The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 122:1-9, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’
2 Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together;
4 To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD– an ordinance for Israel– to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 For there thrones were set for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.
7 “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.’
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be within you.’
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.’”

When things go wrong, we are encouraged to pray. When things become twisted, so that we lack encouragement as to their outcome, we are encouraged to pray.

It’s difficult to put ourselves in David’s place. Jerusalem was his city. It was the dwelling
place of his people. They gathered there to pray. They gave thanks to the LORD; they
honored His Name.

Yet, Jerusalem has experienced a history of turmoil. Scattered through the historic pages of Holy Scripture, we find turmoil and strife plaguing the Holy City. Such was true in David’s era. Even today, the people who dwell there are divided on spiritual things.

Therefore, David’s prayer must be our prayer. The people who dwell there must come together in the LORD. The final battle will be fought in the land we call “Holy.” Thus, the Scriptures cry out to us, “He will exterminate its sinners.”

The prophet Isaiah said, “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus, I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore, I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the LORD of hosts in the day of His burning anger” (Isa.13:9-13).

What we are seeing now in Israel may be the beginning of “His burning anger.” Pray for Jerusalem! Pray for the Israeli people! Despite their rejection of Jesus, He holds them
in His heart, as we hold wayward children.

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