The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 2:8-9, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the Word of God is not imprisoned.”

I read recently of a 7-year-old girl who has inoperable brain cancer. I trusted Jesus as my Savior at that age, and wondered if anyone had shared Jesus with her. She and her family are suffering hardship. She is, in fact, a prisoner of her fate.

This led me to think about all the ways people are imprisoned. Criminals top the list, as we consider the ways. Hospitals that confine us are in a sense an imprisonment. Physical handicaps, too, can be considered an imprisonment, because we are kept from activities that we would like to experience. Have you ever considered fear as an imprisonment? Anything that hinders or prohibits us from doing what we would like can be considered an imprisonment.

Yet, amid all of the hinderances we may encounter, Paul cites one that should bring us joy: the Word of

God is not imprisoned! Remember Isaiah 55:11,

So shall My Word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, without

accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

That’s the LORD’s promise that His Word will accomplish exactly and always what He intends. That means that when we share His Word –not even our words— it carries within it the power of its own

accomplishment. Think of it: however imprisoned you may be, whether through illness or fear or whatever, sharing His Word will be effective! Why, even what I am sharing with you here and now through the Internet is destined to achieve what the LORD wills.

Several years ago, a dear friend of ours in Australia was stricken with a malady that threatened his life.

The Internet was in its infancy, but we phoned him, shared again the Word and prayed with him. Without hesitation, he received Christ as his Savior. He had been imprisoned by sin, but his faith in Jesus Christ set him free. Before he died, he gathered his family together and shared he newly-found faith in Jesus. The Word of Scripture and the Living Word, Jesus, set him free!

Don’t be intimidated or imprisoned by fear. Share the Word! It is powerful! It sets men free! It is never imprisoned.

We love and pray for you daily,

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.”