The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Colossians 2:6-8, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Our yard was not separated from our neighbor’s yard, and our back yeard boasted of a grand and glorious weepling willow tree. Our neighbor was a good gardner. He knew how to put things into the ground so that they would grow. But as I watched, it appeared clearly to me that he didn’t know how to plant tomato plants. Far too much of the plant was above ground. Mind you, I was a boy of maybe 7 or 8 years, and seeing what needed to be done, I walked behind my neighbor and carefully with my foot put all of the plant underground.

I knew something of planting, but hardly everything. I had yet to learn that certain plants are planted in different ways than other. Planting potatoes is different than planting tomatoes. What all foods have in common is that they must be “firmly planted.” The root of the plant must be firmly inserted in the ground. This was Paul’s point about our being in Christ Jesus. We hear His Word and it brings us to repentance of sin. By faith, we receive Him as our Savior and commence to live the way He instructs us. We live joyously and praise Him for all He has done in and for us.

Then, suddenly, some come alongside us with different ideas, like philosophy. The word philsophy

means “the love of wisdom.” All to often, however, it is human, worldly wisdom that takes us captive. We see it today in “climate change” and “evolution” and other non-sensical “wisdom” that has root only in the minds of unsaved and unscrupulous people. That’s why Paul says we need to keep our minds on Jesus and His wisdom instead of the wisdom of the world.

Do you fall for all the “new” ascertions that headline our news today? I hope not!! All philosophers do not base their beliefs on the wisdom of Jesus. All so-called scientists do not believe in creation, but yield to evolution in the effort to explain the unexplainable. Keep your focus on Scripture, the Bible. Only biblical teachings are “according to Christ.” Stay with The Winner!

May your heart and mind be firmly rooted only in Jesus,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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.”