The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Peter 1:18-21, “…you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

20For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Have you ever thought of your life as “futile,” useless? I recently overheard a man say, “I’m the most hated

man in this place.” Any thought that one is universally hated has to be an acknowledgement of a “useless” life.

Peter says that anyone who values only money does have a “useless” life. But, we who know Jesus Christ as

our LORD and Savior, have been redeemed, released from such a state. What is more, our redemption has

come through the “precious blood” of Christ.

For some time now, Rose Marie, has suffered from a blood loss in her body. Doctors have thus far been unable to locate the source of this loss, resulting in the need for somewhat regular blood transfusions. There is no amount of money that is more precious to us than that needed blood. And there is nothing more precious than the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the Cross for our sin.

The LORD Christ existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit before the world was created. He humbled Himself and became a man, being born physically through the virgin girl, Mary. He lived on Earth for 33 years, and never sinned. He was man, yet He was God –the God-Man, sent to die as the Father’s Own sacrifice for us. Jesus died, giving His life, His blood, to atone for our sin. And it is through Him, Jesus Christ, that we are enabled to believe in God. For God raised Him from the dead, so that we might believe and be rescued from

the sin that binds us.

It is through Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, that we have faith and hope in God! What else could give us hope? Money? Fame? Nothing but trust in the Risen LORD! Right now you are alive and reading this email. Right now, I am alive and writing it. But, where will we go when our lives are over? In what or who is our trust?

If you’ve never trusted Jesus, do it right now. Pray to Him and ask His forgiveness for your sins. He wants to forgive you, but you have to ask. Your life will change. He will become your strength and guide. What do you have to lose?

We are praying for you to have this Hope,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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,

Matthew 24:40-44, “Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.

41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.

42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

44 “For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Crime is not only increasing in our day, but it is transforming into activities heretofore virtually unknown. Thieves now troll through areas seeking packages where Fed Ex and other delivery systems have left them on the porches of neigborhood homes. New companies have arisen, offering alarm systems to homeowners to protect their houses and delivery packages. Why? Because no one knows exactly when a thief is going to strike.

That parallels exactly what Jesus said in our verses above. It was normal for men to be working in the fields; and it was normal for eastern women to be grinding corn and wheat which would be the staples for cooking.

While the two men were working, one would be taken and the other left behind. The same was said of the women: one was taken and the other left behind. The context of Jesus’ words suggest that the ones taken, were taken to meet the LORD in the air. They were His believing children, perhaps even surprised by His coming; nevertheless, they were His and were taken to be with Him.

Jesus then switches the metaphor by saying that had the owner of a house known exactly when a thief would be coming, he would be alert to stop him. But, since neither he nor we know exactly when the LORD is coming, we must always be alert and ready. There are many distractions that keep us focused on ourselves and our possessions. But Christ Jesus’ Coming is the greatest event in the end of Christian history. We must not miss that.

But, if we’re saved –if we have accepted Him as our LORD and Savior, we are ready, aren’t we? In a sense, that is true; yet, there are things we have yet to do, people we’ve not spoken to regarding the LORD. Then, there’s sin we’ve not rejected, not repented of. We’ve probably got more to do to be truly ready. Still, we don’t know with certaity the time of His coming. We just have to be ready when He comes! Are you ready?

We pray that you are ready in every way,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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,

Matthew 24:37-39, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

38 “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.”

We celebrate CHRISTmas as the time of Jesus’ birth. Unfortunately, in the confusion of gift-buying and decorations, the true meaning of CHRISTmas is often forgotten. In the same way, many fail to understand that the same Jesus, whose birthday we celebrate, is coming to Earth again!

Matthew quotes the words of Jesus in the verses above. Here, Jesus is called the Son of Man; and His coming is compared to the time of Noah. Noah was a righteous, God-fearing man, and the LORD had directed him to build an ark, so that he and his family could be saved from the flood He was going to send upon the Earth. The Old Testament tells us that for 120 years Noah warned the people of his day that a great flood was coming. But, they ridiculed him and continued to live as they always had, ignoring his warnings.

But there came a day when Noah, his family, and some chosen animals entered the ark and God closed the door. The rain came and the waters from the heavens above and from the depths of the Earth covered the entire Earth, killing all life, except that of those enclosed in the safety of the ark.

So shall it be when Jesus comes again! Faithful servants of the LORD are now warning all mankind that He is coming. The vast majority of people today are behaving like those in Noah’s day. They are ignoring the warning. Jesus is the ark of safety. Those who believe in Him and confess their sin, will be saved from the flood of tribulation that is coming. It is not a matter of how we live or to what church we attend or even whether we even attend church. It’s trusting the LORD to save us from His wrath that is coming upon the Earth.

Two things are of vital importance: first is knowing Him as LORD and Savior of your life. Second, is actively sharing Him with those who do not know Him. We encounter people every day who have no faith in Christ. If a fire were threatening their lives, we would surely do everything possible to rescue them from that danger. What the Bible says is coming is far more serious than a physical fire. We are culpable, guilty, if we withhold this Truth from others. May the LORD awaken in us our responsibilty that those who do not know Him might be rescued from the coming judgment. Silence is not an option!

Prayerfully concerned,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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,

Matthew 24:3-8, “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you.

5 ‘For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will mislead many.

6 ‘And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

7 ‘For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

8 ‘But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.’”

Most of the headlines today read like what Jesus described in the verses above. Numerous personalities have actually said that they are the Christ. Some have not said it so boldly, but they have misled thousands into believing that they are. And while some truly fundamental churches are growing, there are hundreds of growing congregations, whose pastors are misleading their people by preaching an unbiblical message.

“Wars and rumors of wars” are prominent, and people are frightened. Nations have problems that are beyond their apparent capacities to cope with them. Many national problems are internal and of their own making. Others have problems that are caused by the aggitation of foreign elements that have infiltrated their borders.

Crime, such as liquor and narcartic addiction, personal, physical attacks, fraud and deceptions of numerous sources, famines and earthquakes –all these and more natural and unlwaful operations lead many to believe that we are living in the last days of human history.

Jesus used the analogy of a woman giving birth to a child. Often there are pains that give the impression that the child is ready to be born. They are signals, but they are not the true signals of readiness for birth. It is the same with regard for the Coming of the LORD. The signs of which we are conscious today, are merely the early signals that time is about up. Jesus is coming again! Exactly when, we are not privileged to know. But things are getting worse, not better.

All of this should awaken us soundly! It should shake us into reality! We, who know Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior, should be aware of those around us who don’t. And we should share what we know with them, so as to bring them to faith in Him. We must not let any resistence to our witness weaken that witness. We must pray that the Holy Spirit will open the blindness of their hearts that they may see God’s Truth! The only failure we can encounter is the failure to share Him. He is coming! And it is our responsibility to make Him known.

We love you and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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,

1 Corinthians 12:8-12, “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

Large families often give separate responsibilities to each of their children. No one is expected to do everything, but everyone is expected to do something. Parents, being older, are usually the best to say who is to do what. Responsibilities vary according to the ability of the child.

It is the same with the Church. The LORD, having established the Church, is the obvious One to assign responsibilities. No one knows who is best suited to do his assignment; he simply accepts what the LORD gives him to do. In the five verses above, the Apostle Paul cites nine spiritual gifts the LORD assigns to His children within the Church.

Some have a greater mastery of the Bible than others. But the person of wisdom knows best how and when to approach a lost person with the Gospel. To another there is the gift of faith. He possesses absolute confidence in what the LORD has spoken and will not be moved to doubt it. Still to others are given the gift of healings. Such healing gifts are to be seen in Acts 5:12, 15-16; and 19:12. To others were given the gift of miracles, such as were other than healings, such as in Mark 16:18.

Prophecy is both preaching and the foretelling of coming events –events not otherwise known. Discernment of spirits means “reading” pretense in someone else declaration. It also concerns the assessment of demonic spirits from which comes lying concerning the LORD Jesus Christ and His Word. Tongues are languages; some persons adapt to languages not native to themselves.

We are never to self-assign a spiritual gift. The very work “gift” suggests that such comes to one from the Holy Spirit Himself. Spiritual gifts are no more our doing than salvation. The LORD balances His Church through these gifts, enabling the lost to be saved and the saved to be empowered to share the Faith with others.

We have no choice in selecting which gift we might want. We are assigned spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit alone. But once assigned, we are to use and develop the gift to bring glory and honor to Christ.

Have you discovered your spiritual gift? Are you allowing the Spirit to use the gift through you? Such is our responsibility. Let’s get started!

Prayerfully yours,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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.”