The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 9:17-23, And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and stiffens out. And I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”

19 And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 And they brought the boy to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling about and foaming at the mouth.

21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 “And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”

23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

Just the other day I received an email from a missionary. When he shook hands with the natives, he noticed that they all had but three fingers and a thumb on their right hands. He learned that they had all severed their little fingers to appease the evil spirits.

Evil spirits do exist! What’s sadly interestering is that we believe in evil spirits (Harry Potter, et al), but not so much in the Holy Spirit of God. The man in our verses above believed evil spirits were affecting his son. Indeed they were! They had taken residence in the boy since early childhood, so they were well intrenched. The father was concerned, as a good father always is. He brought the boy to Jesus, just as we seek help when some malady strikes our bodies or those of our loved ones.

What the father said, however, revealed a lack of true faith. “But if You can do anything…” Jesus repeatition of the man’s words, “If you can,” indicate His understanding of the man’s lack of faith. We’re like that, are we not? We speak boldly of the LORD’s power, but inwardly we harbor some doubt as to whether what we are asking will really be fulfilled.

I know I’ve told you in an earlier letter about how I used to rush home from school to hear a story on radio. There was no FM in those days, and on that day my radio was so filled with static that I could not understand what was being said. I was reared to believe that Jesus was all-powerful, and I believed it. So, I bowed my head and prayed for the static to be removed –and it was!!! In an instance, the radio was as clear as clear could be! I can remember that as if it were yesterday. As a boy, my mind was not encumbered with the doubts that come with adulthood. The LORD is no less powerful today than when I was a boy. “All things are (still) possible to him who believes.” Do you believe that? I hope yoo do!

Faithfully praying 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.”