The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 1:5, “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you,

which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice,

and I am sure that it is in you as well.”

In some ways this seems a strange verse to use in this setting. What

attracted me was the faithful lineage that led to Timothy’s salvation.

Nothing is really known about “grandmother Lois.” The name Lois

has no known meaning. What we do know is that her faith in the

LORD Jesus contributed immeasurably to the conversion of her

daughter Eunice, whose name means “victorious,” and she was the

mother of Timothy. Further, the spiritual teaching and training of young

Timothy came from these two women, who had no reason to believe

that he would one day be the companion of the Apostle Paul, preaching

and teaching the faith they had learned and taught him to believe.

Think about this: notwithstanding the value of a father in the home

environment, it is the mother who spends the most time with her

children; therefore, it is her values that are implanted in the children.

William Ross Wallace knew this when he wrote:

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace.
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

The faith you embrace is the faith that will be transmitted into the

lives of your children. And their faith, in turn, will be transmitted into

the lives of their children. Thus, what we are as parents will largely

determine the faith and value of generations to come. Dare to march

against worldly folly and live for Christ. For as you do, you are implanting

saving faith into the children you will one day know as your own.

May the LORD bless you abundantly is our prayer,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely;

and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring

it to pass.”

Billy Graham is being “laid to rest” today. Graves abound with the bodies of faithful

servants of the LORD, yet none have more faithfully declared the simple Gospel to

so many people as he. Accolades abound as saved and lost alike express admiration

of his life and ministry. He epitomizes these verses of the Apostle Paul. Whatever was

lacking in holiness in Billy Graham’s life, the LORD made holy. No one enters Heaven

without being completely concentrated. The spirit of man –the human spirit— is that

part of man that is God-conscious and capable of communicating with the Spirit of God.

All mankind has that potential capability (Rom. 1:19), but most do not avail themselves

of it (Rom. 1:21).

The soul of man is his self-consciousness. We are aware of ourselves, just as we are

aware of others. We are aware of our potential and of our failures. It is only when we

yield ourselves to the LORD, that we come into a right and holy relationship with Him.

The body of man is his world-consciousness. Our bodies are our human aliveness.

They touch the world and all that is within it. We are either clean or unclean in our

worldly relationship. When we are clean, we are “crucified to the world” (Gal. 6:14).

When we “preserved completely,” and stand in judgment before the LORD Jesus

Christ, no one can accuse us of any wrong because He has cleansed us from “every

unrighteous” thought or deed (1 John 1:9).

With all the purity and holiness we admire in the life of Billy Graham, we learn that

we can live more for the LORD than we are! Still, the LORD had to cleanse him entirely.

And so it will have to be with us. He it is who has called us to eternal life, and He is

reliable and trustworthy to “bring it to pass.”

We thank and praise the LORD for His blessings –and for you!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 5:15-24, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.

16 Rejoice always;

17 pray without ceasing;

18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19 Do not quench the Spirit;

20 do not despise prophetic utterances.

21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;

22 abstain from every form of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

The theme of First Thessalonians is “The LORD is Coming for His People.” And as a parent clothes and instructs a child for good behavior at the coming of an important guest, so the apostle instructs us all with

respect to the Coming of our LORD Jesus Christ. Notice that he commences in something of a summary

when he says, “seek after that which is good…for all men.” Seeking the good for others includes seeking

what is best for us, as well. Rejoice, pray and give thanks. And additionally, be careful not to put down or ignore what the Holy Spirit is telling you to do. Pay attention to the Scriptures! The things said in ancient

times were said for your instruction.

Examine everything carefully by putting it to test. Discern good from evil and keep in mind what is good.

Interestingly, the word for evil (poneros) in v. 22 differs from the words for evil (kakos) in v. 15. Kasos

means “moral conduct, attitudes, and the plans of godless people.” Poneros speaks of that which itself produces evil. It’s the evil that we do that, in turn, causes others to do evil as well. Paul, like that doting

parent wants us to be ready for the LORD’s Return. He wants us to be holy and blameless, so that we

will not be spiritually embarrassed when He Comes. How can all of this take place? The LORD Himself

is faithful and He will see that we are ready. Yet we must be cooperative in the things of which Paul has

spoken. How ready are you? Examine yourself carefully and be truthful.

We love you immensely and continue to pray for you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Colossians 4:2-6, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that

we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 in order that I

may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let

your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you

should respond to each person.”

How often do you pray? Think about it. Prayer is not to be offered only at mealtimes or bedtimes.

Prayer does not demand that we always be on your knees. Prayer is not always to be about the big

things in life. The other day I lost a thumb-drive. It was not expensive, but it contained some information

I needed. I asked Nana if she had see it. She had not, but she said, “Just pray about it. The LORD knows

where it is.” I did and I’m sure she did. I had forgotten about it and was looking to replace it, when she

found it. The LORD is concerned about the “little things” in our lives. He allows us to lose things so that

we have to pray before they are found.

In the passage above, Paul asks for prayer that “God may open up…a door for the Word.” We should

pray for that in our own lives. There are (or ought to be) those we know who are not saved. We have

contact with them, but we’re often “imprisoned” by fear or preoccupied with trivial matters when we

see them. “Conduct yourself with wisdom,” Paul says. “Make the most of the opportunity and pray “so

that you may know how you should respond to each person.” People are different. They hear differently.

The Gospel is the same, but the “unpackaging” of it varies for each person. I learned to “BARK” at Jews

when I witness to them. There’s something in their nature that responds to that. It’s never an unloving

“bark”; but it’s a “bark” just the same.

You’re here and alive on Earth for a purpose. The LORD will open the door of opportunity, and give you

wisdom as you share the Gospel. He’s far more concerned about your sharing than He is about finding

thumb-drives. Just look for those open doors.

You are in our daily prayers, and we love you dearly,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Colossians 3:15-16, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

It is indeed amazing how peaceful we are when good news comes our way. Things that bothered us and produced turmoil within us are suddenly gone and everything has become right. Paul says that we are to allow that peace to rule within in. The Greek word for “rule” is brabeuo, and it means to “act as an umpire.” The dictionary defines “umpire” as “one selected to settle disputes about the application of settled rules or usages.” Have you not noticed how free from upset you are when you follow the settled teachings of the Word of God? Paul links the “peace of Christ” with the “Word of Christ.” His Word contains the “settled rules” of which Paul speaks. Try viewing everything as from the LORD. He never produces evil, but He sometimes (maybe often) uses evil to drive us back to the Word where we find peace.

When peace prevails within us, His wisdom (His skill) prompts us to teach and admonish others. And we do so with singing, which demonstrates the thankfulness we know in our hearts. All thankfulness is due to God. Yes, He may use others to resolve those prior difficulties we had, but He and He alone is responsible for the resolution of our troubles. Always praise the LORD!

We continue to pray and thank the LORD for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Update: Nana is like her old self –a new person! I’ll spare you my singing, but thank you for your prayers.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”