The Grands Letter (1 Kgs/GLJ)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D. on February 23, 2026 5:21 am (CST)
Dear Grands,
1 Kings 8:33-36, “When Your people are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house,
34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.
35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,
36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel; indeed teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land, which You have given Your people for an inheritance.”
We have to be careful, for when we sin, we can expect nothing but defeat. Yes, the LORD is our Lord, but as a thoughtful, loving parent disciplines his child, so the LORD disciplines us when we have sinned. Discipline, therefore, becomes our instructor, reminding us of our wrong and reminding us to correct our ways from that day forward.
Whether discipline works always remains to be seen. If it does, the recipient will hesitate on the next similar occasion. If he does not respond well, the administrator will doubtlessly repeat the discipline with greater intensity.
Why do we require the LORD to discipline us? We have His Word as our directory. Yet, we also have an adversary who continuously counsels us away from the LORD’s retributive justice. May we learn well to obey His Word!
Heartily in Christ,
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
United States of America
“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom
