The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 20:1-15, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

2 “And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;

4 and to those he said, ‘You too go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went.

5 “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing.

6 “And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’

7 “They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into the vineyard.’

8 “And when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’

9 “And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.

10 “And when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; and they also received each one a denarius.

11 “And when they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,

12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?

14 ‘Take what is yours and go your way, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’”

I know I’ve given you a longer-than-usual passage. The substance demands it.

All of us have at some time been envious of others. We argue in our minds that

“we were here first” or “we’ve been here longer” or “we’ve done better work” –the list goes on. There are numerous applications of this parable, but the overriding point is that the one who is paying for labor is fundamentally in charge.

I’ve been by-passed for situations for which I reckoned I was more worthy than the fellows who were chosen. Was I treated unfairly? At the moment, I thought so; but in the long run, I was wrong. How does that figure? For one, it was not my business to determine what the other person needed and whether I could do the job. For another, the LORD is always in charge! Had He determined that someone else was better suited for the situation, who was I to challenge Him or His “fairness”?

Nothing I could use to argue for my being better than another could prevail. I am HIS servant. He is my LORD! He always does what is right! I’ve had to learn to trust Him implicitly! And in my years of doing His work, He has never failed to supply my needs. May you learn this early; it will protect you from the bitterness that selfishness produces.

We love you; Jesus loves you more,

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,

Matthew 17:1-5, “And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James

and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves.

2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and

His garments became as white as light.

3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!’”

Did you ever meet someone who dazzled you by his appearance or his

conversation? While you stood there and listened, you wondered just

what he was really like, and thought to yourself, “I’d like to know more

about him. I wonder what he’s like all the time.” Jesus gave His inner

circle (Peter, James & John) a brief glimpse of who He really was when

they went with him upon that “high mountain.” His true holiness was

revealed to them in a manner they had never seen before. His face “shined

like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.” We have no idea

how holy or how powerful our LORD truly is!

Moses and Elijah were there as well. Moses died and was buried (Deut.

34:5), yet he was there alive! Elijah had not died, but was translated into

Heaven (2Kng. 34:11); yet, he was there, too. Thus, they were both actually,

physically there and talking with Jesus. Moses also represents the righteous,

who had died (and who would die), and would spend eternity with Christ in

Heaven. Elijah also represents the righteous, who will not die, but will be

caught up to meet Him in the air, when He comes for His own.

Jesus our LORD is Coming Again! Those who believed in Him and were

committed to Him, but have physically died, will be resurrected and caught

up to meet Him in the air (1Thes. 4:16). Those who believe in Him and are

committed to Him, but are living, will also be caught up to meet Him in the

air (1Thes. 4:17). The key factors are believing in Him and being committed

to Him. Check your status! Nothing is so vitally important!

Our Love and prayers always,

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,

Matthew 15:2, 10-11, 17-20, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

10 And after He called the multitude to Him, He said to them, “Hear, and understand. 11 “Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

17 “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18 “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The words of my dear mother still ring in my mind: “Go wash your hands and

get ready for supper! It’s almost ready.” What I did not fully understand then,

I know today: germs get on the hands, and left unwashed, they are transferred into the body and often cause great difficulty. But when Jesus spoke of defiling,

He was not talking about germs. He was talking about going against an ancient

custom that had been handed down for generations. His concern was greater

than customs. He emphasized what came out of the mouth more than what

went into it, because what comes out of the mouth originates in the heart. The

list of evil that Christ notes in verses 19 and 20, are often things in which people engage because they don’t want to appear different from their “friends.” Only recently, I heard someone say what I believe all people, young and old, need to

hear and adopt: “We’re not supposed to ‘fit in’; we’re supposed to ‘stand out.’” The big question is: Are we standing out as true believers or merely fitting in so

no one will notice? Be courageous! Be outstanding! God bless you!

We will always love you; and we pray for you daily,

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,

Matthew 14:6-10, “But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Thereupon he promised with an oath

to give her whatever she asked. 8 And having been prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.’ 9 And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. 10 And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.”

Solomon said there is “…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:7).

Whether the Australians were prompted by Solomon’s words, I’ll never know;

but when they didn’t want to reveal what they were thinking, they would simply say, “Humm…”

Herod would have done well to have kept his mouth shut. But in a flurry of excitement over the girl’s dancing, he blurted out in front of everyone with the solemn promise that he would give the girl whatever she wanted. She then asked for the head of John the Baptist.

Have you ever hastily said something in the flash of a moment –something you

wished you’d never said? I sure have, and more than once! Words then become

a trap. Put up or shut up. But it’s too late to decide. You’ve spoken, and everyone has heard it. The proverbial “cat is out of the bag.” Sometimes words are healing;

sometimes they hurt deeply. When our words are positive and well-intended, they are helpful; when they are negative –well-intended or not—they are hurtful. We might all learn a lesson from Herod –even more so from Solomon; or maybe even

from the Aussies’ Humm… What do you think?

We love you positively and pray for you daily,

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,

Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now I am old;

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his

descendants begging bread.”

I awoke early this morning with this verse ringing

in my head. It’s like a glass of cold water overflowing

with truth.

For many years now, I’ve been researching my family.

And what is true in my own life, has been true in the

lives of many who lived before me: the righteous ones

have never been forsaken. Rose Marie’s family was

very poor. Mine was certainly not wealthy; yet, we

both survived by the grace of God. You see, the

righteousness was not ours; it was the LORD’s! He

saved us and set our feet on “right paths,” and gave

us strength and direction to follow Him. He did it all!

Yes, it’s true that we sought to be what He saved us

to be, but even that was due to His grace!

I remember putting the last dollar I had into gasoline

to get to a preaching assignment. The LORD responded

with a generous offering that enabled me to get back

home. I occasionally had churches who said, “We will

send you a check.” Thus, I never had assurance of receiving

what I needed immediately. I was forced to trust the LORD

to meet that need.

When we landed in Sydney, everything was by faith.

What little money we had went for food and school

uniforms for the kids. Then came a check in the mail –

from an attorney I had previously met, but forgotten.

Again, we were neither “forsaken” nor “begging bread.”

The LORD spoke to Elijah saying, “…it shall be that you

shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens

to provide for you there.” So he went and did according to

the word of the LORD…, And the ravens brought him bread

and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening,

and he would drink from the brook” (I Kings 17:4-6).

Life is most enjoyable when lived by faith. It’s like opening

a new package every morning. You don’t know what’s in

it, but you know it’s going to be good because it’s a gift from

the LORD!

You are loved and in our prayers 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.”