The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 6:14, “But may it never be that I should boast,

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which

the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a lot of boasting in the

world today. Those in the NFL, who kneel when the National

Anthem is played, are boasting; and those who criticize them

are boasting as well. Everyone thinks he is right; to him,

everyone else is wrong. The word “boast” means “to take

pride in, to glory in” whatever one believes to be right.

Churches often boast in their magnificent buildings, the

huge sums of money they have or give, or the number of

members they have. It was the same in Paul’s day. The

Judaizers, who claimed that Christians needed to keep the

Law of Moses, boasted of how many they had convinced

to come to their position. Many religious groups today

take the same position.

But Paul said there was only one thing of which he could

boast; and that was the Cross of the LORD Jesus Christ.

He said the things of the world had for him been put to

death, and he had been put to death to the things of the

world. There can be no doubt that Paul was tempted

just as we are. He just reckoned himself dead to those

things when they arose in his mind. The glorious truth

is that we can do the same: we can “die daily” to those

things that would pull us away from true life, which we

have in the LORD Jesus Christ. Paul adds in verse 16,

“And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy

be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”

We pray that you (and we) will render everything dead,

except that which glorifies the LORD Jesus.

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.”