The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came

into being that has come into being.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not

comprehend it.”

Words do matter. In this opening verse, Word is synonymous with

Jesus. He was with God, and He is God. Everything in the universe

was originally created by Him –everything from the huge heavenly

bodies (planets, sun, moon) –everything, even down to DNA and

possibly things we have yet to discover. He is Life, and life is

imparted to all creation, including man. Life is the light of mankind.

Without it, we could not see. And seeing leads to understanding.

Darkness is like death in that it leads to nothing. Jesus’ Light gives

meaning to life; darkness neither understands nor overcomes His Light.

Darkness equates with evil; it is the opposite of Light. Darkness leads

to nothing good. The pitfalls of life are concealed by darkness. We

stumble and fall in darkness. Jesus’ Light gives us the awareness of

of life’s pitfalls, enabling us to avoid them. It’s all very simple, but

man-made philosophies complicate true Life’s simplicity, so that we

stumble. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might

have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). Eternal Life and Light are yours

when you choose to follow Him. Darkness awaits those who don’t.

Our prayer for you is that you will have and understand His Life,

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 145:17-20a, “The LORD is righteous in all His ways,

And kind in all His deeds.

18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He will also hear their cry and will save them.

The LORD keeps all who love Him…”

As I read these verses this morning, it occurred to me

how little we turn to the LORD with all our troubles.

Certainly, the LORD has called doctors and counselors

to serve us; but do we look more to them than we do

to Him when we encounter difficulties? Our nation

faces some grave issues, but do we pray to the LORD

or merely look to elected officials for solutions?

Who is as righteous (blameless, just) as the LORD?

Who is kinder to us than the LORD?

Who is nearer to us than the LORD?

Who listens to us and answers our prayers?

Who is more capable of fulfilling our desires?

Who keeps, watches and preserves us?

Who loves us and saves us from our troubles?

Yet, we must truly call upon Him in faith.

We must reverence Him more than all others.

We must love Him above all others!

Then the question comes: do we?

We look in love to the LORD to care for you,

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 138:7-8, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

Thou wilt revive me; Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand

against the wrath of my enemies, And Thy right hand

will save me. 8 The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;

Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the

works of Thy hands.”

Trouble cannot be averted. It will always be there. Even as I

write, my phone tells of an “active shooter” in Ohio. Life

seems so fragile. But the psalmist is ever positive. He does

not focus upon his trouble; rather, he focuses on the LORD,

whom he acknowledges as his Deliverer. “You will revive me;

You will oppose my enemies; Your right hand will deliver me.”

Negative thinking always brings us down. I can’t do it produces

nothing. Someone said, “Can’t never did anything.” Not every

mother is an encourager to her children. Mine was. She pushed

me with positives until I performed. Looking back, I can see how

she developed me. Not all mothers are like that; but the LORD is

like that! And His strength will work His will in each of us –if we

listen to Him and believe! When trouble arises in your life, don’t

just lose heart and give up. Turn to the LORD. He never fails!

Our love and prayers are always there for you,

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 119:67, 71, 75, “Before I was afflicted I went astray,

But now I keep Thy word…. It is good for me that I was afflicted,

That I may learn Thy statutes…. I know, O LORD, that Thy judgments

are righteous, And that in faithfulness Thou hast afflicted me.”

The Hebrew word “affliction” (????? , anah) means many things. It means

disturbed, humbled, mistreated, oppressed, silenced, violated, and

weakened. Each of these undesirable things come to us in different

ways. We can be physically afflicted, emotionally afflicted, embarrassed

into silence, violated in multiple ways. Affliction can result in a hospital,

a jail, professional counseling –the list goes on.

What is interesting in these verses is the migration. First, affliction

is caused by our going astray. We ourselves are at fault. If I had listened,

I would not be afflicted, as I am now. I caused it myself by ignoring what

was right and doing wrong (v. 67). Second, the affliction I am suffering

right now is good for me. What? Good for me? Yes, because it awakened

me to those principles from which I had strayed. I knew better, but I did

wrong anyway. I need to get back on track with God (v. 71). Third, I now

admit that God’s judgment on me is deserved. He has put me in this

predicament in order that I might turn back to Him. He has afflicted me

in His loving faithfulness (v. 75). He is like the doctor, who says, “This

will cure your illness; but you will have to be careful in what you eat or

the next time could be fatal.” How faithful the LORD is! How much we

suffer because we are not–

We pray for you every day because we love you,

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 119:9-11, “How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Thy word.

10 With all my heart I have sought Thee;

Do not let me wander from Thy commandments.

11 Thy word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against Thee.”

Although this passage is addressed to a “young man,” it

may also be translated “a youth, a young person.” The

principle of purity applies to all young people. And the

secret to purity lies in keeping the Word of the LORD.

If we really want to be free from our evil ways, we have

to follow the teachings of the LORD, as they are in the

Bible. We have to treasure His teachings far more than

we treasure anything or anyone. The situations in which

we find ourselves –situations that we dislike—are because

of our sin. If we are honest, we will admit this is so. But,

as we follow His path for us –a path that is found in

Scripture—we will be freed from self and sin and love

Christ Jesus as He loves us. He has a good and clean plan

for our lives. We pray you will find and follow His plan.

We love you and pray for you every day,

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.”