The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

James 5:17-20, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

A host of errors from a variety of places has brought about misgivings of the Holy Scriptures and the men and women they set before us as spiritual examples. Elijah was one of the foremost examples.

James tells us: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.” Have you ever prayed that the LORD would not allow it to rain, and have your prayer answered?

Truth be told, it takes a person with exceeding faith to even dare to pray such a prayer. But, you and I have natures just like Elijah’s! Why are our prayers not answered? Elijah’s were! Does the LORD not love us as much as He loves Elijah?

Of course, the LORD loves us as much as He loved Elijah! But our prayers do not demonstrate the faith and perseverance of Elijah’s. He prayed earnestly; we pray spasmodically. His prayers were for God’s glory; our prayers are often simply for our immediate benefit.

We have no written record of the prayers of Elijah. Yet, he prayed for three years and six months that rain would be withheld –and it was! Subsequently, “…he prayed again, and the earth produced its fruit.” Elijah did not give up! He believed thoroughly in the LORD! His persistence in prayer was ultimately honored. Now, dare we ask why our prayers are not answered?

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,

James 5:13-16, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

I was a small boy in grammar school when the father of my closest friend ran for Sheriff of our county. I handed out dozens of cards without much thought of anything but helping him to win.

I had little-to-no understand of politics in those days. It was probably much like what we are encountering today. I do, however, recall that some “negative story” was circulated against the man I wanted to win. Yet, when the votes were counted, my man won and became our Sheriff! Yet, strangely enough, I never remember praying about that situation.

If ever believers needed to become engaged in serious prayer for our nation, it is today! It’s quite certain that James was not thinking politically when he urged his readers to engage in serious prayer. James was focused on the sick –the physically and spiritually sick!

Israel is back in her homeland. Evil forces are seeking to erase Israel from the map. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you… 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” (Psa. 122:7-9).

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 42:16-21, “’Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.’”
17 So (Joseph) put them all together in prison for three days.
18 Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:
19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households,
20 and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.
21 Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

Joseph dealt shrewdly with his brothers. He truly wanted to see young Benjamin, but wanted to force the others to bring Benjamin to him. (Joseph had previously spent considerable time in prison himself, and he was okay. What would a few days there hurt his brothers?)

Like Joseph, Jesus and Paul spent considerable time in prisons. Truth lay at the root of all of their imprisonments.
Circumstances often look bleak when they happen to us.
Yet, just as Joseph was secretly in charge, so is Jesus always in charge when we suffer under circumstances.

When we are born again, we belong to Christ Jesus. He is therefore ultimately responsible for us, regardless of the
circumstances that surround us. We will do well just to rest comfortably in Him. His way is always best; and in time we will understand it all. Remember that old song that said, “We’ll understand it better bye and bye.”

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,

Exodus 24:1-7, “Then He said to Moses, ‘Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance.
2 Moses alone, however, shall come near to the LORD, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.’
3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!’
4 Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.
6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!’”

If there are but three words that all children should remember from elementary school, they are: “Listen and behave.” And if there are but four words every teacher longed to hear from students, they are “We will be obedient.” School teachers are like “substitute parents.” They are the authorities when the parents are not present.

Moses related to the people the instructions the LORD had given him. Notice that in addition to the altar and the burnt offerings, there was a sprinkling of blood and the reading from the Book. The blood of our LORD Jesus Christ, previewed here, occurred at His crucifixion. When we trust and commit our lives to Him, He covers our sins
with His blood.

The Bible, Christ’s Holy Scriptures, are preserved for our daily instruction. It is to our benefit that we absorb them daily in the process of yielding our lives to His purposes.
Are you doing that? I pray that you are. And while you are praying, remember me. I stand in the same need as 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,

Psalm 37:3-10, “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the
desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and
your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.”

There’s a lot to the Christian faith. At the same time, there
very little. Is that not a contradiction? No, indeed! On the one hand, there are notable directives that we must follow to legitimately call ourself a “Christian.” Trust, delight, dwell, rest… Each of these requires an activity.

At the same time, Christians are to be and do good, cultivate faithfulness, and forsake wrath and wicked schemes. All of these would seem to require activity.

Fuzed together, therefore, we can conclude that Christians are to be both active and inactive, depending on the nature of the situation at hand.

The Christian’s attitude toward the activity or inactivity, therefore, rests upon the situation involved. Some situations call for quick action! Others call for no action! Still, our attitude should always be loving and peaceful.

How do we know when to be or not to be loving or peaceful? If we live with perennial love toward others, we
will know whether or how we should should respond. The
Holy Spirit always reveals everything that’s needed. What’s more, He is always on time!

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