The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 11:1-9, “And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,

2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

3 “And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.”

4 And they went away and found a colt tied at the door outside in the street; and they untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat upon it. 8 And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before, and those who followed after, were crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord…”

Many were the miracles of our LORD Jesus! These verses concern His Triumphal Entry

into Jerusalem. Kings rode colts in those days, and Jesus is identifying Himself as King. All of this I understood for many years, but the word “Hosanna” mystified me. I came to

understand it from a Jewish believer, and see it to have been the key to their deliverance and to ours. Hosanna means “LORD, help us!” It was the cry of the Jewish nation for

deliverance from the horrendous troubles they faced. And He is the only key to our deliverance today!

This week on national news a college professor reminded us that in the 1960s, our

Supreme Court ruled against prayer and Bible reading in our public schools. From that time, our nation has taken a downward turn, inflicting devastation of multiple sorts on us. What are we to do? The best of our political leaders seem not to know. But the Book our court snatched from the hands of our schoolkids, have left them –and us!—with the turmoil we have today. Is it too late for a turn-around? God only knows. I was heartened to hear the President include Scripture in a recent address to the nation. From all accounts (and I have sought several), our President is a born-again man. Not everything he says utilizes words I would use, but I’m sure I have done things that were not acceptable to the LORD. Still, the President can only accomplish what the LORD allows him to accomplish. Be prayerful for our nation! Be careful to live like a born-again believer! Read the Word for instruction! Listen to the Holy Spirit who indwells you! Hosanna!

May your and our daily prayers affect our nation,

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,

Philippians 2:5-11, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

What is your name? You’ve probably been asked that many times. And you’ve

replied by stating your name for the inquirer. Names have meanings, although

in more recent times, less thought has been given to the meaning than to the

sound. I researched the meaning of some names – names of our grandsons.

Jonathan means “God’s gift”; Richard, “Rich and powerful”; Jeffrey, “Peaceful”;

Matthew, “Gift of God”; Robert, “Bright; famous,” and Christopher, “Christ-bearer.”

No doubt some would attach a significance to the persons of these names. Yet,

there is one name that out-ranks all of them: Jesus, “Messiah, Savior, LORD.”

Paul writes that someday “every knee would bow” before Him. To bow before

someone is to acknowledge their superiority. It is to say, “I am bowing to you

because you are greater than I.” Paul further states that on that day every knee

would bow: those “in Heaven, and on Earth, and under the Earth…” On the Day

of Judgment those already in Heaven, those who are alive on Earth, and those

who are dead and in Hell –all will bow before the LORD Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him as Supreme! And in this solemn act, the Father will be glorified.

Think about that. If we are to bow before Him then, should we not bow before

Him now? Bowing before Him is an open acknowledgement to all people that He

is in control of our lives now. Baptism is such an acknowledgement. It says to all

observers (and more) that we are dead to ourselves –our desires, our way and

purpose in life—and have been raised alive only for His glory! Parents (and grand-

parents) glory in children who mirror the LORD in their lives. How much more

does the LORD glory in those who look like Him and live that others may see Him

reflected in their lives.

Our prayers are that your life will always reflect that of Christ Jesus,

Nana & Dado III

NOTE: Nana starts her shots today in preparation for

her heart catherization on Wednesday. Please

pray for a good resolution to her problem.

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,

Mark 6:52, “…they had not gained any insight from the incident of the

loaves, but their heart was hardened.”

How many times have I told you what this means, and you still don’t

understand? I’m sure someone along the line has said something like

that to you. They sure have to me! We hear what they say, but we

just don’t grasp the understanding of it. Why does this occur?

In previous verses in Mark 6, Jesus has fed the 5,000 with five loaves

and two fish. He then instructed the disciples to go by boat to the

other side of the sea, as he dispersed the crowd. Somewhere between

three and six in the morning, a great storm came up. Jesus approached

the boat walking on the water. The disciples thought He was a ghost

and were scared stiff! But, when He got into the boat, the wind stopped!

The disciples were “beside themselves –astonished, amazed!” Look at

what they had experienced: 5,000 men were fed with five loaves and

two fish; Jesus had approached them walking on the water; the wind

ceased to rage when He got into the boat –all of this; yet they were

dumbfounded!!! Why? “…they had not gained any insight from the

incident of the loaves…” Their hearts were callous, hardened; their

minds were closed and insensible. But why?

The word “hardened” means “judicial hardening, which results from as a

consequence of refusing to listen to God…” Does that definition give us

any insight into why we can read the Bible and witness things that only

the LORD can do, yet not understand? We need to evaluate everything

in the light of the spiritual.

A friend of mine related some tremendous experiences he had encountered.

When I asked how come they so often occurred in his life, he said, “You

have them, too. You don’t notice them because you’re not looking for them.”

Could that be true of you? Why am I sick? Why did I have that wreck?

Why was I overlooked for the position? We fail to understand the LORD’s

working in our lives because we’re too focused on things not spiritual.

Solomon said, “Understanding is a fountain of life to him who has it.” (Pro.

16:22). And David said, “When I pondered to understand this, it was

troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I

perceived their end” (Psalm 73:16). Maybe today in church the LORD has

a message for you. Listen carefully and He will give you understanding!

Our loving prayers are offered 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,

Mark 6:31, “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely

place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going,

and they did not even have time to eat).”

The inimitable Rev. Vance Havner used to say, “The Bible says, ‘Come ye

apart and rest awhile.’ And if you don’t come apart you will soon come

apart.” He had some hilarious one and two-liners. But he was right.

Do you know that the word “rest,” and its complementary words resting,

rested, and the like, are mentioned over 340 times in the Bible? One of

the proofs that Jesus possessed a human nature as well as a divine one,

is in Mark 4:31. They were all in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. “And

He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they awoke Him…”

Some people beat themselves up for stopping their daily chores to rest.

How foolish that is! The Greek word for “rest” is anapauesthe. It means

both spiritual and bodily rest. It means to take it easy, relieve yourself from

work. You will be refreshed and revived, both mentally and physically.

What’s more, the tense of anapauesthe is present imperative! — Do it!!

There is a time to work and a time to play. There is a time to start and a

time to stop. Getting all of that in place as it ought to be is a challenge.

Nevertheless, it is needful for both your mind and your body. When I was

in college, I was told to study for 30 minutes and take a 10-minute rest;

then study for another 30 minutes and take another 10-minute rest. I

have to confess that I never followed that pattern with precision, but I did

learn that rest was as valuable to study as reading.

Whatever pattern you follow, do get sufficient rest! Turn your mind away

from the tasks at hand. The LORD is in that rest. You will see.

We continually love 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,

Mark 3:28-30, “’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‘”– 30 because they were saying,

“’He has an unclean spirit.’”

With all that the Bible shares of the enormity of the LORD’s love and forgiveness, we

all need to be careful to reverence Him properly and not to engage even in thoughts that somehow Satan and not the LORD is the producer of the mighty works that we see. One commentator says, “…blasphemy means…speech derogatory to His Divine majesty. When our Lord said to the palsied man, ‘Thy sins are forgiven,’ the bystanders complained that the words were blasphemous, for no one but God had the right to say them. To blaspheme is by contemptuous speech intentionally to come short of the reverence due to God or to sacred things; and this, according to Jesus, was the offence of the Scribes and Pharisees.” Another adds, “It is the state of heart which produces these utterances that are so perilous; and that state is known to Him who pronounced this stern warning.”

What had happened in the passage above was that “…they had attributed to the devil the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the unpardonable sin and it can be committed today by men who call the work of Christ the work of the devil…” (A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures).

Anyone who is worried about having committed the Unpardonable Sin, need not worry

because he has not committed it. Had he committed it, he would not worry. Our world today is so permeated with sinful acts! It is not easy to live for Christ. History shows that it never has been easy. Yet, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound…” (Rom. 5:20).

When we receive the LORD Jesus Christ, He marks us with the Holy Spirit and we are

His forever! No born-again believer can ever commit the Unpardonable Sin. But sin

can and does numb and harden our hearts so that we fail to listen to His Voice and

do what He tells us to do. Even as a child, the LORD Jesus said, “…I must be about

My Father’s business” (Lk. 2:49b). That responsibility falls upon all of us; so, let’s

get busy!

Prayers of love are offered 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.”