The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Daniel 1:1-9, “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god.

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles,

4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding, and discerning knowledge, and who had the ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

5 And the king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service.

6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abed-nego.

8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.

9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials..”

Have you ever been in a situation where you were required to do something you clearly knew was fundamentally wrong? You searched your mind and heart, and resultantly refused to do what you were told!

Situations like that are never easy. Those who know Christ as their Savior and LORD will understand and will doubtlessly be praying for you. They also know your position from past situations. Whatever you do, others will know, and they will subsequently judge you. You will always be judged by what you do in such a situation.

Satan works overtime to wreck Christian reputations. Those who know the LORD must stand as Daniel did and go only as far as the Spirit allows. He must refuse to allow either applause or abuse to direct his thinking. The LORD alone is our Judge!

It is virtually impossible to say here in this short piece all of how a true believer in Jesus Christ should respond. Yet, the believer risks the loss of his profession of Jesus Christ unless he stands consistently true. Are you standing true to His desire? Am I? The glory of His reputation is at stake; and its loss and ours are not easily rescued.

Let me urge you to pray for our forthcoming President. So much relies upon his commitment to the LORD Jesus Christ. I have previously shared that a well-respected national pastor, who is a close friend of President Trump, does believe him to be a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. President Trump is today our president, and he deserves and needs our daily prayers.

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