The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 7:7-12, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you
want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

I witnessed a powerful testimony in a Sunday School class today. A man who was en route to hunt deer, stopped to visit a long-time friend, who had never trusted Christ as his LORD and Savior. Interestingly, the LORD had brought the two friends together and alone, so one could be free to listen and the other free to share the LORD. It was a simple, spiritual meeting where the lost man came to know Jesus!

The passage of Scripture at the top of this letter exhibits both sides of the salvation story: “Ask, and it will be given to you” is the directive for the one who is lost. “…for everyone who asks receives…”

There are no restrictions regarding the asking, only that you ask. Still, the directive in our first verse above says that asking is definitely required. God is not playing games. He is in the “rescue business.” He died on the cross and arose from the dead to rescue us from sin. Are you looking to be saved? “Ask,
and it shall be given to you…”

You may have heard it said that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Nothing could be truer than that. We would not be celebrating His birth if He were not the Christ. We could not know the joys and benefits of salvation if He had not died and arisen from the grave.

Make this the greatest CHRISTmas you have ever known! Ask
Jesus into your heart and life! His promise is clear. You will find Him; and all that He is and has to offer will be opened to you.

Oh, and for those of you who have already trusted the LORD, go “dear” hunting. There are scores of people who have need for Christ in their lives. God’s plan of salvation is the greatest gift you can give 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,

Micah 4:1-5, “And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say, ‘Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.
4 Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.”

Although these words of the Prophet Micah may not precisely speak to the current needs of our nation and other nations of the world, they do insist that the focus of all mankind be upon the LORD alone!

The hands of the LORD control the machinery of the world. Those who focus only upon the developments of science are prone to ignore the presence and power of the LORD. Thus, everything to them lies in the hands of mortal man. If they believe that all power originates from and relegates only to science, they are contributing to the works of the Adversary the Scriptures call Satan.

We must return to God! He is our only hope! He is the only Light in these darkening days of world disaster! That “return” commences with you; for if it is not from you, from whom will it originate? “Today is the day of salvation!” If not today…when?

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,

Ephesians 1:1-6, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

These words from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians were composed when he was enroute to Jerusalem to complete a religious vow. He also distinctly teaches that the Father prepared the body in which the LORD Jesus Christ would suffer, but that it might also be a body in which His Son would ultimately be glorified.

Unfortunate as it is, many (dare I say most?) churches today demonstrate little-to-nothing of the glory the Father intended of them. His intention that His Church should be prayerful, unified, edifying of its members, bathing the areas of humanity it serves with His love, too often falls short of the intention.

In far too many instances, the Church has diminished into a “religious” social-club that worships itself rather than the LORD, who is the Author’s intended. Pastors of those “megaclubs” devote their focus on the personal-social betterment of their audience, rather than on the LORD, who gave His Life on the Cross for their sins and ours.

Our purpose in attending church ought always to be to prayerful and reverent of the LORD, giving close attention to the ministry of His Word that we might become more like Christ Jesus in our love for Him and for others for whom He died. We should pray that our nation’s leadership might know and follow the LORD’s directive, that we might always praise Him and follow His leading.

Still, it always commences with our yielding to His love and directive. So, let us be prayerful and faithful to His leading.

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,

Hebrews 10:36-39, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
37 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY.
38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”

The LORD God possesses a will for everyone who has repented of sin and trusted Him for forgiveness. He continues to love and cherish those who are His by means of that faithful trust.

At the same time, trusting Christ does not expunge the believer’s need of His closeness. The LORD continues to shelter the believer just as He did Daniel and his three Jewish companions in Old Testament times.

Simultaneously, and notwithstanding the LORD’s protection, it is each believer’s responsibility to maintain a close, loving relationship with Him. It is the Apostle Paul’s contention that believers are not to be like those who “shrink back to destruction,” but like those “who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”

All that is to say, “If you (or I) were to be arrested for being a Christian, would there be sufficient evidence to convict us?” The LORD acknowledges His love as sufficient for us. Yet, will our love for Him be sufficient for the hour of temptation?

We are all the children of our earthly fathers, whether they are alive or deceased. Some of us are by faith the sons and daughters of the LORD Jesus Christ. May we ever and always be and do that which honors Him. That honor commences with our faith and yieldedness to Him. Are you yielded to Him? If not,
why not? You have everything to gain, if you are!

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 21:1-7, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”

We are quickly coming to the terminal point of A.D. 2022. Quite a number of good things have occurred throughout the world this year; and quite a number of devastating things have occurred, also.

What the Apostle John has in mind –beyond what he labels for us– the LORD Himself only knows. Still, John seems excited about “a new heaven and a new earth.” Quite a few of us are excited about it, too!

The earth, as we know it, will be thoroughly changed! There will be no sea; and the Holy City of New Jerusalem will descend from the sky, like a bride gorgeously adorned for the wedding with her husband. Then, the voice of the LORD Himself will say, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

If you are wondering whether I am anticipating all of this to come in A.D. 2023, I am indeed! Why should I not? Every person on this Globe, who has confessed and been forgiven of his sin, knows the LORD Jesus Christ as his Savior! Every believer should be living in anticipation of this gargantuan event!

In addition to the LORD living among us, He will erase all mourning and pain. In exchange, He will give to those who are His own, that eternal water of life that Jesus Christ gave to that woman at Jacob’s well (Jn. 4:6).

There’s a hymn by Will Thompson that says,

“There’s a Great Day coming;
A Great Day coming;
There’s a Great Day coming, by and by;
When the saints and the sinners shall be
parted right and left;
Are you ready for that day to come?”

If you’re not ready for His Coming, you can prepare right now. Just faithfully pray and tell the LORD Jesus that you are sorry for your sin. Ask Him to forgive you; and trust Him to do what He says He will. At that point, you belong to Him –and He belongs to you! Don’t forget to say “Thank You!” Believe me, you will forever be blessed!

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