The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 3:10-14, “…that I may know Him, and the power of His

resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed

to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the

dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become

perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which

also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard

myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what

lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on

toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

While these verses were never meant for a New Year’s Resolution,

they serve us well in that regard. Paul’s intense desire to be like

Jesus is nowhere so strongly stated as it is here. Still he admits

quite freely that he has not reached that holy and glorious goal.

It is indeed Christ’s purpose that Paul and all of us reach that

goal. So, how are we to realize the goal? What can and should

we do?

First, we must emphatically forget the bad things of the past. One

of the worst attacks we can experience is the remembrance of wrong

things (bad experiences, evil thoughts, etc.) that occurred in the past.

How can we forget? We forget by asking the LORD to wipe it out of

our minds. Believe me, He can! Remember where the Bible says,

“…the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (I Cor. 14:32)? Well,

that can apply to you, too. Just FORGET things that ought not to be

remembered!

Second, we must press on! The word here means to “stretch out

the neck.” In a short, fast race, a runner will lean his head forward

at the finish line so he can win, even if only by a head. That’s what

Paul means. He’s energetically stretching out, anticipation becoming

more and more like Jesus, which is what he and all of us were called

and saved to be.

Our prayer is that both you and we will become more like Him in

2018 than we were in 2017. Don’t look back! Look for His Coming!

We love and pray for you every, single day,

Nana & Dado III

UPDATE on Nana: She had a good night’s sleep to close out 2017!

She phoned me this morning to give instructions

about household things. That means she’s getting

better. We’ll keep you updated. Stay tuned! ??

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”