The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 19:4-6, “And He answered and said, ‘Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 “Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

Sixty-three years ago today in the St. Louis suburb of St. Ann, at the Mary Ann Baptist Church, Nana (Rose Marie) and I (Dado III) were married. She was 21 and I was just two months shy of 20. We met at Southwest Baptist College (now

University) that was then a two-year college. I entered college to prepare for the ministry, and girls were the furtherest thought from my mind. She was there to prepare for the mission field. Interestingly enough, she had been to my home church and had seen me; but I had not noticed her (Can you imagine!). But we met in the bookstore where my cousin Gerald introduced us. Two years later we were married.

Since that time, we have traveled the world, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Have those times been rough? Some of them have. But we are agreed that even the tough times are not to be compared with the joy of loving one another and growing in the LORD. We had been counseled by our pastor, the late Rev. Dr. Earl L. Pounds, to share responsibilities. “There are things your wife can do that you simply cannot. Let her do them! Don’t try to do everything yourself.” We’ve followed that rule throughout the years, and things have run smoother that you might expect. Yes, we’ve had our struggles, too. But, praying together has drawn us both toward Him and smoothed the paths ahead.

As born-again Christians, we both commend marriage in the LORD. We work as a team. We make all decisions together. When we disagree, as the husband is the leader of the household. I make the ultimate decision, At the same time, if that decision is wrong, and it sometimes has been, I alone am totally responsible to the LORD. We’ve very seldom gone to sleep at night without clearing the air over daytime disagreements. When we have, we’ve shared our sorrow the first thing the next morning. Hint: Keep short accounts!

Regrets? We may have a few, but they are small by comparison. The LORD led me to the finest girl ever! We now have three great children, who have unbeatable spouses, 11 grandchildren and a great-grandson en route that we wouldn’t trade for the whole wide world! We don’t hold ourselves up as a pattern for a Christian marriage, but we do honor and praise the LORD for how He has blessed and guided us along the way. Just always doing things His way is what assures blessing. We’re not perfect, but our sixty-three years speaks for something. And it is our prayer that each of will bask in the sunlight of His Everlasting Love!

Yes, we do pray for each of you every day, and we thank Him for the spiritual growth we see in each of your lives,

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,

Genesis 1:1-4. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.

4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

It’s fun to see things made. There’s a television program (How Things Are Made) that shows the process whereby multiple things are finally brought to market. What’s different from the TV program and the verses above is that man

has to have some substance with which to start. God started with nothing! The word created is the Hebrew word

) ??????bara( , which means “create or ‘bring into being’ out of nothing.” It contradicts the Sound of Music song that says “Nothing comes from nothing; nothing ever could.”

Then there is the word “light” ???? (or). Whatever could we do without light? Light is so valuable to even the production of food and air that we could not exist without it. Yet, darkness, ) ??????choshek( too, is valuable in that it offers us a time for rest. The LORD God then named light day ) ????yom(, and darkness night ????? (layil). He separated () ??????badal(

them and called them both “one day.” How Things Are Made could never match a fete like that!

Now, taking all of this into account, tell me something God cannot do! So, when you are up against the wall and just see no way out, remember what the Bible says about how God created all things –created them out of nothing! “Then, why does He not cure all the sick, stop all of the wars, and turn this world back into what He originally made it –a quiet, peaceful place?,” you ask. Can you believe that He has a plan to do just that? His plan has a time schedule that is known only to Him. The Apostle Paul speaks of “the fulness of the time” (Gal.4:4). God has a specific time for everything. We do not know His timing, and we could not control it if we did. We are only to live as He desires. And when the time is right, He will make all things known to us. It’s called patience.

We love and pray 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.”

Dear Grands,

2 Peter 3:13-18, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,

18 but 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.”

Another school shooting has left a small community in Texas in fear and mourning. Such trouble, however, is not new. Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, evil and devastation has beclouded the world. History of every nation overflows with trouble. Are we to hover in fear? Certainly not! We are looking for “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” So, be at peace. Just be clean spiritually and morally. But when will all of these troubles end? They will end when the LORD wills, when they have run the course He has set for them.

Peter then reminds his readers (us, as it were) of the letters written by Paul. Remember that Peter was a practical and uneducated fisherman; Paul was an intellectual, a university graduate, and his letters contained “some things hard to understand.” If you’ve read Paul’s writings, you know some of those difficulties of which Peter is speaking. Moreover, there are in our day, as there were in Peter’s day, some biblically unstable and unprincipled preachers, who twist (strebloo) Scripture to mean what they want it to mean. So, be on guard against them! They’re clever, and they will cause you to misunderstand the Bible and become spiritually unstable.

Did you notice the phrase “as they do also the rest of the Scriptures”? Peter equates Paul’s writings as Scripture!

There can be no division between the Old and the New Testaments. “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” It’s all there in the Bible for our consumption. Context is vital to understanding! Words themselves convey clarity of God’s Truth! And the overall purpose is for our spiritual growth in the knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ. What He intends for our benefit, He also intends for His glory. So, wake up! The best is yet to come!

We love and pray for you every, single 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,

2 Peter 3:3-4; 10-11, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation…’

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…?”

I don’t remember hearing much about the Coming of the LORD when I was a kid. I cannot remember ever hearing a sermon from the Book of Revelation. The pastors I remember were not really educated men. It was not their fault; they just didn’t know how to properly study God’s Word. And some things in the Bible are very difficult to discern!

Peter himself was not an educated man. Remember, he was only a fisherman. The only biblical education he had came from Jesus; yet Jesus Himself was the Master Teacher! But when pastors and teachers do not understand the

Bible, they avoid teaching things they do not understand, and the rest of us grow up not understanding, too. Peter is clear in saying that “mockers” (empaiktes, unbelievers, including false teachers) will say, Everything’s just like it has been for many and many a year. When, if ever, is He coming?

Peter knew that patience is required to catch fish; so also, patience is required with regard to the Coming of the LORD. And when He comes, you will KNOW IT!! His righteous judgment will fall upon the whole Earth and even the heavens above. Intense heat will consume the Earth and everything man has built for himself. We cannot stop what God has decreed He will do; but we can live holy and godly lives until He comes for us before He destroys all He has made! A man may build a house and, for some reason, choose to destroy it. But, a loving parent will not allow his children to be consumed in the flames. So it is with Jesus! His judgment is not for His children; it is for those who have mocked Him, His Word, and His provision for man’s salvation. Live righteously! He could come at any moment.

We pray earnestly every day for you,

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,

1 Peter 3:10-12, “Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile.

11 “And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.

12 “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.”

Whatever the situation, we’ve all heard someone say, “I just can’t do it!” But the truth is we can all do much more

than we think. The LORD has created us with a will; so, it’s not that we cannot do things, it’s that we don’t think we

can. Drinkers say they just cannot stop drinking. Gamblers say they are “hooked” and just cannot stop gambling.

Yet, the truth is they can! They just don’t want to quit.

Peter says if we love life and will to have good days, we have to stop using evil and salacious words and stop lying.

Ever wonder why your prayers are not answered? Take some thoughts about how you live and speak. We all have

a tendency toward evil. We inherited that from Adam, and the tendency to do wrong is still with us even after we

have trusted Christ Jesus as our Savior. But the Holy Spirit, who lives within us is greater than the powers of Satan,

who wants us to continue down that evil and godless pathway. We are not spiritual robots! We have a will; and it

is either for or against the will of the Spirit.

The LORD sees and hears everything we think or do. If we want peace in our lives, we have to pursue it –put it to flight! There’s an old saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” We can will

to stop thinking and doing those things we know are contrary to the LORD’s will. You will be amazed at how much

He will help when you show you mean business with Him!

We love you and pray for His will to be accomplished in all of us,

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.”