The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 7:59-60, “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying,

‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, ‘Lord, lay not

this sin to their charge.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Preaching throughout the world and in many different churches,

I learned a tremendous lot about pastors and churches. It was not

immediately evident, but in time, I came to understand that the

greatest sin that exists within the church is the lack of forgiveness.

People that claimed Jesus had forgiven them were unwilling to

forgive others. Stephen knew what he had preached to the Jews

had angered them. Yet, it was the truth that they could not deny.

In horrible anger, then encircled him and threw stones at him

until he died. In his dying moments, Stephen forgave them for

what they were doing. His words were a strange parallel to the

words of our LORD Jesus, who said, “Father, forgive them, for

they know not what they are doing.” Anger momentarily erases

all thoughts of wrong-doing. Stephen’s lack of anger gave clarity

to his thoughts and he forgave his persecutors. Think of those

who have wronged you; let go of the anger you harbor, and you

will discover peace in your life. The lack of forgiveness only hurts

the one who fails to forgive.

We love you and pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Acts 5:40-41, “…and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them,

they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were

counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name.”

Character is revealed in reaction. When we do wrong, we suffer; and wisdom

tells us that we got what we deserved. But, when we know we’ve not done

wrong, we stand up for ourselves and argue against our accusers. Is it wrong

to do that? Maybe not always; but when we know it’s pointless to debate,

we just suffer the indignity, showing that we have strength not to fight.

The apostles of Jesus had been ordered by the Jewish Court not to speak in

His Name. They had been severely beaten physically in the effort to suppress

their preaching to the people, and then let go. Were the apostles mad? Did

they vow to get even with the Jewish leaders? No, they left rejoicing! Just

imagine how you would have felt. We’ll show you!! Just wait!! No, the apostles

rejoiced! Why? Because the LORD had counted them worthy to suffer the indignity

for His glory. That takes character! That shows character! Christians throughout

the world are suffering for Jesus right now, as you read these words. We may

some day be called upon to do the same. It is then that our true character will

be revealed. Will we then honor Him by rejoicing?

We love you and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Acts 4:24-26, “And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, ‘O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM,

25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, “WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE, AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?

26 “THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST”’” (Psalm 2:1-2).

Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead was the theme of Peter’s sermon. The chief priests

objected to Peter’s preaching and warned John and him to stop. Peter said, “We cannot

stop sharing what we have experienced.” They were warned and released; and they

immediately shared with their companions what had occurred. Then, they all went to

prayer. Christians have always been under attack. The news is reporting daily that

Christians everywhere are under attack. What did Peter and John do? They shared

things with other close believers and they prayed that the LORD would give them

strength to continue witnessing. Two almost incidental things are worth noting in

their prayer: first, they were Creationists! None of this “Big Bang” stuff for them. And

second, they were Biblicists! What the Bible said was uppermost to them. They quoted

and relied upon what the Scriptures taught. And therein lay the secret to their power.

Whatever comes your way, believe the Word and trust the LORD! He delivered Peter

and John and raised Jesus from the dead! What do you and I have to fear?

May the LORD bless you this day as you trust in Him!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 2:1-2, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned…”

Men are not holy because they are preachers. In fact, there are preachers

who are false in their lives and in their teachings. They want to justify their

unholy ways by introducing destructive opinions into the messages they preach.

Some will even go so far as to deny the deity of Jesus Christ!

This is precisely why we need to listen carefully to a pastor’s messages. Certainly,

some sincere and loving pastors have wrong ideas about what the Bible teaches.

But there are others who live contrary to Scripture and believe that they are

justified in doing so when others agree with them and live like they do. Weaker

believers then follow them and the Truth of the LORD is scrambled and dishonored.

Listen carefully to what your pastor says. If you have questions, a godly pastor will

entertain your questions honestly. If his attitude is that you just need to follow

what he says without question, ask your questions of someone who will honor

them and reply biblically and lovingly. Yes, pastors are to be responsible to be

honest and truthful with Scripture, but you are also responsible to “guard what has

been entrusted to you” by the LORD Jesus Christ (1Tim. 6:20).

May Love and Prayers & Careful Listening be yours,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

James 1:19-20, “This you know, my beloved brethren.

But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;

20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

One of the major aspects of the course I’m now teaching is “listening.”

If we are going to understand what a person intends when he speaks,

we must listen, and listen carefully. A mountain of problems develop

when we misunderstand what was said; and that misunderstanding

most often comes because we do not listen. When we then speak,

we speak about what we thought was meant. Then, the original

speaker insists he did not mean what we thought, and we feel obliged

to defend what we said about what we thought he meant. That leads

to anger. How is the righteousness of God obtained through anger?

Simply stated, it is not. Such things as this occur in the home, in

the church, in the public arena, in the Congress, in the courts –and

on and on and on. It might be good to ask the speaker to clarify his

original comments, so we might know clearly what he meant. That’s

another aspect of “hearing.” It saves time and a lot of grief.

Did you read carefully what I wrote? Do you have a question about

what James intends or why he wrote it? No? Good. There will be

no argument then, and the righteousness of the LORD will be obtained.

Love and prayers,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas