The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 60:1-2, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

2 “For behold, darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise

upon you, And His glory will appear upon you.”

Sleep means different things to different people. Hard work almost always calls for a sound sleep.

Sometimes, difficult and disturbing events – sheer mental exhaustion, things with which people

don’t want to deal—drives them to engage in sleep. For those surrounded by troubles for which

there is no foreseeable way out, they may go so far as to seek death, rather than to face them.

Isaiah foresees something better –much better! The entire passage is prophetic; still, it has a residual

meaning to each of us who knows the LORD. Don’t despair! Don’t get down in the dumps over

anything! Light –the LORD’s Light—is encompassing you! The LORD Himself is Light. And when

we recognize Him as our redeemer, there is not reason to wallow in despair, as in sleep.

To be sure, darkness falls upon us individually, just as it does upon the whole world. (Have you

read the News lately?) The darkness that pervades the Earth calls for sleep. Burying our heads

beneath our pillows, however, is no answer. “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in

trouble’ (Ps. 46:1 NAS). So, don’t allow darkness of any sort to deepen and deposit its gloom on you!

The Glory of the LORD awaits you this very day!

We love and pray for each of 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,

Ecclesiastes 11:7-10, “The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 8 Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

10 So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.”

Have you ever had a dream, a truly bad dream where everything was going wrong? I remember dreaming that I was

scheduled to preach at a church, but had forgotten to bring my Bible. In addition, I had forgotten to take any clothes,

except the casual and tacky things I had on for traveling. WOW! Was I glad when that was over and I saw the reality

of daylight!

Solomon encourages us to rejoice in the days we have, but also not to forget the many days of sadness and guilt, but

to note that everything that is to come is perishable and amounts to nothing. He is saying that some things matter

and some things don’t. And most of what we think is important is not important at all. Yes, there are pleasant days

throughout the years of our lives. As we grow through childhood into adulthood, we develop impulses and desires

and we give in to those things. Just don’t forget, Solomon says, that there is a price to pay for engaging in worldly

and fleshly practices. Everything has its consequence. God will bring us to judgment for all the ungodly things we

do. So, turn aside, cease and avoid fleshly desires and wicked impulses because you don’t have much time! Your

days of life are less than you think.

The intention of these verses and their instruction is not to scare you of death. It is to encourage you to be realistic.

No one knows how much (or how little) time he has left on Earth. A friend of mine opened the front door of his

house because someone rang the doorbell. A man he had never seen charged through the doorway, attacking him

and nearly beat him to death. His skull was smashed into his brain. By God’s grace he lives, but he will never be

the same. Measure each day carefully, and trust always in the LORD.

We pray for you earnestly 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,

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.

2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.

3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.

4 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.”

What wisdom is contained in these (and the following) verses! None of us will live forever, so

benefit others the best you can while you both are living. Sometimes you may give to some who

are undeserving. But it’s better to give help anyway. “What goes around comes around.” You may

one day be in need, and the LORD will send someone to help you. Just always have a good

disposition while you’re living. “Death refines nothing, purifies nothing, kills no sin, helps to no glory.

Let thy continual bent and inclination be to God, to holiness, to charity, to mercy, and to heaven:

then, fall when thou mayest, thou wilt fall well” (Clarke).

The time you have to do good is today. If you wait for a “right time,” you will never find it. And

while you’re waiting for that “right time,” those who are in need are not being helped. The LORD

has allowed some people to be in need, so that you can help. Of course, you don’t know who

they are, but He knows. He has also allowed you to have what you have, so that you can give

help to those who don’t have. Just be ready to show mercy to those you find in need. After all,

has not our LORD shown mercy to us in giving Himself to erase our spiritual poverty?

Praying for you daily is just part of our help,

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,

Ecclesiastes 10:2, “A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.”

Some months ago, I read this verse quoted by a conservative political advocate. It was a cute usage

of Scripture, and no doubt contains some wisdom. But the verse’s intention surely goes further than

that. One commentator says, “…right and left have for centuries been used as referring to good and

bad. In fact, we still use the expression, ‘my right-hand man.’ The heart of the wise always goes in the

right direction.”

Clarke says, “The right hand and the left are used in Scripture to express good and evil. The wise man

is always employed in doing good; the fool, in nonsense or evil.”

Wisdom and foolishness are a heart problem. It isn’t a lack of education; the real problem is a bad

disposition or attitude. As someone noted, “…thoughts determine actions, actions determine habits,

habits determine character, and character determines destiny.” All of that is simply to say: guard your heart. Always to make sure that you are being honest (Proverbs 23:7) and open to the truth (2 Thes. 2:10-12).

Every day we are given choices regarding what we will think about and what we will consider to be of value.

The wise person chooses to set his mind on spiritual realities (Philippians 4:8). The fool allows himself to dwell on the less valuable, the less good, and finally that which is positively evil. This verse also makes it clear that wisdom and foolishness go in opposite directions. The fool will never end up backing his way into what is good and right. Without a serious change of heart, the fool will always be a fool.

Be wise. Examine your opportunities and approach them in the leadership of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will always lead you in right ways.

May our prayers of love always avail for 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,

Proverbs 27:1, “Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Twenty-nine excited athletes and their coach were traveling a mere 164 miles to play in a

championship game. I can only imagine what they were saying to one another:

“We’re going to smash ‘em!”

“We’re going to be the champs!”

“I can’t wait to get on that ice!”

“We’ll show ‘em how the game is played!”

I’ve traveled on school buses with athletes. There is every expectation of success and glory.

There’s boasting and bragging about their own abilities. Victory is in the bag!

But on this trip, 15 will soon be dead and 14 will be injured. The game will not be played.

There will be no victory, only anguish and fear and death and mourning.

I wonder: How many left home, having prayed with parents? or how many were praying for

success in their venture? How many even had the slightest thought that this would be their

last day on Earth?

I’m not seeking to inject morbidity into this letter, much less into your life. But, things like

what happened to these young Canadians do occur! No athletic team would think of

contending with another team if they had not prepared. The exercised, they skated, they

practiced shots on the ice. Moreover, they had a game plan. But, were they prepared

for the eternity they were about to enter? Hopefully, they were. We may never know.

What we can and do know, however, is that eternity in Heaven awaits the arrival of all

who know the LORD Jesus Christ and have embraced Him in true, spiritual faith. We do

not save ourselves by what we do, but we rely and trust solely in Him and what He did

for us on the Cross. His victory there was substantiated by His Resurrection from death!

May each of us so live for Him daily that even the tragedies of life cannot smother our

assurance of His love and protection. And may our example before others show the

victory we anticipate because of Him!

Our love and prayers for you are offered 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.”