The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 10:1-9, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

2 “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. 4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 “And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

7 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

Warnings are everywhere! Some are audible, as sirens from ambulances, police cars, or fire trucks. Some are visible, as posted areas –DO NOT ENTER! or less intrusive notices like “Open 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday-Friday” or soft notes of music on a wake-up call.

Jesus’ words, “Truly, truly” are also a warning. They emphasize the validity and importance of what He is about to say, such as “Listen up!” or “Pay careful attention to this—” What He says

is a figure of speech. He is likening Himself to a shepherd and His followers as sheep. Literal sheep are not wise within themselves, but they can discern the voice of their shepherd; so, if we are His sheep, we are able to spiritually discern His voice from that of a foreign one. Whether we listen and obey Him is another matter.

But, what is Jesus’ warning? He is simply saying that there are many voices, saying many things and pretending they are from Him –but they are not! When I was teaching, I had students that would quote from men whose theology was twisted and misleading. They had read the wrong books, listened to the preaching of wrong and false teachers. That which is “new” is not always right. Large churches and popular preachers are not always right. This is Jesus’ warning: “Be careful!” It is the devil’s agenda to mislead the followers of Jesus Christ. Weigh everything in the scale of His Holy Scripture!

“I am the door,” Jesus says; “if (???) anyone enters through Me (maybe he will; maybe he won’t), he shall be saved (secured) and shall go in and out (enjoy freedom), and find pasture (spiritual nourishment, rest, fellowship).” In other words, Jesus is everything; and everything we need is in Jesus. Beware, therefore, that you follow only Him and His Word. It’s a heavy warning that is well worth heeding.

Our prayers include each of you every, single 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,

John 9:1-7, “And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?’

3 Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.

4 ‘We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work.

5 ‘While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’

6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,

7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam ” (which is translated, Sent). And so, he went away and washed, and came back seeing.”

The most complex part of the human body is the eye. And when the disciples saw this blind man, they were curious to know why he was born blind. Had the man sinned? or had his parents sinned? What had caused the man’s blindness? How they knew the man was blind from birth, the text does not tell us. Yet, Jesus did not challenge that aspect of their question.

God is never complicit with evil. He created the entire universe, including man, without any sin or imperfection. Adam’s sin had brought imperfection into the world. The disciples knew this, so it was natural that they should ask what caused the man’s blindness. Jesus’ answer was “that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Jesus then spat on the ground, mingled His spit with clay, and applied it to the eyes of the blind man, saying, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” Why would He direct the blind man to do that?

Could He not simply have said, “See!” and the man be instantly healed of his blindness? It seems that Jesus was giving the man a test to discover whether he truly believed he could be healed. Doctors today treat our illnesses by giving us medicine to take to aid in the healing. Whether we actually take the medicine is left to us. If we do take it, we soon find that it helps us. But, if we don’t take it, our troubles continue. Thus, the washing in the pool of Siloam became a test of the man’s faith in Jesus!

Jesus still gives tests. Do we really want what we ask of Him? If we do, we’ll follow His instructions because they are the test of whether we truly believe Him. Incidentally, the word for “seeing” (?????) also means “perceiving” or “understanding.” So, when we obey the LORD’s instructions, He gives us insight and greater understanding of Himself, of His Word, and of His will and purpose for our lives. You can know more than you do! Just believe!

We are praying for you to know more; pray for us to know more, as well,

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 8:28-30, “Jesus therefore said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.

29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.”

Do you know who you are? You may think that is a silly or even stupid question, but many people have no true knowledge of who they really are. The age old questions –Who am I? Why am I here? and Where am I going?—still reside in the innermost recesses of the human heart.

Jesus knew exactly who He was. He knew His mission from His Father; and He knew where He was going when His mission on Earth was completed. The result of this knowledge led Him to say, “I do nothing on My own initiative.” This is a heavy thought; and we do well to ponder it regarding ourselves. If you are truly a born-again (born from Above) believer in Jesus Christ, you are responsible to be and do what He wills for your life. Your thoughts and intentions, your strength, you time –everything! belongs to Him. You are no longer your own.

I can look back over the years of my own life and see where and how He has led me. I can also see the times when I strayed the the path of His will and did my own thing. I wasted time – time I cannot now reclaim. I wasted energy on things that I can now see didn’t really matter. The LORD has used Nana (Rose Marie) to teach me to live so as “not to have any regrets.” We can and must, of course, repent of our sins. The LORD can and will then forgive us; but, we cannot reclaim time we have wasted. Oh, that we all might say, “I do always those things that are pleasing to Him” — our Heavenly Father.

Don’t fail to notice the final verse above: “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.” For as we live as He directs us, many will come to believe in Him, also. That’s His will for us; and it must be our will for ourselves. May His Spirit ever and always urge us to obey Him.

We daily remember you before Him in our 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 6:9, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”

There is a tendency today to overlook the value of small children. The news is alarmingly crowded with accounts of their tragedies –often deaths at the hands of their own parents. Earlier this week, I had the occasion to see a small, sleeping child beside his father. He was a truly beautiful little boy. I remarked to the father how beautiful the child was, and the father told me the boy had just been awarded to him and his wife by the courts. The child was not naturally his, he said; he was a “mentally challenged” child, who was given birth by a woman who was hooked on drugs.

My heart sank as I heard the story. The woman had given birth to several children, all of whom she abandonded in favor of the drugs she craved. And I wondered, as I gazed at this little boy, what he would ultimately become. Would he grow to manhood? Would he overcome the challenges he was facing?

In a way, this child is far removed from the meaning of Andrew’s words in our verse above. The lad of whom Andrew spoke was well and possessed food for the day. Yet, those words ring within my heart in relation to the baby I saw. “There is a lad here…” How much do we value human life? How much do we value the lives of the little ones? It’s far too easy to dismiss the tragedies of others and switch our focus to material things. Yet, all around us are children –little children—who need the love and care of adult Christians.

The man, who is now the legal father of that little boy, is himself a Christian. “All I can do is pray for him,” he told me. Yet, the Scriptures say, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (Jas. 5:16). Earnest, sincere prayer is so vitally needed today! For whom are you and I earnestly praying? What’s more, are we sufficiently “righteous” for our prayers to even be heard?

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,

John 4:3-6, “He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.

4 And He had to pass through Samaria.

5 So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

6 and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.”

Anyone who has visited Israel has probably encountered a guide who embellished some biblical accounts to make the visit more exciting for the visitor. One guide pointed to an overhanging tree limb said to us, “That’s where Zaccheus was when Jesus passed by here.” How could anyone identify a tree limb from 2,000 years ago?

One cite, however, was without question authentic: Jacob’s well. I dropped a stone

down into the well, and it was so deep that several seconds passed before I heard it hit the water below. But the thrill was greater than the depth of the well. Jacob, son of Isaac, had actually been there! He had dug the well. Joseph, who had ruled in Egypt had been there –right there where I stood. But more exciting still was the knowledge that the LORD Jesus Christ had physically been there. And I was actually there, too!!!

Jesus was and is God! But, being also man, He was tired. Jews normally took another route, so as to by-pass Samaria because there was a history of hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. But, Jesus intentionally took the route that brought Him to Jacob’s well. “He had to pass through Samaria.”

Sometimes, we just have to do things we’d rather not do. But, when we’re led of the Holy Spirit to do them, we had better! We hesitate because we are fearful of the outcome; but, the outcome is always good when we follow the course Jesus has given us. Think for a moment of the woman. Had Jesus not come, she would never have been saved –nor would those to whom she witnessed have come to know Him. Don’t worry about your Samaria. Think about those who are there that need Jesus.

We lovingly pray for you daily; and we appreciate 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.”