The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Habakkuk 1:1-4, “The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

2 How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.

3 Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises.

4 Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.”

Whether we admit it or not, we’re all very much like the prophet Habakkuk. How many times have we prayed until we were ready to give up because we had no answer?

A mother might seek to encourage her young ones with the thought that “the LORD is very busy; He will answer when He has time.”

But for those of us who have lived long with Him, an answer like we might give to our children is not sufficient. We’re adults! Where is the LORD? Why has He not replied?

Well, if we’re truly adults, we should act like adults. Of course, the LORD is busy, but He is THE LORD! He can provide a thousand responses to His people in numerous countries in a nanosecond of time. To Him, time itself is of no importance. It is no impediment to His Divine decrees. In the meantime, we are being taught to be patient—or are we?

How often, when told to wait, does a child respond with, “But I want it NOW!” Is it not sufficient that He has heard us? We wait on responses from others. Is He not more important than they? Certainly, He is! Perhaps that is why He appears to delay.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called… and be thankful” (Col. 3:15).

Heartily yours in Christ Jesus,

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,

Hebrews 12:7-11, “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?

10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.

11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Have you ever asked yourself, “What good am I, anyway? Everyone else seems to have all the talent. No one ever looks to me to do anything— not even the easy, simple things. I’m just no good at all! Why does the LORD even leave me here?”

That’s the description of a “pity party.” It’s the voice of someone who rarely gets asked to play in the game. He’s never asked to do anything. He doesn’t really try; and, as stated in verse one, “It is for discipline that you endure.” Seven times, in our five verses above, the word discipline occurs.

Perhaps the most obvious discipline occurs in sports. He runs faster! He knows exactly where to throw the ball! He keeps quiet when it’s obvious that the umpire’s call was in error. He doesn’t argue with his coach. All of these bespeak “discipline.”

Yet, we often forego discipline, preferring to play the game our own way instead of following the rules of the LORD Jesus! He wants us to be disciplined in reaching others. They are spiritually lost until they yield themselves to Christ. Once saved, our Coach wants us to play hard and reach the spiritually lost. Some Australian friends have recently put the Heraldofhope.org.au online. It is filled with accurate, spiritual news and encouragement. What’s more, it is FREE! You can share it again and again with lost and wayward friends. I urge you to “give it a go,” as the Aussies would say.

Heartily yours in Christ Jesus,

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,

Acts 20:7-11, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.

8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together.

9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead.

10 But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.”

11 When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left.”

Preaching is important if it’s true, biblical preaching. It’s important because it concerns Jesus Christ and because it seeks to persuade both believers and non-believers to trust in Christ as their LORD and Savior and to behave in the lifestyle for which the LORD saved them.

True biblical preaching is not a slave to a clock on the wall. True Christians recognize that Scripture is their Guidebook, and earnest pastors recognize the same. Thus, time is of less importance than what the congregation is receiving from the Scriptures.

In the Scriptural account above, however, young Eutychus gave way to sleep under Paul’s long preaching. Ultimately, the young man fell from the upper story and was determined dead. Through the power and providence of the LORD, Paul was able to revive the young man. A concerned congregation then turned its attention to hearing the remainder of the ministry of Paul.

We’re hardly in danger of falling out of windows during Sunday sermons; however, we often neglect to see the value the message has for the congregation at large. Earnest pastors prayerfully prepare the LORD’s message for the LORD’s people. We would all do well to bear this factor in mind. Someday we’ll give an account!

Heartily yours in Christ Jesus,

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,

Exodus 2:23-25, “Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.

24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.”

It was in the early days of my formal education that I learned that I needed help. In the first grade, I needed help learning to read. In the second grade, I needed help learning to write. In the third grade, I needed help learning multiplication tables. When I failed to negotiate my bicycle properly, I needed help to stop the bleeding and a dentist to save some of my teeth.

Virtually everything in life requires our need for help. Israel needed help when the nation was in bondage. It’s not always a sign of weakness; we often encounter something that is beyond our experience. Circumstances rush upon us at every stage of life. It’s important that we learn in order that we might serve others. For those whom we serve will ultimately be called upon to serve others, as well.

If our reading in Exodus takes us beyond the second chapter, we soon discover that Moses needed the appearance of a burning bush (Ex. 3:2), and further still, the instruction of an angel (3:4). Moses himself later became a great teacher, leading Israel across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, and all the way to the Promised Land. He taught Israel as he learned from God.

Is not Moses’ example a clear signal to us? We learn from Scripture in order that we might teach others. What has He taught you recently? Have you found an occasion to share with others what you have learned from Him? We’re not to be “bossy,” we’re to be observant and helpful to others. What’s the value of learning if we fail to share with others what we have learned? Someone’s calling and needs your help today.

Heartily yours in Christ Jesus,

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,

Ezekiel 11:14-20, “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
15 ‘Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “Go far from the LORD; this land has been given us as a possession.”
16 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.’”
17 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”‘
18 “When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.
19 “And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.”

Human beings are the same in every country and in every generation. The old saying, “What’s mine is mine,” operated in Ezekiel’s day just as it does in our day. The general attitude of the heart of mankind has not changed. Nor will it change! We live in a different time zone, far removed from the days of Ezekiel; still, the general attitude of humanity seems destined to remain the same until Jesus comes again.

The nations that stand opposed to Israel today are unanimously opposed to Israel’s claim to the land the LORD granted to them. Yet, the LORD has not altered His promise. “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel” (v. 17). He is currently doing precisely what He promised through the prophet Ezekiel. He will keep and honor His promises to you and me, as well “…a new heart…a new spirit…” that we might be and live to the praise of His glory!

Heartily yours in Christ Jesus,

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