The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 40:21-25, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
24 Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.
25 “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.”

“Why are you not on time? Where in the world have you been? Were you not aware of what was taking place?” Those who hover over us often blister us with such rapid-fire questions with that we scarcely have opportunity to respond. Isaiah exemplifies this tactic with four such closely aligned questions in verse 21 that the people have little-to-no opportunity to answer.

Parents, grandparents, teachers, close family friends are those who often assume the position of authority when they warn and/or chastise children when the parents are absent. Subsequently, the prophet speaks of the LORD and utilizes the remaining verses to respond to the questions. It is the LORD Himself who “sits on the circle of the earth.” It is the LORD, who sits “above the circle of the earth…and stretches out the heavens like a curtain.”

Utilizing comparison, the LORD reduces world leaders to virtually nothing! He merely “reduces rulers (and all, whom He wishes); “to nothing.” Isaiah’s purpose here is to demonstrate the wideness of the gap between the LORD Almighty and mankind, whom He has created.

The Word of the LORD then concludes by asking, “To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal.” He is our authority! It is He who made and rules the universe. No created human being comes even close to being and doing what the LORD has done!
“To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal? says the Holy One.”

“We are,” as the Psalmist’s Word says, “the sheep of His pasture” (Psa.100:3). We would do well to remember our place and adhere to His commands.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas
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,

Proverbs 3:25-32, “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens.
20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew.
21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight; keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 So they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck.
23 Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes…”

My day usually commences with breakfast, an hour “trip” in the Kehuna Chair, a cup of strong coffee, listening to Christian music on BBN Radio, and watching the television news concerning Israel.

Today was much like any other day, except that the Israeli news carried a “live” raid (i.e. live, as I viewed it) of Israeli air forces hammering Lebanon. Viewed from the cockpit, I have never before viewed a bombing raid that didn’t give the opportunity of a quick breath!

No Scripture passage could be more adept to what spiritual believers encounter than this one above, scripted by King Solomon for those who confront the enemy in battle.

Solomon warns Israel not to be afraid. Fear is the foremost enemy in any battle. Yet, for the believer, the LORD is his foremost shield. The earth and the heavens are the work of the LORD! And those who inhabit the earth are His people.

The seven verses noted above say “Do not” seven times. Israel often failed to heed the LORD’s warnings! If we are wise, we will elect to follow all that He says.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas
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,

Proverbs 3:11-18, “For whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.
14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.

My memory at my current age is hardly what it was when I was a child. At any rate, I can well remember hearing these non-comforting words when I was “under the rod.”

“I’m doing this,” my loving parents said, “for your own good. We want you to grow up to be a good boy.” There were additional words that accompanied the unpleasantness they handed out on this poor soul. I think I knew it then. It was for my own good that I was suffering. There were some cute little ditties my mother uttered while I was under the rod. They seemed not-to-cute at the time, yet I ultimately came to understand their value.

The “profit” that is cited in verse 14 above was, as it turned out, of much greater value than I would have believed at that time. My earthly father was a quiet man; my mother was the chief executioner. They worked well together, and I still love them both for what they were and for what they gave my sister and me. I never received punishment that I did not deserve.

The wish of verse 13 ought to be the desire of every man and boy! Failure in verse 13 demonstrates its results in verse 14. And the full results come to us in verses 15-17. Thus, the full depth of meaning lies well beyond our childish years. It reaches into adulthood and is ultimately shared as needed with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The expression of Divine and parental love are together the tree of life; and “happy are all who hold her fast.”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas
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,

Prov. 3:5-13, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.”

Notice that the writer commences with an admonition: “Trust in the LORD…” Have you ever had a medical doctor perform a procedure on you when you were not familiar with the procedure? Why did you allow it? You allowed it because he said, “This is what needs to be done. It may not be pleasant, but you will have serious complications if you don’t allow it.”

King Solomon, the wisest man in his day. He wrote the Proverbs above that says, “Trust in the LORD…” Believe what he says, don’t trust what you think. Solomon was reputedly the wisest of men. It might do us all well, were you and I to read the above passage again.

Solomon admonishes us to honor the LORD, share our wealth with Him, and live within His jurisdiction. Why? because He loves us and disciplines us and longs for us to trust Him completely.

“But, how do we know what He wants of us,” you ask. He tells us what He wants in His Holy Word, the Scriptures…the Bible. If you have never followed the LORD, you’re in for a huge and pleasant surprise! He will be with you in all of your life and gives direction as to how you and I are to live. You’ll be glad you followed Him, I can assure you!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas
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,

Prov. 23:22-28, “Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother
when she is old.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who sires a wise son will be
glad in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
26 Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep pit and an adulterous woman is a narrow well.
28 Surely she lurks as a robber, and increases the faithless among men.”

To some of you this will sound strange; but the older I become (your guess!), the greater
is my understanding of the wisdom in their instruction when I was young. There were
things I was instructed not to do, but without the rationale behind the instruction. As I
grew older, I suddenly understood the rationale.

There were, of course, multiple things left to my own discretion. I now believe that what items were omitted from my parents’ instruction, were purposely omitted that I might learn them on my own. Instructions are somewhat like stair steps. When we successfully learn to lift our feet up one step, it encourages us to lift them up to the second step. It’s a simple matter of growth.

In much the same way, the LORD instructs us en route to spiritual and physical maturity. On the physical level, we are to make our parents and others glad. On the spiritual level, we are to literally “live” in the Word of God and allow His Holy Spirit to enable us to grow spiritually. This is to the delight of our LORD Jesus Christ.

When we were children, we wanted to “grow up” physically. At least, that’s how I felt. Why then, should anyone wonder why we want to grow up spiritually? By the way, where are you on the spiritual growth scale? Are you reading the Bible daily? Are you praying about becoming more like the LORD Jesus Christ? Are your habits pleasing to the LORD?

We would all do well to remember the words of B. B. McKinney’s hymn:

“While passing through this world of sin,
And others your life shall view,
Be clean and pure without, within;
Let others see Jesus in you.”

Practice living this way this week. You might be surprised what other will say when they see more of Jesus in you!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

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

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