The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ezra 1:1-6, “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.

4 ‘And every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.'”

5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

6 And all those about them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle, and with valuables, aside from all that was given as a freewill offering.”

I don’t know what kinds of plays high schools utilize these days, but what I remember of the plays we used to give in high school had to do with a bit of mystery. Sometimes, there were voices that sounded offstage or from behind a curtain. You could hear the voices but had not the slightest idea of whose voice it was. Sound strange? Well, looking back, a lot of what we did in those days was strange.

In some respects (and especially in our current time), Ezra is giving us a sound of the Voice of the LORD, coming, as it were, from beyond God’s curtain.

Cyrus was king of Persia, known to us today as Iran. (How times change!) At that time, it was Cyrus who proclaimed that the LORD — the God of Heaven — had given him all the kingdoms of the earth and had appointed him to build the LORD a house in Jerusalem of Judea.

When anyone assesses that the LORD has put it in his heart to do something for Him, he would do well to attend immediately to the task. The Israelites could have protested. Cyrus himself could have ignored the LORD’s Voice. Yet doubtlessly, His Voice was a clarion call that required immediate attention.

Have you and I not heard a similar voice, setting forth the LORD’s call for action? It may have been a call for monetary funds for a needy missionary. It may have been to shovel snow from the driveway of a neighbor. It may have been a call to prayer for a far-off friend or a friend in a nearby hospital.

Whatever the Voice, it is summoning us “to battle” in the Name of the LORD. Instead of complaining (Why did He call on me?), He gives us the opportunity to work, guided by His Holy Spirit in bringing to pass an event that would be to His ultimate glory.

What has been His call to you? What has been your reply? Have you not assessed His calling as something remarkably beneficial to you? Such a call is to your benefit if you’ll only give it some thought. It is always to our benefit that He even notices us – even more so when we discover His calling. Listen! He’s calling you right now!! He’s asked for you! How will you answer Him? What will your answer be?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

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