The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 119:67, 71, 75, “Before I was afflicted I went astray,

But now I keep Thy word…. It is good for me that I was afflicted,

That I may learn Thy statutes…. I know, O LORD, that Thy judgments

are righteous, And that in faithfulness Thou hast afflicted me.”

The Hebrew word “affliction” (????? , anah) means many things. It means

disturbed, humbled, mistreated, oppressed, silenced, violated, and

weakened. Each of these undesirable things come to us in different

ways. We can be physically afflicted, emotionally afflicted, embarrassed

into silence, violated in multiple ways. Affliction can result in a hospital,

a jail, professional counseling –the list goes on.

What is interesting in these verses is the migration. First, affliction

is caused by our going astray. We ourselves are at fault. If I had listened,

I would not be afflicted, as I am now. I caused it myself by ignoring what

was right and doing wrong (v. 67). Second, the affliction I am suffering

right now is good for me. What? Good for me? Yes, because it awakened

me to those principles from which I had strayed. I knew better, but I did

wrong anyway. I need to get back on track with God (v. 71). Third, I now

admit that God’s judgment on me is deserved. He has put me in this

predicament in order that I might turn back to Him. He has afflicted me

in His loving faithfulness (v. 75). He is like the doctor, who says, “This

will cure your illness; but you will have to be careful in what you eat or

the next time could be fatal.” How faithful the LORD is! How much we

suffer because we are not–

We pray for you every day because we love 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,

Psalm 119:9-11, “How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Thy word.

10 With all my heart I have sought Thee;

Do not let me wander from Thy commandments.

11 Thy word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against Thee.”

Although this passage is addressed to a “young man,” it

may also be translated “a youth, a young person.” The

principle of purity applies to all young people. And the

secret to purity lies in keeping the Word of the LORD.

If we really want to be free from our evil ways, we have

to follow the teachings of the LORD, as they are in the

Bible. We have to treasure His teachings far more than

we treasure anything or anyone. The situations in which

we find ourselves –situations that we dislike—are because

of our sin. If we are honest, we will admit this is so. But,

as we follow His path for us –a path that is found in

Scripture—we will be freed from self and sin and love

Christ Jesus as He loves us. He has a good and clean plan

for our lives. We pray you will find and follow His plan.

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 123:1-2, “To Thee I lift up my eyes,

O Thou who art enthroned in the heavens!

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress;

So our eyes look to the LORD our God,

Until He shall be gracious to us.”

We all have troubles from time-to-time. Our troubles

are not always the same as other’s. If our car does not

start, we look to a mechanic to fix it. If our house is on

fire, we look to firemen to extinguish it. If we are sick,

seek out a doctor. In a sense, each of these is a “first

responder.” But are they really? Oh, they respond,

but are they our first responder? Better put, should

they be our first responder?

The psalmist says, “…our eyes look to the LORD our God.”

Our eyes, our thoughts, don’t always look first to the LORD;

but they should because the promise is “He shall be gracious

to us.” The word “until” tells us that He has not forgotten our

cry. Our circumstances, as bad as they are, will not always

imprison us. He will come to our rescue! But we must

trust Him without doubting. What is there that God cannot

do? Didn’t you trust Him once? Why not trust Him again?

We love you and pray for 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.”

Dear Grands,

Psalm 90:10, 12, “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,

Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;

For soon it is gone and we fly away…

12 So teach us to number our days, That we may apply our hearts

unto wisdom.”

Did you ever think that you were wasting away your very life?

I never ever thought of life that way until I reached my current age.

As you get older, you will look back upon your life. You will think

more intelligently. You will evaluate time more importantly. The

problem is: time has slipped by; and those things that you once

thought were so important make you laugh at how stupid you

were to once value them.

There is, I guess, some comfort in knowing that I was not

the only one who valued silly things. Still, they were foolish

things and the opportunity to redeem the time has long passed.

The psalmist looked back over his life and undoubtedly saw

Mistakes he had made. The wisdom he possesses in his old

age, he now passes on to us for consideration: “Teach us

to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto

wisdom.”

Robert Dick Wilson looked at the lives of his ancestors and

estimated how many days he had to live. He then divided the

time into learning, application, and writing. He studied biblical

languages, what they truly meant in Scripture, and then wrote

down what he had learned. His plan was wise; his life was

full; his words were left to inspire those who would follow him.

What are you doing with your life?

We continue to pray for each of 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,

Psalm 86:11-13, “Teach me Thy way, O LORD; I will walk in Thy truth;

Unite my heart to fear Thy name.

12 I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart,

And will glorify Thy name forever.

13 For Thy lovingkindness toward me is great,

And Thou hast delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”

Exactly where David was in his spiritual journey with the LORD,

we do not know. What we do know is that he was teachable.

He allows that he does not know it all, and he promises that

He will abide by what the LORD tells him. David also admits

that his heart is often divided. “Unite my heart,” he says.

We know how that is. We desire to do something that we

know is wrong; but, simultaneously, we desire to do the LORD’s

will. Sometimes we seek to justify doing wrong, telling ourselves

that we can use that “wrong” to do good. That never works.

David promises “to walk in” God’s truth; he promises to
“give thanks” to the LORD and “to glorify (His) Name forever.”

What a challenge that is to us!! God’s love for us is overwhelming!

His lovingkindness is indescribably supreme! And His salvation

has guaranteed us a place with Him in Eternity. Have we learned

something of how great God is? Then, we should praise Him forever!

We love you, but not as fervently as the LORD does,

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.”