Banquet With The King

Thursday, May 12, 2022

ACTS - Supplication

Prayer ~ Lord God, You know what I need, even before I ask (Matthew 6:8) and yet I’m asking. In Your grace and mercy, please hear my prayers—my supplications. Restore the health of my granddaughters; give me wisdom and grace to be the person You want me to be—as I acknowledge You as my Lord and Savior; and as we all wait for You to snatch us up to be with You, may we be the disciples that You desire—spreading the Good News that if we repent, our sins can be forgiven because You died for those very sins. Your relationship with us allows us to be part of God’s own family…for eternity.

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

Meditate. Ask. Seek. Knock.

Supplication is prayer, petition—seeking, begging, and asking God for the desires of your heart.

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires. Psalm 37:4

Jesus taught His disciples that we just needed to ask in His name—and we would receive what we need.

At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. John 16:23-24

Jesus wants us to have joy—to rejoice in our lives and that includes our prayer life. Additionally, then we will be filled with God’s peace, as Paul taught the Philippians.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Pray--Ask God for the Desires of your heart.
Sign seen in Jerusalem, Israel.

We can hope that individually Israelis will find Jesus as their Messiah--and thus have God's peace in their hearts--no matter what the condition or situation of the country is in. Pray for Jerusalem...Pray for Israel.

Are you having a hard time…as many during this recent pandemic are? Do you feel the need for healing? Do as James taught, pray. Confess your sins to God…and as necessary, to each other. Then pray. Let God know what you need. The elders of the church—older, wiser Christian leaders, teachers, and preachers—can anoint you with oil, in the name of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. I’ve been to prayer services—and prayed for others—and they were healed. I’ve also prayed…and we’re still waiting for a healing touch from the Great Physician, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:13-16

Supplications are just prayers. The word maybe long…but it indicates that something is being asked for and it is trusted that it will be supplied. That’s it. We’re trusting God—letting Him know what we need and relying on Him to meet our needs—physical and spiritual.

Verses of Salvation ~ Did God's people (the Jews) stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God's offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. Romans 11:11-12

Memory Verse of the Week ~ You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

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, May 11, 2022

ACTS – Thanksgiving

Prayer ~ Lord God, there is so much to be thankful for here, now, and in the future. You have told us that in Heaven there will be singing…"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen." Revelation 7:12 . I look forward to Heaven, but even now I praise You and thank you for all You have done for me. May You be glorified now and forever.

Meditate on these Scriptures:

The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28:7

A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth! Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalm 100:1-5

Consider what the Lord has done for you today, this week, so far this month…this year. How thankful are you? Did you give thanks along the way, remembering that we are to be in constant prayer—constant contact with the Father? Paul taught the church at Thessalonica:

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NASB

That should be good for us, too. Pray constantly. I frequently use the ACTS method of praying:

Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication.

Today we are looking specifically at Thanksgiving.

Morning Glories
Jerusalem, Israel
Do give God glory and thanks each morning?
This is the day that the Lord has made--
let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Do you burst out in songs of thanksgiving? At any time of the year, not just Thanksgiving, people should reflect on things, people, situations and relationships for which they are thankful. Deeper searching brings us to: Who is responsible for providing all for which we are giving thanks? God. He provides all things. With that in mind—I do give thanks for I have been abundantly provided for all year around. Indeed, He is my strength and my shield—protecting me from the fiery darts that the enemy would like to inflict on me. He is my teacher—reminding me that I need to get my attitude in line and revealing more of Himself each time I delve into His Word. I trust Him—as the classic verse in Proverbs says:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Do you trust—depend totally on—and daily rely on the Lord?

Is your heart full of joy? I choose joy. Every day—actually every minute of every day we have choices to make. Choosing joy is a good thing. It doesn’t mean that I’m perky and “happy—happy.” No. It means that I can experience God’s peace, contentment, love and other qualities in my life by my own willful choice. Well, it is actually by willfully submitting to God’s will. May His will be done in my life on earth, as it is in Heaven. It also helps me focus on the good things as written in one of my favorite verses by Paul to the church at Philippi.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 NLT

Choosing joy results in being filled with the fruits of the Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23

I am thankful to live for Christ—to know Him as my Lord and Savior. Be thankful.

Verse of Salvation ~ But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God." Psalm 50:23

Memory Verse of the Week ~ You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

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

New American Standard Bible 2020 Copyright (c) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020
by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. Used by permission. All rights reserved http://www.lockman.org

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

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

If You Confess Your Sin…Then What?

Prayer ~ Lord God, even though I know that I am a believer in Christ as my Savior, I confess and admit to You that I have sinned—thought about things I shouldn’t have, expecting my life to be different—and for You to change things. I have fallen short of giving You the glory and perfection that You deserve. Please forgive me. Cleanse my heart and mind that everything I think, say, and do would be pleasing to You.

Or suppose you make a foolish vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or for bad. When you realize its foolishness, you must admit your guilt. When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. Leviticus 5:4-5

Meditate.

In the New Testament John teaches the necessity of confession.

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:8-10

Showing that His word has no place in our hearts. That is pretty harsh—that is turning our back on God, but by confessing our sin we are telling God that we respect Him…and we are sorry for disappointing Him.

In the Old Testament, David wrote about sin, confession, and the resulting forgiveness we all seek at some time.

Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Psalm 32:1-7

In addition, in a later Psalm, David expresses sorrow for his sin. See Psalm 38. That is what happens at confession—a feeling of sorrow and repentance. What then, if we confess our sins? God is faithful to His promises and is just, forgiving us, and allowing us back into His presence, showing us His forgiving love. We just have to remember that it is Jesus who paid for all our sins by giving up His life on the cross. Jesus is the only way for us to be able to truly approach our Heavenly Father. That is love. That is what happens…if you confess your sins. Love happens.

Verses of Salvation ~ If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10

Memory Verse of the Week ~ You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

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

Monday, May 9, 2022

Do You Adore God?

Prayer ~ Father, I adore You/I lay my life before You/How I love You. I praise You…and You alone are worthy of my praise. Open my eyes, my heart, and my mind to understand You and Your love even more.

Then David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly: "O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.” 1 Chronicles 29:10-11

Meditate. What does the word “adoration” mean to you?

My prayer is a song of adoration—of worship and reverence. I love the Lord my God with all of my mind, heart, soul, and strength. It is a heartfelt truth that is deeper than any feelings towards any human beings. I love and adore God—and I know that He loves me. As the memory verse for this week states:

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

As the light of Jesus shines into our lives...
we are not left in the darkness.
Beach at the Oregon Coast

It is comforting and encouraging to know that God will give us not just peace, but perfect peace if we trust in Him. Peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are ours with the Holy Spirit—a blessing from God. How can we not adore and worship a God who is so generous and loving towards us? Even when we are going through dark times…even in the valley of the shadow of death…God is with us. He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. That is worthy of adoration. I recently read a comment that noted where there is a shadow, there is light. Jesus is the light of the world, so as His light shines, we are not left in darkness. That darkness maybe from the death of a loved one, or from the death of some relationship, or a defunct opportunity. Despair happens. We cannot escape the stress, turmoil, temptations, or tribulations of life totally, but God provides love, support, care, and sometimes even a way out.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Trust in the Lord. Consider how He loves you. Do you adore the Lord?

Verse of Salvation ~ Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:12-13

Memory Verse of the Week ~ You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

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

Are you allowing God to parent you?

Let Him take you by the hand and guide you through His word.

Day by Day

Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories

Counting your coins today?

Sunday, May 8, 2022

ACTS

Prayer ~ Lord, I want to be in Your will follow Your teaching. This is my goal live to please You. Guide my heart, mind, soul and actions that I would reach that goal.

So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 2 Corinthians 5:9

Meditate. What is your goal…your plan…for today?

God has a plan…and He wants us to have a plan…a goal in our life, too. What is your plan for today…for this week…for the rest of 2022?

You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail. Proverbs 19:21

I like the teaching of Paul to the church at Thessalonica about minding our own business.

Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 1 Thessalonians 4:11

A quiet life. That’s ideal—that fits with God’s plan. We can go into the world and make disciples just as Jesus commanded without a big hullabaloo. Solomon gave us some good advice on quietness.

Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king. Ecclesiastes 9:17

Can you speak softly?
Or do you crow like a rooster?
A rooster seen in Joppa, Israel.

Teddy Roosevelt said, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” I’ve found that if I speak quietly, softly, people will more likely listen than if I boastfully get in their face crowing about my advice. Additionally, if simple facts are presented to someone…with a big stick—like Biblical scripture—to back up the facts…then maybe they will be open to hearing more--reading it for themselves. That could be the beginning of a great relationship with the Lord for them. A quiet demeanor is a good attribute...for me. Will it work for you? Carry a big stick with you as you speak softly.

All relationships are based on communication. Prayer is just communicating with God. For me the greatest prayer prompt has been ACTS signifying A – Adoration, C – Confession, T – Thanksgiving, and S – Supplication. So, this week I’m going to concentrate on blogging those elements of prayer as I look at my relationship with God. ACTS.

Verse of Salvation ~ As for us, we can't help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation--a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13

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

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

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

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Are You Useful to the Lord?

Prayer ~ Lord, things are shaky around the world—but I am on guard spiritually, standing firm in my faith of You because You give me strength to be strong and courageous. Without You I would be a shaky mess—full of worries and fear. I am grateful for the joy I have day by day knowing the depth of Your love through Your promises.

For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory. It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us. 2 Corinthians 1:20-22

Meditate on God’s promises.

Focus on the love of the Lord. How much does He love you? He gave His life for you—that’s a lot of love. That is a promise fulfilled. You can rely on God and in your relationship with Him as respond to His promises.

Apple Blossoms
Promise of fruit--like God's promises.
This tree is useful to the Lord...and to us.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-8

You will be useful to the Lord as you know Him more—especially as you are strong and courageously stand firm in your faith.

Verses of Salvation ~ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:3-5

Memory Verse of the Week ~ Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

Did you memorize this verse? Have you reviewed the verses from the previous weeks?

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