The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 14:16-24, “A certain man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;

17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’

19 “And another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’

20 “And another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’

21 “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’

22 “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’

23 “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24 ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.'”

There is no excuse for what you did! Did anyone ever say that to you? a parent? a teacher? a boss?

The “why” behind what we did or did not do what was required is as old as mankind itself.

Adam said to God, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree…” (Gen. 3:12) This excuse was then copied by Eve, who blamed the serpent. Moses argued with God saying, “…they will not believe me or listen to my voice…” (Ex. 4:1). Aaron blamed the people for the golden calf, saying, “…they said to me, ‘Make us gods’…” And the list goes on.

Someone has said that the definition of an excuse is “the skin of reason stuffed with a lie.” That may seem a bit harsh because the “reason” probably seems reasonably feasible to the one offering it. Nevertheless, when the LORD instructs His servants in what they are to do, there can be no excuse for not doing it.

The parable Jesus gave in our verses above is indeed appropriate to every generation. A man intending to give a dinner, gave an invitation to his intended guests. There was ample time for them to prepare to be there. In the culture of the day, they had accepted the invitation, but when the dinner was ready, and the date for it had arrived, they all declined –making excuses for not being able to be there. It was an insult to the host!

Have we ever thought about how we insult the LORD Jesus by intentionally neglecting to do or say what He has instructed us? It’s somebody else’s fault. I forgot all about it. There are others who are better at doing it than I am. And the list goes on and on. Yet, what we overlook is that the LORD intended us to do it or He would have chosen someone else. Others may have already been doing what He instructed, and were honestly unavailable for that time. He needed us for that specific time and place. Perhaps, it was a training mission, preparing us for some even greater work at a later time. Why do we question God? Why do we just not obey His commands without question?

In the end, those who made excuses missed the dinner. Worse still, they angered their host by not showing up. When we were saved, we yielded our very lives, time, energy, everyting to Him. We are not our own! We are servants, His servants. And someday we will need Him to help us. Will He give us an excuse?

We pray earnestly for you spiritually and physically,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 14:8-11, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both shall come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.

10 “But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you.

11 “For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Some days ago the President of the United States held a signing ceremony. All of the invited dignataries were gather in the East Room of the White House. A few were designated to stand on risers on the platform immediately behind the speaker. It was an assembly of carefully orchestrated decorum. There was no rushing for the front row seats. If someone discovered himself to be in the wrong seat, he vacated that seat and sought the place reserved for him.

I have to wonder of anyone at that signing ceremony recalled the verses from Luke’s Gospel. In His parable, Jesus allowed that everyone who was invited to the wedding feast was guaranteed a seat. He also noted that each invited guest was designated a specific seat, and that arrangement was decided by the one in charge of the feast. The person in charge had the authority to seat people where he desired. The one who chose a front-row seat for himself would in time suffer embarrassment by being told to move to seat in a row further back. It was a value system. Those valued more highly were awarded the better seats.

Sometimes we over-value ourselves. We view ourselves as smarter, wealthier, even better looking that others, thus we believe we should have higher honor than others. But, that’s not how it works! The LORD is in charge, and His value-arrangement is what matters. So, how do we increase our value in His sight? We do it by being faithful, by living as He directs, by working diligently, minding our own business –which is His business; by sharing His likeness in our daily lives, and sharing His Word in a verbal witness, as His Spirit prompts us. From the LORD’s viewpoint, that is what constitutes true value. Where will you sit when the Wedding Feast is announced?

We love you dearly and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 12:39-40, “’And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

40 “’You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.’”

According to the Department of Justice, there are 1.03 million home invasions every year. How many

home invasions occurred in Jesus’ day on Earth is impossible to know; however, they did occur, prompting His mention of it in our verses above. There was danger in the ancient world, just as there is today. Jesus is not specifically addressing the matter of homeowner’s rights to defend themselves and their possessions, although by implication, He does support self-defence. He has a more serious matter of which to warn us.

The parallel here is the contrast of a home invader with the Coming of the LORD Jesus Christ. We should be ready for both. Of course, the Coming of the LORD is vastly more important. Jesus’ words, “be ready” are imperative in the Greek language. His Coming should be –must be– uppermost in our minds.

Some in Simon Peter’s day were saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep (died), all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4). Still, Peter warns,

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…” (2 Pet. 3:10). Do thieves intentionally announce when they are coming to rob you? Of course not! Neither does Jesus announce when He is coming. The point is: we must be ready! We must be always alert because He could come at any moment.

We become alert when we read the Bible and consistently follow its instructions. We become alert when our minds are focused on living a Christ-like life. No thief wants to be caught in the act of doing something wrong. And no true believer in Jesus Christ wants to be caught dabbling in worldliness when He comes!

Solomon said, “Watch over your heart with all diligence…” (Pro. 4:23). That means guard your heart at all times! Don’t for a moment be caught off guard. Sound like a full-time job? You bet it is! But when He comes, it will be worth it all.

We love and pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 11:5-10, “And He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and from inside he shall answer and say, “Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.”’

8 “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.

10 “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.”

What do you know about prayer? I remember someone in my college days asking the professor, “Does prayer really work?” It was a secular college and the professor knew as little about it as the student who was asking. That was not true in Jesus’ case. His disciples recognized something of the value of prayer because they asked Him, “LORD, teach us to pray…” (v. 1).

A good teacher gives the basic principles of the object and then follows up with a clear illustration of how it works. Jesus was a Master Teacher. In verses 1-4, He gives them the model by which they are to pray. Then in verses 5-10, He illustrates it. What works is the persistence involved: Oh, I’ll never get any sleep if he keeps pounding like that! I might just as well get up and give him what he wants. There is no suggestion in Jesus’ words that the Father doesn’t want to answer our prayers. It may be that He wants to know how sincere and urgent we are in asking. In any event, Jesus’ instruction is that we ask, seek, and knock. His promise is that when we persist in asking, the Father will respond to our request.

Only this morning, I read an email that said, “Our family requests your prayers for our loved one; the doctors say…” It was an earnest and sincere request; and its urgency lies in what the doctors say about the patient’s condition. I don’t know the patient or the family making the request. But I know what it is to be in need of God’s intervention, and that calls for help from others in pounding relentlessly on Heaven’s door. If we expect others to pray for us when we’re in need, surely we need to pray for them when they are.

The Bible contains over 300 verses on prayer. Prayer is important to God. It must become important to us.

We stand in need of your prayers, even as we pray for you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the LORD.”

My alarm is set for 05:00. It’s been set that way for a long time. And it always goes off just as

it is supposed to do. Trouble is, I always awaken before the alarm. Why is that? I get sufficient

sleep. I don’t awaken tired. Am I “pushing” things? Is there something I’m missing here?

It is true that we often get ahead of what we’re supposed to do. We get anxious, like a child

on CHRISTmas morning! Oh, I remember those days! But those times are past –long past.

What’s with my anticipation now?

I read this morning about those who rejected Jesus, refusing Him entrance into their city.

James and John (the sons of thunder!) said, “LORD, do you want us to command fire to

come down from Heaven and consume them?” (Luke 9:54). It is commendable that they

believed they could do it. But they were ahead of the curve – the alarm hadn’t yet sounded.

I read further of the hurriedness of Martha, who was preparing a meal for Jesus (Luke 10:40).

She needed help, but her sister, Mary, was just sitting and listening to Jesus’ teaching. In

Martha’s eyes, Mary was wasting time. But, she too, was ahead of the curve –the alarm had

not yet sounded.

The Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

That is ture of us, as well. If It’s “through Him,” for Him, we will indeed have sufficient strength

and understanding for any task. But, timing is vitally important. Solomon said, “There is an

appointed time for everything…” (Eccl. 3:1a). In fact, he uses the word time 30 times in

verses 1-11. He notes for us that the LORD “has made everything appropriate in its time.”

Just don’t get ahead of the LORD. Let’s remember that we are His servants, He is not our’s.

He calls the shots. He runs the team. And He knows the right time for everything.

“Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”

We love you and pray earnestly for you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”