The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden upon the LORD,

and He will sustain you; He will never allow the

righteous to be shaken.”

Did you ever hear someone say, “Oh, it’s just a

cross I have to bear?” What is the difference

between a “burden” and a “cross”? Simply put,

a burden is something that is thrust upon us;

a cross is something we willingly assume.

We all have burdens of various sorts. Circumstances

seem to thrust them upon us and we find ourselves

saddled with difficulties not of our own making. I

can think of many, but I won’t burden you with them.

(Little joke there.) The point is rather what do we do

about burdens? The psalmist says to throw them on

the LORD. The LORD will deal with them completely.

He will never allow the righteous to be brought down.

We must, however, be righteous. We must be determined

to listen to Him and follow Him. Only then do we have

His guarantee to preserve us completely.

Take your burdens to the LORD and leave them there;

If you trust and never doubt,

He will surely bring you out;

Take your burdens to the LORD and leave them there.

You are in our prayers daily,

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,

Psalm 37:4-5, “Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.”

We live in difficult days. Every day seems to

bring forth more trouble. Many people worry;

they are anxious and fearful as to what will

come upon us. But the psalmist has a different

attitude. He gives us three things to do in the

midst of trouble and uncertainty. First, “delight”

in the LORD. Put Him above all your troubles.

Focus on Him! Be positive! Remember that He

created the heavens and the Earth. And He did

is “out of nothing!” What are a few, minor

troubles to Him? Second, “commit” yourself to

Him. We did this when we were saved. We

signed on to His service. We committed ourselves,

and we must not back down on that commitment.

Third, we are to “trust” Him completely. He has

the plan –the only plan—that will defeat the

troubles we face. What are His promises? He

promises to give us the desires of our hearts.

We’re not talking about trinkets here. The desire

of one who is in trouble is deliverance, not

tinker toys. Further, He promises to complete

what He starts! He completed His creation of

the heavens and the Earth, of man and beasts.

What’s a mere skirmish to Him? He always wins!

And we always win –when we trust in Him and

remain committed.

We pray and trust the LORD for your protection,

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,

Psalm 33:6, 8-12, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

And by the breath of His mouth all their host…

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world

stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the

plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from

generation to generation.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom

He has chosen for His own inheritance.”

What a psalm! It commences with Praise to the LORD (vv. 1-7); it continues

by telling of his Power (vv. 8-12); and it concludes with the promise of His

Preservation (vv. 13-22). Let me challenge you to read it all –right now!

The capstone, however, is verse 12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is

The LORD…” Our beloved nation, that was founded on Christian principles,

has drifted away from those principles. We’ve become prosperous by His

hand; but we’ve then become proud and haughty and self-sufficient. We

behave as if we don’t need the LORD. We’ve overlooked the fact that The

Creator who made our world and the universe around us, could just as

easily collapse it! We are not our own. We belong to Him; and if we behave,

He promises His preservation. If we don’t, we live in jeopardy. The way of

all nations is determined by the way of its people. You and I must live by

our LORD’s divine standards or suffer the consequences.

May God bless you abundantly,

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,

Psalm 31:23-24, “O love the LORD, all you His godly ones!

The LORD preserves the faithful, And fully recompenses the proud doer.

24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.”

Love is the most powerful attitude known to man. It accomplishes

more than hate; and it is available only to those who are His. The

LORD preserves (watches over, guards) those who put their trust

in Him. For those who are proud (arrogant, haughty), He pays them

back as they deserve. But for the righteous, the faithful, the trusting,

He encourages them to be strong and courageous in every situation.

Every day we are faced with situations that are beyond us. And it is

when we don’t know what to do, that we are to turn trustingly to our

loving and faithful LORD. He is always watching over us, however

dark things seem to be.

Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each victory will help you or some others to win.
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus and He’ll carry you through.

Just ask the Savior to help you,
To comfort, strengthen and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
And He will carry you through.

May our faithful LORD bless and strengthen you for 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.”

Dear Grands,

John 3:16 is arguably the most well-known verse in the Bible. Psalm 23, if not equal,

is not far behind. While this is a Messianic psalm, think of what it meant to both the

life of Jesus and the life of David, and what it means to your life as well.

Psalm 23:1-6,

RELATIONSHIP: “The LORD???? = (absolute faithfulness) is my shepherd,”

REALIBITY OF PROVISIONS: “I shall not want.”

RESTORATION OF BODY AND SOUL: 2 “He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul;”

REDIRECTION: “He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”

REALIBILITY OF PROTECTION: 4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow

of death (the valley of perfect darkness), I fear no evil; for Thou art with me;

Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.”

RECOGNITION: 5 “Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.”

RESOLUTION: 6 “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

It will serve you well to meditate upon how much the LORD means to your life.

Never rush through Scripture! Let its deep meaning permeate your soul.

Love and prayers always,

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.”