The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such

things there is no law.”

We all know that fruit (apples, grapefruit, pears, and the like) are good

for us physically. Paul introduces “the fruit of the Spirit,” which is better

for us than any physical fruit could be. He lists nine separate things,

which he identifies as the “fruit of the Spirit.” And these nine things are

the attributes of our LORD Jesus Christ. I don’t need to identify these

further, because they are understandable on their face. Nor are they

separable. They always go together. Perhaps the strangest thing is

that there is no law against any of them. Did you ever hear of a law

against love (agape), or against joy or peace or patience? If we allow

the Holy Spirit to control our thoughts and our deeds, we need never

fear arrest for disobedience. But there is need to fear arrest for the

things mentioned in verses 19-21. What a contrast! Stay clean and

let the Holy Spirit always be your guide. That’s how we demonstrate

the LORD through our lives.

We love and pray earnestly for each of you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

John 8:31-32, “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,

‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

I spoke to the CAP cadets last night on “Truth.” Their attention was

excellent, and I was amazed that they were so “up” on current events.

Verse 32 above was one of the verses I emphasized. But verse 32

must really link with verse 31, because you cannot know “the truth”

unless you are “in (His) Word.” The Word of God reveals His truth;

and when we understand His truth, we are made “free.” The word

“free” means to be exempt from liability. We are sinners and responsible

for our sin, until we know Christ. His death and resurrection frees us

from the liability of our sin. But there’s more. Sin is burdensome.

Criminals who have long run from the law are often relieved when

they are caught. Sin is burdensome even when it’s not illegal. We

know what we do and think that are sinful. We feel guilty. Jesus

frees us from that guilt when we confess it with the determination

not to again engage in thoughts and deeds which dishonor Him.

Yes, His Truth really sets us free!

We love you tremendously and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

Hebrews 12:15-17, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God;

that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;

16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright

for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit

the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought

for it with tears.”

The account of Jacob and Esau (Gen. 25) is one of the tragic pictures

in history. Paul is using the twins’ as an example of what not to do.

Esau was a hunter; Jacob loved to just be at home. When Esau came

home from hunting one day, he was famished! Jacob was preparing

a stew, and Esau said, “Give me some of that red stuff! I’m starving!”

Jacob was clever and said, “Sell me your birthright.” Esau was the

eldest son and had first rights to his father’s fortune. But he said, “I’m

about to die; what value is a birthright to me?” So, he sold Jacob the

rights he was to have had at his father’s death. Later on, Easu saw

he had done the wrong thing. He tried to undo his actions, but found

it impossible. He was dreadfully sorry, but it was too late. Therefore,

he became bitter toward his brother Jacob. But, he had only himself

to blame. What he had done was his own fault.

There are consequences to our actions. We need to carefully think

through every situation before we undertake it. And when we’ve

done wrong, we need to be big enough to admit it and not try to

put the blame on someone else. The Holy Spirit will guide us, if we

listen carefully to Him.

We love and pray for you all every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Haggai 2:11-14, “’Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Ask now the priests for a ruling:

12 ‘If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with

this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?'” And

the priests answered, “No.”

13 Then Haggai said, ‘If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these,

will the latter become unclean?’ And the priests answered, ‘It will become unclean.’

Then Haggai said, ‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the

LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.’”

The LORD is concerned that the people of Haggai’s day were living in luxurious

houses, but the LORD’s house (the Temple) was in a ruinous condition. Read

verse 12 carefully. If holy meat touches (unholy) bread, does the bread become

holy? No. Then verse 13 asks if a person who is unholy, say from touching a

corpse, touches food or drink of any kind, does that food or drink become holy?

Again the priests say no. The principle here is this: Righteousness is not

contagious, but unrighteousness is. If a known godly man gave you $10,000,

you would not suspect anything wrong. But if a known drug dealer gave you

that same amount, you would (or should) be very suspicious that it was dirty money.

Thus, when the unholy people of Haggai’s day gave anything to the LORD, He

saw what they were giving as unholy and, therefore, what they offered Him was

unacceptable. Whatever we do for the LORD must be come from holy lives;

even if it appears to be acceptable, it is not.

May we all be acceptable to the LORD today,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 3:10-12, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,

in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements

will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will

be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort

of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because

of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements

will melt with intense heat!”

The Day of the LORD is a day of intense judgment. People today

do terrible things and often look like they’re getting away with it.

They may escape man’s judgment, but they won’t escape the judgment

of Almighty God. The LORD destroyed the Earth once in the days of

Noah, then He promised He would never again destroy the Earth

with a flood (Gen. 9:11). But in the Day of the LORD, He will destroy

the Earth with “intense heat.” Peter’s summation here concerns us.

What kind of people ought we to be? We should be holy in the conduct

of our lifestyles and vigilant toward that coming day of destruction.

And we should do our best to be witnesses of the LORD’s message,

in order that others might be saved from this devastating event.

May the LORD give you wisdom and courage is our prayer,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas