The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Jude 3-4, “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Did you ever start to write something and change your mind? What you intended to say was

suddenly superseded by something else –something more important. I had once asked a true

and trusted pastor to write a letter of recommendation for me. He readily agreed, but said that

when he sat down and started to write, the LORD “stayed his hand.” Physically, he could not

say what he intended. The letter was never sent. The LORD intervened miraculously, and the

course of my life was changed.

Jude’s writing was changed, too. His emphasis was that they should “contend earnestly for the

faith.” The word “contend” (????????????) means “make a strenuous effort.” The faith in our

LORD Jesus Christ is no trivial matter. It is a life or death situation –eternal life or death! But

How do we “contend”?

*1. Be mindful of the enemies (vv.17-19). Don’t believe everything you hear. There are many false teachers in the world. Many are personally attractive and give plausible teachings, yet their teachings do not agree with the Bible!
*2. Be strong (built up in the faith) (vv. 20-21). We gain spiritual strength by maintaining
*Bible studies and prayer. We must be stronger in believing the teachings of Jesus than
*those the false teachers are in their unbiblical beliefs. 3. Maintain an evangelistic spirit (vv. 22-23). Be like Peter, who said, “always be
*ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope
*that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15).

Trust the LORD to keep you strong. Trust Him to give you understanding of His Word. And when

you encounter false teachings, you will know they are false, and you will know what to say and how

to say it. Be totally dependent on the Holy Spirit who lives within you, just as you are totally dependent

of your bank to keep save the money you have deposited. God bless you abundantly in all things!

Our loving prayers are for you and for your strength in Jesus Christ, our Savior,

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.”