The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

II Chronicles 1:7-12, “In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’

8 And Solomon said to God, ‘Thou hast dealt with my father David with great lovingkindness, and hast made me king in his place.

9 ‘Now, O LORD God, Thy promise to my father David is fulfilled; for Thou hast made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

10 “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can rule this great people of Thine?’

11 “And God said to Solomon, ‘Because you had this in mind, and did not ask for riches, wealth, or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge, that you may rule My people, over whom I have made you king,

12 wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed, nor those who will come after you.’”

Have you ever had the experience of someone saying to you, “Whatever you want, I will give it to you?” Perhaps a friend has noticed your eyes focusing on

a particular object. You may have been embarrassed that the friend had noticed.

I can only imagine how Solomon felt when the LORD said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” There was no “choice” involved on Solomon’s part. It was an “open-ended” gesture! What’s more, it was a certain promise from the LORD.

The Word of the LORD offers us more than we know—certainly more than we deserve. He only requires that we utilize His gift “to the praise of His glory!”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

I Chronicles 4:23, “These were the potters and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah; they lived there with the king for his work.”

Regardless of who the king is, his work cannot be carried on alone. Scores of men and women are needed to render all work profitably. Such might well be said of those in every kingdom. No king can live and do what is expected of him without sufficient, intelligent cooperative help.

At the same time, and assuming that the king exists for his people, the value of what he does for his people relies heavily upon those who labor, as it were, for the king.

Throughout the Scriptures, we find the LORD focusing upon His people. Those congregations that exalt Him are those who love Him and live by His eternal Word. All in all, the work is reciprocal. Certainly, we rely upon His eternal wisdom and blessing; therefore, we share in the responsibilities and the productivity.

Are you sharing in the responsibilities the LORD has assigned to you? Being as He is thoroughly in charge, He has every right to expect that you and I will be cooperative and ultimately produce according to His assignment.

What is it that the LORD has called you to do? If you’re unaware of what it is, you need to prayerfully seek His will. Like with Ruth the Moabitess, there is always some grain to glean – grain that has been missed by the reapers.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

II Kings 1:1-6, “Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.’

3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

4 “Now therefore thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'” Then Elijah departed.

5 When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “Why have you returned?”

6 And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”

One of the exciting aspects of the Old Testament is how the LORD deals with His people and with people who are not spiritually His! When Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room, he immediately inquired of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. The jealousy of the LORD prompted Elijah to revile the messengers of the Samarian king.

To whom should we go when we are faced with physical difficulties? Is our first line of defense prayer to the LORD? It ought to be! He’s the best that we have, and He delights in our leaning upon Him! Yes, the LORD has put doctors in our paths; still, He ranks far above the sharpest in the medical profession. Don’t forget: Christian doctors pray, too!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

1 Kings 9:1-7, “Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all that Solomon desired to do. 2 that the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.’ 4 “As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 “But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.’”

The LORD’s promises to us are much like the one to Solomon. If we live as He wants us to live, we can be assured of His blessing. If we fail to live as He wills, we will suffer loss. Are we submitting ourselves to Him, as He demands, or are we ignoring His demands upon our lives? There is no doubt that He will deal with us much as He promised Solomon. Dare we take the chance? I pray we will choose to follow Him.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

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

Dear Grands,

II Samuel 3:30-34, “So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon. 31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, ‘Tear your clothes and gird on sackcloth and lament before Abner.’ And King David walked behind the bier. 32 Thus they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king chanted a lament for Abner and said, ‘Should Abner die as a fool dies? 34 Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters; as one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.’ And all the people wept again over him.”

Things were not always smooth in Israel. In some ways, ancient times were virtually as difficult as they are today. Of course, if someone were to intentionally kill a member of my family, I would undoubtedly want to take revenge for the killing, too. But laws in David’s era were different from what they are today. Furthermore, David obeyed the laws of his God.

Tearing one’s clothes and putting on sackcloth were early Jewish rituals for showing love for the one who had died. There was always sufficient time for avenging a death. It is easy to see that the Israelites were not simply “bloodthirsty,” for they dealt with the suffering family before effecting vengeance on the one who killed their brother.

As believers in our LORD Jesus Christ, we should never plan or execute vengeance on others, regardless of what they do against us. We live under the mandates of the New Testament. Our chief responsibility is to confess our sins and heinous thoughts to the LORD and seek His forgiveness for even our thoughts of retribution. We must remember that our primary responsibility in such situations is to “show forth to the praise of His glory.”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom