The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Kings 22:1-8, “Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.

2 In the third year Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.

3 Now the king of Israel said to his servants, ‘Do you know that Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us, and we are still doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?’

4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-Gilead, Jehoshaphat?’ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

5 Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.’

6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of the LORD here that we may inquire of him?”

8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.’ But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not the king say so.’”

There is but one way whereby anyone can achieve his own will: namely, disallow anything that is contrary to intervene. Clearly, Jehoshaphat was not in charge. Anyone who is—and knows it and is not afraid—will take charge and move forward with the task at hand. Those in any military who have proved themselves have rank above others who have not.

Such is the same today with the people of the LORD! There are always troublesome situations that require courage and determination. Still, they are indispensables of life and are required. Those who shrink into withdrawal demonstrate their lack of faith in the LORD. Of course, growth is required in every situation; and faith is the water of growth. Moreover, spiritual trust in the LORD feeds spiritual growth in every situation. Be not afraid! Cast all your care upon Him. He never fails!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

John 8:12-20, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

13 So the Pharisees said to Him, ‘You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.’

14 Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.’

15 “You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.”

16 “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.”

17 “Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.

18 “I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”

19 So they were saying to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.”

There is much being said about Jesus today; much of it is wrong. Like the Pharisees in the passage above, multitudes (or so it seems) of so-called preachers are depicting Jesus as they desire to envision Him, rather than the way He actually appears, as set forth in Scripture. A “proof-text” is a statement that purports to be true, but rests completely upon the foundation of the one stating it. Jesus is who He is, as set forth in Scripture—not as those who self-describe Him.

Careful attention to the accusation of the Pharisees reveals the weakness of their statements regarding Jesus. A lot of those same accusations concerning Him prevail today. Man is not the judge; Jesus is! Therefore, we do well when we trust Him instead of those who trust themselves alone. Mankind stumbled and fell. Jesus came to rescue man from his turbulent fall. In whom, then, do you place your trust?

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

Psalm 12:1-8, “For the choir director; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

‘Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be, for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

2 ‘They speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.

3 ‘May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks great things;

4 ‘Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?’

5 “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”

6 The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

7 You, O LORD, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever.

8 The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.”

Whether David is attempting to assist the godly man and/or eliminate those who employ falsehoods is not altogether clear; still, he is careful to draw a clear distinction between the two. Such legalities must occur, however, if mankind is to live in peace and safety.

Recently, I witnessed a judge excoriate the counsel for the defense. It was not easy to witness; nevertheless, it was the responsibility of the defense counsel to do whatever was legally necessary to procure the release of his accused client.

We must never forget that it is our responsibility to conduct ourselves in such a manner as to avoid even the appearance of evil. Clearly, this is not what we are witnessing with many today. It is not only our right to oppose evil; it is our responsibility to do so aggressively. We are to oppose evil with the good with which we have been granted from the LORD!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

Proverbs 3:25-30, “Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;

26 For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you.

29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor, while he lives securely beside you.

30 Do not contend with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.

31 Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways.

32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright.

33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers, yet gives grace to the afflicted.

35 The wise will inherit honor, but fools display dishonor.”

It is difficult to apply each of the six above “do not” directives to the multiple aspects of any single human life. Apparently, the writer expected each reader to apply them to his or her life. Perhaps Alexander Pope read the above Scripture passage before he said, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” In any event, Solomon (the Scriptural author) listed sufficient “Do nots” to keep each of us busy examining our minds and hearts.

It’s so easy to criticize the speech and actions of others; yet, in all honesty, we would each (myself included) do well to examine ourselves prior to expressing our critiques of others. Nor should we overly concern ourselves with the critical thoughts of others, respecting how we handle situations that are thrust upon us. Do not the two verses above say, the LORD is “intimate with the upright” (vs. 32), and “He blesses the dwelling of the righteous” (vs. 33)? Scoffing or scorning must always be left to the LORD. In the wrap-up of all things, He will attend to who deserves what and how much. In the meantime, we need simply to attend to our own attitudes. Ouch! That hurts!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

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,

Ecclesiastes 8:6-12, “For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him. 7 If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?

8 No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it.

9 All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.

10 So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility.

11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.

12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.”

Were you ever gripped with the fallacious thought that you were actually in control of a situation? Probably so! However, Solomon says it’s never quite like that. I hate to admit it, but I’ve been in situations that can be described precisely as Solomon has stated it. No, I’m not going to spoil this letter! I will simply admit that I have been in situations where, as stated, I thought I was in control—only to quickly discover that I was not!

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

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