The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 4:18-20, 29, “And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard’….29’And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence…’”

The Jewish Council had forbidden the Apostles to say anything in the Name of Jesus! Period.

But Peter put the problem back in the Council’s lap by saying Whether we should listen to you

Instead of God, you’ll have to decide. We’ve made our decision. We will continue to speak

out for Him!!! Tough stuff, that. ~ When released, the Apostles went to prayer: LORD, take

note of their threats and give us strength to keep on sharing Your Word! Wow! No one was

going to stand in their way! And no one can stand in our way, either. Our confidence is in

the LORD!

God bless you all abundantly,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which

surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We live in an increasingly dangerous world. Things that occurred only occasionally

a few years ago, seem to be happening almost daily. What are we to do? First, don’t

live scared! Nothing can happen to you of which the LORD is unaware. But, we are

not to be caviler or behave carelessly. Rather, we are to pray faithfully, “by prayer and

supplication.” Prayer is for His blessings; and supplication is praying to avoid catastrophes.

Whatever occurs, we are to express thanksgiving –for every event, prosperity and affliction

alike. The LORD’s promise is that He will give us peace in the midst of every storm, and He

will set a guard over our hearts and minds –all through our LORD Jesus Christ. Amazing!

Love and Peace to you all,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

John 21:21-22, “So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what

about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come,

what is that to you? You follow Me!’”

Some lessons are hard to learn. Do you remember when the disciples

found someone casting out demons, but was not following along with

them? (Luke 9:49) They told him to stop! Well, Jesus told them

not to hinder the man because anyone who is not against you is for you.

Now, in our verse above, Peter wants to know what John’s task is; and

Jesus has to say again, That’s not your business; just follow Me.

Others don’t always do what we think they should. That’s just none of

our business. Of course, we should witness to the lost. But, if they

reject our witness, that is their business, not ours. The work that some

people undertake may not be where we think they’re best suited. That

is their business, not ours. We have one major responsibility; that is

to follow Jesus and His will for our own lives. Tough lesson sometimes;

but one that we must all learn.

Love you each and every one,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

John 19:24, “So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it,

to decide whose it shall be’; this was to fulfill the Scripture: ‘THEY DIVIDED MY

OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.’”

The latter chapters of John’s Gospel are loaded with prophecies! McDowell has

compiled them in his book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict. The Jewish method

of determining whether a prophecy were true was to test a long-term prediction

by a short-term prediction. If the short-term prediction came true, they then

believed the long-term one. If the short-term prophecy did not come true, they

then would not believe the long-term one. The attachment above (three pages)

show both some long-term and short-term prophecies concerning Jesus. This is

a valuable tool for proving the Bible and Jesus to be true.

May the LORD give you a glorious day!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

John 15:7, “’If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.’”

Arguably, no promise from Jesus was ever greater than this.

I think I’ve told you that the Greek language has four “conditional”

sentences; and they all begin with “if.”

The first: if…and you will.

The second: if, but you won’t

The third: If, maybe you will, maybe you won’t

The fourth: if, and I wish you would, but you won’t.

Here Jesus is saying: “if you abide in Me… that is, if you make your

home in Me—maybe you will; maybe you won’t—and if My words

abide in you, that is, make their home in you; then ask! Ask is

imperative: DO IT!! You mean, ask whatever we wish? Yes,

because if you are truly abiding in Him, what you wish will be

in accordance with His will. And if it is what He wills, He will

bring to pass what we ask. Simple? Well, it all depends on

that “if.” Is your life really and truly resting in Christ Jesus?

We love you immensely,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas