The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Daniel 3:13-18, “Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?’

15 ‘Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?’

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.

17 ‘If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

18 ‘But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’”

Young men in every generation of life are often charged with being brash and foolish; yet, none of that can be attributed to these three Hebrews. They were not brash. They were not discourteous. They had no notion of challenging King Nebuchadnezzar’s authority. They simply refused to obey his demands. What’s more, their refusal was spiritually founded.

We’ve all had experiences where our “biblical teachings” were challenged. None, however, were as seriously grounded as this. What would we do if we were challenged with life itself hanging in the balance? Submit? Run? Or rise to the occasion? Remember a few months ago when a group of Buddhist priests were murdered under similar circumstances?

We must commit ourselves to the LORD Jesus and learn to stand firmly in and for our faith! There will be a day when the exercise of that faith will become imperative! There’s no time like the present for being prepared. Take note of the bravery of those Hebrew lads and determine to stand true to Jesus Christ.

Heartily in Christ,

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,

John 11:1-6, “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’

4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, ‘This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.’

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.”

Sickness of various kinds often attacks all of us. Simply being human makes us vulnerable to multiple illnesses. I cannot think of anyone I’ve ever known who denied ever being sick. For my part, I remember from college days having experienced the worst case of influenza ever!

Lazarus’ illness was not unique; however, his condition had so upset his sisters that they immediately summoned Jesus with the news. Jesus immediately stated that the sickness was not going to mortally harm Lazarus; it had been allowed to occur in order that the glory of God might be manifested.

Bethany, where Lazarus resided, was but two miles away. Having received notification of Lazarus’ illness, Jesus delayed two full days before leaving for Bethany. By the time He arrived, Lazarus had died and already been buried. Jesus had intentionally delayed His journey in order to demonstrate His power to resurrect not only Lazarus but all believers from the dead. There are no limitations to His power; at the same time, He displays it in order to provoke us to believe!

Do you know Him? Have you trusted Him to solve the mysteries resident within your life? He’s always closer than two miles away.

Heartily in Christ,

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,

1 Timothy 6:7-12, “…we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.

8 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

One does not have to be more than a casual observer to see and understand that one of the principal causes of the multiple conflicts existing in today’s world revolves around the desire for financial wealth! For some, it seems, there’s never enough! Paul gives sound advice to Timothy when he says, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”

Many, if not most, of the world’s contentions have their root in just wanting more than the next guy. Far too often, we observe the “holdings” of others; and that observation leads us to question why they have so much while we have so little. Perhaps we are being protected; for the Word says: “…those who want to get rich fall into temptation…and harmful desires, that end in ‘ruin and destruction.’” The apostle says that we should note well how longing for increased wealth leads to “wandering from the faith” and produces many griefs.

The remedy is not always easy, but it’s possible. Moreover, it is spiritually productive of faith, love, gentleness, and a good reputation among others. “Take hold” of things that are spiritually righteous, Paul tells Timothy. At the same time, he’s saying it to you and me. One day, we will all stand before the LORD Jesus Christ and give an account of our lives and how we have lived them. I’m praying that I will make a “good confession” on that date; and I’m praying that you will, too!

Heartily in Christ,

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,

Genesis 18:25-33, “Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”

27 And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.

28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, wilt Thou destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”

30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”

32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

33 And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed; and Abraham returned to his place.”

Have you ever thought that you could “out-talk” the LORD? I know some preachers who apparently believe they can. Have you ever thought you could bargain with the LORD and win? Well, I’ve never personally known that to be successful. It seems both dangerous and futile to me. Yet, I suppose each of us has, at some time, sought to persuade the LORD to come our way.

There are some decidedly spiritual aspects that must be “in place,” if any facet of such can be successful. Examining the life of Abraham finds him abiding in the way of the LORD. Any child of a wise and loving parent knows that “minding” is key to obtaining future freedoms.

What has the LORD commissioned you to be beyond being a true and faithful servant? “Being” supersedes “doing.” How clearly and often my mother used to say, “Well, if you do what I’ve told you, we’ll see about it.” Are you doing what He has told you to do? Are you reading the Bible? Are you faithfully praying? Do others know you as a true and faithful witness for the LORD? Okay, now we’ll see about those things you’ve asked.

Heartily in Christ,

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,

Luke 2:13-20, “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’

15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.’

16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.”

I’ve had a few “Wow!” moments in my life, but nothing to even begin to compare with what the shepherds encountered that night! It must have been as frightful as it was enlightening! Go out some dark night and try to imagine that happening to you! It just might be that you would then find it hard to sleep! People often travel miles to observe phenomena related to the moon, but nothing even close to what the shepherds encountered!

I heard some outstanding Christmas music the other day that prompted me to wonder what the music in Heaven will be like! But wait! Will there be music in heaven? Surely, there will be. Yet, the Scripture says, “…the heavenly host praising God and saying”—not singing.

As wonderful as heavenly things must be, we must be careful not to allow ourselves to mentally manufacture things that are spiritual. They will always exceed our expectations.

Heartily in Christ,

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