The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 24:3-8, “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.’”

Most of the headlines today read like what Jesus described in the verses above. Numerous personalities have actually said that they are the Christ. Some have not said it so boldly, but they have misled thousands into believing that they are. And while some truly fundamental churches are growing, there are hundreds of growing congregations, whose pastors are misleading their people by preaching an unbiblical message.

“Wars and rumors of wars” are prominent, and people are frightened. Nations have problems that are beyond their apparent capacities to cope with them. Many national problems are internal and of their own making. Others have problems that are caused by the aggitation of foreign elements that have infiltrated their borders.

Crime, such as liquor and narcartic addiction, personal, physical attacks, fraud and deceptions of numerous sources, famines and earthquakes –all these and more natural and unlwaful operations lead many to believe that we are living in the last days of human history.

Jesus used the analogy of a woman giving birth to a child. Often there are pains that give the impression that the child is ready to be born. They are signals, but they are not the true signals of readiness for birth. It is the same with regard for the Coming of the LORD. The signs of which we are conscious today, are merely the early signals that time is about up. Jesus is coming again! Exactly when, we are not privileged to know. But things are getting worse, not better.

All of this should awaken us soundly! It should shake us into reality! We, who know Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior, should be aware of those around us who don’t. And we should share what we know with them, so as to bring them to faith in Him. We must not let any resistence to our witness weaken that witness. We must pray that the Holy Spirit will open the blindness of their hearts that they may see God’s Truth! The only failure we can encounter is the failure to share Him. He is coming! And it is our responsibility to make Him known.

We love you and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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 Corinthians 12:8-12, “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

Large families often give separate responsibilities to each of their children. No one is expected to do everything, but everyone is expected to do something. Parents, being older, are usually the best to say who is to do what. Responsibilities vary according to the ability of the child.

It is the same with the Church. The LORD, having established the Church, is the obvious One to assign responsibilities. No one knows who is best suited to do his assignment; he simply accepts what the LORD gives him to do. In the five verses above, the Apostle Paul cites nine spiritual gifts the LORD assigns to His children within the Church.

Some have a greater mastery of the Bible than others. But the person of wisdom knows best how and when to approach a lost person with the Gospel. To another there is the gift of faith. He possesses absolute confidence in what the LORD has spoken and will not be moved to doubt it. Still to others are given the gift of healings. Such healing gifts are to be seen in Acts 5:12, 15-16; and 19:12. To others were given the gift of miracles, such as were other than healings, such as in Mark 16:18.

Prophecy is both preaching and the foretelling of coming events –events not otherwise known. Discernment of spirits means “reading” pretense in someone else declaration. It also concerns the assessment of demonic spirits from which comes lying concerning the LORD Jesus Christ and His Word. Tongues are languages; some persons adapt to languages not native to themselves.

We are never to self-assign a spiritual gift. The very work “gift” suggests that such comes to one from the Holy Spirit Himself. Spiritual gifts are no more our doing than salvation. The LORD balances His Church through these gifts, enabling the lost to be saved and the saved to be empowered to share the Faith with others.

We have no choice in selecting which gift we might want. We are assigned spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit alone. But once assigned, we are to use and develop the gift to bring glory and honor to Christ.

Have you discovered your spiritual gift? Are you allowing the Spirit to use the gift through you? Such is our responsibility. Let’s get started!

Prayerfully yours,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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 Corinthians 12:4-7, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Why is it that when we both trusted Jesus at the same time, he finds it easier to lead people to Christ than I do? I try to live like Jesus would have me to live, but I’m just not as effective in leading others as is my friend.

Paul answers that question in the four verses above. First, not every believer in Jesus has been given the same spiritual gift. Not every woman is a good cook; not every man is a good driver. Some people draw exceedingly well; others can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. I am a good driver, but I sure can’t draw! Why is this? We simply have different talents. It’s the same with spiritual matters. Some people can just approach anyone and get immediately into the Gospel. Others, get tounge-tied and stutter and stammer all over the place. We might say that our talents come to us via our parents’ DNA. But when it comes to spiritual gifts, ministries are clearly assigned to us by the LORD.

Some people are called to preach; others have the ministry of business, and are enabled to support pastors. Some minister as missionaries on foreign soil; others are called to pray excessively for those missionaries.

This is what Paul means when he says, “there are a variety of ministries.” Not everyone is called to do the same thing, yet is is the LORD “who works all things in all persons.”

We are never to be envious of what others do. We are just to do what the LORD calls us to do! Henry Ford was the first to develop and use an “assembly line” for producing automobiles. Some men installed one thing; other men installed other things. If they had all done exactly the same work, the car would never been built. So it is with spiritual matters. The LORD has a job and a place of service for each of us.

The men, who work on the assembly line are all paid for what others do as well. If cars were never built, no one is advantaged. So it is with spiritual matters. We have different ministries, but all work together to lead others to Christ and teach them His Word, producing something that is good for everyone.

What is your spiritual gift? Where is your spiritual ministry? Commitment to Christ means allowing His will to be done in your life, at all times, for His glory! Is this true of you? Don’t endeavor to assign yourself something you just want to do. Ask the LORD what He wants you to do and where He wants you to do it. He will lead you into the rich fields of harvest, in order that the scores of lost, Hell-bent people might hear the Good News and turn in faith to Christ. Blessings will then aboud! –all this, and Heaven, too! God bless you as you minister where you are.

Praying for you is a ministry for us,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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,

Numbers 25:1-8, “While Israel remained at Shittim (a place west of Jerusalem and east of the Jordan River), between, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.

2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

3 So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel.

4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor.”

6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand;

8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked.”

There’s far more to be learned from these verses than from my comments. Just note that the Israelites’ sin began when they kept company with the wrong people. Watch out for the company you keep. You may have the mistaken idea that you can change them to righteous thinking. Yet, it rarely works. Israel was on Moabite

real estate. It was not long before they “joined themselves to Baal” and worshipped him.

Acting at the direction of the LORD, Moses commanded the judges of Israel to slay those who had joined themselves with the pagan god Baal. Some of the “arrogant young men” openly paraded their Moabite girls before Israel and even before Moses. Why do those who are fundamentally opposed to what we believe often seem attractive to us? Perhaps we want to show how diversely tolerant we are. Or, perhaps it is an open rebellion within us that arises from pride and self-assessed authority. In any event, they were wrong in God’s sight.

One Israelite, a man named Phinehas, the grandson of Moses’ brother, Aaron, went after the arrogant young man, who flouted his sinfulness in the face of the LORD’s servants, and he “pierced both of them… through their bodies.” God’s commands must be obeyed. Phinehas was not arrogant; he simply carried out the order the LORD had given through His servant, Moses. Why are we so slow in obeying the Word of the LORD? Is His Word not more valuable than as to be ignored? Is the upholding of the honor of the LORD more worthy than dismissing the sins of men as irrevelant?

Finally, it must be said that when God’s Word is obeyed, the troubles we face will be divinely erased. The burdens the LORD allows to fall upon us are multiple. Sometimes it’s an earthquake; sometimes, a tornado; sometimes, a flood; sometimes it’s a financial disaster; sometimes it’s death. With Israel, it was a plague. But the LORD stayed the plague when one man –Phinehas—obeyed Him. Sometimes it takes just one to bring about blessing. Are we willing to be that one who stands for the LORD, regardless of what others think? We are, if He is truly our LORD!

We think and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;

27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

If anyone who watches sports doubted that Clemson came to win, they were sadly mistaken. Both Clemson and Alabama entered the grass-laden arena with perfect records. Neither team had lost a game this year.

Sometimes I think we have gone overboard with sports. Then, I remember how the Apostle Paul, if not a fan, was certainly familiar with sporting activities that were plentiful in ancient Greece and Rome. Corinth sponsored the Isthmian games, second only to the Olympic games. What’s more, Paul advocated fairness in such activities. Note that he said that many could enter the race, but “only one receives the prize.”

Some years ago, some of our so-called institutions of learning came up with the idea that everyone should be given a reward, regardless of how well or how miserably the player was. The philosophy was that the child’s ego would be marred if a prize were not given to him. After all, he did his best, even if he came in last. There was nothing of this in Paul’s day! “Only one receives the prize.”

Nor was any entry in the games likely to win unless he was a true competitor, one who “struggled” (agonized, agonizomai in contending to win. The runner must also be self-controlled both in his training and in the race itself. He must then run with every intention of winning. Shadow-boxing will not do. A well-intentioned boxer meant to defeat his opponent. His body itself must be disciplined in eating the proper foods, in getting sufficient rest. Train! Train! Train!

One of Rose Marie’s nurses is an MMA (mixed-martial-arts) fighter. She told us that when she started to train, her trainer said, “I’m going to hit you in the face harder than any opponent will ever hit you.” And he did! The purpose (as distastful as it was) was to get her body ready to receive the punishment the sport involved.

Paul was not obsessed with sports. He was illustrating to the Corinthians that serious training must take place if one is to enter the spiritual arena, sharing the Gospel. We must know what the Bible teaches and embrace it without question. We must also know our “opponents,” that they are lost in sin and know little or nothing of what God’s Word teaches. So, instead of “blowing them away” with an avalanche of Scripture, we should demonstrate love and share gently the LORD’s message of salvation. We tell others how it should be done; we must also do what we teach; otherwise, we ourselves, will be disqualified. We’ve got to be something before we can do something in His Name. Just remember: our reward is imperishable!

We love and pray for you all,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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.”