The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Old folks sometimes forget;

Sometimes it is things they regret.

I did so today;

So, for me you should pray;

That none of us ever get upset.

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,

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.”

Listen carefully when someone reads aloud these verses.

Most readers will mispronounce “fruit” as “fruits.” It’s a

common mistake; after all, there are nine, separate items

to which Paul calls to our attention. Then, why does he

not say “fruits”?

Several years ago in Australia, I held a series of evangelistic

meetings in a small town. I stayed with a sugarcane farmer

and his wife. One night after the meeting and prior to

bedtime, they offered me a monstereo delicio. They said

you could taste a variety of fruits in this one fruit. Would

I like to try it? I replied, somewhat jokingly, that I’d try

anything that was non-alcoholic! I then ate the fruit, and

to my surprise, it was exactly as they had described it.

I could taste apple, banana, peach –all in the one fruit!

What I could not do was eliminate the banana! (I know

they are good for us, but I don’t like the taste!)

That fruit-tasting experience that night taught me the

difference between “fruit” and “fruits” in Galatians 5:22-23.

We often want joy and peace, but don’t want to be patient

or exercise self-control. But, we cannot have one without

the other. The fruit of the Spirit is one fruit. And we either

accept and display ALL of it, or we reject and display NONE

of it. We either live in the Spirit or we don’t. There is NO

middle or partial ground. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also

walk by the Spirit” (v. 25).

We love your immensely, and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Update on Nana: Well, yesterday was a “wash” for her

coming home; but we expect that today.

Her cardiologist wants to do a heart cath,

but wants her to rest up first. Please pray

for her. She’s in good spirits, but she has

yet a physical issue that must be addressed.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”