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.”

Have you ever wondered why so few people enter Churches to worship? When we’re
there, it often seems as if the whole city were there. Yet, a quick body count tells a different story. Perhaps so few attend because they have lost the purpose for attending.

There are undoubtedly multiple “things” that people assess to be of greater importance. Yet, notwithstanding illness of one’s self or that of another, nothing should be considered
of “greater importance” than the solemn worship of our LORD.

The verses above say that we are to “give thanks to the name of the LORD.” How often
do we pause just to give thanks? In fact, just uttering a common “thanks” to another person, for anything is often slighted.

It follows that we are also to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” If you have been following
Israel’s war against Hamas, you know how desperately Israel needs our prayers. May we
be faithful in praying for Israel. The land for which they are currently fighting was given
to them by the LORD in centuries past. Read again verses 6 and 7, as they encourage us to pray for our own peace. Let us join faithfully as we seek for Jerusalem’s peace, too.

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,

Isaiah 63:7-11, “I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has granted them according to His compassion and according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.
8 For He said, ‘Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely.’ So He became their Savior.
9 In all their affliction, He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy, He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.
11 Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,”

“Wanta fight?” That was the old school ground challenge when differences of opinion
could not otherwise be resolved. “Were the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team ranked
first or second in the 1946 season?” In a word, and especially now, nearly 80-some
years from the date of that “school-ground discussion,” who cares? What difference
does it make?

Isaiah’s recollection of “the lovingkindness of the LORD” (Isa 63:10-11), does matter, however. The fact that the prophet mentions the Holy Spirit, is in itself, of invaluable
importance! For it is He, the Spirit of God, the third member of the Trinity, who dwells
with the Father and the Son from before the inception of Creation. Yes, He matters!

When we pray, asking forgiveness of sin or the strength of the LORD to accomplish
a specific task, it is the Holy Spirit who impresses upon us to ask the involvement of
the Father. Further, it is the Holy Spirit who Himself carries our requests to the Father.

It is the Holy Spirit (mentioned in the Old Testament), Who is currently Masterminding
His Jewish people in their fight against Hamas. The archealogical discovery of the
Spirit, as engraved in Scripture on ancient stones, has recently inspired Israelis in their
determination to rid her enemies from land given her by the LORD God Almighty!

May we, as well, be inspired to love and depend upon the LORD in our lives, too.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
May they prosper who love you…”
(Psa. 122:6).

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 Samuel 8:1-7, “And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel.
2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.
3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;
5 and they said to him, ‘Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.’
6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the LORD.
7 The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.’”

There are two things in this passage that mystify me. First, Samuel was brought to this very place
when he was but a small boy. Eli was then judge in Israel, and his sons became judges under their
father. Yet, they were evil and used their positions to engage in all manner of evil, even in the sight
of the LORD. Samuel witnessed Eli’s sons and their sinfulness.

One would have thought that Samuel would have trained his own sons better than he did. They were
virtually as evil as Eli’s sons. Who were the protectors of the nation when the judges were corrupt?
The elders of Israel came to Samuel, who was now old and not ruling the people as the LORD
Intended. The elders insisted that Samuel appoint a king to rule over them.

Samuel was displeased over the elders’ request. One thing he had not forsaken, however, was
prayer. He cried out to the LORD, Who replied, “Listen to the voice of the people…” Is it possible
that we sometimes set prayer aside because we’re afraid of what the LORD will say? The LORD took the responsibility, saying “Listen to the voice of the people…they have not rejected you (Samuel), they have rejected Me from being king over them.”

Taking responsibility as He did, the LORD intentionally spared Samuel. He does the same for us
when He gave His Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross for our sins. Our failures are our own; nevertheless, the LORD Jesus took them upon Himself when He went to the cross. His death is for
us, yet we must ask Him to forgive us and trust Him to do so. The spiritual cycle recommences
when we, as parents, set the right course and attitude for our children. But, we have to know Him first! Have you committed your life to Jesus? He lived and died to forgive your sins and mine.

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,

Numbers 32:16-23, “Then they came near to him and said, ‘We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones;
17 but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18 “We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has possessed his inheritance.
19 “For we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.’
20 So Moses said to them, ‘If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for the war,
21 and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven His enemies out from before Him,
22 and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the LORD and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours for a possession before the LORD.
23 ‘But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.’”

These verses do indeed point out clearly that when a nation refuses to follow the LORD’s directive,
there is a price to be paid. Except for Joshua and Caleb, the ten men who comprised Israel, brought
an “evil” report of the land where the LORD had led them. Evidently, they had forgotten that the LORD always does right; He never does wrong. This is the maxim the LORD had given them.

In the instance cited above (Num. 16-23), the LORD “reasoned” with those Israelites, who saw food
and pasture for their stocks in the land before they crossed the Jordan River. Their proposition to Moses was that they would cross the Jordan, fight with their brothers, drive out the inhabitants of the land, and then go back across the Jordan and occupy the abundance of the land for their stock.

The LORD spoke to Moses and allowed what the tribes wanted. The LORD seems always willing to entertain our thoughts, so long as they do not ultimately violate His directive. The tribes were not endeavoring to withdraw from battle, they were simply desirous of occupying land that would care
for their cattle and families. We must never seek to withdraw from the LORD’s directives! Yet, He is
willing to hear what we have to say.

We are like that with our children. I can remember how surprised I was at the wisdom that sometimes came from my children. Go on, admit that it has often come from your children, too!

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,

Genesis 35:9-12, “Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and
He blessed him.
10 God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.’ Thus He called him Israel.
11 God also said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you.’
12 ‘The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to
your descendants after you.’”

If you have any questions or misgivings regarding the current Israeli-Hamos war, the above
verses (esp. v. 12) should clarify which nation is in the right! Furthermore, Biblical history revealed
in Scripture is as sure and reliable as its doctrine. The History of Israel is literally filled with wars.
How could we expect otherwise, since Satan perennially sets Israel’s enemies against her!

Remember the “6 Day War”? We were in Australia when that occurred, and I shall never forget
my conversation with an Aussie soldier. He was fuming and fussing because of his connection
with the Australian military. I remember saying to him, “Don’t worry about this! You’re an
Australian.” His quick and rather terse reply was: “I know that! But, I’m Jewish! I need to be in that fight.”

The biggest requirement for those of us who are not Jewish is to believe that the LORD is with them
in this and every battle, especially battles that concern land the LORD gave to them centuries ago!
Are we so naïve to believe that the LORD has forgotten or rescinded His gift to the Jewish nation?
He has not rescinded His promise to Israel; nor has He rescinded His promise of Eternal Life to those who have trusted Him for salvation!

“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached
the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED
IN YOU’” (Gal. 3:8).

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