The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 2:11-15, “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him;

12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.

14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless, and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the Word of truth.”

You don’t have to live long to learn that not everything that is said is true. One primary lesson is to learn

what is true, so that you can discern truth from untruth. Paul states a faithful, worthy-of-trust statement that has both positive and negative aspects. Four times here he uses the word “if.” Two of the four concern our living positively; two of the four concern our living negatively. Look at this closely.

“If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.” This speaks positively. We were saved when we denied ourselves the right to live as we wanted –died to ourselves and our own authority over our own lives, and surrendered that authority to Jesus.

“If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” This, too, speaks positively. If we remain patient and don’t give up when things are going against us, we will one day live with Him in Heaven.

“If we deny Him…” speaks negatively of our living. It can mean that we refuse to do what the LORD wants of our lives. If that is the case, He will deny us the blessing we would have known had we done as He directed. Denying Him can also mean outrightly saying that we are not His followers, we are not Christians. In that case, He will deny us, which is an extremely dangerous situation.

“If we are faithless…” relates to our negative living, our lack of trust in Him. Our our lack of trust does not affect His faithfulness. The LORD can never be contrary to who and what He is. If we refuse to be or do what He wants, He will simply choose someone else to do it, and we will miss the blessing.

Whatever the situation, don’t get tangled in arguments about things that don’t matter. They simply cause us to lose the direction the LORD has plotted for us, and those we might have reached for Him. Make every effort to be and do what the LORD approves and you’ll never be ashamed for telling His Truth.

Our daily prayer is that you may be all the LORD desires,

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.”

Dear Grands,

Malachi 4:1-3, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”

2 “But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

3 “And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the LORD of hosts.”

Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets. His words relate specifically to the time in which he lived, yet they have a meaning for every generation. The LORD is never pleased with sin. He may seem to some individuals and nations that He has missed seeing their evil behavior, but He has not. At the present, we live under a cloud of unrighteousness. Throughout the world the Christian faith is being ridiculed and assailed by evil doers. Planned Parenthood continues to slaughter babies while they are still in their mothers’ wombs. Iran aids rebel killers who roam about like the devil, devouring lives of all who seek peace. Nations everywhere demonstrate political unrest, so that even the principles of law are ignored, throwing people into utter chaos.

The prophet gives hope to his people and extends it to all in succeeding generations. The Ultimate Hope of the world lies in mankind’s acceptance of Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior. He is the “sun of righteousness” to Malachi’s people and to ours. Malachi forsees the Coming Messiah. We look eagerly for Him, too. The promise is that He will return; and it is then that we will “skip about like calves,” jumping with joy! It is then that the wicked –the unrighteous producers of evil– will be trampled underfoot. Wrongs will be destroyed and rights will be restored. The tears of the oppressed will be replaced with laughter. Hang in there! That Great Day is coming! And every day it comes closer and closer. Keep reading your Bible! Keep praying for Christ’s deliverence! The Day of the LORD’s deliverence will come!

Praying for you as we look for Him,

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.”

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.”

Dear Grands,

1 Timothy 5:24-25, “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. 25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.”

A fire storm has developed with respect to the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. An otherwise little known university professor has suddenly thrust herself into the situation with accusations against the Judge’s character –accusations which the Judge categorically and uniquivoculately denies.

While the Apostle Paul could not possibly adjudicate a situation occurring centuries removed from his lifetime, he does lay down a principle that is applicable to every situation in every generation: namely, the good that people do is open and evident to others. It is not concealed; it does not need to be argued in a court of law. Good deeds done to the benefit of others are open for everyone to see and inspect.

At the same time, the sins that men commit cannot be concealed, either. Certainly, all sins that have not been forgiven will one day be judged by the LORD. Some sins may be concealed from view for a time, but there is a day of reckoning in which even the evil thoughts of mankind will be open to the view of others. Since no one is without sin, how can we escape God’s righteous judgment?

Repentance means to “change the mind,” to change the direction of the will that affects the actions of the life. Repentance is not a flippant “I’m sorry,” with the meaning, “I’m sorry I was caught doing wrong.”

Rather, it is the open admission of having have done wrong, coupled with the strong and honest determination not to engage in or repeat any activity that is contrary to the will of Almighty God.

Barnes expresses it all quite clearly. “There will be amazing developments in the last great day; and, as it will then be seen in the revelations of the secret deeds of evil that human nature is corrupt, so it will be seen that there was much more good in the world than was commonly supposed. As a large portion of the wickedness of the earth is concealed, so, from the necessity of the case, it is true that no small portion of the goodness on Earth is hidden. Wickedness conceals itself from shame, from a desire better to effect its purposes, from the dread of punishment; goodness, from its modesty, its retiring nature, and from the want of an opportunity of acting out its desires; but whatever may have been the cause of the concealment, in all cases all will be made known on the final trial — to the shame and confusion of the one class; to the joy and triumph of the other.”

May our good and gracious LORD work with us in producing lives that are glorifying to Him!

Praying daily for ourselves and for you,

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.”

Dear Grands,

1 Timothy 6:6-9, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”

You probably don’t watch the stock market very often. Most people don’t; but it is a good indicator of the economy of the nation. When things are going well with the economy, those with money invested make more and are content –that is, they are content for the moment; then they want to make more.

Nowhere in Scripture is richness condemned. Some of the godliest men in Scripture have been rich. Yet, Scripture does condem the love of riches because those who continually want more, do not live lives of contentment. Paul says we should be godly because “godliness is a means of great gain.” You and I entered this world with nothing, and we will take none of what we have gained with us when we die. It’s the saying that’s “there’s no U-Haul behind the hearse.”

Paul goes further to say that those who thirst for riches fall into temptations that destroy them.

No one intends riches to destroy him, they just do! Even Solomon, with all the abundance he had, was ultimately destroyed. He became discontent and called all of it “vanity.” The emphasis in all of this is that we need to relax and be content with what we have. If we have only food and clothing, we have more than most of the world. “…be content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you…’” (Heb. 13:5). The LORD is ever and always our Supreme Provider. Trust Him for all of your needs. Sometimes, when He sees you are content, He may even provide a few of those “wants” you have.

Faithfully, we remember you in our daily prayers,

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.”