The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

II Chronicles 26:22-28, “Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became
yet more unfaithful to the LORD.
23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, and said, ‘Because
the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.’
But they became the downfall of him and all Israel.
24 Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he closed the doors of the house of the LORD
and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.
25 In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked
the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger.
26 Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
27 So Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did
not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.“

So there are degrees of unfaithfulness? Indeed there are! The brevity of the passage before
us prohibits the exhibition of all of Ahaz’s sins; yet, the use of the word “more” in verse 22,
indicates that Ahaz had previously committed similar sins. Yet he was so mesmerized by the
gods that had defeated him, that he offered sacrifices to them! That’s like raising the salaries
of the losing team!

The proliferation of sacrifices to foreign (non-existent) gods provoked the LORD God to
anger! Oh, and by the way, Ahaz destroyed the utensils that were used in the worship of
the LORD, and even “made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.” He burned
incense to virtually every foreign god that did not exist, provoking the LORD to anger! In the
end, Ahaz died, leaving a worthless track record before the LORD.

No doubt you’ve been employing a comparison between yourself and what the LORD both
deserves and requires. The life that He has given us cannot be more worthy than when it
is given to Him. It’s more than just being a born-again Christian; it’s being a Christian whose
life is focused on being like Jesus!

The world has it’s sufficiency of wicked and evil men, wouldn’t you say? It’s time for those
of us who have been born again, to cast of the mantle of selfishness and let the world see
and know what a true Christian is and how deeply we love and treasure our LORD-Provider!

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 7:11-16, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month,
on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great
deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
12 The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
13 On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah,
and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,
14 they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every
creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all
sorts of birds.
15 So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of
life.
16 Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded
him; and the LORD closed it behind him.”

It’s difficult, if not hurtful, to look back upon some of my childhood days. I had a bad
habit of slamming a door when I was closing it. I can well recall my mother saying,
“And don’t slam the door!” I’ve often wondered how she (or I, for that matter) would
have reacted to life aboard the Ark.

My mother grew up on a farm, so she was well acquainted with all kinds of animals.
The only thing I remember her hating were rodents, specifically mice! If she had
known that they had been brought on board, she just might have refused passage!

Exactly how all the animals (and rodents!) were coaxed onto the Ark, is not revealed.
Noah’s sons might have been ordered to gather them, or the LORD Himself might
have divinely prompted them to enter, as if on their own. There are multiple things
about the Ark experience that we will never know this side of eternity. Yet, the very
fact that the LORD wanted them spared in order to re-start life on the other side of
the flood, shows His love and forethought.

Hundreds of years after the Great Flood, the LORD sent His Son, Jesus, as the
means of rescuing people from death and hell before He ends life as we currently
know it. We come into His rescue through a simple faith and trust in Him. Noah
was allowed to rescue his family by means of the Ark. God sent His Son to be our
Ark of Safety.

Through the death of His Son, Jesus, we can be rescued from the ultimate storm.
We have no need to fear anything –only to trust in the saving grace of Jesus by
means of the cross. Do you know Him? Salvation is more than church membership.
It’s more than being morally clean. It’s trust, faith, in the LORD Jesus Christ alone!
Do you know Him? You can. Ask Him in prayer to forgive your sins; and trust Him
to do it! He will make Himself known to 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,

Genesis 6:11-17, “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth
was filled with violence.
12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted
their way upon the earth.
13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth
is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with
the earth.
14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms,
and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.
15 “This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its
breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and
set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third
decks.
17 “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh
in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall
perish.”

If your parents are or were like mine, you know the severity of punishment for disobeying
the rules of the house. Some rules were “standard,” like always wash your hands before
dinner.” Others were temporary, such as “You may play with your cousins for 30 minutes.
Just tell Aunt Zelpha and she will set the clock on the stove.”

The Bible says that the Ark was constructed out of “gopher” wood and openings in the
wood were filled and sealed with “pitch.” As instructed, Noah assembled the animals on
the Ark, just as he was instructed.

The LORD had rules in the days of Noah, too. Noah and his family entered and lived in
the Ark for seven days before the flood came. Among the most sobering words in the
Scripture as the words: “And the door was shut.” That assurred safety for Noah and his
family; yet, it prohibited entry of those who were sceptics.

Interestingly, too, those sobering words (“and the door was shut”) indicated protection for
Noah, his wife, his three sons and their respective wives –a total of eight. Thus, we, who
have trusted the LORD Jesus Christ as our Savior, are protected from the storms of life
when we live under the safety and protection of the LORD. If you’re not protected, you
can be! It’s not too late! Turn you heart and life over to Jesus. Trust Him as you Savior!
Life’s storms demand His protection. Your life is secure as soon as you ask His forgiveness.

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,

Job 2:1-6, “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.
2 The LORD said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Then Satan answered the
LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’
3 The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one
like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from
evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him
without cause.’
4 Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give
for his life.
5 However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You
to Your face.’
6 So the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.’”

One of the most remarkable books of the Old Testament is the Book of Job. Scholars
allow that the book was written about B.C. 950. If that be true, then Job was not the
author. It is likely that Moses or some unknown person was the author about B.C. 2000.
What the book of Job contains supersedes whoever was the author. There are other
biblical books whose authors we do not know, yet their content is remains exceedingly
valuable to us!

The Book of Job, however, cites Satan in conversation with the LORD! Satan dares to
challenge the LORD to cause an affliction in Job’s body, proving that Job will curse God
to His face! The LORD God then responded to Satan saying that he could do to Job what
he wanted, but he was restricted from killing him.

Satan demonstrates the height of his arrogance when he challenges God! Has it not
occurred to us that if Satan were not afraid to challenge Almighty God, he would not
hesitate in the least to challenge you and me? Oh, he’s bold all right!

At the same time, we should stand boldly for the LORD, and do it without fear! If you read
the final chapters of the Bible, you’ll understand. The LORD wins! Satan is ultimately
destroyed for eternity in the Lake of Fire!

Who is on the LORD’s side?
Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers,
Other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world’s side?
Who will face the foe?
Who is on the LORD’s side?
Who for Him will go?

Will you? Will I? We who know the LORD have the responsibility to share Him with others.
When He comes, will He find faith on the earth?

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,

Deuteronomy 7:1-8, “When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and
the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you,
2 and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you
shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to
them.
3 “Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to
their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.
4 “For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger
of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.
5 “But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.
6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen
you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of
the earth.
7 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in
number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
8 but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers,
the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

When I was but a small boy, my dad built me some remarkable toys! There were instances
when I actually got in the way, trying with all my might to help him in the construction. The
thing was, dad knew what he was building and how to do it. I possessed no notion of either.
Oh, I handed him some tools, but the real construction was his idea and his doing.

When the LORD does something, He does it in a big way! Further, He also does it with genuine purpose! It will be ultimately be beneficial to Israel (as in this instance), although it does not appear so at the start. That’s how the LORD works! Had He not wanted us to be
here, He would have chosen something to replace humanity in the Creation.

In this instance, however, the LORD erases the vitality of some seven nations in order to provide for His own people. (Why do we doubt that the LORD’s ability to remove things we assess to be a hindrance?) Nothing is too difficult for the LORD” (Jer. 32:17 & 27).

Why, then, doesn’t the LORD just erase all the nations that worship other gods? That would
be easy for Him. The storms and plagues that are in His hands do fall upon us and eradicate
scores of people. Is the LORD demonstrating His power to destroy or His power to protect
all that survive? Certainly, it is both. What is more, He does it out of love! His ways are not
our ways; and it often frustrates us to not understand why He does what He does. Yet,

“Ours is not to reason why;
Ours is but to do or die.”

We should pray that the LORD will always make us amenable to His ways. He always does
what is best for His people.

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