The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 2:8-11, “And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10 And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”

Some of the greatest things occur while we are working. Our minds and hearts were focused on the task before us, when suddenly it happened! It was a thought that flashed within you. It was something you had not anticipated, but in a split second it permeated your brain and then your heart. You were suddenly flooded with joy and peace –an experience unlike anything you had ever known!

This was the experience of the shepherds. Had they not been tending to their flock, they would have missed the blessing. They would never have seen and heard the angel of the LORD. They would never have been frozen in that glorious light of His presence. Whatever regrets or trouble they might have had were suddenly swept away in the flash of that heavenly brilliance!

Good news always supersedes! When will this good news come? It is before you here and now. It is yours if you will believe it. It goes beyond you. It encompass others, if they will only believe. The LORD, the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior, has come!

It was a spectacular moment in the lives of simple shepherds. And His coming means a spectacular joy to you –if you will allow it. The LORD has specific work for each of us; yet, no work is of greater value than another. Never look upon His task for you as of greater or lesser importance than the assignment He as given to someone else. It is what it is! He knows where you “fit” into His marvelous plan. There were many whose responsibilities were greater than those of the shepherds; but they were not the recipients of the angel’s announcement. Just do the work He has assigned you. Do it without complaint. You will be blessed!

We pray for you, and we value your prayers for us,

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 1:37, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

My mother was told by her doctor that she would never have a child. Her mother’s response was: “He hasn’t reckoned with God.”

We often speak of the “four Gospels,” Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But in reality, there is but one Gospel; and it is addressed to four different groups of people. Matthew speaks to the Jews; Mark, to the Romans; Luke to the Greeks; and John to the Church. Each expresses the Gospel in terms peculiar to his group, but there are no contradictions in the truths they each reveal.

Sir William Ramsay, the noted British chemist, Nobel Prize recipient, and atheist, was converted by faith to Jesus Christ. He wrote:

“I take the view that Luke’s history is unsurpassed in regard to its trustworthiness….

You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian’s and they

stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment.”

In his first chapter, Luke records the miraculous births of two sons: John the Baptist was born of a woman well beyond her child-bearing years; and Jesus Christ was born of a virgin girl, who had never had a sexual relationship with a man. These two women were at opposite ends of the birth spectrum, yet the LORD used both of them to convince us all that “nothing is impossible with God.”

Job of Old Testament times said, “I know that Thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

The Apostle Paul added this convincing word, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

We are currently facing some difficult times. They are likely to continue. But, we must not become discouraged. The LORD has performed some astounding miracles in the past, and His overall purposes will not be hindered or overcome. You may be facing some turbulence in your life at this time. Just know and remember that nothing can hinder the will of Almighty God. He controls His purpose in every situation, and He will give you His strength to survive if you only trust Him.

We pray for patience, as we await His performance,

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,

Mark 16:19-20, “So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.”

Touted as “the world’s greatest theoretical physist,” when the late Stephen Hawking died, among his final statements were these words:

“I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe

and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably

is no heaven and no afterlife either.”

These words lie in stark contrast with the words of our LORD Jesus Christ, who said,

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you;

for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,

and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:2-3).

A recent story in the news identified the numerous real estate holdings of President Donald Trump. Among those vast holdings of hotels and golf club resorts, there are numerous mansions boasting exquisite furnishings, all of which are overlaid with gold. For a boy who was reared in a modest, but comfortable home, such luxury is overwhelming. Yet, there is a home called Heaven that outranks the totality of the world’s opulance.

The promise the LORD Jesus left us when He ascended to Heaven, was that He was coming again and would take us to live with Him throughout eternity. In the meantime, as the work Christ came to do on Earth was completed, He left His disciples to share His Good News with all mankind. Our text says, “And they went out and preached everywhere…” At the same time, they were not alone, for “the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the Word by the signs that followed.”

However difficult work is, it is always easier when someone works with us. It should be easier still, when we realize that our fellow-worker is the LORD Himself. His Holy Spirit was given to us when we first believed on Him; and now, that same Spirit guides and energizes us in the sharing of the Gospel with others who have yet to believe.

Dr. Hawking had “a profound realization that there probably (was) no heaven and no afterlife…” In other words, he didn’t know; he just wasn’t sure. But we have a hope – a future certainty, “an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast…” (Heb. 6:19). And that hope is confirmed by His Word and by those daily miracles that we experience when we pray and believe. Don’t live in doubt! Live in hope! And share the LORD’s Word daily with those who have yet to believe.

Praying lovingly 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,

Mark 14:66-72, “And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came,

67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, ‘You, too, were with Jesus the Nazarene.’

68 “But he denied it, saying, ‘I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out onto the porch.”

69 “And the maid saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, ‘This is one of them!’

70 “But again he was denying it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, ‘Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.’

71 “But he began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about!’

72 “And immediately a cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, ‘Before a cock crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ And he began to weep.”

It would hardly be possible to call Peter a coward. It was Peter who drew his sword and severed the ear of the servant of the high priest in the presence of soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was Peter who had followed Jesus when He was forcefully taken to the high priest for interrogation. Yet, even the bravest of men often overstep themselves with respect to their courage.

Several times Peter was challenged with being a follower of Jesus; each time, he denied it. Once he withdrew from the accuser and “went out onto the porch.” But like a bird that continues to return to a carcus for food, the accusers continued to pester Peter, accusing him again and again of being a Jesus-follower. In desperation, Peter lost the courage he had previously displayed and denied knowing Jesus or even what all of this was about.

It is at this point in the biblical account that we need to be careful. It says, “(Peter) began to curse and swear.” It was clearly a denial, but the word “curse” (???????????) in Greek does not mean using foul or crude language. Peter did not use Jesus’ name in the way men curse in our day. Rather, he invoked a curse upon himself in the effort to enforce his denial. Oh, it was wrong! No doubt about that. But, it was not what we today call cussing. In courts of law, those giving testimony are required to place their hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth: Swearing in that sense is what is meant with regard to Peter.

Have you ever denied Jesus? People and circumstances often make denial seem easier than admitting that we know Him and belong to Him. Yet, when we remember that He loves us and died on the Cross to take away our sins, that recollection should be sufficient strength to stand up for Him in any circumstance and before any people! Prepare yourself now to face any circumstance that might lead you to deny Him. Live in the Word, the Bible. Live in an atmosphere of prayer. Evaluate every possible circumstance in a spiritual light. Trust the Holy Spirit to give you the courage and the words to speak. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!

We pray daily for your strength to withstand temptation,

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,

Mark 14:18-21, “And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me– one who is eating with Me.’

19 They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, ‘Surely not I?’

20 And He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl. 21 For the Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.’”

I’ve never told you this before, but I think it’s time you knew the truth. Probably, all of us have had someone – a parent or grandparent—share a family secret with us. It was like that with Jesus and His disciples. They were celebrating the Passover in an Upper Room. Everything was going well, when Jesus announced, “…one of you will betray Me.” They were stunned! –all of them, except the betrayer himself. He probably acted stunned, so as to identify with the rest of the group. But he knew.

How anyone could walk with Jesus for three years, hearing His teaching, seeing Him loving others and providing for their needs –how anyone could hear and see all that, and then turn against Him, is astounding! Still, Judas Iscariot had his own agenda. Barclay says it so well.

The essence of sin is pride; the core of sin is independence; the heart of sin is the desire to do what we like and not what God likes. That is what the devil, Satan, the evil one, stands for. He stands for everything which is against God and will not bow to Him. That is the spirit which was incarnate in Judas.

We shudder at Judas. But let us think again–covetousness, jealousy, ambition, the dominant desire to have our own way of things. Are we so very different? These are the things which made Judas betray Jesus, and these are the things which still make men betray him.

“The dominant desire to have our own way…” No, we’re not that much different from Judas. What is it that the LORD wants you to do? Why have you not done it? The family secret is out! We want to do our own thing. We don’t think of it as a betray of Jesus –but it is! Judas’ epitaph was frightful: “It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” He then experienced a dreadful end in death. It’s not too late for us. Just think: It’s better to obey than to betray.

Our prayers are lovingly lifted up 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.”