The Grands Letter

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.”

Dear Grands,

Mark 12:41-44, “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the multitude were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.

42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.

43 And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;

44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

It’s difficult to open email or view television today without being besieged for money!

Give! Give! they cry. It’s only $19 a month! That’s only 63 cents a day! The portrayal of poor, unfortunate kids simply tugs at your heart! Often, however, things are not quite like they appear.

I learned in India of a man who enlisted a number of young people, gave them bicycles and Bibles and had them pose for a picture. They were touted as the man’s “evangelistic team” that was going out to share the Gospel. Once the picture was taken, the Bibles and bicycles were confiscated, and the kids disappeared into the crowd. The picture, however, was used to raise money from unsuspecting victims.

Jesus watched carefully as people, rich and poor, gave money to the Temple treasury.

As the Scripture says, “…many rich people were putting in large sums.” But a poor

I remember reading this as a kid. I knew the Bible was true and that Jesus did not lie,

but I couldn’t figure out how the widow gave “more” than the rich men. But, she did.

She gave everything she had! And there was absolutely nothing left for food.

This Letter is not a plea for you to give more to your church. It simply says that you

cannot out-give God! Further, while we ought to give money to the LORD’s work, He

wants us more than He wants anything that we possess. Is your life committed to

Him? Are you giving your time and your talents to Him? Do you want Him to notice

you and bless your life? Yield it all to Him! Like the poor widow, you will be noticed

and blessed by the Savior.

Our prayers of love and concern continue for you.

Please pray for Nana as she has her heart procedure today.

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.”