The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 3:13-19, “Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Without question, Paul is a man of faith and prayer. He believes in the strength and power derived from the Holy Spirit, and in the love the LORD implants in those who are His. To Paul, faith in the believer’s heart is grounded in this love that extends beyond all knowledge and enables the believer to accomplish far more than could be accomplished otherwise.

Thus, all that the LORD accomplishes through us will be initially to His glory and ultimately beneficial to His cause. May He ever and always be glorified!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Mark 16:15, “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”

Whatever you buy, be it a table lamp or a coffee machine, there are always printed instructions that tell you what to do. When I have trouble, I call one of my kids, who always asks, “Dad, did you read the instructions?”

Instructions? Why do I need instructions? Far too often that’s our response when the Scriptures tell us to “Go and Tell.”

I had no idea, when I surrendered to preach, that I would “go” where He ultimately led me, and/or “tell” what He gave me to tell. That’s because I had not read His instructions…well, not completely!

Notice that His instructions included “into all the world.” Not to confuse you, dear reader, but there are multiple means of “going” today. We have the Internet, postal services, and telephone. Further, there are cars, airplanes, and ships if “going” means “outside of one’s comfort zone.”

Mission fields abound! They’re everywhere! I clearly recall being in the midst of Indians, whose language I could not understand. I thought, “Oh, if only I knew their language! But, I know the language of the people next door…”

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

Dear Grands,

Mark 3:1-5, “He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered.

2 They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!”

4 And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”

Have you ever really hurt your hand? It not only hurts, it “tells” you that you’ll never be able to do anything with it from this day onward! Of course, that’s not always true. Still, it hurts so badly that you’re convinced that you’ll never be able to do anything with it ever again!

The man in the passage above was worse still. His hand was “withered!” In all probability, he had seen hurt hands previously; yet, his was so mangled that he doubted he would ever be able to use it again. Nevertheless, he attended synagogue! (How many of us have missed church because of a hangnail, or something of relative insignificance!)

This was “the day” for this man! He met Jesus! There are people alive today whose doctors cannot explain how! Some of them have simply met Jesus! Have you?

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

1 Kings 8:44-45, “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name,

45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication and maintain their cause.”

We all have battles. The circumstances often vary in multiple ways. Some are verbal in nature. Here we merely seek to outmaneuver others through the utilization of superior speech. Other battles may be of a psychological nature, where we are required to convince an opponent that we are right by displaying superior cleverness in speech. Some battles, however, require true mental and physical strength. Whatever the nature of the encounter, we do well to rely upon the supreme, superior wisdom of the LORD by way of humble prayer!

I believe it is true that there were honest, spiritual believers on both sides of America’s Civil War (the War Between the States) who believed in and practiced prayer. Undoubtedly, some prayed because that was all they knew to do. How the LORD receives such prayer, we will never know this side of Heaven – if even then! Yet, it is a serious acknowledgment of the existence of the Supreme Being. Surely, that counts for something in His sight.

Tennyson reminds us that “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” We will do well, as the old hymn says, to “take it to the LORD and leave it there.” Pray for your neighbors, for your pastors, for your relatives. There is no power on earth like the power of prayer!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 3:10-15, “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

11 persecutions and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Thus, Paul warned young Timothy, and in that warning, warns us as well. He cites nine specific situations that occurred in his ministry, and through those citations, warns us all of what is coming our way if we decide to follow the LORD Jesus. Christianity is not a bed of roses. It involves persecution! It requires faith, patience, and love.

Paul is not talking about things foreign to himself. He has indeed suffered multiple times and in many ways. He is telling Timothy that he, too, will suffer if he shares as Paul has shared of his faith. Could it be that the thought of suffering is what hinders us from sharing Christ? Perhaps we could start by handing out gospel tracts. People like to receive things. Only once or twice have I had someone refuse to receive a Gospel tract. You may not think of it as witnessing, but it’s a start. The further you go, the harder it becomes. Yet, the greater and easier it becomes. God bless you for being faithful.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom