The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 40:1-8, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.

4 How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

6 Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; my ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.

8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”

Don’t you just love David’s sweet spirit in this Psalm! Patience is indeed a virtue – something that is missing in many of us (this writer included). Yet, even when it seems that time is passing at a snail’s pace, we know that He has heard our prayers and will answer in the appropriate time.

In the meantime, however, we have a song to sing – a joyous song, one that He has provided for sheer pleasure while we wait. On the human level, songs don’t always appease us. We want what we want and we want it now! Still, waiting promotes trust in the LORD who provides. I can recall my grandmother making a pie. Yum, they were good! I could hardly wait! Yet, as I took my first bite, I forgot how long I had waited. It was now timeless, and worth it all. Those were the days!

It’s the same in the spiritual realm. What He has prepared for us is more than worth the wait. Our humanness too often overtakes our spiritual sensitivity. What we want and need seem never to come. Yet, they do! And with their coming is the delight we never ever imagined!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have. – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

2 Corinthians 4:6-11, “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

There are not many things we can seriously count on in the day in which we currently live. “Rights” have been turned into “wrongs”; and concepts that were once clear and indisputable, are now so scrambled that even those who once stood for them in principle are threatening absence as “push comes to shove.”

Still, what we have, we have securely! Jesus Christ is our stability in all things pure. Thus, if those things we once held sacred, seem to be slipping away, we may be certain that Christ is the sure foundation! We believed upon Him once, and once is sufficient for eternal stability! At the same time, He is forever “our strength and stay, a very present help in time of trouble.”

My recent readings have been in the Old Testament; however, we ought to study well the life of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. It was he who was soundly converted on that Damascus Road, only to find himself in the venomous ways of intolerant hate, all due to his unflinching fellowship with the LORD Jesus Christ and continuous application of Scripture to those who needed Christ as Savior and Lord.

The clouds that currently darken over us suggest that we might be experiencing the same enemy, who was known to Paul. Yet, the Life of our Blessed LORD lives within us, keeping us separated from all attacks that Satan throws at us daily. Praise be to the LORD!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have. – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Psalm 84:5-12, “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!

6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings.

7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.

9 Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed.

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

12 O LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!“

Have you ever felt that you were running out of strength? Well, I sure have! Yet, in those times, I have turned to the LORD, and He has renewed my strength. In all honesty, my reception of added strength at all times has been due to His graciousness. No doubt, multiple times He has given me that “added strength,” even when what prompted the need was not directly related to His work. Strength by any measure and for any needed occasion must always be found in the LORD.

I must confess that on numerous occasions, when I was unjustly accused of things related to my ministry, in haste I responded all-too rapidly and often without waiting for the Holly Spirit’s permission or arrangement of my comments. The LORD knew my heart, and I felt no reprehension from Him for my activities. At the same time, it is easy to justify self-defense, when it is, more often than not, better to “let sleeping dogs lie.”

What confidence we should have when we hear the Word say, “Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of You anointed” (vs. 9). His defense of His people is always available and far greater than any defense His people could muster for themselves. Be done with such foolishness! “The LORD is (our) sun and shield…” How blessed is the one who trusts in Him alone!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have. – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Colossians 3:12-17, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Has it ever occurred to you, who belong to Him, that you were chosen? Yes, it’s truly above our “pay grade” to understand such things; but He knew who would be His before we knew we were on His “list.” Don’t dwell too long on that thought; just believe it and enjoy it. What should occupy us now is possessing a “heart of compassion and kindness” toward others, wrapped in “humility, gentleness and patience.”

Being “in Christ,” however, does not automatically indicate the abstinence of worldliness. It truly includes the need to tolerate the spiritual weaknesses in others, especially with those who have yet to come to faith in Christ themselves! Yes, there’s work involved! As the song says, “It’s not an easy road;” yet, it’s thoroughly beneficial. What’s more, it’s peaceful. The incalculable weight of sin is gone! Those worries and fears that sin heaped heavily upon us are now manageable: we simply give them to Christ! Nothing is too weighty for Him!

Further, we are at peace within ourselves; and that allows us to be at peace with others, regardless of how they respond to us or life’s situations. We simply bask in the Word, filling our hearts and souls with the sweet riches of His incalculable love. In time, what others see of Him in us prompts them to desire Him for themselves. Yes, we are to encourage them; but, it’s ultimately their responsibility to turn from sin and submerge themselves in His everlasting Love! God bless!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have. – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Romans 8:1-9, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6 aFor the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,

8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

Where is your mind? No, I’m not speaking about the physical location of your brain; I mean the mind with which you think and calculate and activate the various aspects of human thought. Is your mind on the past election, or where some huge AI complex will soon be built? Or is your mind on the spiritual aspects of the world around you –especially, is it on your own life, and what you are doing or ought to be doing at this particular time the LORD has given you?

I’m sure you will agree with me that we all waste a lot of time! We set out to do worthwhile things, but allow ourselves to become distracted, so that time passes faster than we had calculated. Believe me, when I say that the passing of time is the standard condition of those who have advanced in age. Yet, the Holy Spirit lives within all born-again believers, urging us all to focus on spiritual things that have the greater value.

I have had some exciting opportunities to witness this past week. Most were of a casual nature; still, the recipients were quite aware of the One Whom I was proclaiming. It was only what the Holy Spirit led me to say in that moment. The value of any witness lies in it’s clarity of focus accompanied with a warm and loving attitude. God bless you as you share Jesus Christ this week!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have. – Corrie ten Boom