The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 3:19-22, “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions,

having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed

should come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator is not for

one party only; whereas God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises

of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life,

then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has

shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given

to those who believe.”

I meet a lot of people who think they’re going to Heaven because they

believe in God, live a morally good life, and do good toward others.

Paul addresses the unreasonableness of this in the verses above. Why

do we even have laws? We have them because man thinks he’s doing

right all the time. In Missouri many years ago the law read that drivers

on cars were to be “reasonable and proper.” But, by whose standard?

What is “reasonable”? What is “proper”? And who is to say what is

right? God introduced the Law (Ten Commandments) to demonstrate

to man himself how wrong he was. God never intended the Law to

save man from his sin. Instead, He kept man under the Law, actually

imprisoned in sin, until the time He planned and sent Jesus, His Son,

to release man from imprisonment. Jesus, through His death on the

Cross, made it possible for man to be released from sin. If mankind

were not to be released from sin through keeping the Law, the only way

left for his release was through faith –faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection

from the dead.

No, the Law was not contrary to God’s promises. It was a matter of

God’s timing. The Law existed until Jesus came. Now, release from

sin is by faith in Jesus Christ. We are saved by Him and for Him! And

we who know Him are here to tell others about Him.

We love you and pray for you and trust you are praying for us,

Nana & Dado III

Update on Nana: She is progressing well. She is stronger by the

day. But, she is not completely rid of pneumonia.

When will that be? It could depend somewhat on

your prayers.

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,

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.”