The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 33:13-22, “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men;

14 From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth,

15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.

16 The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,

19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name.

22 Let Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us, According as we have hoped in Thee.

Have you ever thought about how dependent we are on others? The computer doesn’t function;

the TV won’t come on; the garage door won’t open, but it doesn’t matter because the car won’t

start. The water is shut off somewhere. Now, the electricity is off. The cellphone need recharging!

I’m sick and I can’t get to the doctor! I NEED HELP!

The psalmist has previously spoken of praise to the LORD (vv. 1-5), and the LORD’s power

(vv. 6-12). In these last verses, he speaks of the LORD’s preservation of us in all circumstances.

There is nothing that troubles us that He does not see. He understands our frustrations with

things that don’t work as we expect them to work. Doesn’t He know what’s happening to me?

you ask. Yes, His eye sees everything, and He is able and willing to deliver us. But, He is

waiting for us to trust Him and His timing of the situations we face. We are dependent upon

His preservation against all our troubles. We are the focus of His love. Is He the focus of ours?

We are prayerfully focused on you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 33:6-12, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His

mouth all their host.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.”

By human definition, science is “systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.” According to the psalmist, creation is beyond human definition, for no man ever observed the LORD at work establishing His universe. “He spoke! And it was done!” The miracle of the massive universe, with planets in their orbits, and galaxies of stars in the regions beyond –all are the work of the LORD. There was no Big Bang. There was only a Big Word! How can we not fearfully reverence and worship Him?

Nations counsel together, but the LORD frustrates their counsel and plans. This is His world, His creation, His people –even those who deny Him and forsake the instruction of His Word. They are fools! The live by their own standards, yet they are judged by His. “The counsel fo the LORD stands forever.”

“Blessed –happy and joyous—is the nation whose God is the LORD.” Nations are comprised of people. When “we the people” embrace Him and His Word, His Son, and endeavor faithfully to adhere to Him, we become a nation blessed in His righteousness. May we ever be faithful to Him, who has chosen us “for His own inheritance.”

Prayerfully for you always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 33:1-5, “Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright.

2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the LORD is upright; And all His work is done in faithfulness.

5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.”

Have you ever wondered who invented praise? Something good was done and someone who

noticed liked it so much that he spoke kindly or jumped joyously or shouted melodiously in favor

of it and praise was born. The psalmist identifies the One who accomplished the good deeds as

the LORD and encouraged all mankind to praise and give thanks to Him.

As far back as Genesis, the Bible mentions Jubal as “the father of all those who play the lyre

and pipe” (4:21). Now, David encourages those who play and sing to praise the LORD with the

musical skills He has given them. “Play skillfully,” he says. Be well practiced, so as to play without

errors. And let the playing and singing be “unto the LORD,” and not for the praise of the hearers.

Professional musicians have to do well in performance or their audiences witll shrivel to only a

few. Those who sing and play for the LORD’s glory should do no less; in fact, they should do

more! And those of us who hear and appreciate the skill of their performance should praise the

LORD, not the performer. An acceptable word might be, “Surely the LORD was honored in

what you played (or sang) this morning. God bless you for it.”

David’s concluding words in verse five are “The Earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.”

That is as it ought to be. Yet, what is called “music” that fills the airwaves today is hardly geared

to the LORD’s praise. At every turn, Satan is seeking to drown out man’s praise to God. Let us

be conscious of the LORD’s provisions for us and focus our praise in song to Him alone!

Our prayers for you are focused on the LORD,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 32:1-5, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!

2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

5 I acknowledged my sin to Thee, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.”

Did you ever do something wrong and try to conceal it? Perhaps you even tried to conceal if from yourself. You thought,

“If I just forget it, it will go away.” But it didn’t. It began to worry you more and grind on your conscience. It simply would not go away. Day and night the thoughts of the sin weighed heavily on you. In the beginning, what you did seemed so enjoyable. But once it was completed, it was like eating sand and drinking mud.

David had a problem with just such a thing (re-read verses 3 & 4). What did he do to rid himself of this misery? He

acknowledge his to the LORD. He hid nothing. He held nothing back. He confessed everything and begged the LORD’s forgiveness. And what did the LORD do? What was His response? He forgave David’s sin. And David was again able to rejoice in the LORD, as stated in verses 1 & 2.

We’ve all done things for which we are ashamed. All sin is against the LORD, even that which we commit against someone else – it’’s first and foremost against Him! And He alone can forgive us. Satan’s like to remind us of “how sweet” sin is; but it’s “sweet” only for an instant, and then comes the “groaning” and the heavy hand of the LORD upon our conscience. Satan lies! The LORD forgives! Ask Him to scrub the thoughts of our sin out of our minds. He will; and when He does, the rejoicing David expresses becomes ours. Praise the LORD!

We love you each and every one and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 27:1-3, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?

2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and

my enemies, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though a host encamp against me,

My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be

confident.”

Were you ever afraid? I mean, really afraid for your life? Most fears seem

small when we look back upon them, but at the time they occur, they seem

overshelming! Think back on the worst fear of your life. What did you do?

Fear is extremely difficult to overcome. At the time, it seems to overtake

everything. Yet, there a confidence that can overcome fear. It is confidence

in the LORD.

This is a psalm of David. If you follow his life the the Bible, you will learn of

the many fears he encountered. He was hunted like an animal by King Saul.

Often he was oppossed by men who were supposed to be on his side. His

life was far from easy.

What do you do when things turn against you? Probably, you seek out

someone you consider a friend, and share your trouble with them. David

discovered that the LORD alone was his greatest friend. “The LORD,” he

said, “is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” These were not

just idle words intended to bolster his confidence. The LORD was his

confidence! And He is yours and mine, as well. Nothing we encounter is

greater than the LORD. We are tempted to believe in “luck” or in the

wisdom of others; but the LORD alone is our strength. Learn to say with

David, “I shall be confident” in the LORD!

We love you and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”