The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Timothy 5:24-25, “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. 25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.”

A fire storm has developed with respect to the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. An otherwise little known university professor has suddenly thrust herself into the situation with accusations against the Judge’s character –accusations which the Judge categorically and uniquivoculately denies.

While the Apostle Paul could not possibly adjudicate a situation occurring centuries removed from his lifetime, he does lay down a principle that is applicable to every situation in every generation: namely, the good that people do is open and evident to others. It is not concealed; it does not need to be argued in a court of law. Good deeds done to the benefit of others are open for everyone to see and inspect.

At the same time, the sins that men commit cannot be concealed, either. Certainly, all sins that have not been forgiven will one day be judged by the LORD. Some sins may be concealed from view for a time, but there is a day of reckoning in which even the evil thoughts of mankind will be open to the view of others. Since no one is without sin, how can we escape God’s righteous judgment?

Repentance means to “change the mind,” to change the direction of the will that affects the actions of the life. Repentance is not a flippant “I’m sorry,” with the meaning, “I’m sorry I was caught doing wrong.”

Rather, it is the open admission of having have done wrong, coupled with the strong and honest determination not to engage in or repeat any activity that is contrary to the will of Almighty God.

Barnes expresses it all quite clearly. “There will be amazing developments in the last great day; and, as it will then be seen in the revelations of the secret deeds of evil that human nature is corrupt, so it will be seen that there was much more good in the world than was commonly supposed. As a large portion of the wickedness of the earth is concealed, so, from the necessity of the case, it is true that no small portion of the goodness on Earth is hidden. Wickedness conceals itself from shame, from a desire better to effect its purposes, from the dread of punishment; goodness, from its modesty, its retiring nature, and from the want of an opportunity of acting out its desires; but whatever may have been the cause of the concealment, in all cases all will be made known on the final trial — to the shame and confusion of the one class; to the joy and triumph of the other.”

May our good and gracious LORD work with us in producing lives that are glorifying to Him!

Praying daily for ourselves and 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,

1 Timothy 6:6-9, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”

You probably don’t watch the stock market very often. Most people don’t; but it is a good indicator of the economy of the nation. When things are going well with the economy, those with money invested make more and are content –that is, they are content for the moment; then they want to make more.

Nowhere in Scripture is richness condemned. Some of the godliest men in Scripture have been rich. Yet, Scripture does condem the love of riches because those who continually want more, do not live lives of contentment. Paul says we should be godly because “godliness is a means of great gain.” You and I entered this world with nothing, and we will take none of what we have gained with us when we die. It’s the saying that’s “there’s no U-Haul behind the hearse.”

Paul goes further to say that those who thirst for riches fall into temptations that destroy them.

No one intends riches to destroy him, they just do! Even Solomon, with all the abundance he had, was ultimately destroyed. He became discontent and called all of it “vanity.” The emphasis in all of this is that we need to relax and be content with what we have. If we have only food and clothing, we have more than most of the world. “…be content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you…’” (Heb. 13:5). The LORD is ever and always our Supreme Provider. Trust Him for all of your needs. Sometimes, when He sees you are content, He may even provide a few of those “wants” you have.

Faithfully, we remember you in our daily prayers,

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,

John 21:19c-22, “[Jesus] said to him, “Follow Me!”

20 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His breast at the supper, and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’

21 Peter therefore seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’

22 Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’”

Did anyone ever say to you, “Mind your own business”? It seems the norm, somehow, that little kids in school would poke their noses into the work of other students. “You shouldn’t do it that way,” some would say. “Oh, look at how he’s doing his,” others would say, as if what someone else was doing was their business.

Many a time in my childhood, my mother would send me off to carry a message to someone or to do something, and would say, “Now, mind your Ps and Qs.” Funny, I never questioned what that saying meant. It just seemed that I intuitively understood that I was not to get mixed up in anything else; I was just to do exactly what she had told me –nothing else.

Peter would have done well not to have questioned Jesus’ instructions, either. The LORD had simply said to him, “Follow Me” –do what I have told you to do. But, Peter looked around and saw John and asked, “LORD, and what about this man?” It was a question that should never have been asked. Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

Let’s face it: we’re too much and too often like Peter. We look around and see others doing things the “wrong way.” Instead of staying on course with our own work, we poke our noses into what they’re doing. We’re not watching our Ps and Qs. What assignment has the LORD given you? I won’t list assignments He has given in Scripture, or what He has put in your mind and heart. That’s not my business. But He has given each of us something specific to do. Are you doing what He has assigned? Don’t worry about what others are doing. Just watch your own Ps and Qs.

Lovingly we 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,

John 1:10-12, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…”

How do you know whether a thing is true? A doctor gives you a perscription for a medicine; the pharmacist fills the perscription and gives you the medicine with the directions for taking it. But how do you know whether they were right? You have to believe they were right, and you have to take the medication in order to find out. It’s called trust.

Jesus Christ was a real person. He was the Son of God from all eternity, and the Creator of the world in which we live. He was then physically born into a human Jewish family. But the Jewish people were like other people and did not accept Him for who He truly was. It would be like growing up and not knowing your parents. Then one day someone appeared and told you that you were his child. How would you know whether it was so? Ultimately, you would have to believe.

The word believe (???????, pisteuo) means “to trust.” It is an acceptance of something as true, even when you cannot immediately prove it to be true. For years, men believed that the world was flat. They looked into the distance and viewed everything as flat. Any suggestion that the world was circular, was repudiated. Eventually, however, the Earth was proved to be circular.

When we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that His death and resurrection provide for us an eternal salvation, He freely declares us to be His children, who will never spiritually die, but will live with Him forever throughout eternity. That requires a big belief on our part, but the alternative is to die without hope of any kind.

Those of us who have trusted Christ Jesus’ Word have experienced confirmation of His truth. Others may ask how we got that confirmation. “Trust Him and see for yourself” is our reply. It is the only sure way to know Him and all that He has to offer.

We love and pray for you; and we thank you for 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,

John 19:6-11, “When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.”

7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate therefore heard this statement, he was the more afraid; 9 and he entered into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.

10 Pilate therefore 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 up to you has the greater sin.”

The United States today stands solidly behind Israel. Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East today. But Israel’s history has not always been good. In the verses above, her history displays a violent hatred toward the LORD Jesus Christ. William Barclay rightly states it:

“There is nothing in this world which warps a man’s judgment as hatred does.

Hatred is a kind of madness. Once a man allows himself to hate, he can neither

think nor see straight, nor listen without distortion. Hatred is so terrible a thing

just because it takes a man’s senses away.”

The hatred of the Jews against Jesus and their craving for His death involved the matter of authority. The Jews recognized the limitation of their authority –a limitation that had been imposed upon them by the Romans. Pontius Pilate was the Roman authority over Israel, which is why the Jews appealed to him to crucify Jesus. Pilate recognized his authority, but Jesus said, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this

reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin.”

Think about this carefully: Jesus clearly indicates that there are degrees of sin. Further, His words indicate that the attitude of hatred is a greater sin than the act of crucifixion itself. This should give us pause to examine our attitudes toward others. The Jewish attitude was hatred; and in Jesus’ thought, that was a greater sin than the Roman act of crucifixion.

Throughout His arrest, His trials (both Jewish and Roman), even the crucifixion itself, Jesus exhibited only love. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). This becomes a challenge to us in our daily lives. People do not always treat us lovingly. They lie against us; they mock us; they display every sort of hatred against us; yet, we are to love them.

Who is positioned against you? Who literally hates you and despises you? What they do should be of no concern to us. How we react to their hatred is what really matters. The LORD is in control over every situation. He is the sole authority. We are always under His protection.

We pray for your protection 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.”