The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Samuel 16:14-16, “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul,

and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. 15 Saul’s servants then

said to him, ‘Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.

16 “Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let

them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come

about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp

with his hand, and you will be well.’”

Saul’s sin resulted in his being deposed from being king. David was

the LORD’s specific choice. But when the Spirit of the LORD came

upon David, the same Spirit departed from Saul, leaving him open

to invasion of “an evil spirit from God.” The only viable meaning

is that the LORD allowed a demon spirit to invade Saul’s life. That

demon terrorized Saul! ~ Music was known to the ancients as early

as Genesis 4:21, where Jubal “was the father of all those who play

the lyre and pipe.” But, the earliest use of music as a therapy may

be in our verses above. Even today, good music is therapeutic.

It occupies the attention of the brain, pushing aside thoughts of

fear and evil and giving place to the Holy Spirit of God. But Satan

has caught on, and provides music that feeds demonic spirits. We

must be careful! Satan is a master strategist, and his music runs

the gamut, all of which is intended to keep us off balance

spiritually. It’s a never-ending fight! It’s a contest for the mind!

Remember what Solomon said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence;

for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).

Praying for you daily,

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,

1 Samuel 15:3, 9, “’Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has,

and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant,

ox and sheep, camel and donkey….’ But Saul and the people spared Agag and

the best of…all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly…”

There’s a silly joke about a man who had several cats. He also had several

holes in the wall for his cats to go in and out of his house. “Why do you

have so many holes in the wall?” a neighbor asked. The cats can all come

and go through the same hole.” The man replied, “’Cause when I say “SCAT,”

I mean SCAT!’”

King Saul would have done well to have heard that. In fact, he heard more.

The LORD said, “…strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has.” Saul

and his army did defeat Amalek, but he failed to “utterly destroy” him as

the LORD had directed. It was indeed Saul’s undoing. What was also bad,

was the fact that Saul lied to Samuel and put the blame on the people.

When we seek to transfer blame to others, we demonstrate our own guilt.

This past Sunday (yesterday), I heard one of the best messages on the

Sovereignty of God I have ever heard! We will not always understand

why He says what He does; but when we understand Who He is, we

know He is supreme and His commands are always right. Saul disobeyed,

and was replaced as King of Israel. God doesn’t need us, He simply gives

us the opportunity to so His will. If we fail, He will replace us with someone

who will be faithful. Only eternity will reveal how much blessing we miss

because we fail to follow Him faithfully.

God bless you all! We pray for you every, single 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,

1 Samuel 12:22-24, “For the LORD will not abandon His people on account

of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people

for Himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the

LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

24 Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider

what great things He has done for you.”

The people of Israel had sinned by wanting to be like other nations

and have a human king to rule over them. Samuel had just rehearsed

for the people their long history, and while the people had acknowledged

their sin, Samuel assured them that the LORD would not abandon them.

Everything Samuel said to Israel is applicable to us. The LORD has been

pleased to save us. We are now His people. And those whom the LORD

has appointed over us, He has also required to pray for us and instruct

us in the right way –His way as revealed in His Word. And who is to

instruct us? Parents and pastors, who hold authority over us all. And

what is our responsibility? We are to “fear (reverence) the LORD”; we

are to “serve the LORD in truth” and “with all (our) hearts”; and we

are to “consider (be aware of, remember, understand) the great things

the LORD has done for (us).”

Israel did well as long as she followed Samuel’s directive. We do well

when we follow the LORD’s directive through His appointed servants.

Yet, there is the solemn warning in verse 25: “But if you still do wickedly,

both you and your king shall be swept away.” May we always follow

our LORD’s instructions. There is no better way.

We love and pray for you daily,

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,

1 Samuel 8:4-7, “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came

to Samuel at Ramah; 5 and they said to him, ‘Behold, you have grown old,

and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge

us like all the nations.’ 6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel

when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

7 And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard

to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected

Me from being king over them.’”

I want to challenge you to read chapters 8, 9, and 10 today –right now!

This is a vital passage because it is the record of the start of Israel’s troubles.

It also reveals the secrets of the LORD –how He directs everything, although

they seem to be circumstances that just happen.

Eli’ sons were wicked and the LORD replaced him with Samuel. Now, Samuel’s

sons are wicked, and the people would appear to have had enough. We want

a king! Other nations have kings, why can’t we have a king? Most kids have said

that to their parents at some time: All the other kids are doing it, why can’t we?

But Israel had no idea how far-reaching this cry would be and what devastation

it would bring upon their nation, even to this very day.

Sometimes our parents allow us to do what we want, despite the fact that they

Know it is wrong. Why do they do that? They are allowing us to experience what

wrong will bring into our lives. And when it comes, we learn that they knew all

the time what the result would be. The LORD allows Israel to have a king, but

they have no idea how much grief that king will ultimate bring upon them!

We love you even when you do wrong because the LORD loves us even when we

do wrong.

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,

1 Samuel 5:1-3, “Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

3 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again.”

Sometimes we get more than we’ve bargained for. The Philistines had struck a heavy

blow on the Israelites. The LORD had allowed it because of the sin of Eli, Israel’s priest.

The Israelites had moved the Ark of the LORD into the midst of the soldier, thinking that

the presence of the LORD would assist them in the battle. But, the Philistines won, and

captured the Ark. Bad news for Israel. Worse news for the Philistines! They put the

Ark in the house of the pagan god Dagon, their fish god. When the morning came, the

Image of Dagon had fallen on its face in the presence of the Ark. Now, what to do???

Pitiful is the people who have to prop up their gods. Israel was a long way from the

coming Jesus, whom we know as LORD and Savior. Further away still, were the

Philistines. When Israel’s sin (largely because of Eli’s failure to control his evil sons)

was dealt with through the Phiistines’ victory, the LORD then punished the Philistines

with a punishment all His own! The moral of all of this is that the LORD can and will

support and protect us –personally and nationally– but only when we are right with

Him. Remember that all gods are destined to fall before the LORD. Whose side do

you want to be on?

Love to you all and prayers daily for your spiritual stability,

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.”