The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 11:1-6, “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’

4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, ‘This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.’

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.”

Sickness of various kinds often attacks all of us. Simply being human makes us vulnerable to multiple illnesses. I cannot think of anyone I’ve ever known who denied ever being sick. For my part, I remember from college days having experienced the worst case of influenza ever!

Lazarus’ illness was not unique; however, his condition had so upset his sisters that they immediately summoned Jesus with the news. Jesus immediately stated that the sickness was not going to mortally harm Lazarus; it had been allowed to occur in order that the glory of God might be manifested.

Bethany, where Lazarus resided, was but two miles away. Having received notification of Lazarus’ illness, Jesus delayed two full days before leaving for Bethany. By the time He arrived, Lazarus had died and already been buried. Jesus had intentionally delayed His journey in order to demonstrate His power to resurrect not only Lazarus but all believers from the dead. There are no limitations to His power; at the same time, He displays it in order to provoke us to believe!

Do you know Him? Have you trusted Him to solve the mysteries resident within your life? He’s always closer than two miles away.

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,

1 Timothy 6:7-12, “…we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.

8 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

One does not have to be more than a casual observer to see and understand that one of the principal causes of the multiple conflicts existing in today’s world revolves around the desire for financial wealth! For some, it seems, there’s never enough! Paul gives sound advice to Timothy when he says, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”

Many, if not most, of the world’s contentions have their root in just wanting more than the next guy. Far too often, we observe the “holdings” of others; and that observation leads us to question why they have so much while we have so little. Perhaps we are being protected; for the Word says: “…those who want to get rich fall into temptation…and harmful desires, that end in ‘ruin and destruction.’” The apostle says that we should note well how longing for increased wealth leads to “wandering from the faith” and produces many griefs.

The remedy is not always easy, but it’s possible. Moreover, it is spiritually productive of faith, love, gentleness, and a good reputation among others. “Take hold” of things that are spiritually righteous, Paul tells Timothy. At the same time, he’s saying it to you and me. One day, we will all stand before the LORD Jesus Christ and give an account of our lives and how we have lived them. I’m praying that I will make a “good confession” on that date; and I’m praying that you will, too!

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,

Genesis 18:25-33, “Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”

27 And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.

28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, wilt Thou destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”

30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”

32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

33 And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed; and Abraham returned to his place.”

Have you ever thought that you could “out-talk” the LORD? I know some preachers who apparently believe they can. Have you ever thought you could bargain with the LORD and win? Well, I’ve never personally known that to be successful. It seems both dangerous and futile to me. Yet, I suppose each of us has, at some time, sought to persuade the LORD to come our way.

There are some decidedly spiritual aspects that must be “in place,” if any facet of such can be successful. Examining the life of Abraham finds him abiding in the way of the LORD. Any child of a wise and loving parent knows that “minding” is key to obtaining future freedoms.

What has the LORD commissioned you to be beyond being a true and faithful servant? “Being” supersedes “doing.” How clearly and often my mother used to say, “Well, if you do what I’ve told you, we’ll see about it.” Are you doing what He has told you to do? Are you reading the Bible? Are you faithfully praying? Do others know you as a true and faithful witness for the LORD? Okay, now we’ll see about those things you’ve asked.

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 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