The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 1:3-7, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ,

4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

5 to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;

7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

We may not agree with all the aspects of the discipline of psychology, but Paul certainly utilized it unsparingly when he lovingly addressed those who had wandered from the faith. His love is wrapped up in the words “grace” and “peace” with which he commences this Letter to the Galatians.

The words “to you” carry the meaning of “to your advantage,” and that comes from the the Father through the Son. It was Jesus Christ, the Father’s “only begotten Son,” who became the Father’s Supreme Sacrifice for our sins.

Furthermore, our salvation was His purpose in order that He might rescue us from the ways of “this present evil age.” All of this is according to the will of God. Certainly, it is beneficial for us, but the major purpose of our salvation is to glorify God.

The news recently told of a father who died in the flames of his own house in his effort to rescue his son. Think about that. Who was ultimately hailed as the hero? It was the father. Heroes are those who offer and give their own lives in the rescue of those who cannot save themselves. A small boy phoned 911 in the effort to save his mother’s life. It was all he could do; he was a hero. Just ask his mom! How calous we are to know that the Father sent His Son to die for our sins, when we desert Him and turn back to our previous, evil lifestyle!

Paul is amazed that the Galatians were deserting the LORD for a different gospel (the King James Version uses the word “another” heteros –a gospel that is not of the kind that first brought them God’s salvation). Paul then goes on to say that gospel is really not “another” allos, meaning another of the same kind. He then adds that “there are some who are disburbing you and want to distort the

(true) Gospel of Christ.

There’s a lot that could be said here. The Galatians were a wild, on-again-off-again type of people. They jumped from one thought to another and seemed never to know that the two thoughts were opposites. Some pastors today prosper because they have congregations that will believe anything! Be very, very careful! If your pastor is personally a godly man and studies the Word and declares it

without equivocation, love him for his courageous (can I say heroic?) ministry. There’s a lot of bad teaching in churches today. Satan is on the prowl. The Galatians were affected by bad teaching. Many are suffering from it today.

Our prayers are with you all,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

P.S. Rose Marie is scheduled for an angiogram on Wednesday. The surgeon hopes to be able to

insert a stent to enable the blood to flow properly. He is a Christian doctor, and we would

greatly appreciate your prayers for both of them.

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,

2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”

Have you noticed the plethora of incidents that have arised in our society recently? This man painted his face black 20 years ago, now he is being crucified in the press. This woman was molested 12 years ago and has just now come forward with the situation in the news. A legislator in my home state of Arkansas has put forth a bill to allow doctors to assist in patient suicides. Another bill allows pharmacists to sell medication that has not been approved by a doctor.

Beyond that, religious organizations that have always stood solidly in the Word are being plagued by their memberships to allow women to actively pastor their churches. Others church groups are begging for their churches to be allowed to minister “social doctrines” as well as biblical doctrine.

What have we come to in these times? Who is reading the Bible? And who is mingling “political correctness” with Scripture? We are encountering an anti-spiritual storm in our churches, on televison, in video games, on movie screens, and in music! It has gotten so bad in some churches – churches we would call “evangelical” – that there is now an outcry from within the church against some of the wild, LOUD, pseudo-worshipful “music” that has smothered the great theological hymns of the faith.

What are we to do? Paul advised Timothy to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God…”

God is sovereign, and He is in control whatever the church’s theological slippage. Yet, we as believers, are responsible for what we allow to penetrate our minds and souls. “Well,” you ask, “why don’t the pastors do something about it?” Perhaps that is so because they are “not diligent” in following their calling. If half of a congregation wanted one thing and the other half another, the pastor is in the dilemma of losing half of his congretation either way. So what? Who called him to be a minister of the Gospel, anyway? If it were not the LORD, then why is he occupying that position?

Ministers, as well as all believers, are admonished to live so as to be approved by the LORD. We are all to be His “workmen,” and unashamed of our stand for His Truth! His Truth is accurately recorded in His Word, the Bible! When we omit parts that condemn us, we are just as guilty of

spiritual adultery, as we are in singing vain repetitions. “Whipping up the crowd” is not worship, regardless of who says it is! His Word says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psa. 46:10a).

No workman needs to be ashamed if he handles accurately the Word of Truth.” Are you an

unashamed workman? I pray that you are! The Time is upon us!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 51:1-4, “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.

4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, And blameless when Thou dost judge.”

When a man who is guilty of a crime goes before a judge, it is in his best interest to plead for mercy.

David was King of Israel, but he found himself before the Supreme Judge, the LORD God Almighty!

David had committed adultery with another man’s wife and she became pregnant. In order to cover his sin, David committed another sin: he ordered her husband to be killed. Then he married the woman. But what David had done was abhorent in the sight of the LORD!

All David could do was plead for mercy. He sought to honor the LORD by noting “the greatness of His compassion.” Further, he cried out for the LORD to “blot out (his) trangressions,” to “wash (him) thoroughly from (his) iniquity, and cleanse (him) from (his) sin.” Nothing David could do apart from begging the Supreme Judge for forgiveness. He could not forgive himself; he could not wipe the thought of his sin from his own mind, saying “…my sin is ever before me.”

Then David added something strange to his prayer. He said, “Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight.” David knew from the very start that what he had thought when he looked at the woman was sinful. He knew his thought of having her husband killed was evil, too. Yet he said, “Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned.” Think about that. Whatever we do that is wrong, sinful, evil against someone else, we have first sinned against the LORD because He is our LORD! Yes, the sin we say or do is against that person, too. But the doing of that act was first conceived in the mind. And there it was committed against God!

In the end, David admitted that whatever the LORD determined to do to him was justified. He was guilty. Here on Earth, men are often brought before unjust judges. But unconfessed sin will one day

require the LORD’s own judgment. We will stand before Him and give an account. Better get forgiveness from Him today. It will ease your mind so that you may be at peace.

Our prayers are for you and for ourselves, as well,

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.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 49:10-12, “For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inner thought is, that their houses are forever, And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names.

12 But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.”

Anyone who has spent any time researching YouTube has come across countless old abandoned houses. There are people, who seem to spend a lot of time filming the interior of these houses, along with the hoarded “treasures” that have been abandoned. Some of these places were once quite spectacular, with wide, impressive grand staircases like one sees in the film “Gone With The Wind.” It’s difficult to believe that such mansions were built only to house those who originally built them. Surely, they intended them to be passed on to their children or even to their grandchildren.

David wanted with all his heart to build the Temple that would house and glorify his LORD. But David was a man of war, quite the opposite of the love and peace that was identified with the LORD’s earthly dwelling. His son, Solomon, was selected by the LORD to be the builder. Solomon was both wise and wealthy. But, as David said, “…even wise men die.” And the “stupid and the senseless” die just like the wise. Both have one pointed thing in common: the “leave their wealth to others.” Their houses, their lands, their cash wealth –all are left behind. There’s even a television program that’s entitled, “You Can’t Take It With You.”

Think about that. You can’t take it with you. Scores of organizations –many of them Christian—encourage those with enormous wealth to will it to them for the continuation of spiritual work even after they have died. Children learn the basics from their parents. If the parents have an eye to wealth, the children will, too. But if the parents are generous in helping others, their children will be steered in that direction, as well. Yet, all of that notwithstanding, it is possible for those who inherit houses or wealth to use what they inherit to further the witness of the LORD Jesus Christ, even beyond what their parents had done. The KEY is spiritual focus. What is your goal: leaving life with your name on huge buildings or quietly supporting the causes of Christ as set forth in Holy Scripture? Remember, “Man in his pomp will not endure…”

We love you in the joys of Jesus Christ,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

P. S. Rose Marie had yet another blood transfusion today, and is feeling and looking much better.

We are not “over the hump” yet, but as her Christian nurse said today, “Look at how the LORD

has preserved your life thus far.” We are greatly encouraged, and are praying for others, whose

lives are in His nail-pierced hands, too.

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,

Psalm 44:17-21, “All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten Thee, And we have not dealt falsely with Thy covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back, And our steps have not deviated from Thy way,

19 Yet Thou hast crushed us in a place of jackals, And covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, Or extended our hands to a strange god;

21 Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

When people are charged with crimes they did not commit, they plead their case before a judge.

When he has heard all the evidence, he makes the decision as to how to dispose of the case.

David in the verses above is pleading his case before the LORD. He notes to the Judge that some

devastating things have fallen upon him, yet he has not forgotten the LORD his God. We have things that seek to undo us as well; we just must not forget God, and we must not forget His Word that serves to guide us in His way.

Sometimes –perhaps, always—when we seek to call upon the LORD, the circumstances that occasion that prayer continue to supress us instead of going away. We’re still abandoned in a lonely place, as David cries, and we’re “covered with the shadow of death.” Where is the LORD? seems to

be David’s cry.

He then reasons within himself, “If we had forgotten the name of our God – neglected God in any way — or had we extended our hands to a strange god –served a foreign god, — wouldn’t God find this out?” Certainly, He would. Why then, do these adverse circumstances still prevail? David may not fully understand the “why” in all of his trials, but he concludes on a positive note when he says,

God “knows the secret of the heart.”

So, remember that whatever befalls you, the LORD knows whether it is because of what you have

thought or said or done, or whether the circumstance that has befallen you is not your fault. In either case, He knows your heart; and He knows whether your heart is aligned with His. Is it?

Our prayers are with you, and our LORD’s love and power will see you through,

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.”