The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 2:1-4, “If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Little two-letter words are often more important than we know. The Greeks had four types of

“conditional” sentences, each one starting with the little word “if.” Paul uses the word if four times in the first verse. Each time is means “if, and it is so.” We do have encourgement in Christ. We do have consolation in love. We do have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. And we do have emotions of compassion for others. All come from our abiding in Christ.

We are never to dishonor the gospel, but to live so as to receive the highest encouragement that Christ can give us. Our happiness is always centered in love. It is when we love a parent, a wife, a husband, a child, a sister, a neighbor, that we have the highest earthly enjoyment. It is in the love of God, of Christ, of Christians, of the souls of people, that we, the redeemed, find our greatest happiness.

We should never try triumph over others by mere physical strength, or by superiority of intellect, or as the result of some dark scheme or plan formed by rivalry, or by indulging anger, or with a spirit of ambition. We are not to attempt to do anything merely by outdoing others, or by showing that we have more talent, more courage, or more zeal. What we do is always to be by spiritual principle, and with the desire to maintain the truth, and to glorify God.

The word of command here solemnly forbids us from doing anything with a wrong purpose, whether it be by some intellectual attainment, or by physical strength, or skill in music, or eloquence in singing, by how we dress, or the things we have, or even our spiritual beliefs. Self is never to be foremost; selfishness is not to be the motive. Love and concern for others comes from the love we have for Christ. That’s why we witness. It is for the benefit of the lost ones, and it is for the glory of our LORD Jesus Christ. God bless you as you grow into His likeness!

The LORD reminds us daily to pray for you –and we do!

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,

2 Timothy 1:5-9, “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. 6 And for this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity…”

From the earliest of times, mothers have cared for their children while fathers have worked for wages outside the home. Therefore, the mothers have always had greater influence upon the children, teaching and training them for adulthood and all that they would encounter in life.

Timothy’s mother had been born Jewish, but had come to know Christ as her LORD from her mother, Lois. Paul is, therefore, confident that Timothy is a true believer, also. How old Timothy was at this time, we do not know; but he was old enough to take seriously the gift the LORD God had given him. Not everyone has the benefit of Christian parentage; still, having come to know

the LORD Jesus, we are all responsible to behave according to His will for our lives.

We are to be courageous. Courage comes from being continually conscious of the Holy Spirit.

It is His power that enables us to achieve His purposes. We are to be loving of people. Love is the “driving force” that comes from the Holy Spirit. We must also be disciplined (s?phronismós, self-controlled). It is this divinely given self-control which makes us what He wants us to be.

Yes, there will be some rough roads to travel, but we must never be ashamed or timid in sharing His Good News. Remember that He saved you and called you to His work. His calling to mothers is to teach and train their children; His call to fathers is to provide for their families; His call to all of us is to tell others of His saving grace, for when we share Him, He saves them. What a privilege we have to participate in this glorious work!

Our prayers are for you, as your prayers are for others,

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,

John 8:28-32, “Jesus therefore said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.

29 “’And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.’

30 “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.

31 “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”

Jesus is looking toward His crucifixion and resurrection. When this momentous event occurs, it will prove to the people who Jesus really is and that everything He has said and done has been at the directive of His Father in Heaven. He may have looked to them as if He were alone, but the Father has been with Him all the way. When we do the things our human fathers order us to do, they are pleased with us. So it is with Jesus and His Heavenly Father.

While He was speaking to them, “many came to believe in Him.” He then said to them, “If you live consistently according to My Word, you are truly My disciples…and you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free.” The truth of which Jesus spoke was not only a body of knowledge, it was a power; it was not only something written or spoken, but was a power to be felt and lived out through our lives.

The light of spiritual truth dispels the darkness which is the stronghold of evil. Sin is the bondage that imprisons the powers of the soul; and we allow sin to hold us captive because we do not clearly see or understand evil or fear what it can do to us. When we understand the truth, its power awakens and strengthens us, breaking the chains of evil that have been binding us. There is nothing like freedom! And it’s available to everyone who lives and abides by the Word of God.

We pray for you daily and for your freedom in Jesus Christ,

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,

Philippians 1:12-18, “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.”

It has been said that the disciples of Jesus were “either in trouble, or just getting out of trouble, or they were headed for trouble.” Paul himself was writing this letter from a jail cell in Rome. It’s a circumstance that can easily apply to many today. We are free to share the Gospel of Christ; but when we do, we are often viciously attacked by those who don’t want to hear it and don’t want anyone else to hear it. Satan is behind this dasterdly scheme.

Paul’s attitude, however, was neither one of anger nor of self-pity. He was rejoicing because his circumstances had given courage to others to speak up for Jesus Christ. Some were speaking up so they could glory in persecution. They were not genuine; they believed that their preaching would cause Paul greater persecution and stress. How terrible is that! Just imagine!

Others, however, were genuine. Their motives and their sharing were out of love for Christ and for lost souls. Of course, Paul wished that all of them would have been genuine; but he rejoiced that the Gospel was being declared, whether their motives were pure or not. How could he have had an attitude like that? I used to believe that Paul was wrong in his thinking about those who were not genuine in sharing the Gospel. But the more I studied, the more I came to believe like Paul. If Isaiah 55:11 is true –and it is!—then we need to rejoice. Isaiah 55:11 says,

“So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

How comforting is that? Sharing the Gospel and having it succeed does not depend upon us; it depends entirely upon the LORD Himself. That’s why encouraging Bible reading is so helpful. Even those who don’t know much about Christ, will learn as they read because first, the LORD has prepared everyone to know that He exists (Rom. 1:20), and second, the Holy Spirit then explains His Truth to those who listen and believe. That makes our job much easier. Push Bible reading and don’t forget to pray. God bless you!

We love you all and remember you in our daily prayers,

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,

Ephesians 6:14-18, “1Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…”

Anyone going into battle of any kind needs to be fully prepared in both mind and body. Football is a brutle sport; it requires a uniform that protects every part of the player’s body. In the same way, true believers in Christ need adequate protection from the devil at all times. Paul compares the soldiers’ battledress to that of the Christian.

The girdle or belt was the brace, the support of the body. So, truth is our brace; and it girds us constantly and firmly. The belt keeps all the parts of the armor in their proper place and preserves firmness and consistency in the battledress. Just so, truth serves to give consistency and firmness to our conduct. Truth preserves us from a lax view of morals that would affect our duty and our faith. Without truth, we are exposed to every assault. Truth makes our soul sincere, firm, constant, and always on its guard. A person who has no consistent views of truth, is just the person the adversary seeks out for a successful attack.

Integrity, holiness, purity of life and sincerity are all that is necessary to defend us from the assaults of Satan. But, we need God’s righteousness –a righteousness which He alone can provide. It is the righteousness of God our Savior that makes us perfectly protected and invulnerable to all the darts and arrows of the evil one.

The helmet, of course, protects the head, giving us confidence of our salvation and victory. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God; and that is where we get the confidence of victory, so that we never give up the battle.

Everything, however, must be covered with consistent prayer. No matter how complete the armor; no matter how skilled we may be in the science of spiritual warfare; no matter how courageous we may be; without consistent prayer we are certain to be defeated. God alone can give the victory. And our dependence upon Him is our certainty of victory. So, clothe yourselves properly. Keep your mind on the LORD and His Word, and He will win the battle for you! What a great God we have!

We are praying for you; please pray for us as well.

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.”