The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 4:24, “And He was saying to them, ‘Take care what you listen to.’”

You probably know that I’m a stickler for taking biblical passages in

their contexts. Yet, sometimes things in Scripture just stand out in such

a way as to grab you attention despite the context. This is one of those

verses. ~ “Take care what you listen to” can have a lot of applications.

Well-meaning friends may often say things they believe to be true, but

they aren’t. Music may be the “in” thing for your age-group, but it may

also be feeding you a beat or a theme that is corrupt and dangerous.

Sometimes what you believe to be the Holy Spirit speaking to you just

might be Satan. Goodness! How are we to know? LIVE IN THE WORD

of GOD! Believe what the LORD says in that Word! Be exceedingly

prayerful! He will not allow you to go astray.

Love you all and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Mark 3:32-35. “A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him,

‘Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.’

33 Answering them, He said, ‘Who are My mother and My brothers?’

34 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, ‘Behold

My mother and My brothers! 35 ‘For whoever does the will of God, he is

My brother and sister and mother.’”

Jesus had not abandoned His earthly family, but He wanted to emphasize

that those who did the will of the Father are His spiritual family. Do you

think of yourself as Jesus’ brother or sister? You are; therefore, you and

I are to focus on what the LORD’s will is for our lives? Still, focus is not

enough. We must do what He wills us to do! What does the LORD want

you to do? Humm…

We love you desperately,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Matthew 28:12-14, “And when they had assembled with the elders and

consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 and said,

‘You are to say, “His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were

asleep.” 14 “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over

and keep you out of trouble.”’”

Were you ever tempted to lie about something? I’m sure we all have been.

Is it more serious when “spiritual leaders” encourage you to lie? Well, in this

case, it was! The Jewish chief priests and elders paid the soldiers money

and told them to lie about Jesus’ resurrection. Think about it. “You are to say,”

these Jewish leaders said, His disciples came…while we were asleep and

stole His body! If they were asleep, they were derelict in their duty, punishable

by death. And if they were asleep, how would they know it was Jesus’ disciples

that stole His body? Lies always lead to more lies; and those lies, lead to more

lies. Always tell the truth and you won’t get tripped up. Besides, Jesus would

never condone lying –ever!

We love you truly –no lie there,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Matthew 26:40, “And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping,

and said to Peter, ‘So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?’”

It was a deeply disturbing time for Jesus. He and His disciples were in

Gethsemane. The Cross was not far away. Jesus was deeply and emotionally

Involved in prayer. The disciples were asleep. Should they not have been

praying or Him? ~ How like the disciples we often are! Do we pray for each

other? Do you think to pray for the other relatives who are receiving this letter?

Do you pray for your parents, you uncles and aunts, or for Nana and me?

We all have needs. Some are physical, some are material, but we all have needs.

Jesus needed the disciples’ prayers. But they were asleep. . . .

Our love and prayers for you are daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Matthew 21:22, “’And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.’”

Kids are notorious askers! I always wanted something! As I grew older, I

came to realize that not everything I wanted was good for me. My parents

knew much better than I. ~ Still, Jesus says that everything (?????) we ask

in prayer, believing (???????????), we will receive. Apparently, Jesus meant

that anyone who was old enough to have accepted Him as LORD and Savior,

was old enough to ask only for things that would glorify Him. True prayer is

only true when accompanied by belief. Hope (??????) in Greek always means

future certainty. We must believe with certainty in order to receive. And

that kind of belief comes from a life of consistent spiritual mindedness.

Is that the kind of life you have?

We love and pray for you always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas