The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,

righteously and godly in the present age,

13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and

Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed,

and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

These four verses constitute one of the most exciting passages in all of Scripture!

Verses 11-12 tell us that God’s grace made it possible for all persons to be saved!

In that context, God instructs us how to live: we are to “say no” all ungodly and

worldly lusts, and live wisely and righteously in our lifetime. Further, we are to

anticipate the Coming of our LORD Jesus Christ (the Rapture) –the same Jesus

who died on the Cross to “buy us back” and away from everything evil, and cleanse

us for Himself and make us excited to do good things.

“To deny” and “to live” are in Greek forms that mean they “are to our advantage.”

Everything the LORD forbids us to do is for our advantage. Everything He calls

us to do, He enables us to do; and everything from Him is to our spiritual and

physical advantage.

We LOVE you and pray for you every single day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

Acts 20:24, “But I do not consider my life of any account

as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the

ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify

solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

You’ve probably heard the saying, “He’s his own worst enemy.”

Strangely enough, that’s true of all of us. Paul must have thought

so, too, because he said his life was of no account to himself.

Self is our biggest and worst enemy! It gets in the way of

everything. Paul’s calling from God was to minister to people

everywhere and bring them to faith in Jesus Christ. We need

to remember that Paul, and even Jesus, got physically tired.

Don’t you have days when you just don’t want to get out of bed?

(Yes, you say, like today…and yesterday…and –) Self stays in

bed! Self eats what self wants, regardless of its value to health.

Self goes where self wants –and the list goes on. Self is our

enemy. Paul knew this; and in this verse, he TOTALLY

ABANDONS Self! He knows he faces opposition and will die;

but the only thing that matters is his doing what the LORD wants

until his final day comes. WOW! Is that not dedication at its finest?

Don’t we all fall far, far short of that kind of dedication? Die to self,

and we will all know the rejoicing Paul knew, as he labored only

for the LORD.

May the LORD bless you today and everyday! We love you!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

2 Timothy 2:11-13, “It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him;

If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful,

for He cannot deny Himself.”

Paul often spoke in positive-negative statements. Just as

electricity requires both a positive charge and a negative

charge, so does the Christian life. ~ This is a reliable word,

he says. Here then are the two positives: 1) If we died with

Him (and we did), we shall also live with Him. 2) If we patiently

endure (and we will), we will also reign with Him. Then, he

give us the two negatives: 1) If we say “no” to Him or deny

Him to others, He will deny knowing us. 2) If we are faithless

in being and doing what He desires and has given us to do,

He will remain faithful. Why? Because the LORD cannot

be or do what is contrary to His holy nature. ~ Think of it

like this: Have you ever done anything contrary to what

your parents desired of you? Did your parents then do

what they had told you not to do? Of course not! Had they

done what they told you not to do, they would be denying

the very thing right they had desired in you. While this may

sometimes break down with human beings, it never breaks

down with God! Always trust Him and do His will. That

always brings His blessings!

Love you; and may the LORD make us faithful always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

1 Timothy 6:17-19, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world

not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but

on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous

and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good

foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”

Paul’s warnings were always practical. If what he says seems otherwise,

Just remember that what he is writing is the Word of the LORD! Riches

are indeed uncertain. In the 1929 Stock Market crash, unbelievably

wealthy men threw themselves to death out of high buildings, because

the riches in which they trusted were suddenly and thoroughly wiped out!

Hope must always be founded on the LORD. Paul is not against riches; he

simply warns against trusting in them. He says we are to do good with all

the LORD has entrusted to us, and, thereby, be rich in good works. We are

also to be generous and eager to share what the LORD has entrusted to us.

While we cannot trust in money, we can and must trust the LORD as our

foundation. When we do this, we experience true life, which is always in Him!

You, Grands, are our riches! We have prayed for each of you even before

you were born. What you have become and are continuing to become,

we view as the LORD’s enrichment to us; and for that there’s not enough

money in the world to equal it!

Love you more than you’ll ever know this side of Heaven,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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Dear Grands,

Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard

your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

It’s not always easy to do what is best. There are times when we find

it hard to rejoice. Still, the Bible encourages us to “rejoice in the Lord

always.” We are never to be anxious about anything. Just pray earnestly

to the LORD for what we need. This is absolute trust in Him that He will

provide us with what we need. And don’t forget to say “Thank You.”

What will that trust bring us? It will bring us the peace of God, the very

opposite of anxiety. Further, our prayerful requests will result in answers

well beyond what we have ever thought –even beyond our understanding

of how such blessings could ever be! He will guard our hearts and minds

against the anxiety that would rob us of His peace. Do you believe that?

It is always beneficial to us to believe the LORD and to trust His Word.

Just don’t worry! That’s your part; everything else lies under His control.

We don’t know everything that concerns you day-by-day, but we are

praying for you anyway. We love you immeasurably!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

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