The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 22:39-46, “And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.

40 And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’

41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,

42 saying, ‘Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.’

43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.

44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

45 And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,

46 and said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.’”

Jesus had long known His mission. He had willingly come from Heaven to Earth to die in the agony

of the cruel Cross. Having completed His ministry, the time had come. Now, for the last time, He came

to the Mount of Olives to pray. The comfort He might have felt from the company of His disciples was

not to be, however. His agony was His alone to bear. His only message to them was to pray that they

might not enter into temptation. That is His continual prayer for us. We are so humanly weak, that we

fall easily into what is wrong. We must avoid that wrong! And it is avoided only by prayer.

Jesus own prayer was a human prayer. He humanly wanted to avoid the agony of the Cross; yet, He

was willing to endure it if it be the will of His Father. But what was the agony that He faced? Despite

the physical and mental suffering of the crucifixion, He faced the greater experience of “becoming sin.”

He was indeed as human as He was divine; yet, He had never known sin. Becoming sin was His greatest agony.

The disciples had been warned to pray, yet they were found sleeping –sleeping from sorrow. When we

are in deep sorrow, we seek sleep –as an escape. It’s as if when we then awake, everything distasteful

would have passed. But sleep only evades sorrow for a moment. Jesus needed His disciples to pray

for Him in this agonizing moment. Still, they slept to escape His sorrow and theirs. Are we not like the

disciples? He needs us to pray about the sinfulness that pervades our world. But we choose to sleep.

“Wake up,” He says, “and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not

found your deeds completed in the sight of My God” (Rev. 3:2 NAS). Does what we are bother you?

We are lovingly prayerful for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 22:15-20, “And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’

17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves;

18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.’

19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’

20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’”

Eating in Jesus’ day was more than allaying hunger. It was a ceremony to remember important things of the past. Passover was the remembrance of the Hebrews days in Egypt. As Moses was preparing the people for their exit, he instructed them how to prepare. He warned them of the LORD’s coming plagues upon Egypt, the final of which was the Death Angel’s entry into every house and taking the lives of the first-born male child. To prepare, so that they might be spared the Death Angel’s visit, the Hebrews were to sprinkle blood on the doorpost of their houses. When the Death Angel saw the blood, he would pass over the Hebrew houses and not enter in. Thereafter, the Hebrews always celebrated the Passover with a supper.

What is also quite significant in verses 19 and 20 above is that after the Passover, Jesus introduced what we

now call The LORD’s Supper. Some, mistakenly call it “communion”; but there is no communion with God in

the LORD’s Supper. Rather, it signifies the transition from the Old Covenant Law to New Covenant Grace.

The bread was an emblem of Christ’s body that would be broken on the Cross where He was shortly to die.

The “fruit of the vine” in the cup was the emblem of Christ’s blood that was soon to be shed on the Cross.

When we partake of the bread and grape juice in the LORD’s Supper, we should remember His death on the

Cross for our sins.

On my first trip to Israel, I met a retired Canadian Royal Airforce Officer, who took me to the Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried. Later that same day, I went back to the Tomb alone. No one was there, and I entered the Tomb and prayed. Now, when I receive the elements at the LORD’s Supper, I always reflect on that Tomb experience and the suffering of my LORD for my sin. Whatever sorrow you experience at the LORD’s Supper, will be quickly extinguished in the joy of knowing that He is soon to Return and take us to be with Him in Heaven!

Our prayers are offered for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Matthew 25:10, “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came,

and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.”

Have you ever gone somewhere for something important and found that it was too late?

I have had that to happen. It is a sad, maybe even a disastrous experience, depending

upon the value of the venture.

As I was reading Matthew 25 today, I could not seem to get past the importance of the

words, “the door was shut.” Have you ever had someone shut the door on you? “To shut”

often means “to lock,” so as to prohibit entry. On the other hand, if you are on the inside

when the door is shut (or locked), it may mean that you are a prisoner of the situation

and cannot escape. That is even more serious. But that’s the purpose of doors: they

keep us out and they keep us in.

Interestingly, the word “shut” is used 80 times in the Bible. The word “open” is used 317

times. The word open is used almost four times more frequently than the word shut.

Notwithstanding the context in which these words appear in the Bible, would I be pushing

a point to say that the LORD is far more interested in our “coming in” than He is in our

being “shut out”? By my count, “come to me” occurs some 22 times in the New Testament

alone, while “depart from me” occurs only five times. That’s a little more than four percent.

Let me conclude by saying that the LORD is far more loving of us than anyone.else could be.

It is His desire that we be with Him on the inside rather than shut away from Him. Of course,

being with Him means being born-again, converted; but it also means living according to

His standards.

Oh I’d rather be on the inside looking out

Than to be on the outside looking in

When the rain began to fall,

Sinners on the Lord did call

But the door was shut and night was settin’ in.

Then old Noah lookin’ out

Gazed beyond the water spout.

And he said “I thank the Lord

That I took Him at His Word;
I’d rather be on the inside lookin’ out.”

Are you on the INSIDE? And if you are, are you living for the LORD?

Our prayers of love and hope cover you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Matthew 24:3-14, “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.

6 “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.

10 “And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another.

11 “And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.

12 “And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.

13 “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.

14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.”

Matthew 24 is arguably the richest information we have concerning the Coming Again of our LORD Jesus Christ.

When Jesus was asked about His Coming, He cited the following things:

1.False Claims by some that they are the Messiah (v. 5) – There have been many throughout history.
2.Frightful Circumstances that will come on the Earth (vv. 6-8). This is taking place now.
3.Fearful Conditions that will come upon men (v. 9) – It is the worst in my memory.
4.Failure of support among fellow-men (v. 10) – Already love has turned to hatred in the lives of many.
5.False Proclamations by false prophets (v. 11) – Television is literally filled with false teachings and teachers!
6.Increase of lawlessness throughout the world (v. 12). – Multiple Criminals escape punishment every day.
7.Faithfulness of the few (v. 13). – Only a few can be acknowledged as true and faithful.

Finally, there is His promise that the Gospel will be proclaimed to the whole world (v. 14) before the final end.

The other day I received an email from Israel that noted a famous rabbi’s claim that he knew the name of the Messiah. To my amazement, the rabbi said the Messiah’s name was JESUS! I took the opportunity to write the Jew, who had sent me the piece. I applauded the rabbi’s pronouncement and included an attachment of Old Testament prophecies that were (and will be) fulfilled in Jesus. It would appear that there is a spiritual awakening on the horizon in Israel. The long-awaited Coming of the LORD Jesus Christ may be much closer than we think. We may not have much time left to share the Gospel with the lost. With all of the senseless noise and clamor in the world, our voices will have to be LOUD if people are to hear. How loudly can you shout?

Lovingly we pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Galatians 1:8-9, “But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.”

“Don’t be so dogmatic!” Have you ever heard someone say that? Of course, you have. “Ease up. You don’t

know everything. How can you be so sure you’re right?” Paul emphasized his teaching in verse eight by repeating it in verse nine. He had no tolerance for anything that did not equate with the true Gospel. He further emphasized his meaning with the word “accursed.” It is the Greek word ??????? (anathema), which means “set aside for divine destruction.” Paul was not speaking rashly. He meant every word of what he had initially said. So, he said it again that we might know that he had not misspoken.

All that being true, I want you to notice the words before and again. “As we have said before, so I say again now…” Good Friday is fast approaching; and the Sunday after is Resurrection Sunday. (I don’t like the word

Easter because it’s origin is from pagan worship.) True, Christian pastors everywhere will be emphasizing the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. They said it all last year at that time. Why do they need to say it again? It’s because 1) some have never heard it, and 2) we all need to hear it again and again.

Some years ago, I conducted some meetings in a church in Memphis, Tennessee. While I was there, my host pastor took me to Mid-America Seminary and introduced me to professor-friend of his –a man who knew more than 30 languages! How on Earth could anyone keep up with that many languages? He reviewed several of them every year. Once he had truly learned them (before), it was easier to review them (again). Never take for granted that you will remember something, unless you review it over and over again. Okay, so you’ve read that book of the Bible before; now, read it again! Memorize, review, and share its truth with someone else. Someone once said, “We never have anything so much as that which we give away.”

We hold you lovingly before the LORD in our daily prayers,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”