The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 7:19-23, “For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice

the very evil that I do not wish. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do

not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes

to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war

against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin

which is in my members.”

After Israel was delivered from Egypt, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments,

as recorded in Exodus 20. These Commandments were never intended to

produce life in mankind; rather, they were given as warnings to enable mankind

to know when they were sinning against God. The first four of the Ten Commandments

have to do with mankind’s relationship with God; the second six have to do with

mankind’s relation to mankind.

Romans seven has always been a difficult chapter. Paul says he knows in his

mind what is right, but he seems always to be persuaded to do wrong. Haven’t

we all had that experience? Take pizza. We’ve eaten until we were filled. We know

we’ve had enough, but it tastes so good that our body just wants more. I found just

such a food in India. I ate so much that I got sick. But, it was SO GOOD that I ordered

it again the next day! How stupid! But I just couldn’t seem to resist it!

Paul had the same experience, but not with food. The Law said “DON’T!” But his

body, his emotions, cried “DO IT!” The conflict was there; and if he obeyed the

“DO IT,” he discovered he was a prisoner of sin. If he resisted the “DO IT,” he was

captive to the way of Christ. It works the same with us. We are captives, either

way. But one “prison” keeps us from Christ; the other keeps us from sin. Whose

captive do you want to be?

We pray you will always be a willing “captive” of Jesus Christ,

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,

Romans 6:12-14, “Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body

that you should obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the

members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but

present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your

members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not

be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.”

Reign (be king); obey (listen to); lusts (desires, impulses); presenting (offer);

Unrighteousness (evil doing);

Whatever dominates our thinking or habits is king of our lives.

There are some impulses that we simply must not submit to. The

Greek language here is imperative –must not!—listen to or obey

the voice of sin. We have been made alive in Jesus Christ and must

always show forth “to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:12).

Keep good thoughts today! Let the Holy Spirit speak to you through

the pastor’s message. Let that message be applied to your heart.

We love you immensely and pray for you 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,

Romans 5:3-5, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations,

knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance,

proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not

disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our

hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Years ago, a soldier at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri approached me

after the Sunday morning church service and asked, “If God is as good

as you say He is, why does He make my mother suffer so?” You may have

wondered about this yourself. God is all-powerful. We belong to Him;

therefore, why do we experience so much trouble?

Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), so truly, born-again Christians

are always running counter to the ways of the world. And we often

experience difficulties, even hatred, from the world. But, we rejoice

in these distresses, because they produce patience in us, as we await

His deliverance. Further, this patience gives evidence of our mature

character; and mature character shows we have certainty of hope in

Jesus Christ. Thus, we are never disgraced or disappointed because

the love of God is generously provided for us through the Holy Spirit,

Whom we received the Spirit when we trusted Christ as our LORD and

Savior. So, cheer up! Jesus is alive and Coming for us! In the meantime,

His sustaining power lives within us through the Holy Spirit. We have no

reason to fear for He has already won the battle at the Cross and in His

Resurrection!

Nana & I will be in Bentonville this Sunday, where I will be preaching.

Please pray for those whom the LORD will have to be there.

We love and pray for you always,

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,

Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore having been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction

by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult

in hope of the glory of God.”

We’ve all heard people who could talk for hours and say

nothing! Paul is one who says enormous truths in only a

few verses. Since the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden,

all mankind, men and women, have the DNA of sin within

them. Going anywhere of prominence, we certainly want

to be clean. How then can we stand cleanly before God

with sin in our lives? He cleanses us when we believe in

Him. That’s what “justified by faith” means. And when

we are clean, we are at peace standing before God.

Yet, Paul says we have just “obtained our introduction”

into the grace of God. There’s much more to learn. We

now possess an attitude of confidence in God. We rejoice

and glory in Him, looking forward with future certainty

toward His appearance at His Coming for us! WOW!

There’s more, so much more, than that first sweet day;

More, so much more, every passing day;

And the life I now live, Christ is living in me,

In each word, in each deed, in each day.

*Bob Oldenburg

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 28:1-6, “And when they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. 2And the natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.

3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 And when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’

5 However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.”

Is it possible to be an intellectual wizard and do common labor? Paul would say, “Yes.”

I’ve always been amazed at Paul’s humility. The former murderer, now chief Apostle of

the LORD Jesus Christ, picked up stick for a fire! Lesson: never be too big to engage

in menial tasks. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Learn to do menial labor alongside

others, and as Kipling said, It’s alright to walk with kings, as long as you never lose the

“common touch” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if—).

Once again Paul experienced the fickleness of men. I say “again” because back in

Acts 14, at Lystra, Paul healed a man and the locals hailed him as a god. When he

protested that he was just a man like they were, the stoned him and left him for dead.

Now, while the natives of the Island of Malta were kind and helpful, they were obviously

captives of superstition. As a snake emerged from the sticks and embedded itself in

Paul’s hand, the natives assumed that Paul was a murderer and that “justice” had

caught up with him. But when the snake’s venom had no effect on Paul, they changed

their minds and decided he was a god. Lesson: unbelieving people will often assume

the worst about you. Try as we will, we have to leave the changing of their minds to the

LORD. Paul just continued being himself and made no appreciable effort to change their

thinking. The LORD did that in His own way and in His own time.

We love each of you immensely! And we pray for you 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.”