The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers;

3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,

4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;

5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”

First Thessalonians was the Apostle Paul’s first written letter. John, whom we’ve previously met, warned solemly against false teachers. Now, Paul commends the Church at Thessalonica for doing due diligence in sharing the Word of God with those who need His salvation.

Paul’s greeting is “Grace to you and peace.” Grace always preceeds peace, and the “to you” speaks of the advantage both grace and peace are to the Thessalonians, as well as to us. I like the acrostic: God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense.” Grace is the most expensive gift God has ever given us. It clearly involved the sacrifice of His only humanly born Son, Jesus Christ.

No man can ever offer a sacrifice equal to that of Jesus. You and I did nothing to warrant it. We only believed. And even the seed-faith needed for us to believe was itself God-given! For all of this, we should be exceedingly, eternally grateful. Such were the Thessalonian Christians. They exercised a “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope” in the LORD Jesus Christ. And God saw it all. And so it is with us: He sees it all.

Again in concert with John’s warning against false preacher and teachers, Paul notes for us that his Gospel did not come with words alone. Rather it came “in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” Paul lived what he preached! How necessary that is! Paul was aware that words were not enough; we who claim to have the truth, must express that truth through the way we live.

Someone may ask you if you are a Christian; but if you live the life, allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you, you give authenticity to what you say. People want to see Christ in you more than they want to hear about Him from you. Is that how you are living? Can others see Christ in your life? If we, who profess to know Him don’t show Him in the way we live, how do we think others will want to know Him? How we live speaks more loudly than what we say. Yet, both speak more loudly than the others alone.

Prayerfully yours, always,

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 John 4:1-4, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

It is not unusual for criminals to claim that a “spirit” spoke to him (or her) or to insist that the act he committed was well deserved by the victim. Be that as it may, evil spirits do exist, and that is why John instructs us “not to believe every spirit”…because many false prophets (preachers, teachers) have left the truth and gone the way of the world.

All spirits are subject to testing; and the test is whether those claiming to be from God confess that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and that He has truly come from God. Evil spirits know that Jesus is both the Son of God and God the Son. But the “confession” of which John speaks is more than simply admitting who Jesus is; rather it is an acknowledgment that Jesus is indeed LORD over all, and that He is their LORD. That test they cannot pass.

Satan has a trinity: Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet. He mocks the LORD while pretending to be more powerful, more authoritative than the LORD Jesus Himself. Of course, Satan’s power is miniscule when compared with that of the LORD God Almighty!

But, those who want to be their own god, find him a convenient substitute and one much easier to follow.

Having forbidden us, as born-again believers, to follow Satan, John admonishes us to follow Jesus alone. In Christ, we have overcome the devil and his trickery. Being indwelt and possessed by the Holy Spirit, we may consider ourselves as having overcome Satan in the long run of things. That does not mean, however, that he has given up. Remember that Jesus Himself had to resist Satan three times. Yet, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

The next time you are tempted to think or do something evil, resist the devil! The Holy Spirit is far more powerful than Satan; and He will enable you to withstand Satan’s temptations. Further, our resisting of evil brings glory to God. And the starting point in resisting is refusing to listen to those who deny Jesus as the living, loving, Son of God. After all, it’s the truth that sets us free!

Prayerful and lovingly yours,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“e never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

1 John 3:18-24, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

19 We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him,

20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

23 And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

24 And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

It’s easy to say “I love you.” But, words themselves are often cheap. The proof of the true meaning of “love” lies in deeds, not in words alone. Knowing the needs of others weighs on the heart. Quite often those “needs” lie beyond what we are able to do. It is then that John reminds us that “God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” We have to trust Him to care for the needs that are beyond our ability to provide.

What then, are we to do? Pray! Prayer is often one of those “cheap” words, too. It’s just as easy to say, “I’ll pray for you” as it is to say “I love you.” But both must be real and from our hearts. If we truly love (agape), we will truly pray (aiteo). And when the two merge, we are assurred that “whatever we ask, we receive from Him.”

But, how can we be assurred of our love and prayers being real? When we live in Him and keep His teachings, the Holy Spirit gives us that assurance. The LORD always keeps His Word! Love and prayer are not “cheap” words in God’s sight. So, we must treat them with

care. Pray earnestly that the Love of Christ may be real to you and in you. Then watch as He works and brings all good things before your eyes!

Prayerfully, lovingly 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 John 3:9-11, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another…”

DNA may well have been the discovery of Friedrich Miescher in 1869, but I remember when it was big news on the cover of LIFE Magazine in 1953. More important still is the fact that DNA existed in humanity thousands of years before it was scientifically discovered.

DNA consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes that originate from the father and mother of the child. Height, build, eye color and numerous traits in every person come from the parents.

Long before the Apostle John’s lifetime, human beings had DNA that was peculiar to each of them. Yet, John spoke of the character traits of the children of God –traits that can only come from God to identify those who are His.

How many times has someone said, “You’re just like your Dad!”? The reference may have been said with regard to appearance or to attitude; but the characteristic was evident!

That’s what it’s like to be a child of God. The characteristics (DNA) in our lives are the characteristics in the life of Jesus Christ. If Christ’s characteristics are not found in our lives, we don’t belong to Him! It’s that simple.

Cain killed Abel out of jealousy, and killings have increased in the world ever since. When we are born spiritually of God, we receive, as it were, His DNA. He is love, so His children love others, just as He loved them. The practice of loving bespeaks our being in Him. When we practice sinning, we look like the devil instead of looking like Christ. The old nature –the one we inherited from Adam—is still there, begging us to indulge in a bit of sin. But the result is like drinking alcohol. “Man takes a drink. Drink takes a drink. And drink takes the man.”

When we love others, we are not sinning. But when we despise or hate others, we are stifling the love of the Father. Like everything else –we have to train ourselves as to how we are to behave to the glory of our Heavenly Father.

Trust and obey,

For there’s no other way;

To be happy in Jesus;

But, to trust and obey.

Our prayers are that we all may learn to love and trust Him 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 John 3:1-3, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.

3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Titles and possessions that are given out of a sense of necessity are worth little. But what makes them worthwhile and precious is that they are bestwed out of love. When we conscientiously confess and turn away from sin and its devastating activities and acknowledge openly that we accept Jesus Christ as LORD of our lives, we truly become “children of God.” And that is a cherished title!

Children don’t always know what their parents are planning. Neither do we as God’s children know all He has planned for us. What we do know comes to us from the Bible. John writes that Jesus is going to appear physically to us, and in that moment, we will become like Him. Exactly how we will be like Him, we are not told. It’s one of those “parent- things”: children are only given a hint until the right time comes.

“Okay, it’s time for your aunt and uncle to arrive. Wash your hands and face, and dust off

your clothes. Do you think we want them to believe we’re a bunch of ragamuffins?”

Something like that was what I recall my mother saying when relatives were nearly here. That’s what John meant when he said, “…everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” The word hope (elpis) is so important! It means “future certainty.”

Are you certain of Jesus’ Coming? Do you believe what the Scriptures say about His coming again for His children? If you do, then you will seek to “clean up your act” before He arrives. Doing good does not make us His children. We are His children because we have believed upon Jesus, who died and arose from the dead. Being and doing good is what we want to do because we are His children! Our goodness is not measured against others; it’s measured against Him! He is our standard. We love Him because He first loved us.

He is coming! Are you really ready to meet Him? If you or someone you know needs

help, please feel free to write me at the email address below.

Our prayers are that we all may be prepared,

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.”