The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 2:13-20, “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’

15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.’

16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.”

I’ve had a few “Wow!” moments in my life, but nothing to even begin to compare with what the shepherds encountered that night! It must have been as frightful as it was enlightening! Go out some dark night and try to imagine that happening to you! It just might be that you would then find it hard to sleep! People often travel miles to observe phenomena related to the moon, but nothing even close to what the shepherds encountered!

I heard some outstanding Christmas music the other day that prompted me to wonder what the music in Heaven will be like! But wait! Will there be music in heaven? Surely, there will be. Yet, the Scripture says, “…the heavenly host praising God and saying”—not singing.

As wonderful as heavenly things must be, we must be careful not to allow ourselves to mentally manufacture things that are spiritual. They will always exceed our expectations.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

Matthew 23:13-16, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’”

When was the last time you investigated the word “woe” in the Bible? Just what I thought. Well, neither had I until recently. Interestingly, that word is used 99 times in the New American Standard Bible; namely from Numbers to Revelation.

The dictionary describes “woe” as a word of “profound grief or distress.” All of us experience distress at some point in life. It’s never pleasant. The Bible, however, uses the word as forbidding something, not merely the verbal usage of the word.

The Pharisees were indeed hypocrites! They forbade the people from doing what they themselves did with considerable frequency. They said, “NO!” for the people, but “YES!” for themselves.

We need to tread carefully here. Parents who deny certain involvements in their children but engage in them themselves are practicing Pharisees! Moreover, they will one day regret their own involvements, especially when they see them being practiced in their children.

Christians should always pattern their lives after the LORD Jesus Christ. We will never reach His Divine Standard, but He will reward us for having tried. At the same time that we’re patterning after Jesus, we are reflecting His likeness to those around us. God bless you abundantly!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.

2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

3 While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;

5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;

6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.

8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

After Paul’s first verse above, I almost didn’t write! Still, I wondered if those to whom I’m writing are as knowledgeable as Paul believed the Thessalonians to be. We’ll leave the assessment of all of that for another time. Paul was concerned that the Thessalonian Christians be aware of the nearness of the LORD Jesus’ return. Simon Peter had the same concern when he noted the indifferent attitude of people and wrote:

“…the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away

with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth

and its works will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10).

Paul then assured the Thessalonian believers that the LORD had not destined them for wrath but willed that they obtain salvation through the LORD Jesus Christ. The Gospel tract will enable you to witness to others who are lost. Click on the PDF. It will give you the opportunity to learn of His salvation and to share it with others.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

Dear Grands,

John 11:38-42, “So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.

39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

42 “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”

Did you ever say or do something with the purpose of obtaining a crowd reaction? I’m sure we all have at some point in time. Well, Jesus did the same thing, except His was for a very different reason. Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, had died four days previously. Jesus was a dear and close friend of Lazarus and his sisters; and it was His intention to use the raising of Lazarus to convince the multitude that God the Father had indeed sent His Son, Jesus, that the Jewish people might believe in Him.

Common caves were often used as burial grounds, and a cave was used for the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus Himself was deeply moved by Lazarus’s death; and He reverently said, “Remove the stone.” Lazarus’ sister, Martha, objected; yet, Jesus reminded her that He had previously said that she would indeed witness the power of God.

Jesus then cried aloud, “Lazarus, come forth!” And “the man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings…” Then Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go… Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.”

The miracles Jesus performed were as much for us as they were for the Jews of Jesus’ day. He went to the cross to cover our sins with His blood. Then, He arose that we, too, might believe in Him and receive everlasting life. Have you received His Life? He is available to you when you confess your sin and believe in Him as your personal Savior.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

Dear Grands,

1 John 3:1-6, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him, there is no sin.

6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.”

Does it excite you when someone actually calls you by name and not just yells, “Hey, you!”? The Apostle John says that when we have come to know Jesus as LORD and Savior of our lives, our Heavenly Father calls us “children of God.” Being a child is certainly an intimate, coveted designation. Further, being a child of the LORD is a designation of divine relationship, parental guidance, protection, provision, and so much more! It means comfort, both spiritually and physically. It means that as His children, we can rely upon the LORD for every conceivable need, at all times.

Still, there’s more to a relationship than merely what we receive. Relationships extend in both directions. There’s a responsibility on our part to behave as He requires. Were we employed with serious responsibilities, as are many in our society, we would be responsible to behave in accordance with the stated regulations of our employment. It is the same with being a Christian. There are both personal and spiritual regulations that dominate our lives: things that we are responsible to do and things that we are responsible to avoid.

How are we to know? Our Father has set forth such regulations in His Book, the Holy Bible. And further, He has provided the Holy Spirit as our internal Guide. No, we’re not abandoned to roam life’s road alone. He is our constant Guide; and He provides everything we could possibly need for living the life that He requires. It’s all in the Bible! May God bless you as you live and trust Him daily!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom