The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Habakkuk 1:1-5, “The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ Yet, You do not save.
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore, the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
5 “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days– you would not believe if you were told.
6 “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 “They are dreaded and feared; their justice and authority originate with themselves.”

It’s hardly a stretch to say that you and I have questioned the LORD regarding our day as precisely as Habakkuk did regarding his day. Have we not prayed for things that have yet to appear? Habakkuk was concerned for his people. He prayed, calling on the LORD for help; yet, the LORD had not come to his assistance. Violence raged in the streets, yet the LORD did not deliver the innocent from the harm of the guilty. Why did He not?

Laws were in place, but they were ignored. Justice had long before abandoned its people. The “wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.” Does that sound familiar in our own day? Do not morning news reports announce that perversion is rageing in our midst? What are we to do?

This is precisely what Habakkuk faced! Yet, in His own time and in His own way, the LORD announced His intention. “Look out among the nations!” He said. “I am doing something… you would not believe, if you were told.” Then the LORD revealed to his servant that He is using the Chaldeans to march throughout the earth to confiscate things that are not theirs. He has literally turned them loose to avert justice and all authority. After all, He says, their justice and authority “originate with themselves.”

While we abhor the thought of perverse, unjust people raging thoroughout our land; still, what we are reaping is traceable to our lazy lack of concern for the LORD and His Holy Name. The LORD permits evil to abound when His own people refuse to renounce their sin and earnestly appeal to Him for forgiveness. Does that apply to you?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

Nahum 1:3-9, “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
5 Mountains quake because of Him And the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, the world and all the inhabitants in it.
6 Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken up by Him. Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken up by Him. The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.
8 But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, and will pursue His enemies into darkness.
9 Whatever you devise against the LORD, He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not rise up twice.”

Most of us know people who seem to have two personalities. When things are going well, they laugh and joke and are great fun for all around them. But, when things are not going well, they grouch and complain and are not-at-all the kind of people we want to be around. Well, don’t put the LORD in either of those categories.

True and loving parents are like that. They possess both love and anger. It’s the love that produces anger when their children disobey. And that anger is not hate, although it often feels like that to the child. Godly parents behave according the LORD’s instruction. They then instruct their children in the ways of the LORD and expect them to obey. How could we expect them to reward their children for disobeying?

Instruction from the LORD comes to us through His Word in Holy Scripture. That’s why we need to read and follow it closely. Only those who wish to justify activities contrary to Scripture subject themselves to God’s wrath. And His wrath is often quite severe! Children who disobey their parents’ instruction often seek to distance themselves from their parents; but there is no running away from the LORD! He is everywhere all the time! You cannot hide from God, but you can be forgiven if you confess your sins to Him and trust Him to forgive you.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

Micah 6:8, “With what shall I come to the LORD and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves?
7 Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Selecting a gift for someone is not always easy. What does he or she need? What is the right size? What about the color? Most importantly, how much does it cost? The prophet Micah’s questions considered none of these. All that mattered to the prophet was what matters to the LORD. But what is it that matters to the LORD?

Does what resonated with the prophet resonate with us? We should hope that it does because being just in our dealings with others, possessing kindness and a loving attitude toward them, and living daily with a spirit and attitude of humility toward God and our fellowman — all this is what matters to the LORD. We know from His Word and His Life how he wants us to behave.

Now, let’s turn those factors toward ourselves and ask, “Is that how I behave toward others?” There’s an old chorus we used to sin that taught us how to behave. Do you remember it?

Let others see Jesus in you;
Let others see Jesus in you;
Keep telling the story, be faithful and true;
Let others see Jesus in you.

When we live for Him, not only does that bring Him honor and glory, it allows those who don’t know Him to better understand who He truly is. Our living witness opens the door to the knowedge of Him on a personal level. God bless you as you live for Him!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

Jonah 4:1-2, “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.
2 He prayed to the LORD and said, ‘Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.’”

Did your parents or a teacher or a superior at work ever assign you a responsibility you didn’t want carry out? This is exactly what happened to Jonah. The Ninevites were a cruel, evil people. Their hatred was carried out with gleeful fury upon the Jews; and Jonah was a Jew. When the LORD instructed him to carry a redemptive message to Nineveh, Jonah rebelled! In fact, he went the opposite direction; he ran away from Nineveh, as far as he could go!

If you belong to the LORD, you cannot escape His commission. In fact, you can only go downward. Earlier verses tell us that upon hearing where the LORD wanted him to go, Jonah went down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the sea, and ultimately down into the Great Fish that the LORD had prepared to capture him.

In our verses above, the ministry to Nineveh was already over. A great spiritual revival had taken place and Jonah was disgusted! He wanted the wrath of God to fall upon the Ninevites and wipe them out! They were the enemy of his people, the Jews. I believe we’re a lot like Jonah.

Many nations in our world today are comprised of lost people – people for whom Christ died. He wants to save them like He saved the Ninevites. Too often, we see them as political enemies and want them destroyed. The LORD’s ways are always the best. Want to work for the best? Get on the LORD’s side. Do as He instructs you. In the long run, you’ll be blessed.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

Obadiah 1:15-17, “For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.
16 “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, All the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow And become as if they had never existed.
17 “But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, And it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.”

Even the casual student of the Old Testament will recall that brothers Jacob and Esau were virtually always in conflict. They cheated and schemed against each other in the effort to conquer. Such opposition seldom finds termination; thus, Esau (elsewhere described as “the father of Edom”) was noted in the prophecy of Obadiah to have been in conflict with Jacob who led the Israelites.

The stern warning against the Edomites comes in verse 15, where the prophet Obadiah warns that the Day of the LORD is drawing near to all the nations. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to read this warning without sensing its appropriation to the times in which we now live. A hopeful, if not honest, reading of these verses places Christian nations as those who will escape the pride and antisemitism that the LORD so despises. Yet, an honest and truthful examination of our national circumstances leaves us in serious doubt as to our own holiness.

Quite candidly, the passage does say that “the Day of the LORD draws near on all the nations.” It may be that this passage ought not to be considered eschatologically. Still, it is foolish of us to fail to consider it as for our nation, if indeed, we are Divinely included. One thing is certain: the LORD hates pride that denies His involvement in all matters everywhere. For “on Mount Zion there will be those who escape” because they are holy. If you were to choose, would you identify with Edom or with Israel and why? Think carefully before you answer. The day our nation turns against Israel, we will have charted the course for our own
destruction!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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