The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 10:1-4; 7-13; 15-16, “Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

7 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the hiding places he kills the innocent; his eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; he lurks to catch the afflicted; he catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.
10 He crouches, he bows down, and the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The LORD is King forever and ever; nations have perished from His land.”

Recent days have witnessed the victorious Hand of the LORD speaking through the elements of human government! Our passage above proves that mankind without Christ is born wicked and is willingly hurtful toward his fellowman. What’s more, mankind is willingly disrespectful of the LORD and ignorant of His power!

Our beloved United States was founded on faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. Men and women of the old country lived under duress for their faith, leading them to depart from their homes and seek solice and refuge in the New World. The Constitution of the United States was the product of God-fearing men. Not all might have been born-again believers in Christ, but none of them denied the existance or power of Almighty God.

This writer has no spiritual insight regarding the fate of those who vehemently oppose the work of the LORD Almighty. He can, however, prayerfully trust that many may come to repentance of sin and faith in salvation through Jesus Christ.

If you, dear reader, are a born-again believer in the LORD Jesus, you share with me the responsibility to tell those who have yet to believe on Him that He alone is the way of salvation. If you do not yet know Him, please trust Him today. Ask
Him to forgive your sins; tell Him that you want Jesus as your Savior. Your life
will change –and it will change for the better! May God bless you abundantly!

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,

Psalm 9:1-11, “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.
2 I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before You.
4 For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, and You have uprooted the cities; the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment,
8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; declare among the peoples His deeds.”

Have you ever witnessed a crowd scream against a coach for pulling a player from the game? Yet, when that player’s replacement performs with excellence, enabling the team to win, that same crowd turns from vitriol to praise for the coach!

David commences this psalm by giving thanks to the LORD. No doubt his praise of the LORD causes the enemy to stumble and turn away from the battle. David then allows that the LORD has maintained his (David’s) just cause by exercising righteous judgment and destroying the wicked forever! “The very memory of them has perished” (9:6).

At the same time the LORD righteously judges the world in which we live. He also establishes security for those who are oppressed, for those who know the LORD and maintain a true and steadfast trust in Him. Nor has the LORD forsaken those who trust Him. David encourages the people to sing praises to the LORD and declare His deeds among all peoples.

This is a spiritual pattern in which every generation should participate! We owe the LORD honest and perpetual praise! “The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad” (Psa. 126:3).

“Count your blessings; name them one-by-one;
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”

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,

Psalm 8:1-9, “O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”

Our minds and hearts have been so invaded by “science,” that we seldom think of
God as the Creator of the universe in which we live. Oh, we acknowledge the LORD,
but are tempted to think of Him as having created through science, rather than science
being the uppermost.

The psalmist David seeks to correct our misguided thinking by placing God ahead of
everything! What the LORD has created reaches beyond the capability of our minds.
What little boy or girl has not wondered “Who made God?” And because our feeble
mentality falls short of understanding, we resort to what we call “science” to fill in the
gap.

Note that the psalmist grasps the “grading” of the LORD’s creation. God reigns as the
Uppermost; man is responsible under God for managing the Earth. The difficulties we
encounter is largely due to our displacement. We want to occupy the LORD’s position!
And in that self-misplacement, we have left unattended the position and occupy the
LORD’s assignment for us. We must fall in line with His designation, and acknowledge
Him as Supreme in all things!

As a musicial director would say when things were out-of-order: “Let’s take it from the
top!” Readjustment occurs when we acknowledge the LORD as the Director of the
ensemble. We do that by confessing our sins and begging His forgiveness. Salvation,
like creation, comes from God. We must trust Him in all things. Start by giving Him
your life. That’s the key to unlocking His blessings.

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,

Psalm 7:1-9, “O LORD my God, in You I have taken refuge; save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 or he will tear my soul like a lion, dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands,
4 If I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who. without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries, and arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You, and over them return on high.
8 The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; for the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.”

When you know you’re in trouble… When you’ve sought every possible means of
extricating yourself from the danger… When there is no conceivable way of escape from your antagonists, seek the LORD’s deliverance and throw yourself upon the mercy of His Supreme Court.

After fully expressing himself and acknowledging the LORD as the Supreme Judge, the psalmist prays that the “evil of the wicked will come to an end” and that righteousness will be established by the LORD God as He judges the hearts and minds of David’s adversaries.

Note especially verse 10: “My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart.”
A shield is a defensive weapon. In effect, David says, “If God cannot protect me, I have no protection.” Is that not what we, too, should acknowledge? All too often, we resort to self-defence, when we ought to rely upon the LORD. Whatever we face… however formidible our adversaries are… the LORD is our Supreme Defender!

Do you know Him? Does He know you as one of His? Oh, I almost forgot! He only defends those who are His, but, you can become His through a simple, but sincere trust, acknowledged in prayer. I am praying daily for you to know 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,

Psalm 6:1-10, “O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away; Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed.
3 And my soul is greatly dismayed; but You, O LORD– how long?
4 Return, O LORD, rescue my soul; save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For there is no mention of You in death; in Sheol who will give You thanks?
6 I am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears.
7 My eye has wasted away with grief; it has become old because of all my adversaries.
8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my supplication, the LORD receives my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed; they shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.”

Have you done something that was so shameless that you doubted that the LORD would ever forgive you? Have you ever been so grevious over a sin you’ve committed that you have cried throughout the night in sorrow? All sin is serious to the LORD; and all sin ought to be exceedingly serious to us!

This psalm clearly suggests that David has committed a grevious sin in his life. Other passages of Scriptures detail somewhat other sins in David’s life; but this psalm suggests something far more sinister still than those with which we are familiar.

Without question, viewing sin as serious and against God’s will drives the serious believer to mourn its commission as he pleads for the LORD’s mercy. David’s tears may well have been shed for both his sin and the punishment he is destined to receive. When sin is repeated, however, it cannot be denied that the tears we shed are more for the punishment we are destined to receive than for the wrong that has been committed.

When, however, the soul is vexed, we should know that the result of the sin has pierced more deeply than the mind. We certainly ought to be sorrowful for the overt results of that sin; yet, knowing that Christ suffered on the Cross for the sin we’ve committed, should pierce us more deeply still. Dosn’t the parent of the child always
grieve more deeply than the child himself?

As serious as sin is –and as utterly devastating as this sin was—David is enabled to think of the LORD and the praise He deserves. “The LORD has heard my prayer; I am assured that He will do it hereafter; I have, therefore, nothing to fear.” We are, therefore, to know with certainty that He hears our repentant prayers, too. Thus, we are to trust Him in the forgiveness of sin and fear no future retribution.

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