The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 21:1-3, “After these things Jesus manifested Himself again

to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.

2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,

and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

3 Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will also

come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught

nothing.”

Did you ever come to the end of a day with the feeling that you

had wasted it? It’s an even worse feeling when you have led others

to follow you and you’ve wasted their day, too. Leadership has a lot

of responsibilities. Jesus had risen from the dead, and Simon Peter was

now the apparent leader of the disciples. Jesus had left the disciples

with a huge responsibility of sharing the Gospel with the world-at-large.

Peter just decided to go fishing –literally fishing for fish, not for souls.

When he announced his intention, the others followed suit. What we

do inevitably influences others. We may not intend it to, but it does!

Peter should have remembered the LORD’s directive, “Follow Me, and

I will make you fishers of men” (Mat. 4:19). Once we have committed

our lives to Christ Jesus, we must never return to the old ways –the ways

of the world. It spells trouble for us and leads others in the wrong way.

We love you and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

John 20:9, “For as yet they did not understand the Scripture,

that He must rise again from the dead.”

Did you ever come across a Scripture that you did not understand?

Sure, we all have. But we have more going for us than the disciples

had, because we have the New Testament and the Holy Spirit to

show us the meaning. The disciples were Pharisees, too, and the

Pharisees believed in resurrection from the dead. Still, to believe

something and to understand it clearly are two separate things.

The keystone of the Gospel is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Yes, His death on the cross was the sacrifice for our sins. But His

Resurrection was the ultimate proof of His sacrifice for us. Oh,

one more thing: He’s Coming Again! And it could be today!

Love and blessings to each and every one of you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

John 19:38, “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus,

but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the

body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.”

Mimi, my maternal grandmother, knew how to keep a secret. I’ve often

heard her reply, “Well, I just couldn’t say…” That could be taken two

ways: 1) I don’t know, or 2) I won’t say. So, we never knew exactly

what she meant when she replied in that manner. The word “secret”

(?????? krupto) is found in 21 verses in the New Testament. It can

mean “concealed” or “hidden”; thus, it was a secret. In our verse above,

Joseph of Arimathea was called a “secret disciple.” His secrecy existed

because he feared the Jewish religious leaders. Imagine being put out

of your church! –not just in membership, but in being able to assemble

with others in worship. And if your church’s leaders were killers, like

the synagogue leaders in Joseph’s day—Wow! With all his good

intentions about caring for the body of Jesus, Joseph was scared to

let people know he was a Christian. Someone has said, “Secret

discipleship is an oxymoron, a self-contradictory term, because either

the discipleship will destroy the secrecy or the secrecy will destroy

the discipleship.” Think about it! Is your discipleship a secret?

We continue to love you –and, oh, notice the attachment for you

thoughts and archived files.

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

John 19:10-11, “So Pilate said to Him, ‘You do not speak to me?

Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have

authority to crucify You?’

11 Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless

it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered

Me to you has the greater sin.’”

Do you remember things that occurred when you were four years old?

I was four years old when Adolph Hitler march into Poland. Two

years later America was attacked at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese

and we entered World War II. I didn’t know it then, but war has

everything to do with authority! Pilate emphasized his authority;

but Jesus said His Father in Heaven had greater authority than he.

Donald J. Trump is the new President of these United States. He is

in authority over many aspects of our government. Some view him

as the most powerful man in the world at this time. But, have you

noticed how President Trump acknowledges God? He may not be

a born-again Christian like Vice-President Pence, but unlike Pilate,

he does acknowledge the power and authority of Almighty God.

Who is authoritative in your life? Is it you? or is God? It had

better be God. The “greater sin” of which Jesus spoke, lay at the

feet of the Jewish religious leaders. What they were doing was

even more sinister than anything Pilate would do. And Pilate was

fearful through this whole affair (v. 8). You and I had better be

fearful, too. I am! Are you?

We love you more than you’ll ever know,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Proverbs 9:10-11, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For by me your

days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.”

None of us knows how long we will live on Earth. In His wisdom, the

LORD created us to remember the past, but have no knowledge of

the future other than what He reveals in His Word. The word fear

(??????? yirah) also means reverence. Both should be employed here

for our understanding. We should revere the LORD because of who

He is and fear Him for what He can do. How would you behave if you

were today to physically meet the LORD Jesus Christ? Of course,

you would dress your very best; but how would you “feel” inside.

Would you be frightened? Oh, but what if you had said or done

something you knew to be displeasing to Him. How would you “feel,”

knowing that He knew what you had said or done? Getting all of this

right is what Solomon meant when he said it was “the beginning of

wisdom.” And all of this is extremely important because the LORD

controls our number of days on this Earth.

May we all live to honor and glorify our LORD Christ Jesus!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas