The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Chronicles 20:14-17, “Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;
15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
16 ‘Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 ‘You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.”

Multiple are the battles we face in life. It has always been so, and will likely be so in the future.
At the same time, we are to put our faith and trust in the LORD. Notice that the “Spirit of the
LORD” came upon “all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” The battle was the LORD’s, if
only they would believe it.

We are so much like the ancients before us. We have multiple battles to face, and we fear
rather than trust in the LORD. The battles we face are truly not ours. If we would only learn to
believe and trust in Him! We are to show faith in Him! We are to believe in His power and leave
everything in His Hands!

Is it not possible that the LORD allows us to face opposition we cannot overcome in order to
prove to us that He alone is able to deliver us? There’s an old song we used to sing,

“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Face the battles that lie before you with full trust in the LORD! He alone gives the victory!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

1 Kings 8:33-36, “When Your people Israel 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.”

Sin always brings defeat. It may not appear so on the front end of things,
but it will eventually prove to be so as things move along. Notice that the
Biblical writer above says, “When your people Israel are defeated before
an enemy, it is because they have sinned against the LORD.”

It is so with Christians as well. What kind of god would God be if He were
to allow His people to get away with sinning? What kind of Savior would
the LORD Jesus be for us, were He to allow us to get away with sinning?

Ah, but the best is yet to come! Yes, Christ Jesus hates sin! Yet, His love
for His people is greater than His hatred for sin. So, when we sin and
confess it to Him, He forgives it instantly! Furthermore, the hurt we
receive for sinning is overwhelmed with the love and forgiveness He shows
us.

Forgiveness then intiates the pattern we are to follow. Our Deliverer now
becomes our Teacher. He shows us “the good way in which (we) ought
to walk. As we eagerly learn from the Teacher, He now sends the rain He
previously withheld because of our sin. Now, the Land which He has given
Israel is productive as part of our spiritual inheritance! Oh, what a Savior!

Please pray for the nation of Israel. They are not Christians, but they are
what we were before we trusted in Jesus! Incidentally, my view of some
Israelis on television is that they are prayerful, and are looking to God
for deliverence, even as they exhort us to pray for their nation. Thank you!

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

Dear Grands,

1 Kings 8:26-30, “Now therefore, O God of Israel, let Your word,
I pray, be confirmed which You have spoken to Your servant, my
father David.
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and
the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house
which I have built!
28 “Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his
supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today;
29 that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day,
toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’
to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this
place.
30 “Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people
Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your
dwelling place; hear and forgive.”

There’s always more to prayer than we think. These words of King
Solomon were prayed against the background of the LORD’s blessing
and from a sincere heart. The prayers of kings are no more honored
than the prayers of the weakest and poorest of the land. The LORD
is LORD of all.

Our hearts may be weary of the sin that infests our lives, but the
warm and sincere Heart of the LORD is always present to attend to
our needs. Solomon was not without sin; yet, he prayed earnestly
and the LORD heard and answered his prayers.

None of us, whether reader or scribe, are free from sin; yet our
hearts and lives are cleansed when we pray. The Blood of our
LORD Jesus Christ cleanses us from sin, whether a slippage or
intentional, whether omission or commission. We are centuries
this side of Solomon, yet the LORD deals with us as surely as
He dealt with the king.

Prayer is the unique opportunity we are afforded to hold others
before Him with the assurance that what He does is best. We
all know someone who needs our prayers. We all know with
certainty that we ourselves need to pray in faith and in trust.

Hear us, oh LORD. You know the burden of our hearts. We
believe in Your ability and we trust in Your power. Thank You
for being faithful in adhearing to our prayers. Amen.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

With this email, my brother-in-law, Garrett Conner, is in hospital in St. Louis. He
is in very serious condition, and we all would appreciate your prayers for him.
Thank you.

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

Dear Grands,

John 8:25-30, “So they were saying to Him, ‘Who are You?’ Jesus
said to them, ‘What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
26 ‘I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.’
27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
28 So Jesus said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will
know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
29 ‘And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.’
30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.“

Oh, now I get it! Why didn’t you say that before? Were you ever
Listening to someone without actually absorbing what was being
said? Of course, you have! So have I, and so has everyone. It’s not
that we’ve not appeared to have understood; it’s that other thoughts
have crept into our thinking, and—well, we’ve just listened to certain things and not listened to others.

The crowd referenced in our Scripture above were not good listeners!
Still, Jesus was patient. He had many things to say –things, they and
we need to hear! The Prime Person of whom the Savior spoke was
the Father.

Jesus foretold that they would ultimately crucify the Son of Man! And
at that time, they would learn that Jesus Himself was the Son of Man!
What Jesus was doing was precisely what the Father wanted Him to
do. What Jesus and the Father wanted them to do was believe!

The closing thought in verse 29 is that the Father is always with the
Son, and everything the Son does is always within the Father’s will.
Therefore, the Scriptures above that are with you, are what the Father
wishes for you to know and believe, also.

The “lifting up of the Son of Man” clearly references Jesus’ crucifixion.
He died on the Cross, shedding His blood that it might cover our sin.
When we believe Him and accept His death and resurrection as for
us, His blood covers our sin from the eyes of the Father. That is His
forgiveness. Now, all you need to do is to thank Him for what He did
and accept His gift just as you would accept a gift from a friend.

Pray: Thank You, LORD, for loving and dying for me.
Forgive my sins, come into my heart and life and help
me to live for You, who died and arose from the dead
for me. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen.

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

Dear Grands,

John 8:31-36, “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed
Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have
never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will
become free?’”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who
commits sin is the slave of sin.
35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does
remain forever.
36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

If you’ve been watching the news recently, you surely have noticed
the legal entanglements that are front-and-center in Georgia’s Fulton
County. No, I’m not going to rehash it all for you here; I’m only going
to note how the legal entanglements there parallel the Scripture here.
The truth, if we know it—that is, if we embrace it, is the LORD’s sure
guarantee of our freedom.

I once toyed with the idea of studying law. Today, I’m excited that
the LORD had other plans for me. Talk about a “tangled web!” In his
“Book of Signs,” Dr. David Jeremiah notes how the nations of our
world became entangled with other nations, virtually guaranteeing
a coming world government!

“The Roman Empire of Jesus’ day did not end suddenly. It gradually
declined over many centuries, until the Western part of the empire
fell in AD 476. The Eastern part…fell in AD 1453.”

In 1930, 26 nations came together in a coalition that was called “the
United States of Europe.” As other countries joined the group, the
name was again altered to “the European Union.”

All of this is somewhat like numerous families uniting in a way where
it takes a vote to determine what time supper is on!

Time is running out! We had better forget Fani Willis’ troubles and
focus on our own. We need to “shape up” for Jesus’ Coming! If you
haven’t, I urge you to do it now! Confess your sins to Jesus so you
won’t be left behind when He comes! Concern yourself with those
you know, who don’t know Him! There’s nothing like hearing the
words “Sorry; you’re too late. He was here, but you were not ready!”

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