The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Micah 1:2-7, “Hear, O peoples, all of you; Listen, O earth and all it contains, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, the LORD is coming forth from His place. He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will be split, like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?
6 For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country, planting places for a vineyard. I will pour her stones down into the valley and will lay bare her foundations.
7 All of her idols will be smashed, all of her earnings will be burned with fire and all of her images I will make desolate, for she collected them from a harlot’s earnings, and to the earnings of a harlot they will return.”

All the media needs is a tragedy to make headlines! It doesn’t really matter who it is or where the victim’s from. If it’s a tragedy, it’s a “hit.”

Micah was not looking for headlines. He was seeking to awaken Israel with regard to the judgment that was pending from the LORD! Any ungodly nation might have been divinely selected as the recipient of God’s wrath; but it was Israel who was the focus of the coming tragedy.

When Micah says the LORD will “tread on the high places of the earth,” he means “trample!” The Hebrew word ??????? darak means “stomp,” as when their feet crushed the grapes to make wine. The judgments of the LORD are not playful.

Far too much today exists as if there were no coming judgment. Those who govern in “high places” misbehave as if there were no God unto Whom they are accountable. Bear in mind that Micah’s pronounced judgment focused on the LORD’s own people.

Hear again the prophet’s solemn warning: “…behold, the LORD is coming forth from His Place. He will come down and trample (crush in judgment) the high places of the earth.” Thus, Micah is also sounding a warning to us. A nation is comprised of its people; and we cannot survive and live contrary to the will of Almighty God!

Pray for your nation and her leaders. Divest yourself of all known sins and seek the
LORD’s forgiveness. Almighty God is in charge! He can and will protect, but only those
who are His.

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,

Isaiah 40:1-5, “’Comfort, O comfort My people,’ says your God.
2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.”
3 A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 ‘Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

It’s not difficult to encounter people who are hurting. They’re everywhere. There are numerous types of “hurts.” We all understand physical hurt; but there are emotional and spiritual hurts that outweigh the physical.

What is worse than a hurt that’s intentional? Words can hurt, and when the hurt is intentional, it only causes increased pain. Here in our verses we have the LORD’s comforting through the counsel of His prophets. The geography concerns Babylon, close to the end of the captivity.

Despite the sinfulness of the people, the LORD calls for their comfort. They deserve hurt due to their faithlessness; however, the LORD binds up their wounds with the voice of His comfort.

Things had been rough for the disobedient people, but the journey will now be smooth. Valleys and mountains will be leveled equally, requiring less energy for the journey. “Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,” and everyone will be comforted.

We can know the comfort of the LORD today. He is only obligated, however, to those who are His own. If you are a child of the King… If you have turned away from sin and accepted the LORD Jesus as your LORD and Savior, you can claim His comfort. We all see the same menace sin has brought into this world; but only those who take refuge in Jesus can live in His comfort. Comfort can be yours, but only if you are His.

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,

Joel 1:1-8, “The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 Hear this, O elders, and listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days or in your fathers’ days?
3 Tell your sons about it, and let your sons tell their sons, and their sons the next generation.
4 What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; and what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; and what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.
5 Awake, drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you wine drinkers, on account of the sweet wine that is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has invaded my land, mighty and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has made my vine a waste and my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; their branches have become white.
8 Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth.”

I remember well the time and the place when I was asked what all of this “locust business” had to do with us in our day. My reply was both simple and honest: “I do not know.” I would not reply that way today.

Joel is considered by many to be the oldest book of the entire Bible. Written in 835 B.C., it is listed among the Minor Prophets. One biblicist says that Joel is primarily notable for three things: 1) the “grandest description in all literature of locust devastation”; 2) the “first intimation of the outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh”; and 3) “prophecies that are remarkable for their scope, extending from (Joel’s) own day to the very end of time” (Lee, The Outlined Bible).

The attitude of the populace in verse five is “spot on!” Our world has been invaded and supplanted with substance that destroys and obliterates what our LORD originally intended. Liquor and drugs, gambling and vices extraordinaire abound. What is evil is made to look good. What is good is scorned and discarded!

Even those who represent us in State Legislatures and in Congress purport to oppose the devastation that distilled beverages and drugs cause in our society; nevertheless, they vote to allow them and the ruination they continually produce. One door simply opens another. What’s more, many of these governmental representatives purport to be “Christians.”

Let it be known that much (maybe even most) of what is devastating our world today has
a time of Divine reckoning. And it may be sooner than we think! Thus, saith the LORD…

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness
for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent
in their own sight! 22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and
men of strength to mingle strong drink: 23 which justify the wicked for
reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him
(Isa. 5:20-23)!

Make your choice! Your eternity hangs in the balance! Jesus loves you! Satan is simply
out for what he can get.

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,

Joshua 24:12-15, “’Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow.
13 ‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

“Look at what I’ve got!” That was a familiar statement from grammar school days. The implications were 1) that this is something unique; 2) that what I have is mine; and 3) you don’t have anything like it. Probably, it was true –in school days. But it was truer still in the passage above. The LORD lists “hornets,” “Amorite kings,” “land, cities, vineyards, olive groves” –all of which were expelled from the land where His people lived.

So, now it’s time to put away the gods of Egypt and of the Amorites. It’s time to rid yourself of all false gods and yield and serve the true and living God!

However, there’s a choice: you can choose to serve the gods the pagan Amorites served, or you can love and serve the LORD God, who gave His Son to die on the cross for your sins.

God still gives you a choice. He does not mandate your love and service. Still, a wise
person will review the choices carefully. The God who loves and cares for you will be
to your advantage. Do you know Him? Do you love Him? You should. He loves 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,

1 Samuel 3:1-5, “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent.
2 It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well),
3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was,
4 that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, ‘Here I am.’
5 Then he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, lie down again.’ So he went and lay down.”

It would be difficult to believe that Hannah, Samuel’s mother, had not heard of the licentious activities of Hophni and Phinehas when she promised her first-born son to the LORD. Yet, she was committing him to the LORD under the care of Eli, the priest.

I know from personal experience what a godly mother says to her only son when he is preparing to go to church camp. Hannah would not have said less to Samuel. Thus, she deemed his new home a safe place. He was in the LORD’s House in the LORD’s hands and under the watchcare of the LORD’s chief priest.

Samuel himself was blessed to be a servant of the LORD. Since the LORD’s Word was not frequent in those days, Eli himself did not understand that the LORD was speaking to Samuel. Thus, it took him being awakened three times to ascertain that the LORD was speaking to the boy.

We often sell children short in spiritual matters. If the truth be told, they are often closer to God, since they have not been so thoroughly exposed to the sins that besiege adults. In time, Samuel’s godly adulthood proved the value of his childhood relationship and fellowship with the LORD.

Our problems today arise not so much with ungodly children, as with ungodly parents, along with their lack of spiritual parenting skills. Don’t sell any kids short! Pray for them and live before them a godly, Christian life. They will surprise you, and will grow to be more like Jesus every day!

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