The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall

guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The email in my inbox this morning was devastating. It was from a

missionary I do not know, serving in a country of which I am not aware.

After sharing the Gospel with the natives and seeing many come to

faith in Christ, an “enemy” sowed doubts in their hearts – doubts that

turned many away from Christ. His call was for prayer.

Paul’s answer to all of this tragedy is to “Rejoice in the LORD!” It’s

not that we should be pleased with evil’s increase. Never! But he

encourages us to maintain a gentle, kind, tolerant spirit –not toward

the evil itself, but toward all those who manifest evil within themselves.

Pray earnestly with an attitude of thanksgiving for what you have

requested of God. The promised result is that the LORD will give you

His peace –a supreme peace that will rise beyond any and all human

thought—and will protect and direct the content of your thinking,

keeping it focused clearly and only on Christ Jesus.

Our problem is that we don’t see beyond how tragedies affect us.

But there is an answer to such things, and it is all wound up in the

concept of rejoicing!

We love each one of you and pray for you daily,

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.”