The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 8:4b-6, “…we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world,

and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in

heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there

is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord,

Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”

To my knowledge, I had never before been so close to an idol. Oh, I had seen a giant Buddha

outside a restaurant (Rose Marie would never go in!). But when we entered the dining room of

an Indian friend’s home, I saw the figure of an elephant with a candle burning near it. How could

this be? He’s intelligent! He works for IBM!!! Surely, it wasn’t his –but it was. It was his god.

As Paul notes, “…there are many gods” in the world around us. Therefore, we have no time

to waste quarlling with other believers (Remember that the Corinthian Christians were

squabbling over who was the greater leader –Paul? Apollos? Peter?) And while they were

fussing with each other, people who worshipped idols were dying without Christ!!

There is but one, true God. He is our Father, and all things that are – everything we see,

and everything we don’t – was created by Him. Furthermore, we who exist, exist for Him!

And the Father’s Son — Jesus, the Messiah—is the One through whom we have reeeived

everything. We have life because of Him. We have food and clothing and shelter because

of Him.

We all have responsibilities in life. Someone who is in authority over us has assigned us the

jobs we have. Yes, we receive wages for what we do, but that’s not why we exist. We exist

by Him and for HIM! Wages themselves can become an idol. When wages, or anything else,

becomes the focus for our labor, they become our idol. Keep your focus on Jesus! You

and I exist solely for Him! You life will be cleaner and your soul will be free of anxiety. He will

then become your all-and-in all!

We continue to pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”