The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 12:19-21, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.’

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

It’s really too bad that I’ve had to live so long to understand how much wisdom my mother had. She was not a philosopher; she was a teacher, and she poured so much of what she knew into me – yet, the obstreperous youth that I was, I seethed to get even with those who did me wrong.

My dad’s father was a blacksmith. He had discovered just the right moment to temper steel, so that it lasted longer for its intended purpose. When I left home to start life on my own, my dad said to me, “Son, remember, a man is like steel: he has to have temper to be any good, but never any good if he loses it.”

Obviously, I have never forgotten both instructions, but my intemperate self, when wrongly treated, longs to “heap burning coals on the heads” of my opponents.

What does it mean to “heap burning coals” on the head of someone?

The Old Testament says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you” (Prov. 25:21-22). Paul, in the wisdom given him, says that getting even with an opponent is God’s business, not ours. That hurts, because it always “feels good” to best those who do us wrong. But it’s not the way to win!

The wisdom of still another says,

Vengeance may break a man’s spirit; but kindness will always break

his heart. If we are kind to our enemies, it will heap coals of fire on their heads. It’s not that that will store up further punishment for them, but that

it will move them to burning shame. Evil can never be conquered by evil. Hatred met with hatred, only increases more hatred; but if hatred and injustice are met with love, we will have discovered the antidote to the poison.

The only true way to destroy an enemy is to make him your friend; and the LORD’s love is the key to that.

We are praying for wisdom for us all,

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,

Romans 12:9-15, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

Robert Browning and his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning were notable poets. I always preferred her poetry to his, but that’s just my opinion. Robert was strong and healthy; Elizabeth was weak and somewhat feeble. One day she said to him, “Robert, you are so strong; why do you stay with me, since I am so week? You could do so much more without me.” Robert’s reply was brief and somewhat poetic.

“My strength needs your weakness, and your weekness needs my strength.”

I engaged a man in conversation yesterday and asked if he were a Christian. He said “yes,” but somewhat feebly; so, I pressed him a bit further: “Are you a born-again Christian? Some people believe that a Christian is just someone who is not a Muslim.” He was cautiously affirmative, but still not persuasive, just “open” to the discussion. He is strong and faithful in his profession, but obviously weak in what he believes about Christ.

Paul was not indecisive. He speaks clearly and forthrightly how we should behave and treat those who do not know Christ and His saving grace. Love is the primary key. Living cleanly follows closely, abhoring evil and grasping good. Be earnest and truthful. Do everything as service to the LORD. If you rejoice in the certainty of all that the LORD has promised, you will be able to put up with the trouble you face. Be prayerful, and help the needs of other believers.

Undoubtedly, you will face opposition –some strong opposition—just don’t get angry and speak evilly to them. Stick to the Truth, but be loving toward everyone. And when some rejoice, rejoice with them. When some weep in sorrow, show compassion toward them and enter into their sorrow for their sake. In everything, let the Love of Jesus Christ genuinely show forth through your demeanor. This is always honoring to Him.

Thank you for your prayers for us,

We seek to be faithful in praying for you, too,

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,

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.”

Dear Grands,

Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Times are hard. We do the best we can, but things just never seem to work –at least, in our favor. We try and try to figure out why. We pray, but things seem to get worse rather than better. What is going on?

Maybe we’re trusting in sight instead of faith. Life is like the human body in that it’s complicated. We take

medicines for bodily ailments, but do we understand how they work within us? Not at all. In fact, we’re

not really concerned about how they work as long as they do.

Why then, do we not look at life’s circumstances the same way? The loss of a job, the loss of a house, the loss of a friend, a loved one –WHY? Yet, the Bible tells us that “all things” are under the LORD’s control. Then, why doesn’t He do something to correct all of this? Why do evil and deleterious people get away with what they do? The answer (although its hidden from us) is that He IS working, and He is doing what is necessary for the good of those who love Him. He understands what we don’t understand. We don’t really need to know how everything works –just that He is in control. That’s how faith triumps over sight. And the LORD wants us to learn to live by faith.

I remember discussing the meaning of a Scriptural teaching with a young lady in a church I was then pastoring. She quite candidly said she didn’t know what she believed; but she referenced a former pastor of hers and said, “Whatever he believes is what I believe.” Her confidence was clearly based in her former pastor. How and why that pastor believed what he did was of no importance to her. It was simply that he believed it, so she did, too. That’s the very way we should be with Christ and His Word. “He said it; I believe it; that settles it.”

Trust and obey;

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.

We love you 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,

Titus 2:11-15, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; 14 Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

Timeframes are important to the understanding of Scripture. In these verses, the Apostle Paul covers the past, the present (both his and ours) and the future. The appearance of God’s grace was manifest (past) in death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was He who made possible the salvation of all (??? pas) men.

He then instructs us (present), who are saved, to deny (say no to) “ungodliness and worldly desires.” It is truly possible for us to resist the devil and his alurements –things that divert our attention away from Christ and from the responsibilies we have toward Him and toward our fellowman.

With respect to the present, Paul reminds us to look “for the blessed hope” (future) and the appearing of our LORD Jesus. The word “hope” in Greek means “future certainty.” It is definite that He will Come Again! We are not to forget that “He gave Himself for us.” His sacrifice of Himself was for us. He created us for Himself, but we were wooed away by Satan to follow the alurement of the world. Christ died for us and to redeem us from everything impure, worldly, and lawless. He became the ransom, whereby we were bought back from sin and cleansed as a people for His possession. His resurrection proves the validity of His Self-sacrifice.

The evil we face is the result of Satan’s ubiquitous activity in the world. We have comfort in the assurance that Christ lives actively to purify us for His glory. He is Coming Again to gather His believers to Himself. The big question is: how will we respond? Are we ready?

Prayerfully yours,

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.”