The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 3:24-16; 4:1-2, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor

to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that

faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons

of God through faith in Christ Jesus….Now I say, as long as the heir

is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner

of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date

set by the father.”

I recently read of a boys’ “Gentlemen’s School” in Wisconsin. They

are taught how to shake hands, tie a tie, and show respect to others.

It excited me because I am appalled by the crumbling of our culture.

I’ve never been stogey, but proper manners are always commendable.

Three words (emboldened above) give us a glimpse of how the

early Hebrews of biblical times taught their children. The word

translated “tutor” (“schoolmaster in KJV) is ?????????? (paidagogos).

It means a slave who led a child from home to school, and protected

his moral conduct. When other boys would attempt to seduce him

into participating in bad things, the “tutor” was present to prohibit it.

The Law (Ten Commandments) served as a “tutor” to protect the

Jewish people until Christ Jesus came. He now protects the morality

and conduct of His people through the Holy Spirit.

The word “guardian” (????????? (epitropos) refers to a slave who

taught him academic subjects (reading, writing, etc.) and cultural

manners, much like the Gentlemen’s Club to which I referred earlier.

The word “manager” (????????? (oikonomos) is a household word

that referred to the child’s monetary inheritance. This slave cared

for the child’s money until the child was mature and could care for

it himself.

All of this is an allegorical demonstration of God’s care for His

children from the time of their “new birth” to their maturity in the

faith. Learning anything is a process; and learning to live as Jesus

intends us demands our concentration on His Word (the Bible) and

our earnest will and desire to be what He died and arose to make us.

When our proper manners are in place, He uses us “to the praise of

His glory” (Eph. 1:12). Don’t you want to be used like that? I do!

May the LORD bless you abundantly, is our daily prayer,

Nana & Dado III

Update on Nana (Rose Marie): She is getting stronger by the day.

Her latest X-Ray showed she is making

progress in the fight against pneumonia.

I know she appreciates 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.”

Dear Grands,

Galatians 3:19-22, “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions,

having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed

should come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator is not for

one party only; whereas God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises

of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life,

then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has

shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given

to those who believe.”

I meet a lot of people who think they’re going to Heaven because they

believe in God, live a morally good life, and do good toward others.

Paul addresses the unreasonableness of this in the verses above. Why

do we even have laws? We have them because man thinks he’s doing

right all the time. In Missouri many years ago the law read that drivers

on cars were to be “reasonable and proper.” But, by whose standard?

What is “reasonable”? What is “proper”? And who is to say what is

right? God introduced the Law (Ten Commandments) to demonstrate

to man himself how wrong he was. God never intended the Law to

save man from his sin. Instead, He kept man under the Law, actually

imprisoned in sin, until the time He planned and sent Jesus, His Son,

to release man from imprisonment. Jesus, through His death on the

Cross, made it possible for man to be released from sin. If mankind

were not to be released from sin through keeping the Law, the only way

left for his release was through faith –faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection

from the dead.

No, the Law was not contrary to God’s promises. It was a matter of

God’s timing. The Law existed until Jesus came. Now, release from

sin is by faith in Jesus Christ. We are saved by Him and for Him! And

we who know Him are here to tell others about Him.

We love you and pray for you and trust you are praying for us,

Nana & Dado III

Update on Nana: She is progressing well. She is stronger by the

day. But, she is not completely rid of pneumonia.

When will that be? It could depend somewhat on

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.”

Dear Grands,

Philippians 3:10-14, “…that I may know Him, and the power of His

resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed

to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the

dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become

perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which

also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard

myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what

lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on

toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

While these verses were never meant for a New Year’s Resolution,

they serve us well in that regard. Paul’s intense desire to be like

Jesus is nowhere so strongly stated as it is here. Still he admits

quite freely that he has not reached that holy and glorious goal.

It is indeed Christ’s purpose that Paul and all of us reach that

goal. So, how are we to realize the goal? What can and should

we do?

First, we must emphatically forget the bad things of the past. One

of the worst attacks we can experience is the remembrance of wrong

things (bad experiences, evil thoughts, etc.) that occurred in the past.

How can we forget? We forget by asking the LORD to wipe it out of

our minds. Believe me, He can! Remember where the Bible says,

“…the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (I Cor. 14:32)? Well,

that can apply to you, too. Just FORGET things that ought not to be

remembered!

Second, we must press on! The word here means to “stretch out

the neck.” In a short, fast race, a runner will lean his head forward

at the finish line so he can win, even if only by a head. That’s what

Paul means. He’s energetically stretching out, anticipation becoming

more and more like Jesus, which is what he and all of us were called

and saved to be.

Our prayer is that both you and we will become more like Him in

2018 than we were in 2017. Don’t look back! Look for His Coming!

We love and pray for you every, single day,

Nana & Dado III

UPDATE on Nana: She had a good night’s sleep to close out 2017!

She phoned me this morning to give instructions

about household things. That means she’s getting

better. We’ll keep you updated. Stay tuned! ??

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,

Galatians 1:6-10, “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.

8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you

a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be

accursed. 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is

preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him

be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or

am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would

not be a bond-servant of Christ.”

This very morning I received an email from a recent student. Her

husband had received the LORD, but suddenly gone berserk and

said he wanted to kill himself. Something in his head kept telling

him to do. She contacted her church prayer group, and they all

brought him before the LORD in prayer. He was freed from this

grip and is now in counseling.

Paul might well have anticipated the same from the Galatians.

Having originated in Gaul (France), they were a wild, up-and-down

people. They had received Christ, but now there were going AWOL.

They were mixed up about the Gospel and were listening and

believing things the just were not true. Paul came down pretty

hard, saying wherever they heard a “gospel” that was contrary

to what he had preached, let that person be “accursed.” The

Greek word for “accursed” is ??????? (anathema), and means

“set aside for divine destruction.” Pretty tough stuff, huh? Then

Paul repeats himself. Why? He wanted them to know that he had

not erred in what he said. He really, truly meant it.

There are so many writings today that purport to tell us what the

Bible means. Nothing, however, is more accurate that the Bible

itself. If you don’t understand something, just keep reading. In

a short time, you will come to understand what it means. The Bible

is no ordinary book. It is inspired (God-breathed)! And it carries

within itself the power of its own accomplishment (Isaiah 55:11).

Read it slowly; savor every word, just like you would savor a

juicy, succulent piece of steak. There’s a spiritual protein that

will build you up and prompt you to recommend both the LORD

and His Book! God bless you!

We love and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Update on Nana: She is on some strong medicine, and her

pneumonia is lessening daily. She is getting

excellent care and is in very good spirits.

The main concern is for her to get plenty of

rest, which is why visitation is discouraged.

We understand now why all of this has

occurred, and just at this Season of the year:

She has been enabled to witness effectively

to multiple people in the medical field! She

(and I) deeply appreciate 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.”

Dear Grands,

2 Corinthians 12:8-9, “Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times

that it might depart from me. 9 And He has said to me, ‘My grace is

sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly,

therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of

Christ may dwell in me.”

In our previous Grands Letter, we noted Paul’s thorn in the flesh.

In the two verses above, he voices the astounding miracle again.

The LORD did not answer Paul’s prayer as he had prayed it. Instead,

He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in

weakness.”

I saw this play out last night in Rose Marie’s hospital room. It was

time for staff change, and the nurse who had been attending her

was going off duty for the night. She came in to say “goodnight.”

Rose Marie (Nana) engaged her in spiritual conversation, asking

outright if she knew the LORD. The nurse was pleasant, and noted

that she had visited several churches over the years and named

two that were to her liking and said why. That’s when Nana said

“It’s not the church –the denomination—that’s important; it’s

Jesus!” Then, in her characteristic way –and with impeded breath—

she quoted Scripture after Scripture, not stopping, but breathlessly

continuously until she finally said, “Let’s… have… prayer.” We

joined hands around and over her bed and I prayed for the nurse.

It was evident that she was “moved,” as she told us of her sordid

past and fought back some tears. It was indeed a “moving” time.

There would have been little hope for Nana to have said anything,

except that His power was perfected in her weakness. When I got

home, I wrote her a follow-up email and indicated the Scripture

Nana had given her from her sick-bed. Never underestimate the

Power of the LORD! He’s everywhere within those who know Him,

and His strength always compensates for our weaknesses.

We continue to pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Update on Nana: She has pneumonia in both lungs. Her doctors

are “fighting” it with medications. Her spirits

are strong and bright. She’s not up to visitation,

due to her limited breathing. But she rejoices

to know that you are praying for her.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”