The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Jonah 1:1-5, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying,

2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

4 And the LORD hurled a great wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.

5 Then the sailors became afraid, and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, laid down, and fallen sound asleep.”

This biblical account of Jonah may well be one of the best-known in all the Bible.

Jonah had always been a servant of the LORD, yet on this occasion, he balked at his assignment. The LORD had commissioned him: “Go to Nineveh…”; but “Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish…” What’s more, his movement was “away from” the presence of the LORD. There’s always a “ship” going away from the LORD. Well, Jonah found it, paid the fare, went on board, went below deck, and quickly fell asleep.

Running away from God is always expensive — both in energy and in currency. Yet, it would cost Jonah even more! In fact, he nearly lost his life! Turns out, it was a lesson the LORD was teaching him. And it wasn’t over! Thrown overboard, swallowed by a whale, spit out on the shore… it caused such commotion that the King of Nineveh became involved and helped Jonah carry out the mission the LORD had originally intended.

None of this recitation is to encourage you to divert from the LORD’s intention for your life. Jonah had forgotten who was “Lord.” That is the one sure facet we must never forget! HE IS LORD! Any deviation from that and we are headed for sure disaster!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Obadiah 1:1-3, “Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom: ‘We have heard a report from the LORD, and an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, ‘Arise and let us go against her for battle‘–

2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you are greatly despised.

3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in the loftiness of your dwelling place, who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’’

According to Dr. Robert Lee, author of The Outlined Bible, there were numerous men in this biblical era who were known by the name Obadiah. As of this writing, however, we know of but one and must assume him to be this author that was also known to the Old Testament people of Israel.

Israel, however, was the exclusive people for whom warring nations sought annihilation. Those nations that were not following the LORD’s people sought to discredit and erase them altogether.

Yet, Israel had remained true to the LORD, and the LORD was determined to protect her. It is the same with us. When we trust Him as our LORD and Savior, He places us under divine protective custody. He, therefore, becomes our Protector.

Residing under the protective custody of our LORD and Savior does not mean, however, that we are living above sin. How we could wish that were the case! Still, we have the LORD’s protection and His provision. We are thereby His children, living in His family. What could be more glorious! Only one thing: Living with Him in eternity!

This life on earth is but preparatory to eternal life. In the meantime, we have the responsibility to yield to His will daily and seek earnestly to represent Him in our daily lives.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Daniel 4:23-28, “And… the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him’;

24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:

25 that you be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.

26 ‘And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.’”

Nebuchadnezzar had invaded Palestine. Daniel and his three young friends were among the captives carried to Babylon. It was there that Daniel and his friends were subjected to the ways and desires of King Nebuchadnezzar. When Nebuchadnezzar was troubled by a dream he could not remember, Daniel subsequently interpreted the dream for him,

and he was thereby exalted in the eyes of the king.

Daniel, however, remained true to the LORD, advising the king of the LORD’s superiority. The last verse above concludes with the instructive words, “…your kingdom

will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.”

We need to heed the wisdom of the LORD in those words that ushered from Daniel; namely, “…it is Heaven that rules.” As it was true then, so it is true today! There are multiple occurrences of men attributing to themselves words to that effect. Don’t become proud. Don’t become discouraged; when all is said and done, “it is Heaven that rules.”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Ezekiel 20:18-26, “And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, or keep their ordinances, or defile yourselves with their idols.

19 ‘I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and observe them.

20 ‘And sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

21 “But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So, I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness.

22 “But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

23 “Also, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands,

24 because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes, and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.

25 “And I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live;

26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the LORD.”

It’s not easy to be a spiritual leader. The words above demonstrate the difficulty of leadership in biblical times. The sins of the people required Ezekiel to either ignore their wrongs or to hold firmly to what was right in the LORD’s eyes. To his credit and to the glory of the LORD, Ezekiel did what the LORD required! Notice that Ezekiel’s stand was not intended to ingratiate himself to the people but to exalt the Name of the LORD God. This is precisely what every spiritual leader in every true church should be and do today. It is the LORD’s Name that requires our obedience. It is our obedience to the LORD that will lead His people in right paths. And therein alone is the LORD glorified!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

“We will never know that Christ is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Lamentations 3:14-22, “I have become a laughingstock to all my people, their mocking song all the day. 15 He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drunk with wormwood. 16 And He has broken my teeth with gravel; He has made me cower in the dust. 17 And my soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness. 18 So I say, ‘My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the LORD.’ 19 Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. 20 Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. 21 This I recall to my mind; therefore, I have hope. 22 The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.”

Be honest! Have you ever felt like Jeremiah in verses 14-23? Well, maybe not exactly like Jeremiah, but quite closely to the description above. Things have gone wrong in your life. You’re not sure what caused the problem—or how it might be resolved. You’ve prayed earnestly to the LORD about it all, but He has either not replied or responded with words that you did not desire to hear. Truthfully, everything seems to have gone wrong! And while we’re at it, why do things like this have to happen to us, anyway? Is He not LORD of all? Could He not correct what is broken?

It’s easy to blame others for our sins! We know the LORD is ultimately in charge. The problem is we hate to admit that we are the ones who have “done wrong.” We’ve forgotten the Scripture that says, “…behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23).

The mere awareness of sin in our lives should drive us to prayerful repentance! Our responsibility is to exalt the LORD Jesus Christ, not affix blame. “Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:1).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom