The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Chronicles 22:7-10, “And David said to Solomon, ‘My son, I had intended

to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. 8 But the word of the LORD

came to me, saying, “You have shed much blood, and have waged great wars;

you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood

on the Earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man

of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name

shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall

build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I

will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’”

I must admit that reading through the Chronicles is not easy. Yet, every time

I think I will skip over something, a precious gem of truth shines out of the

rudimentary things and excites me toward reading more. Every one of you

know that David was denied the building of the LORD’s Temple and that his

son Solomon was chosen to build it. But do you see the parallel with the

angel, who came to the Virgin Mary. Nowhere else in Scripture do we find

that the LORD revealed to David that a son would be born to him whose

name would be called Solomon (meaning peace) and that he would build

the Temple of the LORD. Would it surprise you to know that before you

were born the LORD had a purpose for your life? He may not have revealed

His purpose to your parents, but He had one for you –and He still does!

My mother was told by doctors that she would never have a child. But the

LORD had His plan and Carol and I were born!

Now the big question is: Do you know what the LORD’s plan for your life is?

Are you searching through Scripture and prayer to find out? What comes

to mind as I write are two little sayings…

To find the will of God is the greatest discovery.

To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge.

To do the will of God is the greatest achievement.

Only one life; it will soon be past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

May the LORD continue to bless and use you for His glory!

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 Chronicles 21:1-2, “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

2 So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, ‘Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number.’”

Some things in Scripture are difficult to understand. David’s numbering of the people in First Chronicles 21 is one of great difficulty. Every temptation that comes our way is from Satan. God temps no one! But everything is ultimately under God’s control, so we must conclude that every temptation that comes to us is one that God has allowed Satan to do.

David’s numbering of the people was either due to his pride or due to something he had in mind for the entire nation, like a system of taxation. In any event, it was something the LORD had not ordered –just something David himself decided to do.

Counting our resources for anything rather than being dependent on the LORD amounts to sin in God’s eyes. A preacher who fails to study, thinking that he can say what is necessary without the LORD’s guidance through Scripture, is bound to fail. A witness who attempts to share the LORD with an unsaved person without being prayerful and seeking the LORD’s guidance will find himself lacking answers to questions he is asked.

Think about this as you go about your daily activates. Is what you are about to do what HE wants? Is HE directing your thoughts and plans? David repents of his sin; nevertheless, the LORD punishes him. Repentance clears the slate with God, but there are always consequences!

You are in our daily thoughts and prayer,

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 Chronicles 10:13-14, “So Saul died for his trespass which he committed

against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep;

and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, 14 and

did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore, He killed him, and turned the kingdom

to David the son of Jesse.”

Genealogy is all about life and death. Everyone dies eventually. In fact, only

two men in Scripture –Enoch and Elijah— lived without dying. So, it is normal

as we come to the end of the genealogical listing in First Chronicles, mention

should be made of the death of the first king of Israel. As a young man, Saul

was handsome and shy. He was the LORD’s selection for Israel when the

people clamored to have a king like all the other nations. Saul did some good

things as king, but eventually he turned away from the LORD and did evil in

His sight. Two wrong things ultimately caused his death: 1) Saul did not keep

the Word of the LORD; and 2) he sought the counsel of a witch instead of

the counsel of the LORD. “Therefore, He (the LORD) killed him.” Pretty graphic.

What we are to learn is obvious: stay true to the Word of the LORD and

seek His counsel alone. The subtle teaching of this last verse is that the

LORD is always in control. Numerous things in my life did not go as I had

thought or planned. But later, I learned that the LORD had had something

better in mind. That helped me to trust Him for other things I could not

understand. And like those long before me said, “He has done all things

well…” (Mark 7:37 NAS).

We love you and pray for you every 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,

Psalm 97:10-12, “Hate evil, you who love the LORD,

Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;

He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous,

And gladness for the upright in heart.

12 Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones;

And give thanks to His holy name.”

As I read this psalm this morning, I was mystified

by the statement that “Light is sown like seed

for the righteous.” Sowing see is not mysterious,

but sowing light certainly is! The Hebrew word

for “sow” ) ?????zara( means “to scatter.” Ah,

that gives some light on that word! Evil is always

signified by darkness. So, when we hate evil, the

LORD scatters light in our pathway, enabling us

to escape evil and live righteously and in gladness.

Think of how many times your reach for a light to

give understanding of where something is. We

would fall down stairs, run into walls, bump into

objects that are out of place unless we have light.

It’s virtually impossible to do anything without light.

Revelation 22:5 sums up everything having to do

with light when it says,

“And there shall no longer be any night; and they

shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the

light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine

them; and they shall reign forever and ever.”

Surely, that’s reason enough for us to rejoice!

But living in His Light now will make our rejoicing

then even more glorious!

We pray for our LORD’s light on each of your lives,

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 Kings 22:1-2, “Josiah was eight years old when he became king,

and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem… 2 And he did right in

the sight of the LORD and walked in all the way of his father David,

nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left.”

Can you, in your wildest imagination, ever think of becoming President

of the United States at age eight? I doubt it. Josiah’s father, Amon,

did nothing but evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Amon’s father,

Manasseh, had done. If everything you saw of your father or grand-

fathers was evil, how would you know to do good?

It was in the course of repairing the House of the LORD that one of

the workers discovered a scroll of the Law. They took the scroll to

Josiah, who was then 26 years old, and he immediately gave orders

that Judah was to do a “turn around” in the way they lived and start

living for the LORD. Josiah and the nation of Judah changed course!

All of the pagan things they found, they destroyed. They even dug

up the bones of their ancestors, who did evil, and ground them to

powder and scattered them to the winds. Huge boulders that had

been used in pagan worship were smashed literally into dust. Josiah

erased all evil from the land of Judah!

At the end of his life, the LORD said of Josiah,

“And before him there was no king like him who

turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all

his soul and with all his might, according to all the

law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him”

(2 Kings 23:25).

All that being said, Josiah was “not a patch” on the LORD Jesus Christ!

Christ, of course, is the Gold Standard for us. But, are we even now

In His sight what Josiah was? May God help us so to be! It all starts

with the Book!

We love and pray for each of you daily,

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.”