The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 13:4-13, “”Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”

5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

6 “Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many.

7 “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

8 “For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

9 “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

10 “And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

11 “And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.

12 “And brother will deliver brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

13 “And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.”

I have been blessed to have had sound teaching on the “end times.” In these verses, Peter, James, John and Andrew were questioning Jesus about when

the “end times” would come.

1. In verses 4 through 9, Jesus speaks of International conflicts.

Be certain, He says that you be not deceived. Many will come in the LORD’s Name and boldly say, “I AM THE CHRIST.”

In preaching, I used to list quite a number of persons who had already said that of themselves. Don’t be surprised! And don’t be misled!

Additionally, there will be wars and rumors of wars. When was the last time you watched the evening news? We’ve got that now! Hamas is trashing Israel! Iran is “feeding” material to terrorists, enabling them to carry on their warfare. All of these things that Christ predicted are now literally coming to pass. Just don’t panic! All of this has to come to pass; but the end is not yet.

Earthquakes will occur in various places, some of which have not previously had earthquakes. Still, this is not the end. It is the beginning of the end.

2. In verses 10 through 13, Jesus speaks of Interpersonal conflicts.

Christian people are being held in prisons throughout the world, not because they have broken laws, but because they have been accused of being Christians. Even some groups, who do not qualify as Christians, are being held because they have religious services and read the Bible.

As terrible as all of this is, those being held in prison for their faith have the opportunity to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

Jesus said not to be afraid and not to worry about what you will say in your defense. The Holy Spirit will put words in your heart and mind at that time.

Brothers in the same family will arise against each other, and one will cause the other to be put to death. Fathers will kill their own children; and children will cause their parents to be put to death. These things are occurring today –in today’s news!

And you will be hated simply because you stand for Jesus! BUT, “the one who endures to the end…shall be saved.”

Go back and read the Scripture verses above one more time. There has never been a more opportune time for sharing the Good News of Jesus than today!

Are you sharing the Gospel with others, who do not know it? These verses should stir you up and make you want to share! They are, if you know Him!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 10:35-37, 41-45, “And James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Him, saying to Him, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.’

36 “And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’

37 “And they said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit in Your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left.’

“And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John.

42 And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.

43 “’But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;

44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

45 “’For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’”

Don’t deny it! I’m already convinced that as sure as you’re reading this letter, you have said something like that to your parents. “Say, ‘yes,’ dad. Please!”

“Yes to what?” he asked.

“Oh, just say ‘yes,’ and I’ll tell you,” you pleaded.

Neither James nor John could have witnessed that little trick you tried to play on you dad, but they didn’t need to. They had a trick of their own. You didn’t want much; they didn’t either. They just wanted to sit in the place of prominence on either side of Jesus when He came into His Heavenly Kingdom. Not much at all, huh?

It was as selfish a question as it was impossible. Jesus said it was not His place to award seating in the Kingdom. “…it is for those for whom it as been prepared,” He said, indicating that even He did not know to whom such dignity was to be awarded.

As if that weren’t enough, the ten disciples became indignant against James and John for their even asking such a thing. Jesus’ rebuke accused them of “acting like Gentiles…, but it is not so among you.” If you want to be great, become a servant (????????, minister), He said. If you wish to be first in something, become a slave (??????, bond-servant). For even Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve others, “and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Just face it: some of us simply cannot be content to do the menial things the LORD has set our for us to do. We want to run the whole show! It’s not going to work unless we fall into line with His will. Besides, He never assigns menial

tasks. They’re all vitally important! What did He want you to do yesterday? What did He want you to do today? Did you do it? Don’t you know how important Jesus’ assignments are? Oh, by the way, there’s a vacant seat. It’s for you! And it w-a-y b-a-c-k on the very last row.

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.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 10:1-9, “And rising up, He went from there to the region of Judea, and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them.

2 And some Pharisees came up to Him, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife.

3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

4 And they said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

5 But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

6 “But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.

7 “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother,

8 and the two shall become one flesh; consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh.

9 “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

I can recall several instances when I was asked questions that I knew to be the questioner’s trap.

Remember that the Pharisees who asked the question of Jesus were religious ritualists. They always added to the Word of God. So here they are again, questioning Him about the law of divorce.

In theory, the Jews of Jesus’ day highly revered chastity and the sacredness of marriage. In practice, however, they fell quite short of the standards to which they claimed to hold.

Jesus’ reply concerning Moses was that Moses permitted divorce because the hearts of the Israelites were cold and hard. Divorce was rampant, and Moses’ permission was temporary. But Jesus said that “from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female (no LGBTQ here!), and they became “one flesh” in the act of marriage. God thus intended marriage to be permanent: “until death do us part.”

We all need to hear and heed what Scripture teaches about the permanenc y of marriage. My purpose in this letter, however, was not the subject of marriage, but how we need to be alert to questions that intend to trap us. Is it possible to be prepared for every question we are asked? Possibly not. We can, however, and must always be loving in our replies. Jesus did not need to ask the Pharisees what Moses said in the Old Testament Law. He already knew. We, however, might want to ask a question that would segue into the Gospel instead of falling into an argument that is intended simply to trap or embarrass us.

One way to forestall embarrassment in witnessing is just not to witness. But those who chose this pathway will encounter far greater embarrassment on that Great Day when we stand before the Judgment Bar of God! We, uh, just better do what He says now.

I love all of you and pray for your spiritual and physical welfare. God bless you abundantly!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 9:22b-23, “’… if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!’

23 “And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

Mark 9:43-48,”And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

44 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched .

45 “And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast into hell,

46 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched .

47 “And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell,

48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

Not all fathers are good fathers. This one was. His boy was possessed by an evil spirit, and the father was seeking help for the boy he loved. Jesus had delivered some from demonic possession, so the father brought his son to the LORD. The father was clearly in doubt, causing him to say, “If You can…” Jesus countered him saying, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.”

Did you ever pray earnestly for something, but had a lingering doubt that the LORD was going to answer you? That’s so common. Too common!! The question is never whether Jesus has sufficient power; the answer always hangs on whether we believe! That father got Jesus’ meaning and cried, “I do believe, help my unbelief.” And the boy was healed.

Later, in the hearing of that same crowd, Jesus warned believers of the three most severe areas that plague believers. “If your hand causes you to stumble…” indicates the things that we do that lead us away from Him and from sound trust in His deliverence. “If your foot causes you to stumble…” indicates the places where we go that leads us away from Him. In the third aspect, and perhaps the most serious, Jesus says, “If you eye causes you to stumble…” which indicates the things that we see – things that take our attention away from the LORD and focus on the things of the flesh.

Take a moment and meditate on these three cautions from our LORD. Do you do things you ought not to do? Do you go places where you ought not to go? Do you focus your eyes on things that you ought not to see? As a believer, the Holy Spirit lives within you to guide you to walk in right paths. Don’t quench the Spirit! One Day you will be required to give an account of what you have done in this life. And you will want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I am praying for you. Pray for yourself; and do please pray for me.

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.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 3:28-29, “’Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter;

29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin ‘”–

1 Thess. 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit…”

There has been much serious talk in the news recently. One says this and another says it is not so. People in high places have railed against others, saying that they are lying. There is nothing really new in all of this. Of course, it’s serious; but not so serious as what the scribes from Jerusalem were saying about Jesus.

Those Jewish scribes were saying of Jesus: “He is possessed by Beelzebul” (the name of Satan!). Further, they said, “He (Jesus) casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Such was stupid on its face. “’How can Satan cast out Satan?” was Jesus’ reply.

It was at this point that Jesus solemnly warned those scribes that “all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies (slanders) they utter; but whoever blasphemes (slanders against) the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—

because they were saying, “He (Jesus) has an unclean spirit.” This is the Unpardonable Sin!

How is it that man can blaspheme Jesus and His Heavenly Father and receive forgiveness, but be guilty of an unpardonable sin when they blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?

The Heavenly Father, His Eternal Son, Jesus, and the Eternal Holy Spirit comprise what is called “the Godhead.” They are three distinct Persons, yet they are are always one! It is indeed serious to slander or belittle any One of the Three. Yet, when man slanders the Holy Spirit, Who awakens man to the truth the Son speaks, he eliminates the very essence of the salvation the LORD offers. It is the Holy Spirit who urges man to repent and accept the salvation the Son declares. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is like “cutting of your nose to spite your face.” Man cuts the ground from beneath himself when he resists the Spirit.

But wait!! The LORD has a word for the saved. To us, He says, “Do not quench the Spirit.”

The word “quench” (????????, sbennumi) means “to extinguish” (as with a fire) the Holy Spirit and His internal witness to the teachings of the Scriptures. Have you never sensed that you ought to say or do something, but instead of doing what you were being urged to do, you put it out of your mind and turned to something else? It is a sin when a believer in Christ extinguishes the urging of the Holy Spirit. But when a lost person intentionally extinguishes the urging of the Spirit, he commits an unpardonable sin.

“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).

Please, think about these things.

Heartily in Christ,

(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.”