Dear Heavenly Father, Please open my understanding as I read the Bible so that I may be able to know you better. Please help your word be planted in my mind, so I may recall it as needed. Bless me with wisdom and knowledge, please. In the name of Jesus we pray ~ amen
RELATIONSHIP:
Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.
“9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen
MEMORY WORK: Mark 16:17-18 – This month is a two for one special!!!
NKJV – “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
NAS – “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
ESV – “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
NLT – “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
NIV – “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 2 Samuel 8-9 & 1 Chronicles 18 NKJV
2 Samuel 8-9
David’s Further Conquests
8 After this it came to pass that David [a]attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took [b]Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
2 Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thousand chariots, [c]seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.
5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from [d]Betah and from Berothai,[e] cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.
9 When [f]Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent [g]Joram his son to King David, to [h]greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— 12 from [i]Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand [j]Syrians in the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
David’s Administration
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; [k]Seraiah was the [l]scribe; 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were [m]chief ministers.
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him [n]kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He said, “At your service!”
3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”
And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”
4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?”
And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”
5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
6 Now when Mephibosheth[o] the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”
And he answered, “Here is your servant!”
7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”
9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”
“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at [p]my table like one of the king’s sons.” 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit. struck
- 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit. The Bridle of the Mother City
- 2 Samuel 8:4 seven thousand, 1 Chr. 18:4
- 2 Samuel 8:8 Tibhath, 1 Chr. 18:8
- 2 Samuel 8:8 Chun, 1 Chr. 18:8
- 2 Samuel 8:9 Tou, 1 Chr. 18:9
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Hadoram, 1 Chr. 18:10
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit. ask him of his welfare
- 2 Samuel 8:12 LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edom
- 2 Samuel 8:13 LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edomites and 1 Chr. 18:12
- 2 Samuel 8:17 Shavsha, 1 Chr. 18:16
- 2 Samuel 8:17 secretary
- 2 Samuel 8:18 Lit. priests
- 2 Samuel 9:1 covenant faithfulness
- 2 Samuel 9:6 Or Merib-Baal
- 2 Samuel 9:11 LXX David’s table
1 Chronicles 18
David’s Further Conquests
18 After this it came to pass that David [a]attacked the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. 2 Then he [b]defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.
3 And David [c]defeated [d]Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thousand chariots, [e]seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David [f]hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.
5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from [g]Tibhath and from [h]Chun, cities of [i]Hadadezer, David brought a large amount of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze [j]Sea, the pillars, and the articles of bronze.
9 Now when [k]Tou king of Hamath heard that David had [l]defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he sent [m]Hadoram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and [n]defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou); and Hadoram brought with him all kinds of articles of gold, silver, and bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had brought from all these nations—from Edom, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, and from Amalek.
12 Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah killed eighteen thousand [o]Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He also put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
David’s Administration
14 So David reigned over all Israel, and administered judgment and justice to all his people. 15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 Zadok the son of Ahitub and [p]Abimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; [q]Shavsha was the scribe; 17 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were [r]chief ministers at the king’s side.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 18:1 Lit. struck
- 1 Chronicles 18:2 Lit. struck
- 1 Chronicles 18:3 Lit. struck
- 1 Chronicles 18:3 Heb. Hadarezer
- 1 Chronicles 18:4 seven hundred, 2 Sam. 8:4
- 1 Chronicles 18:4 crippled
- 1 Chronicles 18:8 Betah, 2 Sam. 8:8
- 1 Chronicles 18:8 Berothai, 2 Sam. 8:8
- 1 Chronicles 18:8 Heb. Hadarezer
- 1 Chronicles 18:8 Great laver or basin
- 1 Chronicles 18:9 Toi, 2 Sam. 8:9, 10
- 1 Chronicles 18:9 Lit. struck
- 1 Chronicles 18:10 Joram, 2 Sam. 8:10
- 1 Chronicles 18:10 Lit. struck
- 1 Chronicles 18:12 Syrians, 2 Sam. 8:13
- 1 Chronicles 18:16 Ahimelech, 2 Sam. 8:17
- 1 Chronicles 18:16 Seraiah, 2 Sam. 8:17, or Shisha, 1 Kin. 4:3
- 1 Chronicles 18:17 Lit. at the hand of the king