The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 6:14, “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Franklin Graham tweeted this morning that his father, Billy, always wished this verse to be

the focus of his last message. Billy Graham was truly a humble man. Videos that are currently

playing on the Net depict him saying that he wished there were not so much publicity about

him, because he was not causing anything. The one who was doing it all was Jesus!

Could it be that that is why we’re not seeing more “fruit” from out witnessing? Could it be

that our churches have focused on the “externals” instead of the Message of the Cross? Paul

speaks in this verse of “the intense contemplation of a crucified Savior through which the

Christian dies to the world.” By the world, he means “the world of sense, the sphere of outward

and sensible things,” for it is these external and lesser things “with their manifold temptations

to sin” that plague us –the things from which we seem powerless to escape. They are “merely

external rites” that are added to the Cross and displace its singular and only way of salvation.

True salvation in Jesus Christ causes the world to hate us. We are “offensive” to those who are

not saved because the Cross and all who embrace it fly in the face of the evil in which the world

wishes to engage. At the same time, that evil worldliness is offensive to us, and it is to that world

that we are crucified. Each and every time we engage in sinful thoughts or practices, the Holy Spirit,

Who indwells us, cries, NO!” He awakens our conscience that we have “died” to the world and its

ways.

May the message that Billy Graham so faithfully preached and lived be the message for each of us.

The world will always hate and crucify us; we must remember our crucifixion to the world.

Our love and prayers for your always,

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 1:28, “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

It has been years since I ministered in Mexico. At that time (and possibly still), it was illegal to

preach on the street. We had to devise a means of creating a crowd (which was never hard!)

and they move off the street to complete the Gospel.

One of the devices we used was to have someone muy fuerte –very strong!– to come forward

and tie my hands with a rope. I used my bound hands to illustrate how sin binds us, so that we

cannot be free as God wants us to be. Then, using a towel that represented the blood of Jesus

Christ, I covered my hands and was instantly loosed and free! It was a spectacular device, and

Both delighted and startled the crowd.

The Apostle Paul directs us to proclaim Christ! That is the calling of every Christian. Proclamation

involves both admonition and teaching. Admonition is “instruction for avoidance or cessation of inappropriate conduct.” It is corrective in nature, like telling someone that just following rules

is not sufficient for salvation. Teaching is giving correct information on how belief in Jesus in the

only means of salvation. Wisdom (sophia) is “exceptional endowment of discernment, understanding,

and insight…cleverness in debate or presentation of a viewpoint… It is an expression of God’s wisdom.”

In the final analysis, however, we do not win people to Christ –the Holy Spirit alone does that! Yet,

He wants to do it through us. We simply have to be willing to be used of Him. How gracious is that!

We love you all dearly, and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

UPDATE on Nana (Rose Marie): Following her heart cath, she needed two units

of blood. She strengthened a bit with the blood,

and is slowly coming back to normal. Your prayers

have been essential to her recuperation, and we

both thank you immensely for that. God bless you!

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 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh

I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which

is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”

Few, if any of us, ever rejoice over sufferings. It seems natural that we suffer,

but very unnatural that we should rejoice over it. Still, Paul recognizes that as

Christ Jesus suffered in His struggle against sin, even to death, so His Church

was destined to suffer. In other words, Satan’s attack against Christ Jesus did

not cease with His death and resurrection; Satan continues to wreak havoc

against His Church. The Christian Church is today undergoing immense

persecution throughout the world! And we, as a part of the Church, are

destined to suffer, also.

Recently, church-goers were gunned down in Russia, as they left their place

of worship. African Christians have for years been attacked by renegades

simply because they were Christians. Church buildings in Egypt and throughout

the Middle East have been burned to destruction because they were Christian

places of worship. The recent severe slaying of worshippers in Texas is ample

proof of Satan’s worldwide intention to wipe out Christianity.

While the recent school shooting in Florida seems not to have been focused

primarily on Christians, it certainly follows the pattern of killings throughout

the world. I have to wonder how many of those slain were born-again Christians.

I wonder, too, how many of the Christian students (and teachers) who escaped

death, wish they had witnessed more fervently to those who died without

salvation in Christ. We never know who will be next, or how quickly death might

come to those around us. Thus, the question comes: Are we effectively bearing

witness to the salvation of Christ Jesus? We have a part in the sufferings of the

Church. We also have a part in the ministry of the Church, the Body of Christ.

God bless you as you continue to share the Gospel with those who are lost.

When others lack, we must take up the slack.

Our love abounds for you; and our prayers avail for you, too.

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,

Mark 14:32-36, “And they came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, ‘Sit here until I have prayed.’ 33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34 And He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.’ 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by.

36 And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.’”

Some things are worse than death. It may not seem so with us, but it was so with Jesus.

No one in Scripture prayed more often or more fervently than Jesus. It might seem that

He needed less to pray than anyone else because He was the Son of God, but He did not

see it that way. We, too, might assume that because we have accepted Him, prayer is not

so necessary to us as to the lost, who desperately need His saving grace. But, the responsibility

for praying is, nevertheless, laid heavily upon us.

Two things are to be observed in Jesus’ prayer: first, He prayed that “if it were possible, the

hour might pass Him by”; and second, that the cup might be removed from Him. Let us be

very clear. Jesus was not afraid to die. He understood completely that He would be raised

to life again, even after death. Let me suggest that Jesus’ prayer for the removal of the cup

was that He did not want to be made sin. From death, He did not recoil. But from sin, He

did! Strangely enough, it is the other way with us. We recoil from death, but not from sin.

May He encourage us to seek only that which is glorifying to Him!

We pray for you; please pray for us –especially, for Nana!

Heartily in Christ,

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,

Mark 13:5-9, “And Jesus began to say to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you.

6 Many will come in My name, saying, “I am He”’ and will mislead many.

7 “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things

must take place; but that is not yet the end.

8 “For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be

earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. 9 “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts,

and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings

for My sake, as a testimony to them.’”

One of the misfortunes of my youth was being under the preaching of men who

never understood prophecy. Believe it or not, Nana introduced me to what the

Bible says about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Her pastor, and later my

mentor, Dr. Earl L. Pounds, introduced her to that biblical teaching. There are still

multiple, well-meaning pastors who never mention the Second Coming. And there

are those who do, who know nothing about it, except what some other preacher

has compiled in a book. I even have a list of men who managed to convince some

people that they were Jesus! Imagine!

Further, you cannot view and hear news today without hearing of wars and

turmoil throughout the world. Jesus warned us: “be on your guard.” Some godly

men, who know and preach the truth, are being held in the prisons of godless

nations simply because they are followers of Jesus Christ. Some are put to death.

The godly “will stand before governors and kings for (Jesus’) sake, as a testimony

to them.” We are not imprisoned –except for our fears—fears of what others

will say about us, or fears of not being able to answer the questions of the ungodly.

Olympians train for years simply to win a medal. How much more important it is

for us to train to win the lost to Jesus Christ! Medals can be destroyed. Our witness

of Him will never be destroyed! We don’t all witness in the same way, but we are all responsible to witness. The Holy Spirit is the One who brings them to faith in Jesus!

We love and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

UPDATE: Nana’s procedure went well. She is now home

recuperating. Thank you so much 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.”