?

Recently, there has been a huge rally of people in Africa that have come
to faith in Jesus Christ. Why would these non-Christian political leaders
allow these crusades in their land? It just may be that the LORD is allowing these people to come to faith in Christ before Christ Himself
comes to gather His own unto Himself?

Dear Reader, there are some very strange things occurring currently in
our world! We may be closer than we think to the Coming of our LORD
Jesus Christ! It is imperative that we be ready! Study the Scriptures,
especially the New Testament. Engage in serious prayer. Confess your
sins to Jesus and ask His forgiveness! Get into a Bible-believing, professing church where you will find encouragement from other believers, both on and off of the platform. Time is rushing by! It is rushing to the end, as well. Be prepared! Don’t allow anyone to hinder you. Look
for the Coming of the LORD! He will come just when you think He won’t.
Be prepared is the watchword!

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,

Mark 13:5-10, “And Jesus began to say to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you.
6 Many will come in My name, saying, “I am He!” and will mislead many.
7 “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.
8 “For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.
10 “The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.”

My late wife, Rose Marie, rarely listened to the news. Yet, she was always
fully informed with regard to what was occurring throughout the world. Her
comment was always: “When you read the Bible, you are always informed about what’s going on in the world.” She did; and she was!

Recently, in this letter, I noted a person who was skeptical of everything
found in the Bible. What was interesting was that he never read the Bible! (Those are always the most accurately informed people, don’t you know?)

The problems that nations encounter seem larger, but they are only larger
because they involve more people. There is an increasingly number of “preachers,” who pretend to share the Word of God –but they are inaccurate at almost every turn! Scores of people, who never read the Bible, are infected with false teachers’ epidemic of errors! To keep from being infected with their error, we must study the Scriptures daily and affiliate only with churches where we will hear and see God’s Truth.

As born-again believers in the risen Jesus Christ, we are responsible to
share Him with others. Jesus Christ is coming again! And the difficulties
we are currently encountering are precisely the difficulties He foresaw
and predicted. Believers are being arrested today even for praying
quietly (some silently) on public sidewalks outside abortion clinics.
Christian schoolteachers are being dismissed from teaching positions because they are using the names the parents gave their children at birth!

It’s as if the world has gone wild! –and indeed it has! Yet, while we witness these previously unbelievable occurrances, it is precisely these
things that Jesus said would come to pass prior to His Return in the air!

If you know Him, share Him with someone who doesn’t know Him!
If you don’t know Him, turn your life over to Him in prayer –right now!!
Ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse your life, and make you into His
likeness! Then, get into the Bible –the New Testament—and start your new life the right way today!

I would love to hear from you and know that you have become a born-again believer! Your name and email address will NOT BE SHARED! But, I will pray earnestly for you in your new life with Christ! 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

Dear Grands,

II Chronicles 34:14-21, “When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the LORD given by Moses.
15 Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.’ And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.
16 Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and reported further word to the king, saying, “Everything that was entrusted to your servants they are doing.
17 ‘They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hands of the supervisors and the workmen.”
18 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.’
And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.
20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,
21 ‘Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD which is poured out on us because our fathers have not observed the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.’”

You may truly have no interested at all in how I fill my days. I do have a lot of interests; however, one of the foremost is: Reading!

For years, a ten-volume set of Six Thousand Years of History has wept dust, awaiting my attention. But, the muIti-volume set of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire has been left weeping even longer. Gibbon’s work is over 3,000 pages, and I sincerely doubt that I have eight more years by which to absorb the riches of this ancient document.

Times have changed in many ways; the people of those times have not! What is virtually unbelievable is how the LORD possesses patience with His creation. What Congress is battling today comes close to equaling the experiences of the ancient Romans! As troubling as our current situation is, it is not as novel as you might think! Everyone is his own number one!

Josiah reigned 39 years as king in Jerusalem! As they were doing some
housecleaning, a priest by the name of Hilkiah “found the book of the law of the LORD given by Moses!” Talk about a prize discovery! Worse, however, was the message contained in that book:

“…great is the wrath of the LORD which is poured out on
us because our fathers have not observed the word of the
LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book” (v. 21b).

Currently, we have some born-again men in our Congress, who are battling for truth and justice, as demanded by the LORD’s Book! They
have been elected to represent us; so, we should support them in our prayers. Could II Chronicles 34:24 be a warning directly pointed to us?

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 125:1-5, “Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds
His people from this time forth and forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do
wrong.
4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good and to those who are
upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, the LORD
will lead them away with the doers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.”

These five verses constitute the whole of the 125th Psalm. The chapter commences with a sound encouragement for those who trust the LORD; and it closes with an admonition against following the crocked ways of
evil doers.

Paul’s letter to the Colossians pushes the same thought to the Christians
in Corinth. He writes, “…he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality” (Col. 3:25).

Throughout the Scriptures, the LORD is always teaching His people to
live holy lives and be honest in all their dealings with others. Sometimes,
we see others doing wrong and are tempted to engage in the same
nefarious activities. Even as a child, I remember asking, “If he can do it,
why can’t I?” My mother’s response was always the same: “…because
what he’s doing is not right, that’s why!”

Sin always carries a penalty. It may appear that those commiting sin are
getting away without a penalty. But mark the surety of the Word of God:
“they cannot do wrong and get by”; be sure their sin will find them out.

The Old Testament sets forth the LORD’s laws that exist for man’s
benefit. Whether man keeps those laws, we may never know. What we
do know is that the LORD keeps His Word. We may never know how
the LORD deals with some law-breakers, but we can rest assured that
He does! Even a child’s song instructs us:

Be careful little tongue, what you say;
Be careful little tongue, what you say;
For the Father up Above is looking down in love;
Be careful little tongue what you say.

God bless you – and do be careful! We will give an account –even
for every idle word.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas
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,

I Corinthians 1:11-18, “…I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.
12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’
13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.
16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness
of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God.”

We have three very fine preachers in the church I attend. They have different styles,
but they believe and preach the same Gospel. There may be some within the church
who would rate one above the others; however, I have yet to hear anyone say that.
After all, we are there for the Word, not for the preacher!

The Apostle Paul identified some differences within the Corinthian congregation. The differences there, however, had to do with doctrine, specifically with baptism. Some
registered their baptism as “better,” because they were baptized by Paul. Others
viewed Apollos as better, and still others held Cephas (Peter) higher.

The only factor that could possibly render one’s baptism as superior would
be that it was administered based upon the proper condition of one’s heart.
And even then, it has no spiritual superiority over the baptism of another.

Paul bowed out of the contention by saying that the LORD had not called him
to baptize, but to preach the Gospel.

I had an exciting experience when I served for a brief time as interim pastor
of Central Baptist Church in Sydney, Australia. The woman was a middle-aged
Aboriginal, and the water in the baptistry was so low, that I had some difficulty
immersing her in the water. Still, she was in no way excited that an American
preacher baptized her; she had accepted the LORD Jesus as her Savior and
was obeying what she knew to be pleasing to Him! Baptism should always be
viewed as an act of spiritual obedience to the LORD Jesus Christ.

One note of sure caution: whatever takes place in a church will be held in
opposition by someone. I remember too well an irate lady guiding me into the
church basement and expounding quite negatively that someone had brought Vacation Bible School material in a Beer box container!

As with Paul, that was out of my line.

The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are saved, it is the power of God. Are you saved? If you’re alive, it’s
not too late. But someday soon, it will be. Please put first things first. It’s
all to your advantage. Jesus died on the cross for 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