The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 6:52, “…they had not gained any insight from the incident of the

loaves, but their heart was hardened.”

How many times have I told you what this means, and you still don’t

understand? I’m sure someone along the line has said something like

that to you. They sure have to me! We hear what they say, but we

just don’t grasp the understanding of it. Why does this occur?

In previous verses in Mark 6, Jesus has fed the 5,000 with five loaves

and two fish. He then instructed the disciples to go by boat to the

other side of the sea, as he dispersed the crowd. Somewhere between

three and six in the morning, a great storm came up. Jesus approached

the boat walking on the water. The disciples thought He was a ghost

and were scared stiff! But, when He got into the boat, the wind stopped!

The disciples were “beside themselves –astonished, amazed!” Look at

what they had experienced: 5,000 men were fed with five loaves and

two fish; Jesus had approached them walking on the water; the wind

ceased to rage when He got into the boat –all of this; yet they were

dumbfounded!!! Why? “…they had not gained any insight from the

incident of the loaves…” Their hearts were callous, hardened; their

minds were closed and insensible. But why?

The word “hardened” means “judicial hardening, which results from as a

consequence of refusing to listen to God…” Does that definition give us

any insight into why we can read the Bible and witness things that only

the LORD can do, yet not understand? We need to evaluate everything

in the light of the spiritual.

A friend of mine related some tremendous experiences he had encountered.

When I asked how come they so often occurred in his life, he said, “You

have them, too. You don’t notice them because you’re not looking for them.”

Could that be true of you? Why am I sick? Why did I have that wreck?

Why was I overlooked for the position? We fail to understand the LORD’s

working in our lives because we’re too focused on things not spiritual.

Solomon said, “Understanding is a fountain of life to him who has it.” (Pro.

16:22). And David said, “When I pondered to understand this, it was

troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I

perceived their end” (Psalm 73:16). Maybe today in church the LORD has

a message for you. Listen carefully and He will give you understanding!

Our loving prayers are offered for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 6:31, “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely

place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going,

and they did not even have time to eat).”

The inimitable Rev. Vance Havner used to say, “The Bible says, ‘Come ye

apart and rest awhile.’ And if you don’t come apart you will soon come

apart.” He had some hilarious one and two-liners. But he was right.

Do you know that the word “rest,” and its complementary words resting,

rested, and the like, are mentioned over 340 times in the Bible? One of

the proofs that Jesus possessed a human nature as well as a divine one,

is in Mark 4:31. They were all in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. “And

He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they awoke Him…”

Some people beat themselves up for stopping their daily chores to rest.

How foolish that is! The Greek word for “rest” is anapauesthe. It means

both spiritual and bodily rest. It means to take it easy, relieve yourself from

work. You will be refreshed and revived, both mentally and physically.

What’s more, the tense of anapauesthe is present imperative! — Do it!!

There is a time to work and a time to play. There is a time to start and a

time to stop. Getting all of that in place as it ought to be is a challenge.

Nevertheless, it is needful for both your mind and your body. When I was

in college, I was told to study for 30 minutes and take a 10-minute rest;

then study for another 30 minutes and take another 10-minute rest. I

have to confess that I never followed that pattern with precision, but I did

learn that rest was as valuable to study as reading.

Whatever pattern you follow, do get sufficient rest! Turn your mind away

from the tasks at hand. The LORD is in that rest. You will see.

We continually love and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 3:28-30, “’Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin‘”– 30 because they were saying,

“’He has an unclean spirit.’”

With all that the Bible shares of the enormity of the LORD’s love and forgiveness, we

all need to be careful to reverence Him properly and not to engage even in thoughts that somehow Satan and not the LORD is the producer of the mighty works that we see. One commentator says, “…blasphemy means…speech derogatory to His Divine majesty. When our Lord said to the palsied man, ‘Thy sins are forgiven,’ the bystanders complained that the words were blasphemous, for no one but God had the right to say them. To blaspheme is by contemptuous speech intentionally to come short of the reverence due to God or to sacred things; and this, according to Jesus, was the offence of the Scribes and Pharisees.” Another adds, “It is the state of heart which produces these utterances that are so perilous; and that state is known to Him who pronounced this stern warning.”

What had happened in the passage above was that “…they had attributed to the devil the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the unpardonable sin and it can be committed today by men who call the work of Christ the work of the devil…” (A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures).

Anyone who is worried about having committed the Unpardonable Sin, need not worry

because he has not committed it. Had he committed it, he would not worry. Our world today is so permeated with sinful acts! It is not easy to live for Christ. History shows that it never has been easy. Yet, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound…” (Rom. 5:20).

When we receive the LORD Jesus Christ, He marks us with the Holy Spirit and we are

His forever! No born-again believer can ever commit the Unpardonable Sin. But sin

can and does numb and harden our hearts so that we fail to listen to His Voice and

do what He tells us to do. Even as a child, the LORD Jesus said, “…I must be about

My Father’s business” (Lk. 2:49b). That responsibility falls upon all of us; so, let’s

get busy!

Prayers of love are offered for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 1:21-27, “And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

23 And just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “What do we have to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are– the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him.

27 And they were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

Just as we don’t know everything, we don’t know who is among us –even in church!

Yet, wherever the Truth is being preached, there are sure to be those who oppose

the Truth. Demon spirits are not a figment of imagination! They are real! Nor are

they limited to biblical days. There are those among us today, who are demon-controlled. And some carry guns and intend harm to others. But the answer is not

gun-control; the answer is spirit-control. Nor are we to walk in fear and suspicion of others. To do that is to allow them to control our thinking.

What was happening in the synagogue in the above passage was a clash of

authorities. The people had noted that Jesus was teaching “as one in authority.”

Satan and his minions want to exercise authority. So, there is conflict. I have to

wonder whether anyone in that synagogue had ever befriended the demon-possessed

man, who cried out against Jesus and His teaching. I also wonder how many Christian young people in that Florida school had ever tried to witness to the young man, who later shot and killed a number of students and teachers. Oh, those who had known him when he previously attended the school, said he was “weird” and “a loner.” But do we Christians seek out the weird and loners to witness to them of Christ? My guess is that we do not. Yet, our Authority –Jesus—has said that we should. He saved us that we might be like Him and do His bidding. The lost are there as our challenge. Be bold! He is our strength and shield! No harm can come to us unless He allows it. Thus, whatever happens is already known to Him and fits solely within His eternal plan.

We continue to love and pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Matthew 28:1-6, Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.

2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.

3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his garment as white as snow;

4 and the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.

There are myriads of miraculous things in the world that we do not understand.

But nothing comes close to the miracle of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead.

Whether the women in our verses above slept at all the previous night, we do

not know. But before dawn on that Sunday morning, they went to His tomb.

The huge circular stone that served as the door to His tomb had been rolled

back by an angel, who said to them, “He is not here, for He has risen, just as

He said.”

The LORD Jesus’ death on the Cross –the shedding of His blood– was potentially

for the salvation of all mankind. I say “potentially” because it required mankind’s

faith to activate it. You have electrical outlets scattered throughout your house.

The electricity those outlets provide can light a lamp, heat a crockpot, run a

vacuum, and a thousand other things. But the key to the power is plugging in.

You have to plug into the power for any of these things to work. It is the same

with the sacrifice of Jesus. He shed His blood for us on the Cross. The proof of

His blood’s power to save is seen in His Resurrection from the dead! But the

blood is totally ineffective until one exercises faith in Jesus and what He has done.

Jesus promised, “…the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (Jn. 6:37b).

Why then, are not all men saved? Jesus said, “…you are unwilling to come to Me,

that you may have life” (Jn. 5:40).

But there is one vital additional thing that the Resurrection provides to us. When

we believe in Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, the LORD gives us the Holy Spirit.

God actually lives within us. What is there that we cannot achieve, if we trust

Him and follow His directions for our lives? Pray and ask Him! Be faithful to

His Word. Learn His will and purpose for your life. Follow Him faithfully. Joy

will fill your heart, and you will learn the true meaning of “success”!

We are prayerfully trusting Him to reveal His will for you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”