The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 115:9-11, “O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.”

I made a hurried trip to the pharmacy this week for some needed medicine. I was checking

out when I reached for my wallet – it wasn’t there! I had already rung up my purchases, and

now I have no money to pay for them! It was a combination of embarrassment and fear.

What was I to do? I looked up and the bank inside the store was open. I said to the clerk,

“Hold these items for me and I’ll be right back.”

I know all the employees at the bank, since I bank there all the time. But, the girl who waited

on me was new. Would she trust me without any identification? She asked my Social Security

number and I fumbled it on to the keypad; and without any additional identification, she asked,

“How much money do you want?” Here was the element of trust; and it enabled me to continue

my payment to the store and be on my way.

The psalmist admonishes us to fear the LORD. The entire psalm contrasts the weakness of pagan idols with the strength of Almighty God. “Trust in the LORD…” is mentioned three times. And the

promise is that “He is their help and their shield.” Help signifies provision –needy provision. How

would we live without the provisions of the LORD? Shield signifies protection. We are not

sufficient to protect ourselves. We need the LORD’s protection! And the key to both is trust!

Do you trust the LORD? Do you really? The word trust is mentioned 164 times in Scripture. That

should be sufficient for us to believe the LORD and that He is adequate for all our needs. Ask Him

to erase all doubts from your mind and fill it with His all-sufficiency! There is no God like Jesus!

Let us as Christians pray for one another,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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,

John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you;

for I go to prepare a place for you.

3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself;

that where I am, there you may be also.”

Parents can be wonderful teachers. My mother taught me all of the nursery rhymes almost

before I could walk. It’s still unknown whether she or I got the most out of what she had taught

me. I delighted to talk (I know how hard that is to believe!) and did so before I walked. Mom, on

the other hand, delighted to parade me in front of people where we all shared in the “delight.”

I had a good childhood, but like all children, there were moments of dismay and trouble. When

trouble occurred, I was taught to “take it to Jesus in prayer,” which I did. I came to know Jesus

when I was seven years old. I learned from my parents, who learned it from the Bible, that Jesus

had an eternal home for all who believed upon Him. If it were not so, it wouldn’t be affirmed in the

Bible.

“Where is Jesus?” I used to ask. The answer was always the same: He is in Heaven building

mansions for everyone who believe in Him and will someday be there for ever. I later came to

learn tht there was much more to Jesus’ Coming again. My parents didn’t know much about

that because their pastors didn’t know much about it. So, it was only preached that Jesus is God,

and that He would return some day.

As strange at it may seem for you to hear it, the truth is that I grew up knowing less about His

Coming than my parents. It was when I entered college and met the girl to whom I am now

married, that I learned about the Rapture and the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast. How did

she know so much? She knew it because her pastor preached it. And believe me, he KNEW it!

Later, he became my pastor, too, and we had long talks about the Bible and the Second Coming

of Jesus Christ.

Why do preachers today neglect preaching about Christ’s Second Coming? Some neglect it because their pastors did not give that doctrine its rightful emphasis. Some pastors are lazy and

just want to repeat other men’s sermons. Some pastors are liberal and want to allagorize the historical truths of the Word. But, mark my word: JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! And everyone is

not going to be greeted with gladness. It will be too late then for them to “get on board” with Jesus.

His Coming is for His own, those who believed upon Him and were watching for His Return. In

what category are you? Do you know Him? Have you repented of your sins and trusted Him as

your LORD and Savior? If not, please do it today! “Now is the accepted time. Today is the day

of salvation!”

We pray for you and for those who are lost.

Help us to reach them with the Gospel of Christ,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

P. S. Rose Marie’s angiogram has been postponed until next Thursday.

Monday, she has another radio-nuclear test –this time, tapping

the red cells to see where the blood-leak is. We’re praying about

all of this, but especially about the angiogram. Hopefully, the

surgeon will be able to insert a stent and free up the blood that

serves the colon area. Please pray with us!

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,

Numbers 32:20-23, “So Moses said to them, ‘If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for the war, 21 and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven His enemies out from before Him, 22 and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the LORD and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours for a possession before the LORD. 23 “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.’”

The news has overflowed this week concerning high-ranking officials who have engaged in unlawful tactics to get their college-aged children into some of America’s most prestigious universities. My purpose is not to negotiate their guilt (or innocence) on this page, but to emphasize that sinful acts, even acts that might have escaped the fine points of the law, will ultimately come back to haunt them.

Hermeneutics is the science of biblical interpretation. One of the principles of that science is that interpreters must look at the context – the overall aspect – in which a word or phrase appears. In other words, we are not free to just pick a verse and apply it willy-nilly to anything that suits our fancy. We must ask, “What did the word or verse mean when it was originally used in Scripture?”

At the same time, strangely enough, there are those verses that apply universally to almost every

aspect of life, irrespective of the verse’s biblical context. One of those emphases lies in the verse above: “…be sure your sin will find you out.” It’s another way of saying, “You can’t do wrong and get by.” Somewhere, someday, our acts of fraud or evil-intention will come to the attention of some-one, and we will pay the penalty. “Oh,” but you say, “a lot of people get away with wrongdoing. Maybe I can, too” Someday you and they will stand before Almighty God and will be forced to account for all sin. There is no “getting by!”

People called into court to accout for wrong-doing, spend serious time preparing their case. They seek the finest legal advice money can buy. Doesn’t it make even more sense that we, too, prepare, seeing that we will be called to answer to the King of Kings, the LORD God Almighty? There is no Advocate like the LORD Jesus Christ. If we know Him in the free-pardon of our sins, His counsel will be adequate to present to His Father, the Supreme LORD of Lords. Get on God’s side! Let Him clean up your act! If you don’t, “be sure your sin will find you out.”

We pray for you daily, and sometimes more often,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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,

Numbers 32:10-14, “So the LORD’s anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying,

11 ‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully,

12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the LORD fully.’

13 “So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed.

14 “Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.”

Did you ever offer something to someone only to have it rejected? How did you feel? I once came into possessin of book that I thought my pastor at that time would appreciate. I waited until after the evening service and made my way to him and politely said, “I came across something I think you will like, and I want to give it t you.” He looked at the book title and rather bruskly replied, “I already have it.” I was not angry, but his refusal was certainly a rebuke to me. Could he not have said, “Thank you. I appreciate your thinking of me” and politely accepted the book?

Back in Genesis 13, the LORD showed Abram the land we now know as Israel. “I will give it to you and to your descendants forever,” the LORD said. But when the time came for Israel to possess the land, they balked. This angered the LORD, and He said, “None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully…” So, He made them wander around in the wilderness until all of them who were disobedient died.

Remember what I wrote about children following in the footsteps of their parents? You don’t? Well, you and I learn what to do and what not to do by watching our parents. Moses himself said it: “Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men…” You’re just like your dads!

The LORD was angry because they rejected what He promised them. They refused to take possession of the land.

How does this apply to us? Well, what has the LORD given to us? Salvation and blessings of life, He has given, but we have turned against Him and pushed back His well-intentioned gifts. Shame on us!! We ought to be praising the LORD every day. He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. He raised Jesus from the dead, and gave us His Holy Spirit to instruct us from the Word. What “land” does He want us to possess? Why, the souls of those who rebel against Him. Are we

praying for the lost? Are we talking to the lost? Are we rejecting participation in the evil, sinful things of this world? We are not if we love Him. Take inventory of your life. Let it count for Christ!

We are praying for you,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

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 71:1-5, “In Thee, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed.

2 In Thy righteousness deliver me, and rescue me; Incline Thine ear to me, and save me.

3 Be Thou to me a rock of habitation, to which I may continually come; Thou hast given commandment to save me, For Thou art my rock and my fortress.

4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,

5 For Thou art my hope; O Lord God, Thou art my confidence from my youth.”

Kids have no difficulty speaking their minds. Have you noticed? Oh, they may be shy when it comes to things they do not know or clearly understand; however, when they know something with certainty, they freely and openly speak their minds.

In the first three verses above, the psalmist calls the LORD as his refuge, his rescuer, his savior. He calls the LORD his “rock of habitation” and his “fortress.” In verse four, the psalmist cries out for help. He wants security from “the hand of the wicked.” In verse five, he acknowledges the LORD as

his hope, and tells us that the LORD is and has been his “confidence from (his) youth.”

From where did that confidence come? It came from his youth, from his naur, his early life. We all obtain our beliefs and our manner of living from our parents. I only knew one of my grandfathers. My paternal grandfather died in the same year I was born. My maternal grandfather was a teacher, a coach, and a preacher. I went to all of the games he coached, and I saw and admired his demeanor in all he did. But, my parents were my greatest influence. They led me to faith in Christ, and the factors of their lives and habits became mine almost by osmosis.

All that is to say that the pattern of our lives are based upon what we see of our parents’ lives. Had the psalmist had parents whose lives were centered on themselves or on material possessions, he could never have said that the LORD had been his “confidence from (his) youth.” Of course, people can change. Adults can come to know Christ as their LORD and Savior, too. Salvation is not exclusively reserved for children. But our steps, spiritually and morally, are anchored in the lives of our parents.

If you are a parent, model Jesus Christ to your children. If you are a youth, and your parents are not committed believers in Jesus, model your life on the finest Christian adults you know! Just don’t get left out of the joy of “confidence” in the LORD. Ultimately, He is your only Hope!

Lovingly praying for you each day,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

P. S. Do to an exceedingly high “white count” in her blood, the procedure scheduled for tomorrow has been

postponed until Wednesday, March 20. Prayers are never “wasted.” The LORD knows our hearts when

we pray, and time is not an element of the LORD’s concern. We rejoice that she has never been in pain.

It is only that she is exceedingly weak. Our prayer is that this procedure will bring an end to her

weakness. God bless you for praying for us!

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.”