The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Many times it’s best to go back to the very beginning in order to grasp the meaning of what is being said.

John does that in these five verses. God is a Trinity, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. They always existed

together long before there was a world was created. The word John uses for “Word” is ????? (logos). It is

a “vocalized expression of the mind.” We think something and then we express that thought in words. But

logos is also used to mean the personification of God the Son, as “the Word was God.” The context

determines whether the meaning of logos is a mere word or the Living Word, Jesus Christ. Here it means

Jesus Christ. He was the Creator of all things. Further, it was Jesus who gave life to all thing, man included.

There is also another word for word: ???? (rhema). It means a simple statement, pronouncement, or declaration.

It is by rhema, that the LORD “upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3).

Jesus possesses life within Himself. His life is light, and He gives light to all mankind. The light that He

gives is physical light, the kind that overcomes darkness. That light is also a “divine understanding given

to the spirit and soul of all human beings.” Paul makes reference to this in Romans 1:19, when he

says, “…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

Funny thing about light. It overcomes darkness; but darkness never overcomes light. You can bring a

light into a dark room and it overcomes the darkness. How to bring darkness into a lighted room and

overcome the light, I’ve never figured out. One more thing: the word ????????? (katelaben) that means

to overcome, also means to understand. Thus, it is the light the Savior puts within us that helps us to

understand his Word. And Satan can never keep us from understanding God’s Word when we read it,

trusting the Holy Spirit to lead us. Sounds like He’s provided all we need. Yet He leaves it to us to pick

up the Bible and read!

We Love you and pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 10:25-28, “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying,

‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’

26 “And He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’

27 “And he answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor

as yourself.’

28 “And He said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’”

If you believe the news – and this part, I do believe – there is a lot of bullying going on,

especially in the public schools. There are different kinds of bullying, but none of it is

productive, except to anger others and drive them to hate instead of love.

The lawyer in the verses above was something of a bully in his time. The word “test,”

translated “tempt” in the King James version of the Bible means “to test with the hope

that the one tested will not pass the test.” In other words, it means a “trap.” The lawyer

was not sincere; he was “showing off” in the effort to trap Jesus. Jesus, on the other

hand, did not set a trap for the lawyer. Instead He asked a question, enabling the man

to get the answer without confrontation.

Jesus knew the lawyer was not sincere in asking his question. Nevertheless, Jesus

showed love, which the lawyer was not suspecting. This is the true method of answering

a bully. They always know how to provoke a fight; but they don’t know how to deal with

sincere love. Only recently, I heard of a man who was harshly provoked by a man who

was his boss in a hospital. The boss gave him the worst jobs to do and did everything

he could to harass him. The man, however, just went about doing what he was told

and never complained. Over time, the boss came to know Jesus Christ, and he said it

was the man’s attitude of love that he could not overcome and that eventually brought

him to faith in Christ.

Love those bullies! Don’t get mad; don’t try to get even! Just love them like Jesus loves

you. Love works every time.

We pray lovingly for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

John 21:15-17, “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Tend My lambs.’

16 He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’

17 He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’”

Recently, I mentioned to you that “context” was very important when we seek to understand Scripture. Today, I want to note that words are also vitally important. Greek is arguably the most precise language known to mankind. English has only one word for love; the Greek language has four!

Jesus had risen from the dead, and the disciples had gone back to fishing. They are now with Him on shore having breakfast. Peter, you will recall, had denied knowing Jesus, so he was probably a bit sheepish about encountering Jesus. Nothing was said about Peter’s specific denials, but Jesus simply asked him if he loved Him. Three times He asked in keeping with the three denials. Three times Peter responded. The importance lies in the two words for love that they used. Jesus used the strongest word (agape), but Peter always responded with the lesser word (phileo). Their conversation went like this:

“Simon, do you really, truly love (agapao) Me?”

“Yes, LORD, You know I am a good friend (phileo) of Yours!”

“Feed (bosko) My sheep.”

“Simon, do you love (agapao) Me?”

““Yes, LORD, You know I am a good friend (phileo) of Yours!”

“Act like a shepherd (poimaino) to My little sheep.”

“Simon, am I a good friend (phileo) of yours?” (Jesus now uses Peter’s lesser word.)

“LORD, you know that you are a good friend (phileo) of mine.”

“Feed (bosko) My little sheep.”

Peter could never bring himself to say that he loved Jesus as much as Jesus loved him. But, it’s important

to notice that Jesus restored Peter to fellowship, despite his denials of ever even knowing Him. Jesus’ love

was exercised in forgiveness to Peter – and it is to us! Our silence is often a denial of Him; still He forgives

us and restores us to fellowship with Him. Once we’ve been saved, born-again, He will never deny us.

Moreover, when we deny Him and then confess it as sin in our lives, He forgives us and restores us to

fellowship. Never give up on Jesus! He never gives up on you!

He loves you and we love you, too,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 4:3-8, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to

have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;

4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,

will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Everyone loves an award! Rose Marie and I attended an AWANA Awards night last evening, and

we were delighted to see the excitement of children (and adults!) receive recognition for work they

had done in the Scriptures over the past year. So much was said about how many Bible verses had

been memorized, that I did a Google search and discovered that there are 31,102 verses in the Bible.

Wow! Memorizing that amount would be a challenge indeed! (Yet, it has been done!)

The Apostle Paul was coming to the end of his life, and he warned that a lot of people (the majority?)

Would reject the LORD’s way of salvation. In fact, they would seek out teachers who would say what

they wanted to hear. Believers, however, were encouraged to stay alert and stay on track. Times will be

hard, but as the old saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Why would he

encourage us to “fulfill (our) ministry”? Because it is the truth, and because there is a “crown of

righteousness” the LORD has prepared for the faithful, who will appear before Him on Awards Day.

Make your watchword “Keep on keeping on.” It will be worth it all when we see Christ!

We seek to be faithful in praying for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 15:11-17, “And He said, ‘A certain man had two sons; 12 and the younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.” And he divided his wealth between them.

13 And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a

distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in

need. 15 “And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his

fields to feed swine. 16 And he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and

no one was giving anything to him. 17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s

hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’”

You immediately recognized this passage as the parable of the Prodigal Son. There is more to the passage,

but I felt these verses were sufficient for our thoughts today. I heard a popular preacher use this passage

to say to a man that it indicates that no matter how sinful we might be, the LORD will forgive us if we

acknowledge our sin and ask His forgiveness. While what the preacher said is true, it is not the meaning

the LORD intended when He spoke this parable.

Vital to the understanding of any biblical passage is the context. First, who spoke the words we are reading? Second, to whom did he say them? Third, what was the reaction to the words that were spoken? All of these things and more constitute the “context” of the passage. In every Scriptural passage, there is but one interpretation; yet, there may be multiple applications. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the interpretation deals with the Jews, who have forsaken the Law of the Father and lusted After the other gods. The parable shows that the LORD allows His people to stray, but is always lovingly awaiting their return. Certainly, there are many applications of this parable; we just must not overlook why it was originally given.

The statement, “I’ll send you $1000.00” can only be understood in it’s context. The full context may say,

“If I earn it, I’ll send you $1000.00”; or “It will be a cold day in Czechoslovakia if I send you $1000.00!”

Context does make a difference. THINK as you read the Bible. PRAY that the LORD will give you a clear

understanding of what you read. You will be amazed how much He will teach you!!

We are praying for you and trust you’ll be in Church today,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”