The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 3:1-7, “Now the serpent was craftier than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;

3 but from the fruit of the tree, which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'”

4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!

5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

Each of us was created with five human senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. I expect it would take scores of pages to list and evaluate each of their meanings. What we do know, however, is that each gift, beautiful and meaningful, is for the benefit of our well-being and the preservation of our lives; gifts from Almighty God.

Satan is a liar; thus, the ultimate adversary of our LORD becomes our adversary, too. He works tirelessly to twist these God-given gifts into experiences contrary to what the LORD intended. Sight and hearing are doubtlessly the most devastating when used outside the purpose of the LORD. Multiple experiences listed in Scripture demonstrate how the misuse of these gifts leads mankind into evil and ultimately the destruction of what God intended.

It would be foolish (and giving way to Satan) to seek to list the negative aspects of just seeing and hearing. We all know what they are – a slippery slope away from the warm and loving intention of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s sufficient for us to stay alert and away from the slough of despondency that would bring us down. Play it smart! Use what the LORD has invested in you to bring honor and glory to His Name. In the end, you’ll be glad that you did. Maranatha!

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,

Luke 18:9-14, “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

It’s not fully clear in my mind, as it occurred many years ago. I had concluded a sermon and had left the pulpit when I was immediately confronted and accused of having publicly mentioned a situation that, in the complainant’s mind, had fully disclosed to the audience something that had occurred to her many years ago. From my standpoint, the person’s objection was completely absurd! I had not a scintilla of information concerning my objector’s life or situation. In fact, it was my first (and thankfully only) time she and I had ever met! All this is to say that very strange things sometimes occur in churches.

In our passage above, two men, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector, commendably entered a temple to pray. That appears to be all that either of them had in mind. Certainly, both should be commended for their presence in the LORD’s House, as well as for the purpose of praying. Yet, the “good” stops there.

The Pharisee clearly and intentionally attacked the tax collector, calling him a “swindler,” someone thoroughly “unjust,” and an “adulterer.” Allowing for the moment that the Pharisee’s accusations were even possibly true, they were hardly appropriate for an act of prayer. It should alert us to be careful regarding what we say to the LORD in prayer. At the same time, the tax collector, virtually all of whom were known to be, at the least, “swindlers” and “unjust,” simply prayed humbly “in acknowledgment of his sin, begging that the LORD “be merciful” to him. What a schoolhouse lesson on prayer! May the LORD help us all to remember.

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,

Mark 10:17-22, “As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 “You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’ ” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”

It’s truly hard to fathom! Here is a good man, intellectual, polite, subservient, earnest, thoughtful, with everything going for him. The Scriptures omit details about his upbringing, but from the things he said, it would be easy to believe that he came from a good, religious, Jewish family. For when Jesus cited the commandments, the man’s reply was, “I have kept all these things from my youth up.” Yet, something was missing…

I know some people like that, don’t you? They’re good people, they’re pleasant, polite, generous, helpful people. They would give you the shirt off their backs if you needed it. They smile and give every reason for one to believe they are solid, Bible-believing, church-attending, missionary-supporting people. But, they’re not.

They attend weddings held in the church; they attend funerals, where they’ve heard the Scriptures; they’re just good, old, down-to-earth people – the kind that made America great. Just one thing is missing: Jesus Christ. Oh, they believe He exists. They’ve heard preachers tell about Him. They’re not objectionable to the Bible or sermons, or hymns that exalt the Savior. They even sing the hymns that exalt Jesus when they’re in the right setting to do so. They’re just like the man who called Jesus “Good Teacher,” except they never committed their hearts and lives to Him.

I’m sure you know some folks just like this man who called Jesus “Good Teacher.” They’ve just not gone far enough to personally accept Him as their LORD and Savior. What are we to do?

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,

Judges 13:1-7, “Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.

3 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

4 “Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

5 “For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.

7 “But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'”

I sincerely trust that you’ll not think unkindly of me for utilizing these verses as the backdrop to a very personal encounter. But, to me, the parallels are astounding! You see today, July 22 is my birthday. My mother had been told that she would never bear a child. I was never told the rationale behind that medical assessment; nevertheless, at the LORD’s appointed time, and by the grace of God, I entered the world; and through the faithful prayers of my mother, father, grandparents, and doubtlessly, a host of friends, most of whom I never knew.

The directives that the angel of the LORD gave to Manoah, in the Scripture passage above, were virtually identical to what was passed on to me, by my parents, as strong, Christian advice. They never clearly mentioned the Judges’ passage above, yet clearly taught me the essentials that the angel of the LORD gave to Manoah. Thus, I have never indulged in intoxicating beverages. One can live successfully without such. At the same time, I was never a “Nazarite,” nor do I claim such. By the grace of Almighty God, I was called into His service 74 years ago, and have been blessed by God with a worldwide ministry, in which many souls were brought to Him. I am 91 today.

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,

Mark 10:13-16, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 ‘Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.’ 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.”

The true character of anyone is nowhere more openly evident than the concern one has for dealing with children. Throughout the Scriptures, and throughout life, the demeanor people exhibit in association with children is largely indicative of their attitude and respect for all mankind. Here in this passage, the disciples demonstrated a “get-out-of-the-way-kids” attitude toward the children. Possibly, Jesus experienced a flashback of His own childhood and grasped it as an opportunity for showing both adults and children the love that ought always to be honestly displayed.

The love that adults of all ages show to their children is without a doubt the characterization that will be demonstrated in their children’s lives. Children who, unfortunately, receive little to no love from their parents have to look elsewhere or suffer becoming like those children in their own adult lives. It’s a “what goes around, comes around” kind of life. Even casual observation tells a sharp-minded adult what that child is going to be when he (or she) becomes an adult.

Thus, as parents, we are both planters and reapers. We reap what we sow in the lives of our children. Quite understandably, I exhibit some characteristics that were inside our family. They have worn about as well on me as they have on those who influenced me to adopt them. There’s a short verse that says, “Be careful, little one what you think; be careful, little one what you think. For the Father up Above is looking down in love. Be careful, little one, what you think.”

Parents, you be careful, too. For what you display in your life, your children will also display in their lives. We all want our children to adopt and image our better qualities, don’t we? Be adoptive of the qualities of the LORD Jesus. That’s really the key to everything good!

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