The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 11:9, 24-25, “And those who went before, and those who followed after, were crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord….

24 “Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.

25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions.’”

When the multitude of the Jews cried, “Hosanna!” they were recognizing Jesus as their promised Messiah. The word “Hosanna” means “LORD, save us!” It’s a recognition and a cry we would do well to implement today. Thousands of people in our world are facing the cruel hand of death simply because they are Christians. And millions more are imprisoned by sin within themselves. Jesus is the Great Deliverer. He is the only one who can free us from bondages that imprison us.

Freedom from sin, however, comes at a price. First, we must pray in faith for deliverance. We must pray believing that we have already received that for which we’ve asked. That’s not easy. When we hurt physically, it’s not easy to believe that the hurt has gone away because we still feel it. When I was a child, I can remember having a bout with hick-ups. My grandfather said, “Look at me. You don’t have them! They’re gone!” Yet, while I protested that I still had them, they vanished. I’ll never forget how surprised I was. If my Dado could do that, what could the LORD not do?

So, belief, faith, trust (all the same word in Greek) must accompany our prayers. And for our prayers, to be effective, we must forgive everyone of every wrong they’ve said or done against us. Is that difficult? You bet it is! We always want to see them “paid back” for what they’ve done. But the Bible teaches that we are to “leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom. 12:19). Those “coals of fire” that we want to heap on the heads of our adversaries –they are not for us to use; they are God’s coals. “’Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,’ says the LORD.” That’s His business; ours is to forgive.

Search your heart. Ask yourself, “Are their grudges I am holding against anyone?” If there are, your prayers are being hindered. Moreover, your faith and trust in what the LORD can do –His saving; His deliverance —is being hindered. It’s not because He lacks power, it’s because your lack of forgiveness of those who have wronged you.

Clear this old debris out of your life! It’s clogging the channels of His blessing to you.

Lovingly and prayerfully yours,

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 9:17-23, And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and stiffens out. And I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”

19 And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 And they brought the boy to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling about and foaming at the mouth.

21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 “And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”

23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

Just the other day I received an email from a missionary. When he shook hands with the natives, he noticed that they all had but three fingers and a thumb on their right hands. He learned that they had all severed their little fingers to appease the evil spirits.

Evil spirits do exist! What’s sadly interestering is that we believe in evil spirits (Harry Potter, et al), but not so much in the Holy Spirit of God. The man in our verses above believed evil spirits were affecting his son. Indeed they were! They had taken residence in the boy since early childhood, so they were well intrenched. The father was concerned, as a good father always is. He brought the boy to Jesus, just as we seek help when some malady strikes our bodies or those of our loved ones.

What the father said, however, revealed a lack of true faith. “But if You can do anything…” Jesus repeatition of the man’s words, “If you can,” indicate His understanding of the man’s lack of faith. We’re like that, are we not? We speak boldly of the LORD’s power, but inwardly we harbor some doubt as to whether what we are asking will really be fulfilled.

I know I’ve told you in an earlier letter about how I used to rush home from school to hear a story on radio. There was no FM in those days, and on that day my radio was so filled with static that I could not understand what was being said. I was reared to believe that Jesus was all-powerful, and I believed it. So, I bowed my head and prayed for the static to be removed –and it was!!! In an instance, the radio was as clear as clear could be! I can remember that as if it were yesterday. As a boy, my mind was not encumbered with the doubts that come with adulthood. The LORD is no less powerful today than when I was a boy. “All things are (still) possible to him who believes.” Do you believe that? I hope yoo do!

Faithfully praying 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 9:2-7, “And six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;

3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

4 And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.

5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’

6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.

7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!’”

Were you ever in a group of people when you suddenly became aware that you were among some very notable individuals? “How on Earth could this be?” you thought. “I would not have believed this in a thousand years.”

And experience like that is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood accounts in Scripture — the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Jesus took his closest disciples, Peter, James and John, with Him and ascended to a high mountain. It was a place of elevation, a place of withdrawal from the hum-dum of the world, a place of quiet peace. It was there in the solitude of that place that Jesus’ eternal Self was revealed. It was His pure holiness over-shadowing His humanity. It was Jesus revealing Himself as very God.

Elijah and Moses were there, too. Elijah, one of the only two men to never experience death; and Moses, the Law-giver and leader of Israel, who died and was buried by the LORD Himself in a place unknown to all others. They were real in their audience with Christ. At the same time they represented those who die in the LORD (Moses) and those who will be caught up to meet Him in the Rapture of the Church (Elijah). Moses proves that there is life after death. Elijah proves that there will be a “catching up” of true believers before God’s destructive judgment upon the world and all who refused to accept Him.

Peter was always given to quick speech. It was not enough for him to be there and see this transfiguration of Jesus; he felt the impulse to say something, despite the fact that he didn’t know what to say. The truth was: the disciple were all terrified –scared to death! It was then that the Voice of God the Father spoke saying, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him.”

The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is coming back to take all true believers to be with Him in Heaven. Those who have died before He comes will be raised from their graves just as Moses was. Those who are alive when He comes will be “caught up to meet Him,” just as Elijah was in Old Testament times (2 Kings 2:11). The key question, therefore, is: are you a true believer in Jesus Christ? Have you truly been “born from above”? Have you asked Jesus into your life –to be your LORD and Savior?

If you’re not sure, take time time to sincerely pray this simple prayer:

“LORD, I know that I am a sinner. I know I’ve done many wrong things

in my life. I’m sorry for my sin. I know that Jesus loves me, and that He

died and rose again to save me from my sin. Right now, in my heart,

I willingly turn from my sin. And by faith, I receive the LORD Jesus Christ

as my Savior. Thank you, LORD Jesus, for saving me. Amen.”

We love you 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,

Mark 8:15-21, “And He was giving orders to them, saying, ‘Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’

16 And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.

17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?

18 ‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember,

19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?’ They said to Him, “Twelve.”

20 ‘And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?’ And they said to Him, “Seven.”

21 And He was saying to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’”

Where is the screwdriver? I can’t find a single paper clip! What on Earth did you do with it?

The nondescript frustrations we encounter often lead to conflict and blame. We focus on the menial, insignificant things instead of those things that really matter.

Jesus was warning His disciples of some fundamental dangers linked to the Pharisees and to Herod. The disciples were worried that they had only one loaf of bread to eat. Have you ever noticed how “important” eating is to us? We set aside the truly important things and concern ourselves with where and what we’re going to eat.

Jesus treated the disciples like the children they were: you have eyes, don’t you see? You have ears, don’t you hear? Can’t you remember? We just saw 5,000 people fed with five loaves and 4,000 with seven; and you picked up twelve baskets full from the one and seven from the other. “Do you not yet understand?”

All of this should speak to us. Some things matter; some things don’t. Jesus is our ultimate provider. He loves us and He is capable and disposed to give us all good things. David said,

“I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or His descendants begging bread” (Ps. 37:25). Count your blessings! Stop being worried about menial things. If you can’t find the tools you need, you don’t need them. If you have to go without eating once or twice, you won’t die. Look up, not down! Be positive, not negative!

Laughter will keep you from crying. Just focus on Jesus, and you will do well.

Prayerfully and lovingly yours,

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 7:6-8, “And He said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. 7 But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” 8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”’”

“Wash your hands and get ready for dinner!” Those words from my mother still ring in my ears! She probably wouldn’t have had to say that to the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They were

constantly washing everything: their hands, their feet, their cooking utensils, the table and benches that held the food. In our view today, they cleansed to excess. Still, they were not cleaning things to eliminate germs; it was an external religious ritual that they viewed as an act of worship toward God.

A careful reading of this passage tells us that Jesus was not-at-all against cleanliness; He was much more interested in the attitude of men’s hearts. Many religions today engage in external rituals, thinking that they are honoring God. With many of them, the god they honor is not the God we know and revere.

Ministers, teachers, professors all need to be careful that they not mingle external rituals with inward faith. Those who are under their teachings need also to weigh what they are taught against the Word of God because some men teach things that are merely human traditions as spiritually required doctrines of God.

We are truly living in “the Last Days.” Corruption in teachings, and in morals, could hardly descend to a lower level. Keep your heart clean and honor the LORD Jesus Christ with your life and words. When the heart is right, the hands will be clean in His sight.

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.”