The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 33:6-9, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;

He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world

stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

This past week the United States military dropped MOAB (“Massive Ordnance Air Blast”)

on a small area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. MOAB is the largest non-nuclear

bomb in our military’s arsenal, equal to something like 18,000 pound of TNT. Big stuff?

By human standards, yes; but not by God’s standard.

God spoke, and the heavens were created! “And by the breath of His mouth,”

everything He willed to create was created. Not the “Big Bang,” but the Big Breath

of Almighty God. We have no idea how powerful God is! Scientists say they have

discovered new planets that are said to be thousands of light years away from Earth.

Yet, they were there when He created everything less than 10,000 years ago.

We stand in awe of the power of the seas, but the LORD gathers them up in a heap,

as if in His own hand. “He spoke, and it was done.” Is it any wonder that He said,

“”Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14). “Anything” covers everything.

So what are your needs –true needs, not just “wants”? In another place He says,

“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:14). Forgiveness would be

a good place to start.

We love you all and pray for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Psalm 33:1-5, “Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright.

2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the LORD is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness.

5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.”

I could not read these verses without thinking of my grandmother –your great-grandmother.

I think she only went to the fourth grade, but everything worth knowing, she knew. Sometimes

I would say something unacceptable to her (Imagine!) and she would remind me that I would

“give an account for every idle word” (Mat.12:36). But, what I remember the most was how she

went about her daily tasks with singing.

He is so precious to me;

He is so precious to me;

‘Tis Heaven below

My Redeemer to know;

For He is so precious to me.

Mimi (Mary Agnes Cline Anderson) didn’t have what you would consider a “solo voice”;

She didn’t play an instrument; she didn’t know any (or many) “new songs,” but she

PRAISED the LORD continually with what she had. The Word of the LORD was

ensconced in her heart and she praised Him continually with everything she had.

She loved His righteousness and justice, and was herself “full of the lovingkindness

of the LORD.”

You are a goodly and godly part of her legacy. Don’t ever disappoint her with your life.

We love you and praise the LORD for you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Psalm 31:23-24, “O love the LORD, all you His godly ones!

The LORD preserves the faithful and fully recompenses the proud doer.

24 Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.”

In this 31ST Psalm, David had been looking faithfully to the LORD

to deliver him from his enemies. The entire psalm is focused on the

LORD, until we come to these last two verses. In verses 23 and 24,

David speaks to those who love and belong to the LORD. He calls

them “godly”; however, their godliness is not their own achievement.

It is the product of their following the LORD. For all who follow Him,

there is preservation. The LORD guards and watches over them in

all things. But what about those who are enemies of the righteous?

The LORD deals with them as well, but not in the same way. He pays

the proud –those who believe they create their own righteousness by

their works— He pays them what they deserve.

The godly are not to worry. They are to “be strong,” allowing their

hearts and minds to take courage in the LORD. They (we) are to

have and maintain “hope” (future certainty) in the LORD. While

David does not specifically say it here, in other places he admonishes

us to stay in the LORD’s Word and pray about everything. It brings

glory to the LORD and it benefits us in the process.

Love to you all, and prayers for you all,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Psalm 25:4-5, “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day.”

These two short verses are ingrained with sound thinking. Make me,

teach me, lead me are vital to our lives and what we do. Paths means

ways, and they have to be learned over time. The longer you live, the

clearer His ways become; but they have to be learned. Lead means

march. It’s almost like a military term, where the LORD shouts out

the orders and we learn to march to His voice and directions. Soldiers

learn that their leaders know best and are always willing to follow them.

The LORD is indeed our deliverance (salvation), not only spiritually, but

physically, emotionally, mentally –in every conceivable way. Knowing

this, we wait (without rushing ahead on our own) all, each, every, the

whole day for Your direction. Historically, a host of battles have been

lost because those not in authority have charged ahead of their

leader. It is much the same with us. Sometimes it’s very difficult to

wait on the LORD’s direction. But failing to do so, can be disasterous!

Have a great day! And don’t despair of waiting.

We love you desperately,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Psalm 23:1-3, “The LORD is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.”

Other than John 3:16, there may not be any Scripture

passage more popular or well-known than Psalm 23.

Some people use it as a prayer. Years ago, I outlined

it as it came to me.

1. Relationship: the LORD (Yahweh) is my Absolute Faithfulness.

2. Reliability of Provisions: I shall not lack anything beneficial to me.

3. Restoration of Body and Soul: He restores me from my weaknesses.

4. Redirection: He guides me in the right paths of life.

5. Responsibility: Everything I am or have is for the LORD’s glory alone.

Let me challenge you to cogitate (think seriously and carefully) on each

of these five points. There is no faithful friend like the LORD. As we love

and follow Him, we will never lack anything that we need. When we feel

as if we’re weakened beyond continuing, He pumps His strength into us,

enabling us to carry on. When we come to a “fork in the road,” and are

unsure which way to go, He guides and leads us in the right way. And it

never matters whether we get credit for things done, because everything

He has provided for us has been ultimately for His glory alone.

Psalm 113:5-6, “Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high,

6 Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in

the earth?”

Our prayer is that you always follow the LORD. He is the only one whom

you can always trust to be and do right in all things.

We love you dearly, and praise the LORD for each of you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas