The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient

to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control,

brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.”

With all that the Bible says about our reaching out in love to those who do not know Christ Jesus,

the Apostle Paul here instructs Timothy –and us— to stay away from people like these. If you

count the things Paul mentions in these five verses, you will find 17 adverse conditions of human nature

that are difficult for believers to overcome. In fact, he says, Don’t bother; just stay away from them.

It is beyond our ability to know what has brought unbelievers to such a position that makes them

unreachable with the Gospel. Maybe Paul is concerned that our affiliation with such people will

“rub off” on us –not that we would or could lose our salvation— but that we might fall into the want

of such things as he has described and become less usable to reach them. It might also be that

when people succumb or give way to the attitudes Paul lists, they have simply gone too far to be

effectively persuaded that Jesus is infinitely more important that earthly things.

I can recall instances in my own life, where I have sought to share the Gospel with people, who

simply would not believe. I left off trying because it seemed useless. I had no knowledge of their

captivation of evil, such as Paul describes in these verses. They just stubbornly refused to believe.

I left trying to convince them, hoping that someone else might reach them in days ahead. Time is

essential in all matters; and while I was “wasting” time with someone who stubbornly refused, there

were others who surely were awaiting my witness. The Holy Spirit is always our leader-guide in

such situations. Be sensitive to His leadership. When it aligns with the Word, it is time for us to quit

and go elsewhere.

We pray for you every day that you will be effective servants of Jesus Christ,

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.”