The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now I am old;

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his

descendants begging bread.”

I awoke early this morning with this verse ringing

in my head. It’s like a glass of cold water overflowing

with truth.

For many years now, I’ve been researching my family.

And what is true in my own life, has been true in the

lives of many who lived before me: the righteous ones

have never been forsaken. Rose Marie’s family was

very poor. Mine was certainly not wealthy; yet, we

both survived by the grace of God. You see, the

righteousness was not ours; it was the LORD’s! He

saved us and set our feet on “right paths,” and gave

us strength and direction to follow Him. He did it all!

Yes, it’s true that we sought to be what He saved us

to be, but even that was due to His grace!

I remember putting the last dollar I had into gasoline

to get to a preaching assignment. The LORD responded

with a generous offering that enabled me to get back

home. I occasionally had churches who said, “We will

send you a check.” Thus, I never had assurance of receiving

what I needed immediately. I was forced to trust the LORD

to meet that need.

When we landed in Sydney, everything was by faith.

What little money we had went for food and school

uniforms for the kids. Then came a check in the mail –

from an attorney I had previously met, but forgotten.

Again, we were neither “forsaken” nor “begging bread.”

The LORD spoke to Elijah saying, “…it shall be that you

shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens

to provide for you there.” So he went and did according to

the word of the LORD…, And the ravens brought him bread

and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening,

and he would drink from the brook” (I Kings 17:4-6).

Life is most enjoyable when lived by faith. It’s like opening

a new package every morning. You don’t know what’s in

it, but you know it’s going to be good because it’s a gift from

the LORD!

You are loved and in our prayers 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,

Matthew 13:54-58, “And coming to His home town He began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they became astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom, and these miraculous powers? 55 ‘Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

56 ‘And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?’ 57 “And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his home town, and in his own household.’ 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”

Jesus had been busy fulfilling the Old Testament Scripture that foretold of

His coming. He taught the principles and exemplified all that the Scriptures

had said of Him. Miracles were performed in the sight of the people, leading

many to believe upon Him as the promised Messiah. Yet, when He came to

His own hometown, He found little but unbelief. And that unbelief deprived

them of the miraculous blessings of Almighty God.

Is it possible to inhibit the miracles of Jesus? Is it possible to limit the power

of the LORD? The people of Nazareth did it. Of course, the ultimate limitation

of His power, His miracles, lay with Jesus Himself. The power of the people

was not greater than the power of God; but what Jesus could have done for

the people, He would not do because they did not believe.

I have to wonder if that’s not our problem today. We read in the Scriptures the marvelous works Jesus performed, and we believe –sort of. But when it

comes right down to needs we have, we often question in our heart-of-hearts

whether He will perform for us what He did for others. Shame on us!!! Is the

LORD less powerful today than when He walked on this Earth? Is He less

concerned for us and our needs than He was for the lame and the blind who

lived during His time here on Earth? Certainly not!! Then, what keeps us

from believing now? Are we simply too “connected” to earthly things? Or is

it that we believe Christ’s miracles are reserved for others? What is wrong

with us that we do not believe? We believed when we trusted Him for

salvation. If He can save us from sin and guarantee us a home in Heaven—

and He has– what is there that He cannot do that is of lesser value? Take

your eyes and thoughts off of the world. Start believing today!

We offer believing prayer in spiritual love 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.”