The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 8:35-38, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 Just as it is written, “For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Only the Normandy Invasion in World War 2 seemed to me periolous as today’s international distress. Nana will not watch the news because of the stress it causes her. Her alleviation from the noise of the world’s troubles comes from an almost insessant absorbtion of Scripture. It’s questionable if her ear buds would allow anything troubling to enter her ears. Her one escape is there for all of us, if only we would allow it.

Interestingly, the Apostle Paul cites the troubles of his day and they are exactly the same as ours: afflictions, distress, persecutions; yet, none of these, however distressful, can separate us from the Love of Christ Jesus! We may appear to be victims, but in reality, we are conquerors! Look at the list of our conquests: death, life, angels, principalities (rulers) –all things current to our daily lives, but also of the days ahead. Note well: there is no power, nothing that is lifted up, no deep waters, no created (alive) thing (human or animal; fish or fowl) –ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!—that can separate or divide us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus! He is and will ever continue to be our LORD, our Guide, our Friend, our Protector.

There is a story I once heard of evangelist Dwight Moody and his singer, Ira Sanky. It was Sanky’s role to lead the congregation in singing before Moody came to the pulpit to preach. On this occasion, Sanky came to the pulpit, held his Bible high and said, “JESUS IS EVERYTHING! And EVERYTHING”S IN JESUS!” A man in the audience said, “That’s it! That’s it!” and he raced out of the building and never heard Moody preach. Think about it: JESUS IS EVERYTHING. And He lives eternally to comfort and strengthen each of us through His eternal Love! Relax, erase all anxieties from your mind, and be clothed fully and always in His eternal Love.

We rejoice as we 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.”