The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Corinthians 3:1-3, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?

Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written

not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone,

but on tablets of human hearts.”

I am often asked to write a letter of commendation for someone

seeking a pastoral or teaching position. Those seeking the letters

are trying to determine the worth of the person and whether he

can handle the job. If I believe the person cannot produce what

the church or school desires, I simply say, “I am not your best

reference on this person.” Paul asks, “…do we need…letters of

commendation” concerning you? “You are our letter, written in

our hearts, known and read by all men…a letter of Christ…written

(by) the Spirit of the living God…” Wow! What he is saying is,

no one needs a letter of recommendation concerning you! What

you are is openly evident to everyone. Surely, that’s what we

want everyone to think of us. “A good name is to be more desired

than great wealth…” Isn’t that what you want others to think of you?

We love and think highly of each of you!

You are in our daily prayers.

We love you all,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Psalm 57:8-11, “Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to You among the nations.

10 For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens

And Your truth to the clouds.

11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

Let Your glory be above all the Earth.”

If David seems a bit overly excited, you need to read

verses four through six. “My soul is among lions;

I must lie among those who breath forth fire….”

He was being besieged by enemies, but he would not

allow his spirit to become depressed. He sang praises

to the LORD in the midst of his difficulties. Does that

remind you of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail?

They sang, and the prisoners and jailor heard them.

Have a problem today? Start singing!! Let others

hear, if they will. Let the glory of the LORD “be above

all the Earth!”

We rejoice in His love for you, too!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 9:6-7, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

This brief two verses from Isaiah are often (always?) used as we approach the

Christmas Season. Yet, if you look at these verses carefully, you see that some

of it has already come to pass and some of it is yet to come. Several years ago,

when we lived on Mt. Sequoia, an old Navy Admiral lived there, too. He was a

star-gazer with a powerful telescope. He pointed to a star and said, “What do

you see?” I looked and said, “A bright star.” “Now, look through the telescope,”

he said. And when I did, to my amazement, I saw not one, but TWO stars! They

were so far apart, to the naked eye, they appeared to be only ONE. So it is

when we look carefully at these two verses; we see TWO Comings: the Son,

our LORD Jesus Christ, has already come to Earth (v. 6a). And while we do

affirm that His will is always accomplished, the government of which Isaiah

speaks (v. 6b-7) is yet to come. With our normal “vision” (understanding), we

see only one Coming, through the lens of Scripture, we see Jesus’ First and

Second Comings. Keep reading the Bible! There’s more there than you know.

Love and Prayers Always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear Grands,

II Cor. 12:9-10, “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Weaknesses are common to all mankind. The older we get, the more

prominent weaknesses become. The Apostle Paul had a weakness; and

he asked the LORD three times to heal him. The LORD said His grace

was enough because His power was perfected in Paul’s weakness.

Since Paul could do nothing about his weakness, He boasted about it.

Yes, he boasted about his weakness. Why on Earth would he do that?

He did it because when there was no strength left in him, and what

the LORD wanted him to do, got done, it was the LORD who did it, not

Paul. Think about that! So, instead of complaining that he was weak,

Paul bragged about his weakness and the LORD took over! How’s

that for getting things done? You might just try it.

The weaker we are, the stronger the LORD appears,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

Dear (yawn) Grands,

Psalm 57:8-9, “Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praise to You

among the nations.”

I awoke this morning thinking of the word Awake. Have you ever noticed

how easy it is to awaken when we are anticipating something exciting? or

how difficult it is to awaken when something depressing awaits us?

Well, the Psalmist was excited about what he anticipated. He was eager

to grasp his musical instruments and start playing before the light of day!

And what was his anticipation? Something new? Hardly. He was eager to

pray with thanksgiving to the LORD! Further, he wanted others to hear him.

Multiple opportunities to share the glories of the LORD awaited him.

What a different world we would have were we to awaken with the Psalmist’s

excitement. The excitement over things will quickly fade away; but our

excitement over the LORD will last forever! What excites you today?

We are genuinely excited over you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas