The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John11:14, 20-27, “So Jesus then said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead…’

20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.
21 Martha then said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 ‘Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’
23 Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
24 Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’
25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’
27 She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.’”

Did you ever know someone who was never in a hurry, but was always on time? Well, you have now! It was Jesus! He was a two-day journey from the home of Mary and Martha and their brother, Lazarus. Yet, when He heard of Lazarus’ death, he waited two more days before departing on the journey to their house.

If you’ve never read this account in the Scriptures, you’re probably as confused as the disciples were. Sometimes, we’re just too much in a hurry about too many things. We’re like little children, who cannot sleep because they’re excited about Christmas morning. Or, we’ve ordered something online and cannot bear to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

The Scriptures don’t tell us whether Martha was anxious. My guess is that she was! In any event, she was confident that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death. She also rested in the fact that God the Father could and would do anything Jesus might ask. Are you that confident about Jesus’ ability? Are you satisfied that whatever occurs is still in the Father’s Hands?

Yes, Lazarus came to life that day from the grave! We and our loved ones die physically just as Lazarus did. Yet, when we have committed ourselves to Jesus, we have His promise that true believers will one day arise to meet Him in the air and will “ever be with the LORD.”

That’s the best GOOD NEWS any of us could ever receive! And it comes straight from His Word! That’s how I stay on top of whatever occurs! How about you?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

John 15:9-14, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My
Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy
may be made full.
12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
14 “You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

Some years ago there was a popular song that said —

What the world needs now is love sweet love,
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of;
What the world needs now is love sweet love,
No not just for some, but just for everyone.

Let me challenge you to re-read the six verses above and count the number of times the word “love” appears. Then, ask youself if the “love” in the song’s lyrics is the same “love,” as the “love” in the verses.

It’s difficult to know. You would have to ask the writer of the lyrics what he intended. At the same time, we are forced to admit that there is very little true love in the world in which we now live.

When the LORD says, “…abide in My love,” it is significantly different from what the world calls “love.” Perhaps the summation in the last verse (v. 14) shows the difference. Laying down one’s life for his friends is the supreme demonstration of love. Yet, Jesus did even more. Remember those raspy voices that cried “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”? Jesus died with love was for them, too.

You and I might well have been in that blood-thirsty crowd, crying “Crucify Him!” Yet, His
voice simply uttered, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”

Yes, love that is true is sacrifical. It is also non-discriminitory. Jesus loves you. The onlly repayment you can give is to accept Him as LORD and Savior of your life. Have you done that? Why not do it right now? Just utter a simple, but sincere prayer, asking Him to
forgive your sins and make you one of His children. In 68 years of worldwide ministry, I’ve never seen Him fail to answer such a prayer.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

John 15:4-7, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Did you ever stay in a home that was not your own, but one that “felt” like your own? The owner said, “I want you to be at home here.” You may have felt a bit uneasy at first, but soon began to settle in an feel very much at home.

That’s precisely what Jesus intends for you, as expresses in the verses above. Seven times in those four verses, Jesus says, “Abide in Me.” Twice He warns that failure to abide in Him will produce negative results. It’s somewhat natural to be unsure when meeting a person of prominence. I have a very close friend, who personally knew Billy Graham. He says, “To meet him was like having known him for many years.” He was, in the best sense of the phrase, “a regular guy.”

In the “best sense,” I will exercise protocol and refrain from speaking of Jesus as “a regular guy.” Yet, He was tender and gentle toward the people with whom He mingled while here on Earth. He is still that way. To treat His Words in Holy Scripture as Words of truth is to treat the LORD Himself with the love and respect He deserves.

To express our sorrow for the sins we have committed and to accept His forgiveness by faith initiates our relationship with Him. Living as He then directs us is what it means to “abide” in Him. Then, when life’s storms rail down upon us, Jesus becomes our shelter and hides us from the storms. Just believe and trust His Word. He will then set your feet on solid, spiritual ground. You will rejoice in Him, and He will rejoice with you.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Matthew 8:5-10, “And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him,
6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9 “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”

It was in his First Corinthian epistle that he Apostle Paul stated, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). Faith is the belief that something can occur. Hope is the expectation that it will occur; and love is the gratification that it did occur.

Exactly how much of these three powers resided in the heart and mind of this centurion, we are not told. But, his trust in their combination was apparently enough to convince Jesus. The centurion, however, assessed that he and his home were unworthy of the
presence of the Messiah; therefore, he asked simply, “…just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

The centurion seems an honest man, who truly felt unworthy; yet, if he is willing to lean on Christ for the preservation of the boy, he must allow Him to do everything His own way! The centurion had sufficient faith. He dared not push for more. Such is the same for us: just make your needs known, trust the LORD and leave everything in His capable Hands. He does everything exceedingly well!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Matthew 6:26-34, “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

My mother was a worrier! The man who lived next door to us was a worrier, too. Yet, neither my dad nor the wife of that man next door worried about anything! Mom was discussing that one day with her “worry partner.” His reply was simple: “Don’t tell me it doesn’t pay to worry! Nothing I ever worried about ever happened.”

Jesus was undoubtedly on the side of my dad and my neighbor lady. He discouraged –and even denounced—worrying of any kind. “The birds don’t worry,” He said; yet, our Heavenly Father sees to their needs. “Aren’t you worth more that those birds?” You worry about time (v. 27), about clothing (v. 28); yet the lillies of the field grow, but they do nothing to deserve it.

Jesus called attention to the difference between the Gentiles, who worried about everything, and the Jews, who were well cared for by their Heavenly Father. He concludes His instruction by providing the answer to it all: “…seek first His kingdom (i.e., be saved; be born-again); “and His righteousness (i.e., learn to depend upon Him), “and all these things will ab added to you.”

Give Christ an opportunity with your life! Turn everything over to Jesus! He is everything, and all you will ever need!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom