The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 123:1-2, “To Thee I lift up my eyes, O Thou who art enthroned in the heavens!

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid

to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He shall be

gracious to us.”

What do you need? How important is it? Where do you go for the satisfaction of

That need? There is only one Person to whom you can go with the guarantee of

utter satisfaction: “To Thee…” the psalmist says, to the LORD, who is abides in

the heavens! Don’t children look to their parents when they have needs? Doesn’t

everyone look to someone in authority over him, asking that he satisfy the need?

Those who do not recognize the LORD as their Lord (i.e., those who are not saved),

look to themselves. But what we appropriate to ourselves is never satisfactory. If

it were, would we ever have to look to anyone else? Some needs are simply far

out of our human reach. And our failure to reach them only frustrates us further.

We simply have no answer within ourselves. We must look to the LORD!

“But, I’ve asked and asked and there’s no answer,” you say. The word until reminds

us that the One in Authority directs the timing. Like a physician, He knows what we

need and when we should receive it. His timing is always accurate! Patience teaches

us trust. Just remember that our eyes must always be looking to the LORD our God.

Trust and obey,

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.

We love you and pray earnestly 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.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 121:1-4, “I Will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From whence shall my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Every day seems to bring more and more trouble. The psalmist

has a choice: he can drop his head and look downward, and think

of all the troubles that surround him, or he can lift up his head and

his eyes and behold help. We can do the same. Ellicott explains

this in classical expression:

“The hills evermore summon us to look up. The influence of the world begets a downward look,

a sort of set of the eyes and heart downwards. We are in the world; in a thousand subtle ways

we are kin with the world. We are subject to its influences, caught by its wind of excitement,

absorbed by its pressing claims, and then we may easily be of the world as well as in it. But

everything the world presents to us is below us, beneath us, and it so keeps us looking down that

at last the habit of down-looking grows upon us. The world offers the attraction of its riches, but money is all below us, and we must look down upon it. The world fascinates us with its learning

and its science, but books and experiments are all below us, we must look down upon them. The world bids the siren pleasure float on golden wing before us, winning us to her pursuit; but she

ever flies low, and we must look down upon her. Even the better things that the world may give

us, the things of family life and love, are still all below us; we look down even on the children about our feet.”

But, as with the psalmist, so with us: “My help comes from the LORD.” Is He able to help?

He “made Heaven and Earth.” How’s that for a start? Further, “He will not allow (our) foot

to slip.” But His help is not when we’re looking downward at our feet, but when we’re look

upward toward Him. He’s always awake and alert to our needs. Just keep looking upward

toward Him!

You are in our daily prayers; please keep us in yours,

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 119:25-32, “My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Thy word.

26 I have told of my ways, and Thou hast answered me; Teach me Thy statutes.

27 Make me understand the way of Thy precepts, So I will meditate on Thy wonders.

28 My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Thy word.

29 Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Thy law.

30 I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Thine ordinances before me.

31 I cleave to Thy testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame!

32 I shall run the way of Thy commandments, For Thou wilt enlarge my heart.”

Did you ever feel… just down? everything working against you… might as well

just give up! no way out… ??? Well, that’s where the psalmist was. His soul

was stuck (????) in the dust. What are we to do? Waller in self pity? Absolutely NOT!

Look at the upward path the psalmist took: Revive me! Teach me! Make me!

Strengthen me! Remove from me! Grant me! Every verb at his disposal he

employed in the hope of revival. Look also at the objects of his focus: Thy Word!

Thy statutes! Thy precepts! Thy law! Then observe the revival of the psalmist’s

soul: I have chosen! I have placed! I cleave! I shall run! Note, too, his confidence

in the LORD: “For Thou wilt enlarge my heart.”

Two final thoughts: One, we are totally dependent upon the LORD to lift us up

out despair. Two, at the same time, He expects us to exercise the resources He

has given us in the process. It’s just like eternal salvation: He does the saving,

but we are required to believe. So, don’t let anything get you down! For when

everything is dark and gloomy, remember that He has already provided a way

of escape. “It’s always darkest just before dawn.”

We love you more than you know and pray for you 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 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.”

Have you noticed how the Bible always seems to speak to

men instead of women? Well, until our politically correct

times, both genders were included when the Bible says “men.”

At the same time, men were the leaders; and the way they

ventured was generally the way the women ventured also.

In any event, purity was the LORD’s key concern for both.

And the key to keeping pure is to stay fixed on the Word of

God in Holy Scripture. We may intend to be pure, but find

our minds wandering. That’s when we must earnestly pray:

“Do not let me wander from Thy commandments.” With the

LORD exerting divine power and with us treasuring His Word

in our hearts, sin can be excluded from us. The salvation of

our souls is not in jeopardy; but for our daily living, sin is not

a once-and-for-all exclusion. We must continually fight against

sin! But, how will we know when we’ve won the victory? You

will know, just as you know when you feel better after being

sick. But we must still stay on our medicine (the Word),

until He Comes Again and takes us to be eternally with Him!

Oh, how we pray for you, and for ourselves,

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 8:31-36, “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,

‘If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you shall know

the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ 33 “They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s

offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, “You shall

become free”?’ 34 “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits

sin is the slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does

remain forever. 36 If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.’”

There is nothing quite like freedom. I have preached in jails around the world.

Prisoners are those who are not free. There are various kinds of imprisonment.

Some are actual, physical enslavements that do not permit freedom of movement.

Other imprisonments allow, but limit the movement of the prisoners. What is

most severe, however, is the mental imprisonment. This is where people appear

to be free, but are beclouded and shackled mentally. Jesus said that sin does that.

Do you remember when I told you of that delicious dish that I loved in India? I still

have never tasted anything so scrumptious. But, it made me sick! I had pain that

told me I should not have eaten it; but it was so good, that when I recovered from

my sickness, I ordered and ate it again!! I was a prisoner of that tasty food.

I have counseled some who were addicted to alcohol, drugs, pornography. They

learned the Truth that would set them free, yet many returned to their sin. They

were prisoners –prisoners who begged to be free, but refused to walk out the door.

How stupid is that? It’s more than stupid; it’s intoxicating! I’ve talked to women,

whose husbands disrespected them in every conceivable way, yet they refused to

leave them. Sometime children are imprisoned in their own homes by a father,

who uses them for his own intentions. They are not physically bound, but they

are slaves! –mental slaves, afraid to launch out on their own.

The LORD Jesus saved us to be free! –mentally, physically, emotionally! Freedom

is possible in Christ. Fear is the guard that forbids and inhibits freedom! But, we

will never be free unless and until we trust the LORD and forsake that sin that

imprisons us.

We love and pray daily for you and for freedom from fear,

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.”