The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 96:11-13, “Let the heavens be glad, and let the Earth rejoice;

Let the sea roar, and all it contains; 12 Let the field exult, and all that

is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy 13 Before the

LORD, for He is coming; For He is coming to judge the Earth. He

will judge the world in righteousness, And the peoples in His faithfulness.”

It is easy to arise in the morning when the air is warmed by the sun.

The birds chirp and sing to announce their joy at the coming spring.

The psalmist arises to praise the LORD for all His glorious works. “Be

glad…rejoice…roar…exult…sing” –he exhorts all the LORD’s creation

to express itself with joyful excitement. Why? Because the LORD is

coming! His Coming is two-fold: 1) He will judge the Earth. All the

evil in which godless people have engaged will be judged. No one

will get away with his sins. The world that the LORD created—the

world that man has corrupted—will be judged at the Coming of the

LORD Jesus Christ. 2) He will judge the Earth righteously.

We know that human judges are often corrupt. I remember a friend

telling me how an attorney met with a judge prior to the next day’s

court and decided the outcome of a case. “I know,” he said, “because

I was there. I mixed their drinks!” Nothing like that will stand before

the Righteous Judge! He will be faithful to those who have been dealt

with unfaithfully.

All of this admonishes us not to worry about whether the unjust

and unrighteous will be punished in the Day of the LORD. They will!

Our focus must be on the fact that He is Coming and that we ourselves

will stand before Him. Now is the time for us to clean up our act. Set

your mind –your focus—on righteous and godly matters. Simon Peter

says, “And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace

and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And His

ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who

do evil” (1 Pet. 3:11-12).

We love you and hold you ever in our prayers,

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 89:15-18, “How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!

O LORD, they walk in the light of Thy countenance. 16 In Thy name they

rejoice all the day, And by Thy righteousness they are exalted.

17 For Thou art the glory of their strength, And by Thy favor our horn is exalted.

18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.”

Did you ever hear or read something you didn’t understand? Of course,

you have. All of us have! Maybe it was a crowd of people shouting. “Why

are they shouting?” you might say. Then someone explains the reason for

the shouting. That’s what that first verse means. The people understood

the blessings of the LORD and they were shouting. They were walking in

the spiritual blessings of the LORD because they were living as He willed

them to live; therefore, they were both blessed and protected.

The LORD is still our glory and strength. We recognize (at least we should)

that He is our strength, not that strength lies within ourselves. It is by His

favor that we have the power we have. Both protection and power belong

to the LORD. And our leader (our president) belongs to the LORD. Before

President Trump was elected, I learned that he had committed his life in

faith to our LORD Jesus Christ. Does everything he says and does radiate

Christ? Certainly not! Does everything you and I say and do radiate Christ?

No, again! All of us have said and done things that were not Christ-like. We

all have to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus

Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen”

(2 Peter 3:18).

We are grateful for your prayers for us, and we continually pray for

you, as well. 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 84:11-12, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He

withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts,

How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee!”

In ancient times, many peoples looked upon the sun as

a god. Nowhere in Scripture, however, is the sun ever

spoken of as a god. Ellicott approaches these verses in

the most glorious manner: “As the sun opens the gates

of day, floods the world with light, gives it without stint

to palace or cottage, to peasant and prince, and enables

us to discern a thousand pleasing objects, so God shines

into our lives and gives us power to see a thousand moral

glories. The secret of seeing is not in us. God is the great

revealer. We are the organs favored with the holy visions.

We can see only what He is pleased to show us. But He is

not slow to reveal Himself to our understanding, nor is the

light inadequate. No nook or corner of our being need go

unirradiated. If we open the life to God as we open the eye

to the sun, we shall no longer be children of the darkness.

‘For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,

hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge

of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’” (2Cor. 4:6).

May the LORD bless you by revealing what you need to

know and give you strength to believe and courage to share

it with those whom He desires to save.

Love and prayers always to you whom we cherish,

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 71:17-19, “O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth;

And I still declare Thy wondrous deeds.

18 And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Thy strength to this generation, Thy power to all who

are to come. 19 For Thy righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,

Thou who hast done great things; O God, who is like Thee?”

Today is Nana’s 84TH Birthday! I mention that because she

shares with me the content of the verses above. I grew up

in a Christian home and learned the things of the LORD from

my earliest days. Rose Marie grew up in a totally different

home, but she became a Christian when she was a teenager.

In many ways her life was “richer” than mine because she

experienced both sides of life and embraced the LORD with

greater love than I. Now, we are both “old and gray,” yet

we can mutually attest that the LORD has never forsaken us.

We have proved His power and His protection, as we’ve

traveled the world, spreading His Word and His Love.

Further, it is our earnest desire to “declare (His) strength to

this generation.” You are “this generation” and parents of

whatever future generations come, until the LORD Himself

comes to Rapture His Bride!

The LORD’s righteousness is beyond measure! We all have

been blessed to receive but a small portion of it. And we

praise Him for who He is and for all the “great things” He

has done. We can truly join with the psalmist and ask,

“O God, who is like Thee?”

May our gracious and loving Heavenly Father bless you

today, as you seek to live out your love for Him! Just take

a moment and count your blessings.

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 66:8-14, “Bless our God, O peoples, And sound His praise abroad,

9 Who keeps us in life, And does not allow our feet to slip.

10 For Thou hast tried us, O God; Thou hast refined us as silver is refined.

11 Thou didst bring us into the net; Thou didst lay an oppressive burden upon our loins.

12 Thou didst make men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; Yet Thou didst bring us out into a place of abundance.

13 I shall come into Thy house with burnt offerings; I shall pay Thee my vows,

14 Which my lips uttered And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.”

Nana and I were in a medical facility the other day, waiting for a

procedure. An elderly woman came from an inner room, using a

walker. I noticed that she would need help at the door, so I simply

arose and went to the door and held it open so she could exit. It

was really nothing, yet she said “Thank you” several times. As I

thought on this incident, I couldn’t help but wonder how many

times I’ve forgotten to say “Thank you.” Not many, I trust.

In the verses of this psalm, the writer praises the LORD and urges

others to do the same. He notes that he has been through the

proverbial “fire,” where people have strenuously opposed him.

He notes that he has been severely oppressed in virtually every

possible way. Moreover, he says that the LORD has been

responsible for leading him into and through these violent

experiences before bringing him safely out. What the psalmist

does not forget is to say, “Thank You, LORD.” He states it clearly:

“I shall pay Thee my vows, which my lips uttered and my mouth

spoke when I was in distress.”

Far too often, we fail to understand why the LORD puts us into

difficult situations. We also often cry out to Him for deliverance,

and promise Him many things. Yet, when we are delivered, we

forget our promises and act as if we saved ourselves. Shame!

In the concluding two verses of this psalm, he repeats, “But

certainly, God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of

my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my

prayer, nor His lovingkindness from me.”

We thank you for all your prayers for us! The LORD is hearing!

We love and care for you all,

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.”