The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 1:1-4. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.

4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

It’s fun to see things made. There’s a television program (How Things Are Made) that shows the process whereby multiple things are finally brought to market. What’s different from the TV program and the verses above is that man

has to have some substance with which to start. God started with nothing! The word created is the Hebrew word

) ??????bara( , which means “create or ‘bring into being’ out of nothing.” It contradicts the Sound of Music song that says “Nothing comes from nothing; nothing ever could.”

Then there is the word “light” ???? (or). Whatever could we do without light? Light is so valuable to even the production of food and air that we could not exist without it. Yet, darkness, ) ??????choshek( too, is valuable in that it offers us a time for rest. The LORD God then named light day ) ????yom(, and darkness night ????? (layil). He separated () ??????badal(

them and called them both “one day.” How Things Are Made could never match a fete like that!

Now, taking all of this into account, tell me something God cannot do! So, when you are up against the wall and just see no way out, remember what the Bible says about how God created all things –created them out of nothing! “Then, why does He not cure all the sick, stop all of the wars, and turn this world back into what He originally made it –a quiet, peaceful place?,” you ask. Can you believe that He has a plan to do just that? His plan has a time schedule that is known only to Him. The Apostle Paul speaks of “the fulness of the time” (Gal.4:4). God has a specific time for everything. We do not know His timing, and we could not control it if we did. We are only to live as He desires. And when the time is right, He will make all things known to us. It’s called patience.

We love and pray for you all,

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,

2 Peter 3:13-18, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,

18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

Another school shooting has left a small community in Texas in fear and mourning. Such trouble, however, is not new. Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, evil and devastation has beclouded the world. History of every nation overflows with trouble. Are we to hover in fear? Certainly not! We are looking for “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” So, be at peace. Just be clean spiritually and morally. But when will all of these troubles end? They will end when the LORD wills, when they have run the course He has set for them.

Peter then reminds his readers (us, as it were) of the letters written by Paul. Remember that Peter was a practical and uneducated fisherman; Paul was an intellectual, a university graduate, and his letters contained “some things hard to understand.” If you’ve read Paul’s writings, you know some of those difficulties of which Peter is speaking. Moreover, there are in our day, as there were in Peter’s day, some biblically unstable and unprincipled preachers, who twist (strebloo) Scripture to mean what they want it to mean. So, be on guard against them! They’re clever, and they will cause you to misunderstand the Bible and become spiritually unstable.

Did you notice the phrase “as they do also the rest of the Scriptures”? Peter equates Paul’s writings as Scripture!

There can be no division between the Old and the New Testaments. “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” It’s all there in the Bible for our consumption. Context is vital to understanding! Words themselves convey clarity of God’s Truth! And the overall purpose is for our spiritual growth in the knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ. What He intends for our benefit, He also intends for His glory. So, wake up! The best is yet to come!

We love and pray for 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,

2 Peter 3:3-4; 10-11, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation…’

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…?”

I don’t remember hearing much about the Coming of the LORD when I was a kid. I cannot remember ever hearing a sermon from the Book of Revelation. The pastors I remember were not really educated men. It was not their fault; they just didn’t know how to properly study God’s Word. And some things in the Bible are very difficult to discern!

Peter himself was not an educated man. Remember, he was only a fisherman. The only biblical education he had came from Jesus; yet Jesus Himself was the Master Teacher! But when pastors and teachers do not understand the

Bible, they avoid teaching things they do not understand, and the rest of us grow up not understanding, too. Peter is clear in saying that “mockers” (empaiktes, unbelievers, including false teachers) will say, Everything’s just like it has been for many and many a year. When, if ever, is He coming?

Peter knew that patience is required to catch fish; so also, patience is required with regard to the Coming of the LORD. And when He comes, you will KNOW IT!! His righteous judgment will fall upon the whole Earth and even the heavens above. Intense heat will consume the Earth and everything man has built for himself. We cannot stop what God has decreed He will do; but we can live holy and godly lives until He comes for us before He destroys all He has made! A man may build a house and, for some reason, choose to destroy it. But, a loving parent will not allow his children to be consumed in the flames. So it is with Jesus! His judgment is not for His children; it is for those who have mocked Him, His Word, and His provision for man’s salvation. Live righteously! He could come at any moment.

We pray earnestly every day for you,

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,

1 Peter 3:10-12, “Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile.

11 “And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.

12 “For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Whatever the situation, we’ve all heard someone say, “I just can’t do it!” But the truth is we can all do much more

than we think. The LORD has created us with a will; so, it’s not that we cannot do things, it’s that we don’t think we

can. Drinkers say they just cannot stop drinking. Gamblers say they are “hooked” and just cannot stop gambling.

Yet, the truth is they can! They just don’t want to quit.

Peter says if we love life and will to have good days, we have to stop using evil and salacious words and stop lying.

Ever wonder why your prayers are not answered? Take some thoughts about how you live and speak. We all have

a tendency toward evil. We inherited that from Adam, and the tendency to do wrong is still with us even after we

have trusted Christ Jesus as our Savior. But the Holy Spirit, who lives within us is greater than the powers of Satan,

who wants us to continue down that evil and godless pathway. We are not spiritual robots! We have a will; and it

is either for or against the will of the Spirit.

The LORD sees and hears everything we think or do. If we want peace in our lives, we have to pursue it –put it to flight! There’s an old saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” We can will

to stop thinking and doing those things we know are contrary to the LORD’s will. You will be amazed at how much

He will help when you show you mean business with Him!

We love you and pray for His will to be accomplished in all of us,

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,

1 Peter 2:21-25, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;

23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for

by His wounds you were healed.

25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

Heroes have been around forever. Sports heroes, musical heroes, scientific heroes, political heroes –they have all demonstrated abilities we like, and we seek to pattern our lives after them. Who is your hero? Those who stand

out, however, are those whom we’ve met and those who have touched our lives in unique ways. The greatest

hero to all of us, however, is the one who risked his life to save ours. The swimmer, the doctor, the neighbor, that

first responder – they are the true heroes!

Yet, when all of those life-saving heroes have been named, there is One who rises above them all: Jesus Christ!

He suffered for us and became our Supreme Example in all things. And as a teacher exposes us to information

with the hope we will follow it, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are His example for us to follow. Think about it:

1.He never committed a single sin.
2.He was ever and always thoroughly honest.
3.He was always gentle, and never abused those who abused Him.
4.He never threatened to “get even” with anybody for anything.
5.He always trusted His Heavenly Father and did His will.
6.He took every person’s sin upon Himself and died for them on the Cross.

Whoa! If He died for every person’s sin, then everyone is saved, right? Wrong! Think of it this way: everyone’s

house has electricity, right? But before the electricity runs the TV, the washing machine, the lights, they have to

be “plugged into” the outlet. The electricity is available, but electrician things have to be connected (plugged in) to

run like they were designed to run. It’s much the same with Jesus.

He died on the Cross to save you from sin and Hell. His Resurrection proves the value of His death for you. Now, you have to believe on Him and what He did. You have to repent (change your mind; confess your sins to Him) and trust Him to save you and guide your life from here on out. It’s not just being “religious”; it’s being Christian (Christ-like).

You march to the beat of a different drummer. The LORD Jesus Christ is now the Shepherd (Leader) and

Guardian (watchman) over your life and your eternal soul. Sound good? It’s the only sure way.

Our love and prayers for you are directed to Him for your good,

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.”