The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’

23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

To those who follow the ranglings of politics, the “big news” today is that President Trump

had no affiliation (collusion) with the Russians that affected the outcome of the last Presidential election.

I believe that most Americans were confident of that before this $25million investigation. Those who have made big noise about the “information” they possessed – information that would have “done in” the President – are now scrambling to gather their scattered pages that have blown away in the wind.

All of that prompted the thought of the Great Announcement that will one day come from the LORD. He will announce who has truly come to Him by faith and who has relied on

personal “goodness.”

Many will say, “Lord, look at all I have done! I have been on the right side, the good side, all the time. I’ve proclaimed some great things in Your Name! I’ve helped the poor more than once, and even given to a missionary or two –NO, I think three missionaries! I’ve given blood; I’ve honored those who served in our military; and I shook hands with Franklin Graham! Oh, Lord, I’ve served You in so many ways….”

Yet, His reply will be “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

There are many people –good moral people—who mistaken their works for personal commitment. To be a Christian is more than believing that Jesus is God; you must be committed to Him and engage in the work He assigns you to do.

When a young person enlists in the military, he is assigned numerous tasks. He’s not just for the military; he’s committed to it! Not everyone who is committed to Jesus Christ is called to be a pastor or Bible teacher. Not every soldier is selected to train as a sniper! We all do without resistence what the LORD tells us to do. Are you enlisted in the LORD’s work? Have you met Him? Are you growing by reading His Instruction Manual (the Bible) daily? Do you spend time talking (and listening!) to Him in prayer?

A day of reckoning is coming! Make preparations now!

We love and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

P. S. We so appreciate your prayers for Rose Marie! She is gaining more strength each day.

And despite her weakness, she prays more than anyone I know! She sends her love.

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,

Pslam 103:1-6, “Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;

3 Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases;

4 Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6 The LORD performs righteous deeds, And judgments for all who are oppressed.”

There are a few times in our lives that are simply special. The LORD has performed His

work –work for which we have prayed and prayed! Yet, the joy of our hearts are so filled

with exuberant praise that we find ourselves overjoyed and it is as if everything within us

is crying out: “Bless the LORD, O my soul!”

Yet, with that exuberance of praise comes the warning: “And forget none of His benefits.”

Oh, how utterly human we are. We remember His work one minute and forget the next.

He pardons our wrongs, our sins, our iniquities. He heals all our diseases and pains.

He redeems (buys back) our lives from the pit of destruction, and crowns us –bestows on

us – an abundance of His lovingkindness and compassion. He makes us satisfied with all the years He has allowed us, as well as with the abundance of blessing that crowns those years. He renews us physically with strength, just as He does the eagle, who soars through the heavens.

Above all, “the LORD performs righteous deeds” before our very eyes, and we ask our-

selves, What has He done? Yes, He has done more, much more than we have asked or ever dreamed. Such are His judgments! They are what He knows to be best. When we

are oppressed, crushed and defrauded, He restores life within us –life that arises to praise

Him for His might and wonderful works!

Oh may we join together over the span of this globe to sing praises to His Name! There is

another, even Greater Day that is coming soon! And we will see Him face-to-face!

Heartily and lovingly in Christ we thank you for your prayers,

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 96:9, “Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the Earth.”

Some years ago a young man, who was dating the daughter of a high governmental official, appeared at the White House for a formal evening attired in a white turtleneck

sweater. As you would expect, the media buzzed with horrified fury. His dress was

totally inappropriate for a meeting in the presence of the President.

Several years ago, I attended the wedding of a friend, and to my horror, one of the

bridesmaid’s attendants walked the aisle with his entire shirttail hanging outside his

trousers!

Athletic coaches, TV announcers and color commentators, often wear shirts and ties,

while engaging in their required positions. Yet, in many churches, pastors adorn themselves in sport shirts and bluejeans while offering the sacred words of Scripture

to their audiences. What has eroded the culture that once adorned our nation? Would

you go to meet an important, world-renouned individual inappropriately attired? I hope

not! Would you enter a pulpit or address an audience from the stage draped in casual,

raggity clothing? I sure hope not!

Certainly, there are people who don’t have the financial means to dress as well as some

others. But, each of us should dress cleanly and as well as we are able when we enter

the LORD’s House to worship Him. Yes, there was specified dress for priests in the Old

Testament. And we are not required to dress as they. But, reverence of the Holy surely demands that we do the best we can. Jesus Christ alone is the object of our worship. The Word of the LORD –the Holy Scriptures—should demand of us a cleanness of heart and body.

Ten times the word “attire” is used in Scripture. It’s a small, but vital, first step toward

restoring the culture that has been handed down to us by those who led us to Christ.

“Tremble before (the LORD) all the Earth!”

Prayerfully and lovinging yours,

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,

Matthew 21:22, “’And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.’”

It would probably not go down well in today academic world, but I clearly recall a girl in my

Pitt State College class ask the professor, “Does prayer really work?” Being a non-Christian

school, the teachers were equally non-Christian, yet the professor quite lamely sought to

answer the question. I don’t recall the answer, but I clearly recall the question.

My family and I recently faced a serious situation when Rose Marie began to physically deteriorate. Her hemogloglin had been wobbly for some time, and blood transfusions were normal inside of

every two weeks. Sophisticated tests (to us, at least) were administered in the effort to determine

why and where she was losing blood.

A recent test prompted a visit to a vascular surgeon in the hope that he might remedy the lack of blood supply to vital areas of her body. He had seen her recent C-T scan and was updated on the problems she faced. He was pleasant, but spoke clearly that whether his work would be successful was problematic. “The arteries are calcified, stemming the flow of blood to her vital organs,” he said.

“I will perform an angiogram and see; if it’s possible, I will try to baloon the artery and insert a stent. If I cannot get past the calcification, I will simply back out of the procedure.”

It did not look promising. We told him we believed in prayer and had been praying for a resolution to this devastating situation. He is a Christian and said he prayed, too –every morning! We agreed to the angiogram and we earnestly prayed and sought the prayers of scores of persons we knew.

Some of you reading this were on our list of Prayer Warriors. Some who received our requests (there were many) were members of prayer groups themselves, giving us triple, quadruple the

number of people praying.

Rob, Teri and I visited Rose Marie prior to the procedure. She was in excellent spirits! She asked for prayer. I took her hand and Teri’s. Rob and John, another surgeon who assisted, held Rose’s other hand. The nurse who was behind me, took Rose’s hand from me and moved herself into the

prayer circle. We prayed in faith and she was moved into the caph lab for the procedure.

Today in the forenoon hours, Dr. Russell Wood undertook the procedure on weakened Rose Marie. The procedure was scheduled for about 45 minutes. If the stents worked, the time would be longer.

The procedure moved beyond the 45 minute frame to an hour, two hours, and more. Then the door

opened and Dr. Russell Wood emerged.

Not only had he been successful in ballooning the clogged arteries, he had inserted three (3) stents! Two of the arteries were 90 percent closed, and one was 70% closed. The Bible tells us that “…the life of the flesh is in the blood…” (Lev. 17:11).

With her blood now freely flowing, Rose Marie is visibly improved. She was awake throughout the procedure and watched it on the monitor. She is being overnighted in hospital before returning home tomorrow. She looks great! She is breathing well. And we Thank & Praise the LORD for answering all of our prayers!

“Yes, dear college girl, prayer really works –when we know and believe in Jesus!”

May the LORD bless you abundantly for your service to Him and to all our family!

Thankfully in Christ,

The Jeffries

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 19:28-30, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.”

29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it up to His mouth.

30 When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, ?????????? “It is finished!” And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.”

How many times we have completed an assignment and added, “It’s finished!” Breathing deeply, we have also added that we trust never to have such a strenuous task again. The strain is lessened, however, when someone sees our completed task and says, “That is a really good job!” A few more

acolades like that and we’re ready to face a task again.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, a sacrifice was needed to satisfy God the Father. The LORD prepared the sacrifice for them, but it was only temporary. Their children and

grandchildren –all their posterity—needed a Supreme Sacrifice to apease and satisfy the LORD.

Once again, the Father prepared a sacrifice –the Perfect Sacrifice, His unique and only one-of-kind

Sacrifice –His only Son, Jesus. The Prophet Isaiah gave what is perhaps the most enlightening

Word on that Sacrifice (Isa. 53:1ff). And that Word was fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ.

When Jesus went to the Cross, He was fully aware of what was coming. Nothing occurred of which He was unaware. The sour wine that the Roman soldiers drank was nearby and they offered Him a

drink. Remember that Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine. Now, as His Life has fulfilled its purpose, the rejecting world reverses the situation and offers Him sour wine. Arguments differ as to whether Jesus actually drank the sour wine. This text would suggest that He did.

In any event, Jesus’ last word from the cross was tetelestai, meaning “It is completed, finished.” All that the Father had intended for His Son to accomplish, was then accomplished, as His cry tells us.

Yet, as momentous a fete as Christ’s death for our salvation is, we must ask, “Is it finished?” His plan for our salvation was finished. Yet, our faith, belief, and acceptance of Him was just the beginning for us. Our tetelestai has yet to be decalred. There is much work left for us to do. We are His children and we have the pleasurable responsibility to share Him with others. Are you doing that? One day we will face Jesus in person. What we want more than anything is for Him to say,

“Well done, you good and faithful servant. Enter into the joys of the LORD” (Luke 19:17).

Our love and prayers are with you all as you labor for the Master,

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 that we need

until He becomes all that we have.”