The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 8:31-36, “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,

‘If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you shall know

the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ 33 “They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s

offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, “You shall

become free”?’ 34 “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits

sin is the slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does

remain forever. 36 If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.’”

There is nothing quite like freedom. I have preached in jails around the world.

Prisoners are those who are not free. There are various kinds of imprisonment.

Some are actual, physical enslavements that do not permit freedom of movement.

Other imprisonments allow, but limit the movement of the prisoners. What is

most severe, however, is the mental imprisonment. This is where people appear

to be free, but are beclouded and shackled mentally. Jesus said that sin does that.

Do you remember when I told you of that delicious dish that I loved in India? I still

have never tasted anything so scrumptious. But, it made me sick! I had pain that

told me I should not have eaten it; but it was so good, that when I recovered from

my sickness, I ordered and ate it again!! I was a prisoner of that tasty food.

I have counseled some who were addicted to alcohol, drugs, pornography. They

learned the Truth that would set them free, yet many returned to their sin. They

were prisoners –prisoners who begged to be free, but refused to walk out the door.

How stupid is that? It’s more than stupid; it’s intoxicating! I’ve talked to women,

whose husbands disrespected them in every conceivable way, yet they refused to

leave them. Sometime children are imprisoned in their own homes by a father,

who uses them for his own intentions. They are not physically bound, but they

are slaves! –mental slaves, afraid to launch out on their own.

The LORD Jesus saved us to be free! –mentally, physically, emotionally! Freedom

is possible in Christ. Fear is the guard that forbids and inhibits freedom! But, we

will never be free unless and until we trust the LORD and forsake that sin that

imprisons us.

We love and pray daily for you and for freedom from fear,

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 111:1-3, “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart,

In the company of the upright and in the assembly. 2 Great are the works of the LORD;

They are studied by all who delight in them. 3 Splendid and majestic is His work;

And His righteousness endures forever.”

It is virtually impossible to read the Psalms without being continually confronted

by the glory and majesty of Almighty God. The Psalmist is always giving thanks to

the LORD for His wondrous works. And they are “studied (investigated) by all who

delight in them.” If you truly believe the Bible to be the Word of the LORD, you will

read it; and you will read it often (make that, daily!) and dig out the meaning of all

He says. Is not that what we do with everything that is meaningful to us? The LORD’s

Word is spectacular! It is majestic and splendorous! It tells us about others, and it

tells us about –ourselves! Oops! Is that what keeps us from investigating it fully

and delighting in it? Righteousness defines as honesty and justice, both of which

are eternally linked with the LORD.

Sometimes we shrink back from the evaluations people have of us. We must

weigh what they say against what the LORD says in His Word. He is always right.

If what others say aligns with what He has said, their thoughts must be accepted

as being true. Medicine that is distasteful is, nevertheless, often what we need.

And if we are led to dispense that medicine to others, we must be careful, too;

for our evaluation of them must also align with His Word.

We love you all desperately, and we relish your love for us as well,

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 94:17-19, “If the LORD had not been my help,

My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

18 If I should say, ‘My foot has slipped,’ Thy lovingkindness,

O LORD, will hold me up. 19 When my anxious thoughts multiply

within me, Thy consolations delight my soul.”

Some days are dark all day long. There is no sunshine. There

is no joy, no delight –just depression. Darkness does that.

And that is the time when many turn to alcohol and drugs

in the effort to ward off depression. But, there is another

answer: the LORD! He is our help, our support. Sometimes

we stumble along the pathway of life and we cry out to Him.

He hears us because He loves us and He supports us, bringing

us out of our inward darkness. Sometimes “anxious thoughts”

are borne out of human emotion; sometimes they are planted

within our thinking by the adversary, the devil. He is often the

source of our insecurities. But the LORD’s consolations, His

comfort, brings sunshine into our inner selves.

I like Dr. Hull. He is our Primary Care Physician. He has an

excellent bedside manner. I’ve often told his nurses that

just hearing him say, “We going to fix that. You’re going to

be fine,” makes me feel better before the problem has even

been medically addressed. Confidence in him produces

sunshine. It drives away the anxieties! And He always talks

about the LORD. When we read the Bible every day and

pray, the LORD drives away anxiety. He is our Consolation!

We are remembering you daily in our prayers,

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 84:11-12, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He

withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts,

How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee!”

Did you ever have someone make a promise to you –and

then break it? Did you ever make a promise to someone

and then break it? Well, we never have that problem with

the LORD! What He promises, He keeps! The Psalmist

calls Him “a sun and shield.” He is both provider and

protector. He possesses the power to provide everything

we need, and simultaneously, He protects us from everything

that would harm or destroy us.

What does He provide? Grace and glory. He favors us (grace)

Because we are His, just as our parents favor us because we

belong to them. He honors us (glory) because we are His.

Who is so blessed as an upright Christian? Yet, we may not

receive everything we want; but we will receive everything

we need –everything that is beneficial to us and everything

that ultimately brings glory to Christ. But we must walk (live)

uprightly (blamelessly, without defect). How blessed are we

when we put full faith and trust in the LORD Jesus Christ!

Who is more faithful to a promise than He? Who has more

spiritual, physical, or emotional resources than He? Thus,

what we ultimately receive is exactly what we deserve.

We love you 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,

Psalm 73:26-28, “My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For, behold, those who are far from Thee will perish;

Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to Thee.

28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell

of all Thy works.”

Sometimes we foolishly think we have it all together.

I can handle this. I don’t need any help from anyone.

But the Psalmist says otherwise. Those related to us

–our flesh– and we ourselves –the inner self—may

not accomplish all we believed we could. The LORD

Himself is our strength within and without. Others,

who are not His (or those who are, but are not faithful

to Him and His purpose), have been (or will be) silenced.

Note, too, that it is not our nearness to God, but His

nearness to us. The initiative is His. We are to view

the LORD as our “refuge” –our shelter in all matters.

The ultimate purpose is that we “may tell of all (His)

works.”

How often we accept compliments as if they were

deserved. It may be our extraction from a difficult

situation or something nice we received as a gift. Do

we credit the LORD with providing us such things?

Or do we smugly act as if some “powerful” friend

were responsible? Of course, the supreme gift we

have received has been salvation! It is the gift of

the LORD alone! This is His ultimate work! And

it is for this that He extracted us from peril. He

wants us to tell others of Him! Let’s get started!

Love and prayers to and 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.”