The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

I Corinthians 11:3, “But I want you to understand that Christ

is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman,

and God is the head of Christ.”

It is exciting when you are elected or appointed head of an

organization like the president or CEO of say, a leading bank.

You will have a huge salary, a company car, and expense account

and scores of people underneath your authority. But, there’s

far more to it than all of those “perks.” With authority comes

responsibility. It’s the same in the home. The husband is the

head of the wife. Big stuff, huh? Well, with that position of

authority comes the responsibility of providing for the needs

of the household: where they live, heat and cooling for the

house, food for the table, clothing for the entire family, and

the list goes on and on and on. ~Now, when a boy grows to

manhood and marries a girl and starts his own family, he

removes himself from his father’s house and becomes the

authority in his own home. BUT, with that authority comes

the same responsibility that his father has over his home.

Authority and responsibility always go together! You can’t

have one without the other. And the only way to be

successful is to recognize the LORD as your Supreme Authority!

As children rely upon their parents, so the parents must rely

upon the LORD. Then and only then is the home what God

intends and blesses.

Love you guys abundantly!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Acts 28:3-5, “But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and

laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and

fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the natives saw the creature

hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another,

‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved

from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ 5 However he shook

the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.”

Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness result in tragedy.

Sometimes, the assessment of the tragedy is wrong. Paul’s

Helpfulness in gathering wood for the fire resulted in a viper,

a snake, to bit him on the hand. Owing that it was a snake,

we can assess that Satan was seeking to take Paul’s life

before he could reach Rome. Still, the promise of the LORD

that he would reach Rome was sustained as his hand suffered

no after effects.

Also of interest here is the assessment of the natives. Their

immediate thought was that Paul was a murderer. He had

been, but by the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ, he had

been forgiven of those acts. He had also escaped from the

peril of the sea and the shipwreck. But the native people

believed that “justice has not allowed him to live.” These

natives, living far from civilization, possessed a concept of

justice! They did not say “God” or even “the gods.” Their

words were an expression of humanism. Still, there was

a consciousness of right and wrong. Be assured that all

people have a consciousness of right and wrong. I do;

don’t you? When I do wrong, I “feel” wrong. And I look to

the LORD for forgiveness. The LORD has put that

sensitivity within all of men. It is accentuated by the Holy Spirit

in the lives of believers. We should follow the Spirit’s lead,

and the LORD will deliver us from temptation.

May the LORD bless and protect you from all wrong,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Acts 28:3a, “But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks

and laid them on the fire…”

What in this verse seems unusual to you? It has long intrigued

me. For 14 days, 276 people, who were on board the ship had

battled the sea and gone without food. Finally, the ship broke

up, foundering on the rocks of a small island called Malta. It was

raining and it was cold, and the native population received the

ship’s passengers with kindness and built a fire for them. How

many of the passengers helped, we do not know. We only

know that Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, “gathered a bundle

of sticks and laid them on the fire.” There is nothing in the

passage to suggest that the centurion ordered him to do so, it

was just something that needed to be done, and he did it.

Great men often do common things. Only those who perceive

of themselves as “great,” refuse to dirty their hands in menial

tasks. Paul was an emissary of the King of Kings, yet he stooped

to the task of gathering sticks for a fire. Do we balk at menial

tasks? We shouldn’t. Do we think of ourselves as better than

the Apostle Paul? We aren’t. Let others praise us, if they so

choose; but let us remain humble and attend to the tasks at hand.

We love you all deeply and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Acts 27:11, 31-32, “Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship,

more than those things which were spoken by Paul. 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers,

‘Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.’ 32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat,

and let her fall off.”

Some people do change their minds. When Paul warned that there was going to be disaster

at sea, the centurion, who was guarding him, chose to believe the owner of the ship. Later,

during the storm, some of the sailors pretended they were going to drop forward anchors out

of the ship. They lowered a boat and started to climb in with the hope of saving themselves.

Paul said to the centurion that everyone must stay in the ship or no one would be saved.

This time, the centurion believed Paul and ordered the soldiers on board to cut the ropes

to the small boat, so the sailors could not escape. Paul was really in charge, despite that

he was a prisoner. He knew the LORD’s will and was not afraid to announce it. What do

you suppose changed the centurion’s mind? In the Old Testament, a long-range prophecy

was believed if a short-range prophecy had come true. It is doubtful if the centurion knew

what the Old Testament Jews believed, but the principle was working in his life. Yes, people

do change their minds. That’s why we should never give up on them. Oh, there are times

when we’ve said all we know to say and need to just back off; but, we need to keep praying.

We have no idea how the LORD is working on their minds and in their lives. I knew a man

whose mother prayed for him from the day he was born. Twenty years after she died, a

friend of mine led the man to the LORD! Churchill’s words are appropriate here, “Never

give up! Never. Never. Never.”

We never give up praying for you!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Acts 27:22-25, “’And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss

of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night the

angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24 Saying, “Fear not, Paul; thou must

be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.”

25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was

told me.”’”

You must read slowly the entire 27th chapter to grasp the terror and emotion

surrounding Paul’s journey to Rome. Paul warned them (v. 10) that there would

be trouble and damage, but who listens to a preacher about ships and the sea?

But, when trouble came and they were tossed about for some two weeks, they

were then all ready to listen to the preacher who knew nothing about the sea.

“Be of good cheer” must have sounded ridiculous to the sailors and passengers.

But when Paul shared with them that God had reminded him that he would be

“brought before Caesar,” they took him a bit more seriously. “Be of good cheer,”

Paul said, “for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”

For two weeks, none of them had eaten anything, yet they were battling the

storm. Now, Paul began to eat and so did the others. Food not only nourishes

us, it arouses our spirits. And so it was with them! But how could Paul know

all the things he told them? He had been in constant contact with the LORD!

How can we know what the LORD is doing, unless we are in continual

communication with Him? Prayer does not have to always be on our knees. We

can pray while we writing papers, doing dishes, even while reading the Bible.

The LORD will work with us as He did with Paul. We just have to maintain

Communication! Try it and see what the LORD will do.

We Love you all and pray for you always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas