The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ezra 1:1-3, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the Word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:
2 ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3 ‘Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.’”

I will never forget the teenage girl asking me, “How much should I read?” It was a challenge I gave her. She could argue with me; she could not argue with God. I told her to read five chapters of the Gospel of John. She did and came to faith in Christ Jesus purely on her own.

The Old Testament Book of Ezra relates the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. Subsequently, upon their return, the Jews rebuilt the Temple for the worship of the true God, Jehovah.
Every aspect of the Book of Ezra focuses upon the Word of God. Israel’s return of some 50,000, came under the leadership of Zerubbabel. The return itself was in fulfillment of the Word of the LORD. The re-erection of the Altar, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the restoration of the Temple’s ritual was in strict obedience to the Word of God.

Subsequently, a smaller number of Jews (approximately 2,000, returned under Ezra. They, too, became students of the Word, even trembling at what they discovered within it. Thus, repentance and spiritual reform came to pass from their obedience to the Word.

The Word of the LORD is powerful! When it is declared, either privately or publicly, it transforms the lives of its hearers and sets forth the lifestyle the LORD commands for His people. That is precisely why He commissions the sharing of His Word with others. It’s not what the witness says as much as what the Word itself says. Thus, the presentation of the Word in its clarity is sufficient for the salvation of any and every person who will receive it. Have you received the LORD’s salvation?

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 Chronicles 4:9-10, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’
10 Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him what he requested.”

Several years ago, a book named “The Prayer of Jabez” captivated the Christian public. It was written in a very readable style with some excellent, down-home illustrations, and by a well-respected, conservative author. The Prayer reached the number one slot on some best-seller lists. And as the title implies, it was a book about prayer. Yet, it was more. It was an encouragement to pray. Christians and many non-Christians agree on the importance of prayer, and that we all should pray more than we do. The Prayer of Jabez impels us to that vital communication.

Therefore, for Jabez or anyone, true prayer is the outgrowth of a righteous life before the Father. Christian prayer is not a mantra that is repeated over and over again with the hope that what is requested will be allowed. In fact, Jesus seriously warned against “vain repetitions.” Still, prayer certainly ought to be persistent. The Father wants to know that we’re serious about the things we bring before Him. Yet, being persistent in prayer is quite different from empty and meaningless phrases that become mindlessly repetitious.

Reason, based upon a few passages alone, demands that we believe Jabez to have been a righteous man in the eyes of our Heavenly Father; otherwise, what he prayerfully requested would have been forthrightly denied, or simply ignored.

Prayer is not dependent upon the physical position we assume. What arrests the attention of the Father is not whether we are kneeling, or bowing our heads or closing our eyes or folding our hands. All are respectful, and true prayer must be offered respectfully; yet, a study of the prayer lives of biblical personalities reveals that there is no single, physical position that affects a Divine response to prayer.

Aside from the act of prayer itself, it is the righteousness of the life of the one who prays, who receives the Holy Spirit’s response that we call “answered prayer.” May our blessed and merciful Heavenly Father respond faithfully to all of our prayers. And may our lives be so lived that He will.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Yesterday’s GRANDS LETTER was delayed due to tornadic activity in Springdale. Electricity was off until late last evening. Several people were injured; but, thus far there have been no deaths reported. Thank you for your patience, and your prayers.

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 11:1-6, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, ‘You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.’ Solomon held fast to these in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.”

The First and Second Book of Kings were originally but one book, and the author is unknown. First Kings cites the Establishment, Glory, Disruption, and Decline of the Kingdom. David is aged and ill, yet he sees to the anointing of Solomon as his successor. For a while, the Kingdom is united and splendorous. Subsequently, however, Solomon dies and the kingdom suffers disruption and decline.

Decline continues in the Second Book. The LORD is ignored, despite the powerful ministry of the prophet Elijah. The extended ministry of the prophet Elisha, also witnessed the continued derision of the LORD. Thus, His anger was subsequently poured out upon both Israel and Judah, both of which ultimately declined.

All of this should assure us that God loves and desires to prosper His people. Yet, when His Word is ignored, He pours out His wrath upon the people who have ignored His warnings and done evil in His sight. Such is true of individuals and nations alike. As was noted in the Books of First and Second Samuel, man cannot do wrong against the LORD and get by! “Be sure your sin will find you out!”

Somewhere around the turn of the century, Frank C. Huston wrote the song “It Pays To Serve Jesus.” That song would be a commendatory substitute for some of the drivel that passes as music in churches today. For as foreign women turned Solomon’s heart away from the LORD, the jazzy music, scribbled for profit, does nothing to praise the LORD or encourage His people. May God awaken His people as they draw closer to His Rapturous call!

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 9:4-7, “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.”

Small children can often be heard to “dare” one another in performing an activity that is a bit on the dangerous side. It goes like – “I will, if you will.”

In this First Book of Kings, the LORD engages something like this with Solomon. David had obviously been forgiven for the sins he committed –sins of which we read in the Books of Samuel—for the LORD speaks of David’s “integrity of heart and uprightness,” doing as the LORD had commanded him.

The LORD’s promises are not exhaustible! His patience, however, is! As with Solomon, the LORD wants us to follow Him. He demands that we keep His commandments and forsake other gods and their worship. The LORD sets forth His desires in the Book we know as the Bible. It is that Book that leads us to faith in His Son, Jesus, who died on the Cross as payment for our sins.

When we believe in Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins and in His resurrection from the dead, He forgives us of our sins and gives His Holy Spirit to live within us. The Holy Spirit then uses the Word of God –the Bible—to guide our lives in the way He desires us to live. Having forgiven our sins, we immediately become His children; and as earthly fathers want their sons to behave and resemble them, so the LORD wants us to live in resemblance of Him and according to His standards.

Have you experienced this yet? You can, you know. It is the LORD’s loving desire
that you be forgiven of your sin and come to know Him as your LORD and Savior.
Seriouly ask Him to forgive you for your sins and as Him to make you a new person. Don’t let time run out! “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb. 4:7).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

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

P. S. Please pray for those courageous Ukrainians, who are defending their
homeland!

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

Dear Grands,

2 Samuel 2:1-2a, “Then it came about afterwards that David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?’ And the LORD said to him, ‘Go up.’
So David said, ‘Where shall I go up?’ And He said, ‘To Hebron.’
2 So David went up there…”

2 Samuel 11:1-2, “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.
2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.”

The book of Second Samuel is comprised of two distinct messages. They are both first to David, and then to us. The first message is that we are always in need of patience and dependence upon God for the fulfillment of His promises. As with David, we are taught that it is best to “wait upon the LORD.”

The second message assures us that sin always has its consequences. David ought to have been leading his men in battle. Instead, he stayed behind in Jerusalem; and it was there that he saw Bathsheba and yielded to the temptation to violate her. All the while, her husband, Uriah, was with the army fighting with David’s men. David’s attempt to cover his sin with Uriah’s wife ultimately and intentionally caused Uriah’s death.

There is “little of brightness in David’s life after his sin.” To be sure, he repented; yet, sin has its own consequences even when repentance is sincere. “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Much later, in the Psalms, David wrote, “Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). Oh, that we would learn to delight in the LORD instead of suffering His judgments.

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