The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

I Thessalonians 1:10, “…and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

The hardest thing I ever had to do as a kid was to wait! “When is she coming?” “How long before he gets here?” “I thought they were coming right after lunch!” These thoughts, and probably many more, swirled in my head. I just had a difficult time waiting on anyone or on anything! (Don’t tell anyone, but I’m still a bit like that today.)

No subject seems more prevalent or more timely today that the Coming of the LORD Jesus. That may be because we know less about it; but it also may be a thought that He has placed in our minds –something to awaken us and to draw us away from the mundane things of everyday life.

However that may be, the fact remains that He IS coming and we must be ready to meet Him!

My mother knew how to get me ready for visitors. “Wash your face and hands,” she would say; “and for goodness sake, put on a clean shirt.” Oh, she knew what “getting ready” was all about! She also knew that Jesus was going to return; and, along with my father, she helped me get ready for that.

Just how do we get ready for Jesus’ Coming? First, we must truly recognize Jesus as God’s Son, and that He died on the Cross as the Sacrifice for our sins. “Our sins” means that we are not ready to meet Him until they are washed away. Of course, He is the One who washes them away. We must recognize that those who meet Him, and are still in their sins, will not be looked upon as “properly dressed” for the occasion.

But getting cleansed from sin is something that Jesus alone can do for us. You simply tell Him that you are a sinner and want to be forgiven for your sins. His death on the Cross takes care of the cleansing part. He applies His Sacrifice on the Cross to you and forgives you of your sins. This makes you clean and ready to meet Him when He comes.

When Jesus comes, those who are alive on Earth and have been forgiven of their sins, will be caught up into the air and go with Him to Heaven. Those people, who have died, but were already prepared to meet Him, will arise from their graves and join those alive with Him in the air.

“How is that possible?” you ask. Jesus arose from the dead three days after He was crucified on the Cross. If He can arise from the dead, taking us up in the air is no problem to Him at all. We just need to be forgiven of our sins before He comes! It’s simple. Just ask Him to forgive you and believe that He will. Don’t wait! Start getting ready now! The way things are looking in today’s world, He could come at any time.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

NOTE: I pray daily for many people. Some are lost; other still need “a clean shirt.” Pray with me for all of

them. You and I are not the only ones for whom Christ died.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

With all the troubles currently existing in the world-at-large, some ideas are so subtle that

we can literally become prisoners while we adamantly believe and argue that we are totally free! Even the mouse ignores the potential danger it faces by looking only at the cheese.

Paul warns us against humanistic philosophy, what Danker calls “learned blah blah.” It is

indeed “empty deception,” inviting us to an intentional focus on that which is dedicated to our destruction. What kind of books do you read? What kind of television do you view? What is the primary focus of your discussions with friends? Do those discussions help to build character, or are they just lead to ruminations on whatever comes to mind?

Tradition certainly has its value; but tradition has a darker side, too. Ideas handed down from

much earlier times, especially doctrinal traditions, may be loaded with superstition and lead us

down wrong and dangerous paths. Gingrich cites such as “empty in the sense without any basis, without truth or power.” The Apostle John warns, “…do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1).

There are many books in my library and many more available on line; yet, when I want to know the absolute meaning of something, I go the languages in which the Scriptures were originally written. God is the only One who doesn’t make mistakes. Only yesterday, I discovered an error in something I had written years ago. I moved quickly to correct it. None of us are without error; thus, staying exceedingly close to Scripture is a mandate we must always observe.

As Jesus Christ is our only hope, so His Word is our only impeccable Informant. Read the Bible daily. Pray for the LORD’s counsel as you read His Word. Compare Scripture with Scripture, “…that God may open up to us a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth

the mystery of Christ…” (Col. 4:3). May our LORD bless you abundantly with His Truth!

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,

Philippians 4:1-3, “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown,

so stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.

3 Indeed, true comrade, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in

the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers,

whose names are in the book of life.”

If you read anything in the news these days, it won’t be long before you’ll learn how much our world lacks of genuine love. There are a variety of “reasons” given for the instances of hatred

that are perpetrated against others, but they all come back to either a lack of knowing the LORD Jesus Christ or an unwillingness to “stand firm” in Him.

So, Paul’s first word to the Ephesians –and to us!—is to “stand firm (fast) in the LORD.” The verb here (stand firm) is an imperative, meaning a directive, a command –not a suggestion!

Even two Christian women within the Church were not getting along. (Oh, if we only had two!)

Further, the two women had in the past encountered struggles such as the apostle himself had encountered. Yet, now the devil had done a number on them to the extent that they were in serious disagreement with each other.

If you’re in a Bible-believing, Christ-exalting church, don’t be surprised if you encounter serious differences in some of the people, even some of the leaders. Just pray for them; and, as the LORD leads you, help them to reunite. The one simple directive is: don’t interfere unless the LORD puts it on your heart. Just pray! Satan is extremely concerned to hinder the spread of the Gospel; and as his time shortens, he becomes even more active. Where better, than to invade the Church itself?

Remember, all things concerning Scripture are important! Doctrine, witnessing, missions –all are vital because they are what the LORD commanded of His people. Whether the parking lot is on the north side or the south side of the church building is relatively unimportant. Little people concern themselves with little things; and Satan wants us to focus on the little things.

Pray for your pastor and the Bible teachers in your church! Listen carefully to all that they say.

Absorb thoroughly the teachings of the Bible. If you have questions, ask your leaders. Pray for all of them. Be a witness for Jesus Christ in every, possible way! There’s no small work in the LORD’s business. Jesus is what it’s all about! Keep clean, so that God may bless you abundantly!

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 1:22-23; 5:30, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him

as head over all things to the church,

23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all….

30 because we are members of His body.”

In seeking to study through the verses above, I encountered an author who said, “As it stands, this world is a complete disunity. There is disunity between Jew and Gentile, between Greek and barbarian; there is disunity between different men within the same nation; there is disunity within every man, for in every man the good strives with the evil; there is disunity between man and the beasts; and, above all, there is disunity between man and God. It was Paul’s thesis that Jesus died to bring all the discordant elements in this universe into one, to wipe out the separations, to reconcile man to man and to reconcile man to God. Jesus Christ was above all things God’s instrument of reconciliation…But, clearly, that unity does not as yet exist.”

We’ve undoubtedly never known complete unity! There must first be a unity between husband and wife; then between parents and children, and then between nations, covering a vast span of time. Is it even remotely possible that world unity might exist? Certainly not, as things currently exist.

Yet, it is God’s fundamental plan that it will exist! And it commences with you and me. When I am willing to accept another as my equal, and he is likewise willing to accept me, we have the essential format of God’s plan. It is then confirmed that neither you nor I will ever be at the pinnacle. That is the place for the LORD Jesus Christ; and for Him to be there, you and I must be willing.

“But where are we to be in this scheme?” you ask. Does that matter? Does it really matter?

All things are to be in subjection to Him! He is the Head over all things: the homes, the schools, the churches, the cities, the nations, the world and everything within it. He provides us with the strength to work and to live and to love one another, even as He loves us.

For this to exist, you and I must commit our lives, our time, our energies, our money –virtually,

EVERYTHING to Him! It starts with our total and complete surrender to the LORD Jesus! I’m not yet all that I ought to be, but I’ve started. Commitment to Christ is a guarantee of Heaven some day. The same commitment to Him here and now is but the preparation. Let’s do it together!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Galatians 3:2, “This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

Did you ever try to get information from a wiggly kid? It’s worth than pulling teeth! They “hum

and haw” around, squirming all the while, but giving none of the desired information. The root cause is undoubtedly natural, allowing their age.

The Galatians’ nature was very much the same. They were “on-again, off-again,” sometimes hot, sometimes cold. That’s precisely why Paul had such trouble with them. And in situations

like those of the wiggly kid or the “hot-and-cold” Galatians, the best situation is to ask one salient question.

Paul’s question was, “…did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” Today, we might ask someone, “Have you had a personal experience with the LORD Jesus Christ, or are you just a church member?” With most churches, it’s easy to become a member. You just say, “I want to join,” and the church says, “Good; you now belong.” But church doors are not the doors to Heaven. Heaven’s door had a secret lock –secret until Carroll Roberson revealed it when he wrote, “Prayer is the key to Heaven, but faith unlocks the door.”

It’s not difficult to become a Christian, and living the Christian life is a joy! Love, joy, hope, peace, fellowship –all of these words and many others go with the Christian life. Unrest, worry, frustration, doubt, uncertainty – these words lie outside of the Christian life. They’re words known by those who are without Christ and they work against everything good in life.

I had the opportunity of a Christian home. My parents and grandparents were all true believers in Jesus Christ. We had “law” in our family, but none of us were saved by keeping it; we were saved by trusting that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Promised Messiah, as in the Bible. And when I asked Him to forgive my sins and come into my life, He did! I was only seven years old. That was many years ago, and His Holy Spirit still lives within me. Give Him the opportunity to forgive you and the same Spirit will take up residence in your life. When you come to know Him, you’ll want to share Him with others. God bless you abundantly!

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