The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 21:18-21, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”

The Jewish definition of engagement occurred when men and women were said to be betrothed. Betrothal usually took place a year or more before marriage, and from that time, the woman was regarded as the lawful wife of the man to whom she was betrothed. He was also her legal husband.

How long the young Jewish couple had known each other is not disclosed. They were, however, notably righteous, as Joseph was ready to cancel the entire arrangement, so as not to disgrace Mary. Undoubtedly, the entire situation must have been a huge shock to the young couple.

Joseph’s initial plan was to spare Mary the shame and disrespect she was certain to endure. There is no indication of concern for what others might have thought or that he even cared about what they thought. His intention was to deliver Mary from what initially appeared to be her disgrace. It must have torn his heart out!

Like all true solutions, this one came from Above. The Angel of the LORD appeared and ordered Joseph to stop the annulment proceedings. What he thought had occurred had not occurred at all. It was the planned activity of the LORD.

We are to learn from this that things are not always what they appear to be. Furthermore, the LORD is thoroughly embedded in all of our righteous activities. We must listen and learn from Him.

Heartily yours in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

Dear Grands,

Psalm 69:30, “I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.”

There are 60 some verses throughout the Scriptures that contain the word thanksgiving! Many are scattered appropriately throughout the Psalms—many more than we could include here. Yet, they all direct our thoughts to the One who deserves our thanks: the LORD Jesus Christ.

It’s true that many are thankful—they just don’t know how to express it. When we do, we often focus upon some item for which we are thankful, or for the person or persons who were thoughtful to have expressed their love through giving. Were it not for the LORD, however, nothing would truly matter.

Throughout the Psalms, the Psalmist expresses praise to the LORD. “Do homage to the Son,” he says, “…how blessed are all who take refuge in Him” (2:12).

We are blessed to know the LORD Jesus as our Savior and LORD! We are blessed to have families, to live in a free world, and to have the freedom to worship Him without fear of retribution from others.

So much of the world lives in darkness! There is political darkness, economic darkness, and spiritual darkness. Yet, all darkness is dispelled by the Light of the Savior, Jesus Christ! There’s an old hymn that’s sadly neglected in today’s church;

Look and live, my brother, live!

Look to Jesus now and live!

‘Tis recorded in His Word, Hallelujah!

It is only that we look and live!

May the LORD God bless you abundantly! Just don’t forget to say “Thank You” to Him!

Heartily yours in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

`We will never know that Christ is all we need

Until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Acts 4:1-12, “And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.

4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

5 And it came about on the next day that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

7 And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,

9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

11 “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very cornerstone.

12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”

With so many variant ideas of what salvation is and how it works in and for the lives of people, I am once again attaching below the Gospel tract, “It’s Not How You Play the Game.” Download the tract to your computer. This will enable you to forward it to numerous unsaved persons on a “one-on-one” basis. It would be my blessing to rejoice with you over the salvation of your friends who trust Him. I will not personally intercede with anyone unless I am asked to do so.

God bless you abundantly!

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
United States of America

Click here to view the Gospel tract — “It’s Not How You Play the Game.”

Dear Grands,

John 8:31-36, “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’

33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You shall become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

35 “And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

36 “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Freedom is a word that has a plethora of meanings. My minuscule dictionary, making no pretense of infallibility (but wanting no contradictions), gives no less than 17 separate definitions of the word.

All of that is to say that there was virtually no opportunity for those to whom Jesus spoke to escape His meaning of “freedom.” What “triggered” His Word in those Jews provoked their response: “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved…”

Have you never shared the Gospel with someone, even of Jewish lineage, who said, “I’m a member of the church,” or “I’m Jewish!” How easily some people seek to escape from truth – even the Truth spoken by the Savior Himself.

Possessing truth never depends upon one’s membership in a church – any church! It clearly depends upon one’s having personally accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior. Even then, one’s freedom rests exclusively upon Jesus’ words.

Only recently, a man knocked on my door. Before he left, I asked if he were a Christian. His brief testimony was convincing. He was free to believe and rest in Jesus; I am free to believe in Him, also. And so are you! Have you trusted Him? Have you been born again? I honestly trust that you have.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need

Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Ezra 4:1-5, “Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel,

2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”

4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building,

5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

It never fails! Just let someone endeavor to accomplish something for the LORD, and opposition forces arrive in a flash! Sometimes the opposition is subtle (“Let us build with you…”); yet, when rebuffed, their tactics alter: (“Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah…and frightened them”).

I’ve encountered numerous people over the years who rallied with excitement to discourage whatever progress was taking place. “It won’t work! You can’t fix it; you don’t have permission! – and the list goes on!

Whatever you do, don’t stop to engage in debate with these people. They love that! It’s exactly what they want and how they slow things down. You don’t have time to argue – not even to explain why you’re doing what you are! Not even a supreme countermeasure will work against such people. Besides, what you’re doing is what the LORD has given you to do. Time is the only other chief factor; and the LORD is surely in control of that, too!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need

Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom