The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

James 1:13-18, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am
being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself
does not tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and
enticed by his own lust.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and
when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from
above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation or shifting shadow.
18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the
Word of truth, so that we would be among the first fruits of His creatures.”

Temptation is a frightful experience. Yet, the “fright” is
carefully masked by the Tempter. It is subtle. It is exciting! What’s more,
the tempter “smiles” when he comes, and “assures” you that all will be well.
Trust me, it will not be well -not if you are a true and faithful believer
in the LORD Jesus.

It’s as if there were room in your life for but one -and
there is “but for one,” If you have trusted Jesus as LORD and Savior of your
life, His presence within you fills you to the uttermost! For He overflows
the fullness of your heart and life. There is no room another.

Deception says there is; but deception lies! How efficient
would any sports team be if a “second” coach were simultaneously allowed to
be coach of the team? How efficient is a local Police Department if two or
three policemen insist on being “Chief”? Whoever is earliest to the office
runs the department. Does that sound even slightly like “common sense”? Of
course not!

Once we have committed our hearts and lives to the LORD
Jesus Christ, He –and He alone! – determines how life is to be conducted.
“You cannot do wrong and get by!” If you appear to be “getting by,” and
there are no consequences, you simply do not belong to Him. Thus, a constant
and careful evaluation is imperative. Do that evaluation right away! Right
now!

Heartily in Christ,

(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

Matthew 24:1-8, “Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His
disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.
2 And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, 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 “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.”

The verses listed above give a clear account of the coming of the end of the age. Christ is warning that we should not be mistaken simply because some think it is otherwise. There have always been those who believe their understanding of the Word is accurate when it is not! Jesus’ warning, “See that no one misleads you,” is a clear acknowledgment that there are those who will intentionally seek to mislead others.

Still, it’s more than a few who are in error, and it is they of whom Christ speaks, that there are others who will attempt to mislead us. Our focus, however, ought never to be on those who are in error, but upon Jesus, who is never in error!

At the same time, it is obvious to those who are watching, that there are more than a few whose preaching and teaching is not according to the sound teaching of Scripture! We must, therefore, be alert to their presence and their intention to mislead as many as possible.

Years ago a pastor was heard to say, “I don’t believe all I hear preached.” Many could say “Amen!” to that statement. That’s why we ourselves ought to be clear in our understanding of the Bible. We should be careful and prayerful to always be aligned with a church that is clear in its teachings from the Bible. A slip here and a slip there will lead many astray.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

Dear Grands,

Genesis 1:14-19, “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the

heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and
for seasons and for days and years;

15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on

the earth’; and it was so.

16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and

the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.

17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,

18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the

darkness; and God saw that it was good.

19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.”

For centuries men have sought to understand light – what it is; where it
originates, who or what is precisely behind it, and what its overall purpose
is. Light is one of the great mysteries that begs our continuous
investigation.

The Bible tells us that the LORD GOD Himself is the originator and producer
of what we call “light.” In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the
world,”

In 1875, a man named Philip P. Bliss composed the lyrics and music to a song
entitled, “The Light of the World is Jesus.” It’s a song that can never
truly be “out-of-season” because “Light” and “Jesus” are indisputably and
forever aligned. The word “light” itself is mentioned over 297 times in the
Bible; and our reading of the Bible serves to enlighten us both mentally and
spiritually.

Furthermore, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven”
(Matt. 5:16). This admonition was emphasized in an old hymn that churches
used to sing:

“While passing through this world of sin,

And others your life will view;

Be clean and pure without within;

Let others see Jesus in you.”

Please accept “Man Alive” (attached) as a small Christmas Gift.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Genesis 26:1-4, “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous
famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to
Abimelech king of the Philistines.

2 The LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the
land of which I shall tell you.

3 “Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and
to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the
oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

4 “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give
your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of
the earth shall be blessed.”

Sixty years ago, I heard this story. Whether it is apocryphal or true, I do
not know. What I do know is – well, you read and then you tell me.

The seminary was winding up its year, and it was customary for one of the
students to be selected to give an address to the entire school. The faculty
poured over the records and selected a fine, young man as the annual
speaker. The student was scared-to-death. His forte was as a scholar in the
classroom. He had never given more than a short talk in one or two of his
classes. Speak to the whole school?

“Oh, no!” he pleaded. But there was no backing out. He had been
faculty-selected, and he was going to face the school with a formal address.

The day came, and he was literally shaking as he stood before the entire
school. “Duh.duh.do you know wha.what I.I’m about to say?”

Of course, his subject had never been announced, so the entire school body
said loudly and politely, “NO!”

“Wuh.well.neither do I, so let’s all go home.”

The exhausted speaker was devastated. “I’ve.I’ve ruined everything,” he
said. “No, you haven’t,” said the dean. “You’re just not used to speaking in
public. Go back and study a bit more. We’ll let you speak again next week.”

Self-dejected, he dutifully returned to the books. He was not happy, but
there was no other way out. He had to address the school -the entire
school!

When the day finally came, he was on the platform, but not in good form for
speaking. Yet, he stood, walked to the lectern, coughed nervously, looked
frightenedly at the school body, and said, “Duh.duh.do you know wha.what
I.I’m about to say?”

Having been present at the speaker’s last attempt, and knowing his
concluding remark, the students were not about to be fooled again. In
chorus, they loudly proclaimed, “Yes!”

The speaker then remarked, “If you already know, then there’s no reason for
me to repeat it. So, let’s all go home.” Again, he dismissed the audience
and everyone left the auditorium.

Once again, after a laborious hour with the young seminarian, the dean and
members of the faculty were able to persuade him to try one more time to
deliver the annual student address. It was the third occasion, and the
fright that attended the young man on two previous occasions, had not
dissipated one iota.

He staggered to the lectern, gripping it as if life itself was hanging in
the balance. Sweat poured from every avenue of his face and virtually soaked
the paper he had prepared to share. Whatever changed from his previous two
attempts, his opening words were the same:

“”Duh.duh.do you know wha.what I.I’m about to say?”

His fellow-students were now thoroughly confused. Some said, “Yes,” and
snickered beneath their breath. But some said, “No,” because they still had
no hint as to what he might say.

Hearing the division within the student body, the young speaker then said,
“Well, those who know, tell those who don’t know, and let’s all go home.”

Literally mortified that he had failed three times, the dejected young
speaker-to-be left the auditorium in devastating defeat!

“I am a total failure,” he said, “a total, total failure!”

“Oh, no!” said the dean. “You’re not a failure. In fact, we want you to stay
with the school and teach! For what you said is a fundamental, biblical
truth. It’s for those who know to tell those who don’t -before we all go
Home.”

There’s a serious message for all of us in that story. Are you ready to tell
those who don’t know Him? There’s no better time than at CHRISTMAS!

Heartily in Christ,

(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 1:1-6, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets
in many portions and in many ways,

2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of
all things, through whom also He made the world.

3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His
nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made
purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more
excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE
BEGOTTEN YOU”? And again, “I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON
TO ME”?

6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET
ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”

What would you say if I were to tell you that Elon Musk phoned me this past
week? You would doubtlessly first be excited, and then wonder if there were
another man living on Planet Earth who had the same name as I! Well, Elon
has not called me. Furthermore, that is less than not likely to happen.

At the same time, I have spoken with One far more exclusive and well-known
than Elon Musk. My Communicant dwells in Heaven with His Father, and His
communication with me is “open” at all hours of the day or night. He is the
reliable Answer to every question I lay before Him. Yet, He is not
exclusively mine. He is available to everyone of every age, and of every
language, with the reliable answer to every possible question. Who is He?
Why, He is Jesus; the One who gave His Life to safely secure everyone who
turns away from sin and trust Him as their LORD and Savior.

Have you trusted Him as your Savior? Have you talked to Him lately? He’s
waiting for your call.

Heartily in Christ,

(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