The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Joel 2:1-7, “Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; surely it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations.
3 A fire consumes before them and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like war horses, so they run.
5 With a noise as of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the people are in anguish; all faces turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like soldiers; and they each march in line, nor do they deviate from their paths.”

The days of the prophet Joel were indeed devastating! Earlier in his message, the
prophet warned the people of Judah of the devastating judgment that had befallen their land. Millions of locusts had devoured the crops upon which the people depended for their own sustenance. Still, it was no ordinary judgment. The LORD
was getting the attention of His people!

It was indeed “…a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness… There has never been anything like it, nor will there be again…”

Children often dismiss the warnings of parents, thinking nothing will occur to them
that they cannot handle. It’s only when situations previously unknown befall them, that they recall the parental warning. How like that we are as a nation! Flooded
with diseases heretofore unknown, we retaliated with submission to vaccinations.
But, there is no sure retaliation against a swarm of locusts! Crops are destroyed!
Food supplies are diminished before our eyes – all because we would not listen.

Israel is winning the war against Hamas, notwithstanding the thousands of lives
that have been slain. Had circumstances of the past been properly and carefully
attended, the devastation we are witnessing today might never have occurred.

So it is in our personal lives, as well. We wait until the “gate is open and the livestock have escaped” before we assess how all the loss might have been avoided.

“For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of
the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality” (Col. 3:25).

Let us faithfully search our hearts with all diligence, for from it
flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth
and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly
ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch
the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do
not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil”
(Prov. 4:23-27).

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