The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 19:19, “’And now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us

from his hand that all the kingdoms of the Earth may know that

Thou alone, O LORD, art God.’”

It was a devastating time! After a long list of kings that failed to

serve the LORD, Hezekiah had destroyed those “high places,”

where Israel had served pagan gods; he had restored the

worship of the LORD and done everything right in the eyes of

the LORD. Still, problems persisted. The Assyrians had defeated

every nation around them and now they threated Israel. When

Hezekiah sought the LORD, He assured him that the Assyrian

army would turn back, because He had put a rumor in the mind

of their leader that the Assyrians were in trouble at home.

The Assyrians returned to Assyria, but they hadn’t given up on

Israel. They sent a letter saying they were returning and would

devastate the Israelis! So, once again Hezekiah went before the

LORD in prayer. This time, the LORD, in a rather long reply, said

“I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My

Servant David’s sake.” That very night, and angel of the LORD

struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers! Israel was saved!

This historical account teaches us that the LORD is not limited in

what He can do. Hezekiah had lived for the LORD; now, the

LORD worked for Hezekiah. He does the same today for those

who live for Him and call upon Him in their hour of need.

May you ever live for Him, so that He may work for you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 16:20, “So Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried

with his fathers in the city of David; and his son Hezekiah reigned

in his place.”

Reading through Second Kings is not always exciting. One after

another, kings died and were replaced with their sons, who died,

and were replaced with their sons. The one significant factor was

whether the incoming king of Israel and/or Judah, did what was

right in the sight of the LORD. Even the good kings, who honored

the LORD, far too often failed to “remove the high places,” where

the people served pagan deities.

My Dad was the finest, Christian man I have ever known. He was

honest and faithful in everything he undertook. I’ve always tried

to live the integritous life I saw in my Dad. Yet, I know my life has

often fallen short of what I witnessed in him. Try as I would, his

standard always exceeded my achievement. Isn’t that how we

all fail to measure up to the life of our LORD Jesus Christ? There

are those “high places” where we sacrifice to other gods. We

seek to justify our sin by measuring it against the spiritual good

that we do. But God doesn’t measure things that way. He wants

PERFECTION! And instead of yielding to His way and His power,

we seek to justify those “high places” in our devotion.

The Commandment that says, “Thou shalt not take the name of

the LORD Thy God in vain,” can be translated, “You shall not wear

the Name of the LORD disrespectfully” nor “carry it into disrepute.”

It’s more than not swearing; it’s the failure to live “to the praise of

His glory” (Eph. 1:12).

May the LORD enable each of us to live to His glory,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 6:5-7, “But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water;

and he cried out and said, ‘Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.’ 6 Then the

man of God said, ‘Where did it fall?’ And when he showed him the place, he

cut off a stick, and threw it in there, and made the iron float. 7 And he said,

‘Take it up for yourself.’ So he put out his hand and took it.”

In the midst of sickness and war and famine –a multitude of problems!—

the LORD demonstrates the value He holds for the practical things in life.

The sons of the prophets found the area in which they were living to be

too restricted. Their plan was to move to another area, and they asked

Elisha to go with them. He did. In the area near the Jordan River, they

cut trees to build houses. (Prophets are not exempt from manual work.)

But while one of them was seeking to fell a tree, the axe head came loose

from the handle and fell into the river. The man cried out to Elisha for

help. The axe he was using was not his; it was borrowed! Its loss was

considerable, for tools were rare and very expensive in those days.

Elisha asked, “Where did it fall?” Then, he “cut off a stick, and threw it

in” the place where the man showed him the axe head had fallen. And

the iron axe head floated to the surface of the water. When we are truly

living for the LORD, He meets the most menial needs we have. We’ve

misplaced things in houses where we’ve lived and prayed that the LORD

would help us find them. He did so numerous times! He IS concerned

for ALL of our needs, regardless of how needless they often are. Don’t

your parents often stop what they’re doing to help you with something

you need? They do it out of love. And so does the LORD! Depend on

Him! Rely on Him! Trust in Him! That’s what love is all about; and

God is love.

We love you and pray for you and your needs every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 4:1-2, “Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets

cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your

servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to

be his slaves.’ 2 And Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me, what

do you have in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your maidservant has nothing in

the house except a jar of oil.’”

Three desperate situations came to my attention only late last night. One

concerns a pastor-friend, who is in serious condition in a Louisiana hospital.

The second is a young missionary girl in Bolivia, who has need for immediate

spinal surgery. The third is missionary family in Mongolia, who are struggling

with the language and the culture of the country where the LORD has led them

minister the Gospel. What am I to do?

Elisha faced just such a problem. The woman had lost her husband; she had

depleted all her fund and was in debt; and now her creditor was threatening

to make slaves of her sons! What was Elisha to do? Did she have anything of

value left in the house? Only a small jar of oil. But it was enough!! She

gathered everything she could that would hold oil and, at the command of

the prophet, poured the small amount of oil into the borrowed vessels. The

miracle was: the oil just kept coming and coming and coming –until she ran

out of empty vessels.

There is a lesson here for all of us: what God has in store is SO MUCH MORE

than we could ever imagine! We just have to be empty of ourselves to

receive His blessing! Obedience was key to this woman’s blessing. She believed

Elisha and obeyed his directives. Try it for yourself. Turn your mind and heart

away from everything ungodly, and trust the LORD to fill your mind with Himself.

You will be happier that this dear woman –and was she immeasurably thankful!

Trust and obey;

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus;

But to trust and obey.

Love and prayers for each of you today,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 2:9, “Now it came about when they had crossed over,

that Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you before I

am taken from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘Please, let a double

portion of your spirit be upon me.’”

Persistence pays. Elijah and Elisha were in Gilgal. From there,

they went to Bethel; from Bethel to Jericho; from Jericho to

the Jordan River. Each time, Elijah told Elisha to stay put, but

Elisha persisted in sticking with him. Amazingly, all the prophets

along the way knew that Elijah as going to depart and be with

the LORD. Elisha knew it, too. And whatever was to occur, he

wanted to experience it.

Elijah parted the waters of the Jordan like Moses had parted

the waters of the Red Sea. He then turned to Elisha and

asked what he could do for him before he left the Earth.

Elisha was exceedingly bold and asked for a “double portion”

of Elijah’s spirit. When Elijah was taken into Heaven, he dropped

his mantle (a hairy robe that designated him a prophet of the

LORD). Elisha picked it up and struck the same waters with it,

and the waters parted for him as they had for Elijah. But did

Elisha receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit? Indeed he did!

Elijah in his lifetime performed seven miracles. Elisha performed

14!

What would have happened had Elisha stayed in Gilgal? Or what

would have happened if he had not had the courage to believe

he could receive that “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit? Always

be courageous! Always be bold in your faith! You may never

have the “hairy coat” of a prophet, but the LORD is your strength

in every situation. Trust! Believe! Ask! Receive! And do it all

for His glory! He will be to you what He was to Elisha.

Our love and trust for each of you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”