The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 15:36-40, “And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.’

37 “And Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also.

38 “But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

39 “And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

40 “But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.”

President Trump has recently taken a strong stand against the decades-old trade practices of the

Chinese. While he stands adamantly against the Chinese unfair trade practices, he insists that

President Xi (pronounced “she”) and he are friends. Is it possible to disagree strongly with a position

of a friend without severing the friendship? We’ll look into the Bible for the answer.

If you read the from the start of Acts 15, you will see that false teachers had so infected the

early church with their false teachings that the apostles agreed to debate and settle the issue

in a large council meeting in Jerusalem. The entire council heard from Peter, Paul, Barnabus,

and James. The result was a unanimous rejection of the false teaching and a retention of the

teaching embraced by Peter, Paul, Barnabus and James.

When the meeting was over, everyone went home –that is, almost everyone. Paul and Barnabus

had been a primary missionary team, so they talked about revisiting churches they had founded,

strengthening them in the faith. Barnabus wanted to take Mark, who was his young relative. Mark

had gone with them previously, but for some reason had turned back in the middle of the trip and

gone home. Paul objected to taking Mark, as he was not dependable. The two argued about whether

to take Mark, “And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another,

and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.”

Now, it seemed as if Paul was left to journey alone. But interestingly enough, “…it (had) seemed

good to Silas to remain there.” So, Paul chose Silas and departed…” But what about the argument

they had? What effect did that have upon their future friendship? In Second Peter 3:16, Peter spoke

of Paul as “our beloved brother.” And in Second Timothy 4:11, Paul says, “Pick up Mark and bring

him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”

Earlier, Paul and Barnabus had a disagreement regarding Mark. It was not a disagreement concerning

each other. It concerned an aspect of their joint ministry. We all have differences of opinion of a variety

of subjects; still, that must not inhibit us from maintaining friendships. And even though it might for the

moment, it need not be something that erases a friendship forever. Paul and Barnabus were Christian

men, who determined not to let anything destroy their friendship, their ministry, or their testimony for

Jesus Christ. We must learn the same. We must learn to be like Jesus, who in His dying hour said,

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Love covers a multitude of disagreements –and sins!

We love you and pray for you each and every day,

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.”

Dear Grands,

Proverbs 8:22-35, “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.

23 “From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

24 “When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water.

25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth;

26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.

27 “When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

28 When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed,

29 When He set for the sea its boundary, So that the water should not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,

31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.

32 “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways.

33 “Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.

34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.

35 “For he who finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD.”

This is a long passage; but to address it, it seemed necessary to share the whole thing.

Personification is attributing human characteristics (seeing, walking, etc.) to things that are

not human. This passage does just that. It is Wisdom “dressed up” in human clothing.

Wisdom was with God before He created the Earth, the planets, the skies, water, and dust. I will

leave it to you to read this Scripture carefully. Just think of Wisdom as being the voice that is

speaking. Then from verses 32 through 35, Wisdom gives specific instruction to us! “Listen

to me”; “keep my ways”; “heed instruction”; “watch”; “wait.” “For he who finds me finds life, and

obtains favor from the LORD.” Don’t ever believe that what you think is right is truly right. Only

the Word of God is right. And it is absolutely right! The LORD has given us His Word in such

clarity of language (Greek), that it is virtually impossible to misunderstand it, unless we (and

those who teach us) neglect to read, absorb, and live it out in our daily lives. As Isaiah says,

“Seek from the book of the LORD, and read…” (34:16). Do it daily for spiritual wisdom just as

you eat daily for physical strength.

We love you and continue daily to pray for you all,

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.”