The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 135:13a, “Thy name, O LORD, is everlasting…”

Have you ever thought about your name? What does your name mean? Why were you named what you were? Google your name and see. Here’s what I

got: Gene, “a unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.”

A lot of people have tried to guess what the “L” stands for in my middle name. Whatever you may think, it is not “Lethargy.” Actually, it is “Loquacious.” Just kidding!

Tucked away in the midst of Psalm 135 is our tiny verse: “Thy name, O LORD, is eternal.” The word “LORD” is actually His name: Yahweh. It is without a beginning and without an end. His Name is what He is. He had no beginning, and He has no termination –ever! Try to wrap your head around that.

A name is often given as a remembrance of someone revered from the past. Genealogy studies often finds names like George Washington Hampton or Andrew Jackson Jones. Those who admire certain historical personalities often seek to “keep them alive” in the names of their children.

Children then are often expected to live up to the standard of the one whose name we have been given. “Your Uncle William wouldn’t have acted like that!” In such an instance, we are reminded of the nobility and kindness of “Uncle William”; and we are shamed by our actions that have disgraced His name. Oh, that we would reverence the name of our LORD the same way! Oh, that our intentions would be always fastened upon His matchless Life! Think about that. Do you and I truly “show forth to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:12)? I’m afraid I don’t. And when I don’t, I hear the Holy Spirit rebuke me for my failure. Do you hear His voice?

Our prayers include you every day. Please let yours include us.

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,

Luke 21:25-28, “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

27 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Yesterday, Sunday, the 26th of August 2018, 38,000 people raced out of War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas in a state of panic! As of this writing, authorities still have no idea what spooked the crowd. Someone may have thought they heard a gunshot. Whatever the cause, people rushed to leave. The highschool football game didn’t matter. Their safety of their lives were what mattered.

The tentions in our world today are at a breaking point. So many wild and evil people are loose with intent to kill anyone and everyone –as many as they can, wherever they are. It is as if the whole world had gone mad!

In our passage above, Luke, the physician, is describing the Coming of the LORD. It, too, will bring about panic –worldwide panic! Things in the heavens will be in disarray, as will things on the Earth. The nations’ peoples will be in worldwide panic! The streets will overflow with frightened people! No one will understand what is taking place or how to stop it. Emergency officials will be as frightened as those they seek to help. What’s going on? And what are we to do?

First, we are not to panic like the rest of the world. We’re to “straighten up and lift up (our) heads.” The LORD has promised He would return for His people; and we are His people – the ones who have repented of our sin and believed upon Him for our salvation. These frightening occurences are but the precursor of that time which is to come; namely, the Coming of the LORD for His people. Second, we are to warn others of that Day in which Christ will come, by sharing His Gospel with them, so that they might be saved and ready for His Coming.

I truly believe that we are living in the last days. Some are saying that we are living in “the last days of the last days.” Jesus said that no one knows the exact time of His Coming. Yet, with unmistakable truth, “I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:3). Just faithfully keep watch, and don’t panic. It’s all in His plan, and we who are His are included in that plan.

We faithfully pray for 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 109:1-4, “O God of my praise, Do not be silent!

2 For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me;

They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,

And fought against me without cause.

4 In return for my love they act as my accusers;

But I am in prayer.”

Were you ever in a situation where everyone seemed to be against you? Someone had started a rumor against you and was spreading it far and wide. What they were saying was patently false. It was not you who was wrong; it was those who were speaking against you.

How should you react? If you say nothing, you have no defence at all. If you speak up, the situation will only grow worse. Do you have an effective defence available to you? Yes, but

the natural, normal reaction is to overlook the greatest, most powerful and resourceful weapon there is: prayer.

When Sir Isaac Newton was hit from a fruit that fell from a tree, he said, “What’s happening?”

It was that simple inquiry that led to the discover of gravity. His two-word inquiry just might be the best question for us to ask when untrue things are being said about us. Prayer is that

inquiry. When we encounter trouble, we should first turn to God and ask, “What is this all about? Why is this happening to me?” The LORD is the Supreme Authority over everything. Nothing occurs that is outside of His control. Is He, therefore, to blame for what is happening to us? To know the full circumstances of something is not the same being the cause of those circumstances. And the LORD is never the cause of evil. He understands it, but He does not cause it. He could stop it, but He can also use it to help us.

First, the evil that is causing us concern is also turning us to seek Him for a resolution. Our focus is being changed from the problem to the Person who knows and understands. Second, laying the problem before the LORD is enlisting Him as our advocate. We’re no longer fighting alone. In fact, we’re no longer fighting at all; it is now in the LORD’s Hands.

There’s a lot of law that I don’t know. I have a friend who is an attorney, and when I need to understand what I do not know, I contact him. If my circumstances required a court appearance, my lawyer would be there to speak for me. He would know exactly what to say.

We have a Lawyer who stands with us. Trying to deal with circumstances we don’t understand is not smart. Try turning to your Lawyer, the LORD Jesus Christ. His contact number is Prayer 101! He’s waiting for your call.

We talk to Him daily on your behalf,

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 107:23-28, “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters;

24 They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep.

25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery.

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses.”

There is no such thing as an accident. Everything that occurs is traceable to the Hand

of the LORD. He is the Creator of all things and the Supreme Authority over all. We view

trouble as an act of nature; but nature has no mind or inherent will. The LORD set certain things in motion at the time of creation, and they continue in motion until He pleases to stop them.

The psalmist uses seafaring men to illustrate his truth. Those who do business by way of the seas have encountered some of life’s greatest tragedies. Who can control the winds that rage against the waters? Storms at sea frighten even the most courageous of men. Their boats rise and fall on the water as the winds increase. Such are the winds’ unexplained achievements – wonders that are so uncontrollable that men stumble and stagger as if they were drunk. They are “at their wits’ end”; they don’t know what to do. They are forced to admit that God alone is their only hope.

Few, if any of us, have ever been in circumstances so dire as the psalmist describes. But we have been in situations where we doubted we would survive. What do we do? Where do we turn for help? It is always to the LORD. Even the one who boasts that there is no god, cries out to God for help in such times. And it is He who brings us out of all of our distresses. Is not our cry to Him for help our acknowledgement of His Authority? Is that cry not an admission that there are no “accidents” in life? If the LORD controls all things, why dose He allow disaster to come upon us? Could it not be that He is forcing us to acknowledge His power and authority?

We would do well to acknowledge Him when there is no calamity surrounding us. Verse 30 reads, “Then they were glad because they (the seas) were quiet; So He guided them to their desired haven.” Meditate on all of this in your heart. Apply the principle of this to your own life. And remember: the LORD is always there for those who are His.

May the LORD bless you always is our prayer,

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 103:1-5, “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.”

Today’s news carried the following headline:

Disease transmitted by kissing bugs becomes more common…

My first thought was that kissing bugs was a new “thrill” in which teenagers are engaged.

Yuk! I found, however, that it pays to have read the entire piece before drawing that conclusion. Turns out that it is a serious piece warning us all about a bug that likes to bite humans on the face and transmits a deadly disease.

The psalmist’s headline is “Bless the LORD!” The word “bless” ) ???????barak( means “to kneel, to honor.” The word “soul” () ???????nephesh( means “life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion.” Then, as if he anticipates that we might still not understand, the psalmist adds, “And all that is within me.” That’s what the soul is—all that is within us.

We are to be fully and completely sold out to the LORD! If we are, we will not forget all the benefits we have from Him.

What are the major benefits we have from the LORD? First, and perhaps foremost, is His pardon of our sins. He erases, wipes out, all and every sin we have committed. Our sins are all against Him; and He has cleansed us of them. Second, He heals (repairs, purifies) us from all of our diseases and pains. Third, He redeems (buys back, rescues) our lives from the pit (destruction). Fourth, He crowns (bestows upon us) love, goodness, faithfulness –all far beyond what we might imagine. He renews (enriches) the years of our lives with His supreme goodness. Sound good? Well, it is!

To kiss someone is to honor them. In Psalm 2:12, the King James Version of the Bible says, “Kiss (honor) the Son, lest He be angry…” and concludes “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” The “kissing bug” is not our primary worry; not giving proper honor to Christ Jesus is.

We lovingly kiss you and Him by way of 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.”