The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 119:9-16, “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.

12 Blessed art Thou, O LORD; Teach me Thy statutes.

13 With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Thy mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, As much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on Thy precepts, And regard Thy ways.

16 I shall delight in Thy statutes; I shall not forget Thy word.

I was a good athlete in my youth; still, I missed shots in basketball; I struck out in baseball;

and I liked football so much that I never ventured to play it. Some things are just to be observed.

I was taught to be honest and truthful; but while I earnestly tried, I missed the mark there from

time-to-time. In short, I was not perfect –far from it. As I grew up, I found other things in which I

failed, also. Were you ever like that? Of course! We’ve all have done things for which we are sorry.

What can we do about it?

It may help you (it has me) to know that everyone else has failed along life’s way. Even the writer

of the verses above had some trouble with wrong doings in his life. When he discovered what to

do about it, he wrote it down for us to read –and follow. Look at what he said –

1.Seek the LORD. Take all of your troubles to Him. He loves you and will help you.

When we’re sick, we seek a doctor. We may not know him, but we know he’s

trained to help us when we’re in need. Do the same with Jesus!

2.Do what the Doctor orders. He’s given you instruction and some medicine. Take it

all faithfully, just like He said. And take it ALL, until it’s all gone.

3.Don’t do again what you did that caused you difficulties in the first place. Be glad and

enjoy not being sick! Remember the Doctor’s instructions and follow them faithfully.

In a spiritual sense, 1) tell the LORD you’re sorry and ask Him to forgive you of your sin. 2) Read

His Word every day. Start in the New Testament because that’s where you will most easily find

Him. 3) Rejoice! His Word is like good-tasting medicine. Stay away from bad stuff that He does

not prescribe. It’s the bad stuff that made you sick in the first place. We’ve all been there, so we

know to tell others to avoid it. Why be “down” when you can be “up”? Try Him and His Word.

You’ll be glad you did!

We love and pray for you daily. Praise the LORD!

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,

Malachi 4:1-3, “’For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.’

2 “’But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3 ‘And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

What could be more appropriate for the closing of the Old Testament than a solemn warning of that day that is coming?

To be sure, the Old Testament gives a picture that is less clear than the New Testament, but they are the same picture.

THE LORD IS COMING is the vibrant message. He knows with certainty those who are His and those who are not. No

one will escape His notice. Those who are arrogant and deny His very existence (Robert G. Ingersoll, Stephen Hawking,

et al) will be thoroughly destroyed, “so that (that day) will leave them neither root nor branch” (no off-spring to take their

places in defaming Almighty God).

Yet, the promises of the LORD always include the preservation of those “who fear (His) Name.” He will heal them of

all the afflictions and trouble that His enemies have caused them. They will be free to avenge themselves of the wrong

done to them, all through His power! Little to nothing is said here about love; yet, in the New Testament it is emphasized

highly. “…love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matt. 5:44). Remember that all persecution meted out against us is really meted out against the LORD God. What might seem vengeance for wrong against us is really for what has been said and done against Him. If it seems distasteful that we will have retribution against those who have persecuted us, perhaps we should forgive them now, establish friendships, and share the Gospel while there is time.

Don’t be discouraged by the rejection of the Gospel. That’s normal for those who are arrogant. It goes against the grain

of their egos. Persistence in love, however, will eventually wear down their walls of resistance. Trust the LORD to soften their hearts. Nothing can stand against Him.

We love you and pray for you always,

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,

Malachi 2:6-7, “True instruction was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips;

he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity.

7 “For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his

mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.”

The true priests of the Old Testament were not satisfied with their own sanctification, but were

zealous for the salvation of souls. What a history of zeal for the glory of God and the conversion

of sinners they had! They lived His Word before others. Everything they said was righteous and

true because they peaceably and uprightly walked daily with the LORD.

Now, since New Testament times, we who have believed in Him and been saved by His grace,

are His priests. There are currently sufficient born-again believers in the world to reach the lost;

however, as one has said, “The world is full of priests; yet in the harvest of God the laborers are

few. For we undertake the priestly office, but do not fulfill its work. We receive the fruit of (His)

Church…, but labor not for the everlasting Church in preaching.”

“There are many priests,” says a writer in the 4th century, “and few priests; many in name, few in

deed.” Simply calling ourselves “Christians” does not make us “Christ like.” For the name does not

make the person; it is the true demonstration Him and His truth that makes us like Him.

By teaching well and living well we instruct people how they ought to live; by teaching well and

living contrary to our own instruction, we earn the reprimand of Almighty God.

“We who are called “Christians,” are responsible for the deaths of others when we are timid and

silent in sharing the Gospel. Those who are brought near to us and die without hearing the LORD’s

Good News, when we have opportunity to share it –for them we will be held accountable.

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,

Zechariah 8:7-8, 23, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people

from the land of the east and from the land of the west;

8 and I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will

be My people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’”

23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the

garment of a Jew saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”‘”

The Bible is filled with prophecies! There are promises of many things, and we are encouraged

to believe them even though their fulfillment may lie well beyond our lifetime. But, here in these

verses (vv. 8-9), the LORD’s fulfillment of His promise is ours to see. For in 1948, when I was

13 years old, Israel once again became a nation recognized by the United Nations! Israel has

now been resurrected for 70 years! The magnificent fulfillment of this promise should lead us

to believe that all of the LORD’s promises will be fulfilled in the time He so chooses.

Verse 23 is yet to be fulfilled, but it carries a peculiar significance for us in our own time.

When those around us see the change the LORD has made in our lives when we have

trusted Him as our LORD and Savior, they will be eager to know Him and will say in effect,

“Let us go with you, for we have heard (witnessed) that God is with you.” How true that is

even today! The heart of the unsaved person yearns for something he doesn’t have. He

sees it in the lives of true believers (Christians). “What makes you so different?” he asks.

Just remember: The life we live for Christ draws others to us, so that we may share how

we became different. So, check your ways and be ready to answer “everyone who asks

you to give an account for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15).

May the LORD encourage and bless you is our daily prayer,

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,

Haggai 2:11-13, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Ask now the priests for a ruling:

12 ‘If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold,

or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?'”

And the priests answered and said, “No.”

13 Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered and said, “It will become unclean.”

Over the past few months, the western world has been plagued with influenza! It’s not

over yet, so we need be careful around those who cough or sneeze, lest the germs

fall on us and we become infected. The flu is nothing with which to trifle. It can be deathly!

This past week, an egg-producing company recalled some 200 million eggs for fear that

they might contain salmonella poisoning. Germs and diseases –some life-threatening—

are everywhere. We must always be on our guard.

These verses in Haggai have always been intriguing to me. The Jewish priests were an

authority on the Law, so the LORD said, “Ask (them) for a ruling.” If things that are holy

touch thing that are not holy, will the latter become holy? They’re answer was “No.”

Well, one is unclean by the standards of the Law comes into physical contact with

someone who clean, will the one he touched become unclean? The priests answered,

“Yes, he will become unclean.”

The principle is: Righteousness in not contagious; but unrighteousness is! People

you know and mingle with don’t become righteous just because you fellowship with them.

BUT, you can become unrighteous if you hang with those who are unrighteous. Unsaved

people don’t become saved by mingling with saved people; but saved people can be

dragged into unsavory activities by mingling too much with ungodly people. This is what

Jesus meant when He said, “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep

them from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15 NAS). We are to be in the world, but not of the world.

We love you 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.”