The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Daniel 6:15, “Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.”

King Darius had been tricked. Evil men in his administration had persuaded him to sign a senseless decree saying that anyone who made a petition (offered a prayer) to any god other than to the king, for forty days, would be destroyed in a den of raging, hungry lions.

If you are a Christian, you can virtually count on being “set up” for some ignominious act by some who claim to be your friends. Thus, Daniel appeared to be in deep, life-threatening trouble! What could he do to avoid death by the lions? He could do absolutely nothing! His only hope was in knowing the One who could.

Daniel had already pled his case before the Supreme Ruler of the Universe:

Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house

(now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he

continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks

before his God, as he had been doing previously (Dan. 6:10).

You know. we say that we believe in prayer, but we all-too-often elect to use everything at our disposal except prayer as a means of deliverance from difficulties. King Darius tried with all his might to deliver Daniel, but there was nothing he could do. The law he had signed sealed Daniel’s fate. Yet, he spoke encouragingly to Daniel when he said, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.”

I suppose there a thousand things the LORD could have done to spare Daniel. Perhaps He was testing Daniel’s faith. Remember those three friends, Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-nego, who were delivered from that excessively-heated fiery furnace? Perhaps Daniel was looking back at their deliverence and gaining faith to believe he would be delivered. What-ever might be said, the LORD is always in control. He controls the timing of the events. He had created the lions, so even they were under His control.

You know who was miserable beyond words? King Darius! He didn’t sleep! Daniel did!

Rose Marie used to sing a little song when things went wrong and I was worried:

Cheer up, ye saints of God,

There’s nothing to worry about;

Nothing to make you feel afraid,

Nothing to make you doubt.

Remember Jesus never fails,

So, why not trust Him and shout?

You’ll be sorry you worried at all tomorrow morning.

It was true for Daniel, and it was true for me. It’s true for you, too. But you have to trust Him.

I have had surgery on my eyes, surgery on my hand, surgery on my neck –and each time I trusted the surgeon. How could I not trust the Great Physician? How can you not, also?

I love you all and pray for you daily.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Daniel 6:3-7, “Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

4 Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.

5 Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.’

6 Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: ‘King Darius, live forever!’

7 ‘All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den.’”

Jealousy often leads to rage! When you excel in something others cannot, they get mad!

Daniel had distinguished himself by revealing to King Darius the meaning of the words that were written on the wall by the finger of a man. Daniel is now the third ruler of the kingdom.

Those who were Daniel’s enemies tried again and again to find something wrong in his life –something for which they could accuse him before the king. But the determination Daniel

possessed as a young man was still uppermost in his heart and life. He lived so righteously that his harshed critics could find no wrong in him. These jealous men finally concluded they could find nothing wrong with Daniel unless they found something wrong with his God.

Thus, they contrived to lie and deceive the king. First, they “buttered him up” by saying, “King Darius, live forever!” It was another clever way of saying, “King Darius, you’re the greatest!” Most kings are powerful –at least for a time—but they are often not very smart.

Darius should have seen this coming. “We’ve agreed,” they said, “that there should be a law that says no one can ask anything of anyone except you for 30 days.” Do you see the flaw in that? Why just 30 days? Why not, three months, or a year, or forever? Why just 30 days? If we can see the flaw in that petition, why couldn’t Daniel’s adversaries and the king see it? Still, Darius took the bate. And things took a very bad turn for Daniel.

Has anyone ever tried to pull something like this on you? Stop and think before you do or say anything. Assess the motives of those who are against you and your stand for God. Stay close to the LORD. Continue to pray and glorify Him. He can handle what you cannot.

The account of Daniel will continue….

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Daniel 5:1-6, “Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.

2 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, in order that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.

3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.

4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.

6 Then the king’s face grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; and his hip joints went slack, and his knees began knocking together…”

Suppose you were in the employ of a company that required you to count the day’s receipts. How would you feel if the CEO of the company entered the room and found you counting money received for the day?

Suppose you were in the employ of a company that required someone else to count the day’s receipts. How would you feel if the CEO of the company entered the room and found you counting money received for the day?

If you’ve ever been in that second position, you have a good idea how Belshazzar felt when the fingers of a man’s hand started writing a message on the wall. The LORD was the CEO, and Belshazzar had been caught doing things he had not right to do. Keep that in mind when your tempted to drink alcoholic drinks. People who drink eventually find them-selves doing things they would never have done had they stayed sober.

The “hand of the LORD” is mentioned 38 times in the Bible. All but three of those 38 are in the Old Testament; and only once of the three times is it the hand of judgment (Acts 13:11).

The true and simple message of the six verses above is don’t impair yourself with drugs of any sort so that you’ll not violate the strict, but wholesome, Words of God’s love in the Bible.

There was also a message in those words that Belshazzar witnessed. It was a message of judgment –judgment upon him and upon all his kingdom. In fact, judgment fell upon Belshazzar that very night. So, always be sober! Always remember that God is watching you! Always live so that your life brings glory to the LORD! Daniel lived like that, and the LORD honored and blessed him for his dedication to his LORD. He will do that for you!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Daniel 4:1-3, 8, “Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: ‘May your peace abound!

2 It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.

3 How great are His signs, And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation….

8 But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him…’”

Did you ever know someone who professed to know Jesus, but lived more like the world? Sure you have! So have I! Well, Nebuchadnezzar was like that. He had a dream that Daniel interpreted, when none of the king’s wise men could do it. Once again, Daniel was summoned into the king’s presence and asked to interpret this second dream.

While the dreams of the king are prophetically important, what I want to focus on is that the king was not committed to Daniel’s LORD; he was only interested in what the LORD could do for him. Notice how the king praises what “the Most High God has done for me,” yet, he

introduces Daniel in verse eight as “Belteshazzar” and identifies that name as “according to “the name of my god…” Then he adds that Daniel possesses “a spirit of the holy gods.”

What’s with Nebuchadnezzar, anyway? Well, it’s just that he is not a true convert to the LORD God Almighty. He views the LORD only as superior to the other gods. But, before we become too unforgiving of Nebuchadnezzar, we need to turn the spotlight on ourselves.

How do we view God? Is He supreme to us? Is He our only God? Or do we admire other gods, and allow them to guide our lifestyle until we really need help?

I do have empathy for people who are hurting. But almost everyone who suffers pain cries,

“Oh, God!” I always wonder of they are crying out to my God or if that’s simply what people say for want of truly knowing Him. Be careful that you don’t allow yourself to mix the two. There is only ONE TRUE GOD: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Get on track with Him, because when trouble comes, you need Him to know that you are trusting Him alone. Otherwise, He will not provide the help you need. There are no other gods.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Daniel 1:5, 8, “And the king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service…

8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.”

Were you ever faced with doing something that you knew was wrong? I think we all have,

but what did you do? These verses concentrate on a young Jewish man, who was faced with a severe test. King Nebuchadnezzar was the powerful King of Babylon. He had captured the people in Jerusalem, and among the captives was a young man named Daniel.

You might at first not believe that Daniel was ill-treated, because the king set everything before him that was intended to make him strong and intelligent –things that would qualify him to rank highly in the king’s service.

Problem was that Daniel was already destined for the King’s service –not that of Nebuchadnezzar, but for the service of the LORD God of Israel. Thus, when all of the rich foods the king set before him, he would not partake. He simply determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s delicacies. He would serve the LORD regardless of the king’s threats.

This is “big stuff” for Daniel. He could be in real trouble. He could even lose his life! Ever been in something like that? I have! It’s a test of your standards. If you believe something is wrong, don’t do it. The LORD will hold you accountable for doing what you know in your heart is wrong to do. If you choose not to do what you know is wrong, count on your peers to jeer and make fun of you. They do that, of course, because they don’t have your conviction and the courage to resist.

Daniel was not a smartaleck . He just had his head on straight. He knew who his LORD was, and he reasoned that it was better to face Nebuchadnezzar than to face the LORD. It that what you would have done? Is that what you do when you’re faced with a decision? At the same time, note that Daniel sought permission from “the commander of the officials” to reject the king’s fine food. I can’t tell the end of the story in this short space, but Daniel was victorious over his opposition! It’s always that way when we obey and put the LORD first.

I’m praying for you and for our nation! I fear the judgment of the LORD more than I fear any authorities here on this Earth.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”