The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Job 1:6-12, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
7 The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’
8 The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.’
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’
10 ‘Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 ‘But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.’”
12 Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.’ So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.”

I walked into a store the other day and the man behind the counter said aloud, “Here comes trouble!” Fortunately, he smiled. Trouble is always first perceived as an adversary. “Why did this happen to me?” we ask.

The biblical Book of Job is probably the oldest and most complex Old Testament book in the Bible. In the thinking of some, the book’s silence regarding the miracles of the Exodus drives its origin as far back as the day of Jacob (Gen. 25:26).

That the message focuses on the mystery of suffering is understandable when we realize that in ancient biblical times, all suffering was believed to be traceable to human sin. We might be wise to employ that thought today. In any event, Job lost everything he possessed, the most valuable being his beloved children.

Job’s three friends then argued vociferously that sin in Job’s life had caused this calamity. While Job contended that he had not sinned, the debate ultimately forced him to turn his thoughts away from himself and to God. But, why would God allow such calamity to fall upon Job? It was to reveal Job’s hidden sin: self-righteous-ness.

Are you and I sufficiently brave to admit that many of our problems –maybe even most– are largely due to sin? –our sin! The Scriptures we have were not available in Job’s day; thus, we are more culpable than Job.

Still, Job then said to the LORD: “Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; therefore, I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:4-6).

Let’s follow the ultimate way of Job and repent of our sin. We too easily view the sins of others; isn’t it time we looked into that spiritual mirror and repented?

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,

Esther 4:10-14. “Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai:
11 ‘All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.’
12 “They related Esther’s words to Mordecai.
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, ‘Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.
14 ‘For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?’”

The Jewish people have always experienced opposition. Here, a gigantic plot in ancient Persia (Iran) was being organized against them. Esther was queen to King Ahasureus, and was herself Jewish. But that matter was unknown to the king.

Mordecai was a relative of Esther; and it was he who advised her of the plot against their people. The only hope for deliverence that Mordecai could see was for Esther to place the matter before the king. Yet, Esther would be risking her own life by approaching the king without his summons for an audience.

Mordecai’s conclusion was that were Esther to remain silent, the LORD would still protect His people; but “who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (KJV).

Each of us who knows the LORD, knows that He has a purpose for us in this life.
What He calls upon us to do may indeed be risky. Still, obedience to Him is of far greater value than our own lives. God gave His Son, Jesus, as the Sacrifice for our sins. How could we not be willing to give our lives in service to Him? What might be the danger we face? Yet, what might be the LORD’s reprimand, were we to fail?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make
your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).

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,

Nehemiah 1:5-6, “I said, ‘I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.’”

Nehemiah 6:1-4, “Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates,
2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.’ But they were planning to harm me.
3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?’
4 They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way.”

I once knew and worked alongside a man who had been an Officer in the Navy. He was up for the rank of Captain and had never missed a promotion. Yet at that very time, the LORD called him into the ministry. He immediately resigned from the Navy. His friends had insisted that he wait until he made Captain. “It’ll be considerable more money,” his friends insisted. Yet his reply was, “If the LORD had wanted me to make Captain, He would have waited until then to call me.”

The message here in Nehemiah is that the work of the LORD is always primary; therefore, it must always come first on our agenda. The LORD had placed Nehemiah in the palace of King Artaxerxes, whom He knew would ultimately be amenable to allowing Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah was a man of prayer and a man of action. Prayer always came first. It was always his primary activity. The LORD then gave Nehemiah the wisdom needed for restructuring the breaches in the city wall. That same wisdom kept Nehemiah from falling into traps set by the enemies of the LORD.

Prayer and manual labor were the keys to Nehemiah’s success. They are the keys
to our work, too. Yes, we can –and must— pray for the lost. We must also share the Word of the LORD with them.

Where are you in all of this? Do you truly know the LORD? If so, are you currently involved in His work? Are you praying for His leadership? Are you physically, personally involved in witnessing to others?

The Bible says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” (Eccl. 9:10). Leon Morris says, “A nation (or a person) can reach a point in opposition to God where return is impossible.”

There’s only one life; it will soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

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,

Ezra 1:1-3, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the Word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:
2 ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3 ‘Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.’”

I will never forget the teenage girl asking me, “How much should I read?” It was a challenge I gave her. She could argue with me; she could not argue with God. I told her to read five chapters of the Gospel of John. She did and came to faith in Christ Jesus purely on her own.

The Old Testament Book of Ezra relates the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. Subsequently, upon their return, the Jews rebuilt the Temple for the worship of the true God, Jehovah.
Every aspect of the Book of Ezra focuses upon the Word of God. Israel’s return of some 50,000, came under the leadership of Zerubbabel. The return itself was in fulfillment of the Word of the LORD. The re-erection of the Altar, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the restoration of the Temple’s ritual was in strict obedience to the Word of God.

Subsequently, a smaller number of Jews (approximately 2,000, returned under Ezra. They, too, became students of the Word, even trembling at what they discovered within it. Thus, repentance and spiritual reform came to pass from their obedience to the Word.

The Word of the LORD is powerful! When it is declared, either privately or publicly, it transforms the lives of its hearers and sets forth the lifestyle the LORD commands for His people. That is precisely why He commissions the sharing of His Word with others. It’s not what the witness says as much as what the Word itself says. Thus, the presentation of the Word in its clarity is sufficient for the salvation of any and every person who will receive it. Have you received the LORD’s salvation?

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 Chronicles 4:9-10, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’
10 Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him what he requested.”

Several years ago, a book named “The Prayer of Jabez” captivated the Christian public. It was written in a very readable style with some excellent, down-home illustrations, and by a well-respected, conservative author. The Prayer reached the number one slot on some best-seller lists. And as the title implies, it was a book about prayer. Yet, it was more. It was an encouragement to pray. Christians and many non-Christians agree on the importance of prayer, and that we all should pray more than we do. The Prayer of Jabez impels us to that vital communication.

Therefore, for Jabez or anyone, true prayer is the outgrowth of a righteous life before the Father. Christian prayer is not a mantra that is repeated over and over again with the hope that what is requested will be allowed. In fact, Jesus seriously warned against “vain repetitions.” Still, prayer certainly ought to be persistent. The Father wants to know that we’re serious about the things we bring before Him. Yet, being persistent in prayer is quite different from empty and meaningless phrases that become mindlessly repetitious.

Reason, based upon a few passages alone, demands that we believe Jabez to have been a righteous man in the eyes of our Heavenly Father; otherwise, what he prayerfully requested would have been forthrightly denied, or simply ignored.

Prayer is not dependent upon the physical position we assume. What arrests the attention of the Father is not whether we are kneeling, or bowing our heads or closing our eyes or folding our hands. All are respectful, and true prayer must be offered respectfully; yet, a study of the prayer lives of biblical personalities reveals that there is no single, physical position that affects a Divine response to prayer.

Aside from the act of prayer itself, it is the righteousness of the life of the one who prays, who receives the Holy Spirit’s response that we call “answered prayer.” May our blessed and merciful Heavenly Father respond faithfully to all of our prayers. And may our lives be so lived that He will.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Yesterday’s GRANDS LETTER was delayed due to tornadic activity in Springdale. Electricity was off until late last evening. Several people were injured; but, thus far there have been no deaths reported. Thank you for your patience, and your prayers.

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