The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 7:58, “And when they had driven him out of the city,

they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their

robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”

Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the

wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His

judgments and unfathomable His ways!”

Nowhere in Scripture is there a clearer example of the LORD’s

unsearchable judgments or unfathomable ways than in Acts 7.

Stephen was a man of great wisdom because he was controlled

by the Holy Spirit. The only way the enemies of his teachings

could refute him was to lie about what he said. Their charges

brought him before the Jewish Council. His rehearsal of the

history of the Jews in Acts 7 is outstanding! But when he

concluded by charging them with resistance to the Holy Spirit,

they stoned him to death. And even while he was dying, he

cried out, “LORD, do not hold this sin against them.”

Where are the LORD’s unsearchable judgments and

unfathomable ways in all of this? They lie embedded in His

allowance of Stephen’s death in order that Saul of Tarsus

might become an even greater witness than Stephen. What

is occurring in your life right now may not be clear. Why is this

occurring? may be a question you will not understand until later

if at all. You may never understand it, but the LORD has His

purposes. Be faithful. Trust Him. Do and be and go where He

leads you, and your life will overflow with joy and gladness!

Praying for His fulfillment in your life 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,

Acts 4:17-20, “’But in order that it may not spread any further among the people,

let us warn them to speak no more to any man in this name.’

18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or

teach at all in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight

of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

20 for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.’”

It’s the nature of war that men seek to kill each other. “Might makes right,”

as the saying goes. Interestingly enough, it is the same with spiritual

warfare. Satan’s nefarious means include intimidation of those whose

sole purpose is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. “…let us warn

them to speak no more to any man in this Name.” The warning came

in the form of a command. Yet, Peter and John stood fast! “It’s on

you,” they said, to determine before God what is right for you; but

“we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.”

Let me be clear: if you are not under Satan’s attack, you are not in

the battle! “Woe to you when all men speak well of you” (Lk. 6:26).

But, what are we to do? We are to keep on keeping on, following the

directive of the Holy Spirit of God. Whatever else, never compromise!

“Of all the things that I despise,

The foremost one is compromise.”

“And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Thy

bond-servants may speak Thy word with all confidence…” (Acts 4:29).

We pray that you will be strong in the LORD,

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,

Acts 4:8, 12, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,

‘Rulers and elders of the people… And there is salvation in no

one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been

given among men, by which we must be saved.’”

President Trump gave what some have called the boldest address

ever before the United Nations yesterday. He called out North

Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and others by the names of their

rulers. I heard the speech. It was very bold and to the point.

Simon Peter called out the rulers and elders of the people in

our verses above. The Scripture says that Peter was “filled with

the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word, here translated “filled,” means

“controlled.” John 3:34 says, God “gives the Spirit without measure.”

No believer has half or two-thirds of the Holy Spirit! That’s absurd!

The Holy Spirit is a Person and no person is divisible into fractions.

This is important to notice because of what Peter goes on to say:

“…there is salvation in no one else,” other than Jesus Christ.

What President Trump said was good; but if the world is to be

delivered from the influx of evil from the countries he mentioned,

it will not be done with weapons of warfare. It will be done by the

Hand of the Creator. In just the same way, each person who is

imprisoned by sin, must look to Jesus Christ for his salvation. And

the place once occupied by Simon Peter must be filled you and me.

Think about that! We have a HUGE responsibility! But, the power

In us will always come from the LORD.

You are loved and held in our prayers 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,

Acts 1:9, “And after He had said these things,

He was lifted up while they were looking on,

and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

What do you do when the one upon whom

you have been dependent is no longer there?

In my lifetime, I have lost four grandparents,

two parents, four uncles, four aunts, and two

cousins. Obviously, my parents and grandparents

influenced my life more than the others; yet, to

some degree, each of them had an impact upon

my life.

Jesus impacted the lives of His disciples beyond all

their relatives. But, now He was gone. What are

they to do? They returned to “the upper room where

they were staying…and devoted themselves

to prayer…” That’s what all true believers do when

they find themselves bereft of their leader. True,

born-again believers are never alone. They must,

however, transfer their dependence to the LORD.

Where is your dependence? Is it upon parents,

grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends? All

of them will one day be gone. Learn today to be

totally and utterly dependent upon the LORD for all

your needs. He never fails!

Lovingly and prayerfully yours,

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 19:14-15, “Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover;

it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your King!’

15 They therefore cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!’

Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered,

‘We have no king but Caesar.’”

Mob rule is nothing new. A police officer in St. Louis shot and killed a

man. A judge found the officer innocent and released him. Crowds

gathered in the street and began to demonstrate against the officer

and the judge who released him. The mob’s “evidence” was that the

officer was white and the man he killed was black. Justice was not

the crowd’s concern; getting their way is what it’s all about.

The mob in Jesus’ day was stirred up by the Jews, who wanted Jesus

dead. Simon Peter tells us that Pilate “had decided to release Him”

(Acts 3:13), but the crowd was determined to “put to death the

Prince of life…” (3:15). “Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the

Jews cried out… ‘If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar…’”

(Jn. 19:12). It was all a matter of authority. Pilate was correct in his

determination, but the people’s mention of Caesar turned everything

in their favor. Jesus had earlier said to Pilate, “…he who delivered Me

up to you has the greater sin.” Although all of this was within the LORD’s

plan leading to the Cross and the redemption of those who would

believe on Jesus, it nevertheless bodes ill for the crowd, who wanted

death instead of justice. Opposition to injustice is not wrong; but

yelling and screaming in the streets is not the proper method for

opposing it. An out-of-control crowd is a self-authoritative exercise.

We love your each and every one,

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.”