The Grands Letter

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.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 24:1-5, “The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the rivers.

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

“Wash your hands and get ready for supper!” I can hear my mother’s voice forcefully and authoritatively

directing my activity. No one ate at her table with unwashed hands. It was a house rule and it came to mind when I read this psalm.

The LORD, who created and founded the Earth is the Supreme Authority over all. The universe functions as He orders it. He is worthy of honor and glory! He is worthy of worship! And yet, not all are prepared to do honor and praise to Him. Their hands are not clean. Their hearts are not pure. They are guilty of lies and deceit. False prophets abound and their disreputable teachings fill the land! They make pretense of being ministers of the Gospel, yet in their “secret” lives they deny the very truths they profess to believe and dispense.

Yet, all is not lost. His Supper awaits our clean hands and hearts. Turn away from those who would control you with their smooth and clever words. His Supper is for His people, His children by the new birth. It is His voice that calls us to purity; and it is for a good purpose. Our worship of the LORD demands purity of both our hands and our hearts. There is no supper like what He has prepared! It is delicious beyond imagination!

And all that is required is membership in His born-again family – and, oh, some clean hands and a pure heart.

Your are always and ever in our thoughts and prayers,

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 23:1-6, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

It has been said that the most familiar verse in the Bible to all people is John 3:16. It might also be said that the most

familiar Old Testament passage is Psalm 23. Yet, familiarity does not mean full recognition. It is necessary that we

carefully analyze even those passages with which we think we are familiar.

1.“The LORD is my shepherd” speaks of our relationship with God. Meditate upon that for a moment. We often speak

highly of famous people we know; but nothing can supersede our relationship with God.

2.“I shall not want” is the assurance of God’s provisions for our every need. So often He has met needs we had and were not-at-all sure how we were going to make it.

3.“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads beside quiet waters” speak of His restoration of calmness for our bodies. We often found peace at the shore of the ocean, just enjoying the fresh breezes that reached the shore.

4.“He restores my soul” is the inner calmness He restores to our hearts and minds. His Word renewed our faithfulness in His ability to help us, and this calmed us fully and readied us for continuation in His work.

5.“He guides me in the paths of righteousness” is His redirection of our lives. So many times we were unsure of which way to turn, but He always led us in right paths. Notice, too, that it is “for His name sake.”

6.Verse 4 speaks of the reliability of His protection, even to the point of death. Flying into strange countries without knowning anyone and being subject to potential problems, made us rely entirely on the LORD. He never failed us.

7.The preparation of a “table for us in the presence of our enemies” and the anointing of our heads with oil indicates His recognition of us as belonging to Him. Such applause from the LORD far exceeds even the president’s mention of our name or his notation of something helpful we’ve done.

8.Verse 8 is the overall resolution that His faithful righteousness will accompany us throughout all of life, as we remain

ever faithful to Him. How could we ever fail to be faithful to Him?

May the LORD bless you for your faithfulness, as we 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,

Galatians 3:22-26, “…the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.

25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Have you ever been in a situation where there seemed no way out? It may have been an illness or something you had said that gotten you in trouble. Well, we are all in the worst possible trouble imaginable! No, it’s not political trouble; it’s not even physical trouble. We are in trouble with God! When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, our trouble began. We interited a sinful, anti-god nature from Adam and Eve. You might call it a “spiritual DNA.” That’s why it’s not hard for us to do wrong, but exceedingly hard for us to do right.

When we’re in trouble with human bosses, we often try to bargain our way out. We offer to do something to make up for the wrong we’ve done. And sometimes, it works with human bosses. But it doesn’t work with God! There is absolutely nothing we can do to work our way out of trouble with God. That doesn’t mean there is not way out, it just means we don’t know the way out until He gives us the key that sets us free. That key to our freedom is “faith in Jesus Christ.” When we’re sick, we

trust doctors to do what is necessary to get us well. When we’re in trouble at home or at work, we do what is required to straighten things out wih the boss. And when we’re in trouble with God because of sin, we have to trust Him. He is our only hope.

Paul calls the Law a “tutor” (paidagogos), a servant that accompanied a child from home to school and back and kept him out of trouble on the way. The Law God gave to Moses was the “tutor” that kept people out of trouble with God until He sent His Son Jesus. Jesus replaced the Law, so that “we are no longer under a ‘tutor.’” The way out of trouble with God is to believe upon Jesus, who died and arose again from the dead. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way. We cannot do anything to work our way out of trouble with God other than to believe upon Jesus. He works like a lawyer, telling His Father that we have trusted Him and our sins are forgiven. God the Father then forgives us of our sin. Only then are we truly free.

Are you free in God’s sight? If so, have you told a friend how he or she can be free? Paul told us; now it’s for us to tell others.

You are in our daily prayers,

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.”