Banquet With The King: April 2026

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Where Will You Be at the Resurrection?

Jesus will come on the clouds.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. John 5:25-29 ESV

Meditate on Jesus’ words.

Jesus always tells the truth—after all He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life (John 14:6). There are at least 25 times that this phrase truly, truly or verily, verily, is used in the Gospel of John alone. It is translated as “amen” from Greek and emphasizes the truth of His statement. His promise here is exciting—we will rise from the dead, just like He did. Those who hear His voice—and believe in Him as the Son of God are the ones who will be resurrected to life. Are you listening for Jesus? Are you listening to Jesus’ words as you read them? What difference do they make in your life?

God the Father has life. He is life. He gave this life to His Son, Jesus. In addition, the Father gave Jesus the authority and power of judgment. What difference does that make to us, you might ask? God is honoring the Son, by giving Him such power. Everyone who has died will hear Jesus’ voice and will rise from the dead. The good to eternal life…the evil to judgment. Jesus ultimately decides who will be with Him forever. The rebels—those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, as the Son of God, will be destined to live apart from Him forever. To me, that would be a sad and harsh life—loveless. Choose for yourself today how you would like to spend eternity. With Jesus—the author of life and love. Without Jesus—who knows if it will be as hot as hell or as cold as the outer darkness? It will not be joyful. The choice is up to each person. Choose life with Jesus? Choose your own life for now, and life without Jesus for eternity? Is that an easy choice? It depends on the person and their personal attitude. Where will you be at the resurrection?

What do we learn about Jesus from this scripture passage? Jesus has the ultimate power of judgment over each person that is given to Him by God the Father. Jesus simply wants to please the Father.

Prayer – Lord Jesus, I am in awe of You and I humbly ask that You would see my loyalty to You in my heart. I want to live forever in Your presence and serve You for eternity.

Verse of Salvation ~ The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:22-26 ESV

How to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior:

Acknowledge that you are a sinner – we all are.

Admit what you have done wrong and ask forgiveness.
- Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

- Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death.

- 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again as a payment for your sins.

- John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

- Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Confess and choose to allow God to be in charge of your life.

- Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

- Romans 10:9 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.

- Romans 10:13 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Blessings on you as you choose daily to follow Jesus.

If you just made this decision for the first time, please leave a comment or question 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.

Books by Mickey M. Hunacek

Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com

Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character

Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

April Fool’s

- The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. Psalm 14:1

- The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. Proverbs 12:15

- Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. Proverbs 13:16

- One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless. Proverbs 14:16

- A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. Proverbs 18:2

- But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. Matthew 5:22

Meditate on wisdom and foolishness.

Is this little alligator foolish?

I couldn’t let today go by without commenting on fools. There are more than 70 verses about fools in the English Standard Version of the Bible. That is a lot about fools and foolishness. The verses above are just a few of the ones that jumped out to me. What is a fool? My German grandmother would say it is a Dummkopf. That is a person who lacks good judgment.

April Fool's Dayis a day that people, especially children in school, have traditionally played pranks on each other. It’s the one day of the year that people can do silly stuff and get away with it. Or can they? No one wants to look foolish—and it is often the prankster who ends up being the fool. The joke is on them!

Jesus spoke about fools in His Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 5-7. This verse above, Matthew 5:22, emphasizes the danger of calling someone foolish. Going to hell? That’s pretty serious. There is a better way to deal with anger associated with foolishness. Jesus suggests reconciliation.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24

Reconciliation is the key to a good relationship. No blaming others or putting them down. No dirty rotten pranks. No anger. Just humble conversation and acceptance of the other person. Reconciliation with God is a good thing, too. It sets us right with God. In this passage below, it indicates that God wants us to help others be reconciled to Him.

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 NLT

Reconciliation is not a foolish thing. It brings the views of two or more people together, creating compatibility. No April Fool’s in that.

Prayer – Lord, help us to be willing to put aside our own selfish desires and reconcile our ideas, goals, and values with You and with others. We don’t want to be foolish, but wise. Give us Your wisdom, that we would honor You in all that we think, say, and do.

Verse of Salvation ~ Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:21-25 NLT

All scripture quoted from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

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

Books by Mickey M. Hunacek

Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com

Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character

Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories