The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 14:12-17, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.

13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.”

There may not be a greater chapter in the Bible than John 14. You can argue with that – and you may be right – but you have to agree that at the least, it is one of the finest chapters! I’m sure I’ve said it previously, but the verb is the most important word in any sentence. It expresses action of state of being. In these verses above, John cites Jesus as using believe, ask, love, and give, four key verbs.

Belief heads the list because without trust or confidence none of the other verbs would be meaningful. The object of that belief must be Jesus. He is the lynchpin that holds all of the other concepts together. In other words, unless and until you are committed to Him in believing faith, don’t count on any of the other verbs to work for you.

Still, when you know Jesus Christ in saving faith, you can ask and He will respond. In another place in the Scripture it says, “If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare for the battle?” The bugler’s notes tell the soldiers whether to advance or retreat. When we know Jesus as our LORD and Savior, we can ask anything – anything, that is, that brings honor and glory to Him – and He will answer accordingly.

Love is an active verb in verse 15. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments. The meaning here is not the Ten Commandments, but His instructions that remain with us after He fulfilled the Old Testament Law of Moses.

When we are saved, having believed on Jesus, He promises and implants within us the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit’s role to guide us, as well as to mark us as belonging to Christ. At that point, the believer –hopefully, you! – can never be lost again. There is no such thing as “not belonging” to Christ, when once we have trusted Him. He secures us eternally! Oh, dear friend, believe me: this is THE LIFE! It’s not in wealth or position or fame; True Life is in Jesus Christ! But, like a new

flavor of ice cream, you have to try it to know just how good it is! Just pray and ask Him to forgive your sin and be your Savior! So many are finding Him to be even more than they ever believed. I want this to be true of you, too! And I’m praying for you to this end.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(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.”