Banquet With The King

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Watch the Sky and Take Warning

One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. He replied, "You know the saying, 'Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.' You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don't know how to interpret the signs of the times! Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah." Then Jesus left them and went away. Matthew 16:1-4

Red sky in the morning…sailors take warning. Red sky at night…sailor's delight.

Anyone can watch the sky…and predict the weather. Sunrise yesterday was beautiful…one friend called it stupendous! To me it is like God is warning up with dramatic clouds to practice for the Rapture. That will be an awesome day. The clouds were dramatic at sunrise, but when they hung around all day it got a bit dreary and then rainy. We need the rain—so I won’t complain. It was raining at sunset so there wasn’t enough light for the clouds to interact and get colorful. No red sky tonight.

The Pharisees were trying to test Jesus. Demanding a sign from Jesus—what did they want? Some lightening…stars falling…or how about some fire and brimstone? What kind of sign did Jonah provide? He refused to obey God and sailed away—only to be cast overboard and swallowed by a great fish. Being in that fish for three days has been suggested to represent the three days that Jesus was in the grave before His resurrection. Would the Pharisees ever give up and just believe in Him? We know the “rest of the story” and they were relentless to the end…to the cross.

Do you need a “sign” from Jesus to believe in Him?

Prayer ~ Jesus, like Jonah You were in the depths for three days. I don’t need another sign…I just pray that You will come quickly…and that more Jews would have their eyes and hearts opened to believe in You as their Messiah.

Verse of Salvation ~ Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. - Philippians 1:27-28 NLT

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Another Hungry Multitude

Loave and Fish Mosiac
Near the Sea of Galilee
Israel

Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. Matthew 15:32-39 ESV

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. Mark 8:1-10 (ESV)

Meditate on the compassion and generosity of Jesus.

Teaching. Healing. Compassion. Feeding Thousands. That was a big part of Jesus ministry. It looks like a pattern. It was what He came to do.

He was teaching people in their towns and villages. Telling them about how God loves them and wanted them to learn to please Him— to trust and obey for He is the one true God. In His mercy, compassion, and power, Jesus healed them—in their towns and when ever they came to Him—wherever He was. And they came and came and came. Multitudes.

What was He to do but to Teach, heal, and feed them. These 4,000 men and their families were thought to be Gentiles. Jesus came to the Jews first… and then the Gentiles. The Jews were Gods chosen people—descendants of Abraham. So glad that He came to us Gentiles, too. We are offered the same grace and mercy of eternal life with Jesus—as well as the benefit of His teaching, healing, and compassion. Faith. That is all we need. Believe. Those people that Jesus healed believed that He could do that—and He did.

Jesus gave thanks for those seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. In blessing it Jesus multiplied it to feed all 4,000 men and their families, who had not eaten for three days. Seven loaves of bread yielded seven baskets of leftovers. When was the last time that you fasted for three days or when you received a blessing like that? Do you regularly give thanks for your food before a meal?

What do we learn about Jesus character from these passages?

He declares Himself to be compassionate.

Prayer - Lord Jesus, Thank You for Your compassion, for Your generosity, and for Your obedience. You are amazing. I wasn’t there when You fed this multitude of 4,000 men and their families, but I believe in Your power and majesty. I believe in You—as the Son of God, as God, and as Savior of the world. Come quickly. We are waiting for Your return.

Verse of Salvation -

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” Acts 13:47 (ESV)

All scripture quoted from the ESV unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://blueletterbible.org

Friday, July 24, 2026

Put Your Fingers in His Ears

Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn't speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel. Matthew 15:29-31

Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man's tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, "Ephphatha," which means, "Be opened!" Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly! Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news. They were completely amazed and said again and again, "Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak." Mark 7:31-37

Meditate on Jesus’ healing methods.

Matthew and Mark don’t quite agree on the place in this story. Whether it was in Sidon, north of Tyre, or by the Sea of Galilee, it doesn’t matter. This was another example of great miracles of healing by Jesus.

Do you know any deaf people? Lots of people are now wearing hearing aids as our hearing gives out as we get older, but this young man was truly deaf. I have known a couple of people who were deaf at birth, but I never learned sign language to communicate with them. They were great lip readers. Usually, it’s not just their hearing that is impaired, but also their speech, since we learn to speak by hearing others and ourselves make particular sounds. This deaf man had the same problem.

Jesus is so amazing. He put His fingers into the man’s ears. Can you imagine the power going through that guy’s head? Then, Jesus spit on His own fingers and touched the man’s tongue. He sighed. Sighed. Was He sad? Exasperated? He knew that once that guy could speak, he would tell everyone what had happened to him! Jesus gave the command, “Be opened!” Sure enough. That young man could hear and speak normally!

Don’t tell. But everyone in the crowd was amazed and you just know that the news spread quickly. Don’t tell. Jesus kept pleading with people not to tell—but no one could keep secret this good news of the miraculous healing. There were no secrets with the celebration of healing…and opportunity for more of the same! Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel. Are you praising God for these miraculous healings, too?

What do we learn about Jesus from these scripture passages?

Prayer – Lord Jesus, You are amazing. I recognize, appreciate, and praise You for Your continued compassion. These people were so eager to receive Your healing. Their faith was enormous. Are we lacking faith today?

Verses of Salvation ~ For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. Titus 2:11-14

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

When was the last time you made bread or rolls? In our study of Jesus, He will soon be “making bread” to feed 4,000 men and their families. It is pretty well known that sour dough bread is one of the best and most digestible bread these days. During Jesus’ time, bread was probably like the Naan or pita bread that we might eat today.

Give us today the food we need…give us this day our daily bread.

One of my family’s favorites, usually over the holidays, has been 60-minute rolls.

60 Minute Wheat Rolls

2 pkgs. Active quick-rise dry yeast
3 Tbsp. sugar or honey
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. powdered milk (optional)
1 1/2 c. hot tap water

2 Tbsp softened butter or olive oil, at room temperature
4 to 4 1/2 c. unsifted flour (half wheat and half white)

Thoroughly mix 1 cup flour and dry ingredients. Gradually add water and butter to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Add remaining flour and beat to make soft dough. Place in greased bowl, cover, and rise 15 minutes. Turn out onto floured board. Knead about 5 minutes, until not sticky. Shape dough into rolls and place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise again for about 15 minutes. Bake at 400 degree Fahrenheit oven about 12 minutes (depends on the size of the rolls). Makes 16-20 rolls.

[Quantities adjusted from an original recipe baked by the chef at a Larry Burkett Financial Planning Workshop, in Georgia, 1988.]

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

Thursday, July 23, 2026

Do Your Dogs Eat the Scraps Under Your Table?

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely." But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to go away," they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging." Then Jesus said to the woman, "I was sent only to help God's lost sheep—the people of Israel." But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, "Lord, help me!" Jesus responded, "It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters' table." "Dear woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed. Matthew 15:21-28

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn't want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn't keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, "First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children's plates." "Good answer!" he said. "Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter." And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone. Mark 7:24-30

Meditate on good answers.

Sweet Clover
No feeding this puppy under the table!

Jesus was in the Galilee region and decided to go up north to Tyre and Sidon, in the known Gentile area beyond the Israeli borders. Here, a mother pleaded with Jesus to heal her daughter who was possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus’ reputation for the ability to cast out demons had obviously preceded Him. By this time in His ministry, Jesus had dealt with many demon-possessed individuals. Another in the Gentile area was the man in the tombs with the legion of demons who were sent into the pigs that drowned in the Sea of Galilee. Had this Phoenician woman heard about this healing? Were there more demon-possessed people in Gentile areas? Jesus and all of His disciples had been healing inhabitants of the Jewish regions, and now Jesus was in this Gentile region. He declared that He came to help the Jews first…but this lady was persistent and persuasive. She compared the Gentiles to dogs being fed under the table. She had such creative devotion—so much faith. Jesus healed her daughter immediately.

Is this an example of our need to plead with Jesus when we pray? Do we need to be persistent and persuasive?

What do we learn about Jesus from these scripture passages?

Prayer – Lord Jesus, I know You heard that Phoenician woman when she asked for her little girl to be healed and that You hear our prayers. Thank you for answered prayers…and for those on which we still wait. Your grace is sufficient.

Verse of Salvation ~ But I keep praying to you, LORD, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. Psalm 69:13

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Over One Million Pageviews

May all my thoughts be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. Psalm 104:34

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Meditate on rejoicing.

My favorite photo on this blog.
Camel Crossing
Judean Desert - Israel
Want to ride this camel to the King's Banquet?

Rejoice with me! I am amazed. Over One Million Pageviews of this blogspot in the last almost 15 years! When I saw this number on my statistics page, I was just blown away. 1001099. And growing.

Rejoice with me and Praise the Lord! The Holy Spirit has guided me through all my writings on this blog. There have been times when I have read a blog entry from a couple of years ago…and thought, “Who wrote this? It’s good!” It was the Holy Spirit—not me! To God be the Glory! May your heart be touched as you continue to read Banquet With The King.

I look forward to a huge banquet that all believers will have together in Heaven one day. A banquet with The King of kings! I hope you know Jesus as your King...your Savior…and will be at His banquet, too!

Prayer – Lord Jesus, I celebrate in Your love and grace. Thank you for inspiring me over these last fifteen years to write this blog for You. May You be glorified and honored. May my thoughts be pleasing to You for I rejoice in You.

Verses of Salvation ~ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Cry out, "Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you." Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people shouted "Amen!" and praised the LORD. 1 Chronicles 16:34-36

Comment below.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Be Safe

After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. John 7:1

Meditate on traveling by foot…to stay safe.

Galilee. Judea. Where are those regions? How’s your geography? I had to look it up in the maps section of my study Bible and then Google “map of Israel at Jesus’ time” to plainly see that Judea is the southern region of Israel from Joppa and Ephraim to almost Beersheba near Idumaea, where the Edomites resided in the Old Testament times. Judah was always the southern part of the kingdom when it split after King David. Jerusalem was in this Judah…and then Judea region.

The Galilee region is basically the area west of the Sea of Galilee, north of Samaria, including Nain and Nazareth to Chorazin. That was a vicinity in which Jesus and His disciples would be safe from the Jewish leaders who were planning to destroy Jesus. There were plenty of small towns to which Jesus could minister and teach. The long dusty roads and distance from Jerusalem was likely a deterrent for those Jewish leaders to follow Jesus around the countryside, but that didn’t stop them from plotting. At this point in this third year, Jesus is ending His great Galilean ministry and beginning a year of opposition. He continues to heal, feed, and teach a wide variety of people. Keep reading to see what happens next.

What do you learn about Jesus from this passage?

Prayer – Lord Jesus, if I were there in Israel when You were, I would want to keep You safe from those knifing Jewish leaders! But all this was part of God’s plan—for You to be a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Thank You for being willing to go to that cross.

Verse of Salvation ~ But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD and HAUGHTY, BUT [continually] GIVES [the gift of] GRACE TO THE HUMBLE [who turn away from self-righteousness]." James 4:6 AMP

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

Monday, July 20, 2026

What Defiles You?

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand. It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart." ... Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. "Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn't go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer." (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God's eyes.) And then he added, "It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you." Mark 7:14-15, 17-23 (Underlined to answer question.)

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "Listen," he said, "and try to understand. It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth." Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?" Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch." Then Peter said to Jesus, "Explain to us the parable that says people aren't defiled by what they eat." "Don't you understand yet?" Jesus asked. "Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you." Matthew 15:10-20

Meditate on Jesus’ explanation.

Would sushi "defile" you?
It is not what you eat...but your
heartfelt thoughts that can make you impure.

What defiles you? What makes you unclean? Jesus is very specific. Out of a person's heart come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. It isn’t what you eat that defiles you since that food goes through you. It is what is in your heart. So, what is in your heart? What’s your thought pattern…your focus? Will you let Jesus change you? Are you willing to let your behavior from your heart, not just your mind, be changed? Are you willing to be forgiven, to be transformed? Jesus offers forgiveness from all those sins that He calls out in these passages. He went to the cross just for our sins. Will you accept His forgiveness?

What do we learn about Jesus from these passages of Scripture today?

Prayer – Lord Jesus, forgive me for wallowing in my selfishness and the very sins that You explained are defiling me…all humankind. Thank You for forgiveness—for that gift of faith that allows me to accept what You have done for me.

Verses of Salvation ~ For it is by grace [God's remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation]. Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm

Sunday, July 19, 2026

Traditions!

One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly, they don't eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, "Why don't your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony." Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.' For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition." Then he said, "You skillfully sidestep God's law in order to hold on to your own tradition. For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.' But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, 'Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.' In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others." Mark 7:1-13 (Underlined for emphasis.)

Meditate on worship.

It probably took about seven hours for those Pharisees to walk from Jerusalem to Capernaum, where Jesus and His disciples were staying. Those Pharisees were observant, judgmental people. Do you think they were a bit boastful themselves? They were probably thinking… “Look at me…I do everything right…I follow all the laws, beginning with washing my hands before meals. I am holier than thou.” The Pharisees didn’t come to see Jesus to learn from Him, but to criticize and rebuke Him.

Hand washing station in a Jerusalem hotel.
Follow the tradition--the ritual of pouring water over one's hands.

Well—it was the Pharisees who got rebuked. Traditions! Can’t you just hear that song from “Fiddler on the Roof?” Traditions! The Pharisees were following traditions, not God’s law. The directives given in Leviticus were mainly for the priests—but the Pharisees changed them to apply to everyone and apply to other instances, not just rituals of sacrifice and purification. Still, to this day, some Jews observe hand-washing traditions. You will see hand-washing stations at hotels, restaurants, and even at the Wailing Wall.

Jesus called the Pharisees out on their changing of God’s commands. They weren’t honoring their parents with the Jewish tradition of giving money to the synagogue or Temple instead of taking care of their parents. What kind of loving treatment is that? I continually keep remembering discussions Jesus had about “Love God. Love others as ourselves.” Honestly, would those Pharisees want to be treated the way that they were encouraging others? Would they want to be neglected instead of respectfully taken care of? Of course not! But they could afford an expensive nursing home—wait! They didn’t have nursing homes in Biblical times, did they? You can be assured that those Pharisees weren’t concerned about elderly parents…or even themselves when they got old. They just wanted to discredit Jesus and His disciples. Jesus could see them for the hypocrites they were. Do you see them as that?

What do we learn about Jesus from this scripture passage today?

Prayer – Lord Jesus, open our eyes that we would see ourselves as You see us.

Verses of Salvation ~ So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Galatians 2:19-21

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.