October 18, 2025

There are twists and turns in the lineage of David. One notable aspect is that his sons from all his concubines were not recorded nor considered royalty, yet they were still descendants of royalty. David loved women and consummated many of those love interests, pouring out his seed, creating love children that we don’t have a record of. I suppose we would call those women mistresses in today’s terminology. Concubines didn’t have the same rights as those who were married to their partners. Still, they participated in the conjugal duties as a wife and probably lived a similar life as the wives, except that their children were considered illegitimate. I doubt they had any inheritance of the royal belongings that were usually passed down to the sons, which is similar to children today who are born outside of marriage to fathers who are philanderers, womanizers, or cheaters. I feel sad for those children because that’s a heavy burden of rejection that they will carry to the grave unless they overcome it by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Jesus can loosen all bonds, including the heavy chain of rejection. If you have experienced rejection, which we all have, seek freedom in Jesus; he is the chain breaker, and whatever evil intentions were meant to harm you, he can turn them into a testimony for good to help the redemption of others. 

These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister. 1 Chronicles 3:9

October 17, 2025

1 Chronicles 1 is the genealogy from Adam to Abraham, and from Abraham to Jacob. It’s funny that I thought it would be boring; however, you can find a little bit of controversy and intrigue within those names. A little gossip about the characters who could be some of our ancestors: we already know the story of Abraham and Sarah, but when Sarah passed away, Abraham, being 140 years old, remarried. The woman he married was Keturah. According to some historians, Keturah was actually Hagar, who had changed her name, never remarried, and stayed pure for all those years after Ishmael was born and Abraham sent them away; remember this is extra-biblical and was written by Jewish historians, so take it as a tantalizing tidbit that adds interest to an otherwise tedious chapter in the Bible. Keturah added six more sons to Abraham’s lineage. We can glean historical information that dates back to well before Jesus, so why is it that there is little to no accurate historical information that can be trusted as truth outside the Bible after he died and rose again? Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with all the gossip of the Bible in the chapters to come. I’ll let you know about all the interesting tidbits that I find.

Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan. 1 Chronicles 1:32

October 16, 2025

It may seem sad that we’ve reached the very last psalm; however, the psalms are always within reach, making it easy to use God’s own words to praise Him, even though His words are not the only way to offer Him praises. As long as you have breath, praise the Lord. In this short, six-verse psalm, the writer praises God thirteen times. I wonder how many times the Levites sang this song during the temple service, or how many times God hears the voices of angels singing it? For how great God is, it is never enough. How happy would we be if only we offered our praises for everything God has done for us, from waking us up to giving us rest and everything in between? Be generous in your praises and feel your countenance change as you focus on God rather than your circumstances. He is worthy of all our praise, so lift your voice and give Him what He deserves. Here it is, the very last verse of the psalms:

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Psalms 150:6

October 15, 2025

Your salvation is a victory over the enemy; your chains are gone, you’ve been set free! Even when you are experiencing what you consider the worst, you have reason to be full of joy, to dance and sing; you are triumphant because of Jesus. 

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. Psalms 149:3

Not only are you victorious, but you are equipped with praises and a two-edged sword. According to Hebrews, the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, sharp and able to cut between the souls and spirit, joint and marrow, and He knows the intentions of the heart. The writer of Hebrews must have been well-versed in the scriptures, as evidenced by their reference to Psalms 149:6.

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; Psalms 149:6

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

So, remember, God knows your heart, and no matter the challenges you might be facing, you are a winner, and victory is yours through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

October 14, 2025

Who are commanded to praise God? We know that we are to praise Him, but who or what else? There are a couple of things in Psalms 148 that many don’t believe in; do we pick apart what the Bible says and only believe what we want to believe, or should we believe it in its entirety? Scripture is God-breathed, so we should believe every word of it, but perhaps we shouldn’t believe the lies the enemy tries to perpetrate that invalidate what it says. The point of this psalm is for everything to praise God, which includes the waters above and dragons! 

That’s not all it talks about, but because we’ve been led to believe that dragons don’t exist or were only fairy tales, I decided to mention them. We can see examples of dragons, except they are small, lizards, iguanas, and Komodo dragons are a few examples. The Bible doesn’t mention dinosaurs; here’s a thought: maybe the skeletons we’ve seen that scientists call dinosaurs are actually dragons. 

But wait, there’s more! The waters above are to praise God! If there is water above us, and it is alive, able to glorify God, how is it possible that we have rockets go into outer space? We must start questioning the narrative and begin to believe what God has told us, rather than the fog of lies the enemy is trying to deceive us with. I could go on, especially considering that water is alive, but I’ve given you enough to think about for one day. Question everything! The truth is in the scripture; everything else should be subjected to your discernment. 

Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass. Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: Psalms 148:4-7

October 13, 2025

Put your trust in God alone. He is the One who appoints kings and governments, whether they are good or bad. I believe some governments may be placed to help us realize that God alone is in control. When you think that things are finally turning around and we begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel, remember, Jesus is that light. When the wheat is threshed and the tares are separated, which we can see happening in real time, we know our redemption is near. While we wait, continue to praise God and thank Him for your salvation. There is no sweeter gift than what our Savior has given us. Do you remember the song we sang as children? If you went to Sunday school, you probably sang it. Even as an adult, we should sing that song every day. 

Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord.

Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. Psalms 146:1-3

October 12, 2025

As we approach the conclusion of the Book of Psalms, we can see that those who compiled them were intentional in their order and listened carefully to the Holy Spirit as he guided them in their placement. The previous five chapters were psalms of prayer, followed by six psalms of praise to finish out the book. If the Psalms were a story of our life and we were in our final days, like the Psalms, our life should be filled with prayer and praise as a precursor or practice of what is to come in the afterlife. Worshipping and praising God is not hard; as a matter of fact, it is the easiest thing we can do, and it comes naturally to those who love Him. 

One of my favorite places to be is the beach. When I am there, I can immerse myself in God's presence and offer Him heartfelt and unhindered praise. Something about the waves crashing, the vastness of the sea, the birds freely skimming the waters, that helps me open my heart to Him. Whether it is your prayer closet, the forest, or, like me, the beach, find a place where you can concentrate on Him and give Him what He desires, our complete, unencumbered attention, where we open our hearts in prayer and praise to the One who holds our entire existence in His hands. Whatever is in your heart should be outwardly expressed, or it is not the truth. He deserves every ounce of worship we can utter. Make Him the center of your life, and everything else will fall into place. 

The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; Psalms 145:9-11