Banquet With The King

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Do You Have Complete Knowledge and Truth?

The Torah
The Jews were given the Torah--
first 5 books of the Old Testament.
Sacred knowledge from God.
Torah at Safed, Israel synagogue.

The Jews were given the knowledge of God to eventually share with the world. Jesus revealed this truth in His discussion with the Samaritan woman with whom He spoke at a well.

So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?" Jesus replied, "Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it's here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:20-24 (Underlined for emphasis.)

This fulfillment that the Jews were special because they received knowledge from God for the whole world was one thing that made them exclusively special in their own eyes and has instigated a hatred of Jews throughout history.

Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God. Romans 3:2

God entrusted the Jews with knowledge that He didn’t give to others. Knowledge is power.

Do you have the knowledge that God gave to the Jews—that salvation is offered by Jesus, a Jew? How are you applying that knowledge in your life? The sacrifice that Jesus made with His own life for the sins of all mankind—for you and for me—is privileged knowledge that we can individually accept and apply to our lives as we choose. What choice have you made? Do you have complete knowledge and truth?

You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God's law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law. You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God's law gives you complete knowledge and truth. Romans 2:17-20

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. Romans 3:29-31

Prayer – Lord Jesus, thank you for revealing this truth to us—that You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. That the only way to the Father in Heaven is through You. I praise You.

Meditate. Consider the knowledge of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Verse of Salvation ~ And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28

Are you putting God first today?

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

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Do You Instinctively Obey God’s Law?

Is everyone born knowing good from evil…right from wrong? Even babies and toddlers seem to know what is right—but selfishly want things their own way.

The Ten Commandments
Love God
Love Others as Yourself
Obedience is what God wants.

Just what is God’s Law? Basically, it is the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and then some people add the 613 Levitical laws. If a person keeps the basic Ten Commandments, then they’ve pretty much covered all that God expects and Jesus boils it down to two: Love God and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself. See Mark 12:30-31.

The Ten Commandments were originally given to the Jews, not the Gentiles, but if you look at the laws for many countries, they follow those Ten Laws in some way. Obedience to God’s Laws is expected. Paul tells us in this passage in Romans that Jesus will judge everyone someday. Everyone sins—Jews and Gentiles—and we fall short of God’s expectations. Paul tells us that Gentiles will be destroyed when they sin. Jews, too. It won’t just be their actions, but their very thoughts, too. Do you recall that Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount that if a person is angry with someone or thinks adulterous thought, they have committed the sin of murder or adultery? See Matthew 5.

No one really has a secret life. God see everything that everyone does, just as Job’s friend Elihu reminds us in Job 34. Jesus Himself spoke to the Pharisee about issues of the heart.

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were sneering and ridiculing Him. So He said to them, "You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts [your thoughts, your desires, your secrets]; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. Luke 16:14-15 AMP

Does it bother you to know that your thought aren’t secret, that God knows everything about you? It certainly should hold you accountable. It does me. I’m quick to repent if I start going down the wrong thought path. How about you? Do you know the Ten Commandments? Are you instinctively obeying them and communicating with God, allowing the Holy Spirit to convict you of any disobedient thoughts, words or actions? We’ll see just how it goes for us all on Judgment Day.

When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God's written law. And the Jews, who do have God's law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. For merely listening to the law doesn't make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. Even Gentiles, who do not have God's written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God's law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone's secret life. Romans 2:12-16

Prayer – Lord God, I love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength—and even as I get older and am losing my strength, I love You more. The more I know You, the more I love You. One day You will judge me, Jesus, and I pray that You will find me acceptable and that I have honored You and our Heavenly Father, as well as the Holy Spirit, obediently in all that I think, say, and do. Forgive me for those times that I’ve messed up, broken the Commandments with my very thoughts, and for the times I’ve just had a stinking bad attitude. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for bringing those to my attention.

Meditate. Consider God’s laws and obediently honoring Him.

Verse of Salvation ~ One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?" The man answered, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!" Luke 10:25-28

Are you putting God first today?

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.

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, August 4, 2025

Does Prayer Produce Results?

James wrote that prayer—earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

What kind of results are you wanting from your prayers? Are you suffering hardships? Are you happy? Are you sick? Another question to ask is…are you earnestly, seriously praying or are your prayers half-hearted pleas that you don’t really think God can answer? Do you doubt God’s power? Do you have sins are a barrier between you and God? Have you repented of your sins? It is easy to lay those offences at the foot of the cross giving them to Jesus…only to pick them up again and carry them around a while longer. Let go of them—give them permanently to the Lord. I’ve been there and done that—both the taking them up…and the giving them up forever.

Prayer request in Jerusalem.
When someone asks you to pray...do you?

James also elaborates saying… prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. Faith. Believing in something hoped for…that you can’t see. Do you have faith in God, that God can and will answer your prayers? Are you willing to confess your sins to others and to call the elders of your church to pray over you, anointing you with oil? One of the classic examples of anointing with oil is from Psalm 23.

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Psalm 23:5 (Underlined for emphasis.)

There is great power even against demons by using prayer with anointing oil as we can see with the disciples that Jesus sent out.

And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil. Mark 6:13

Yes. Prayer produces results when the prayers are offered in faith. You can see sins forgiven, the sick healed, those suffering hardships given strength and peace, and people singing praises rejoicing in the love of the Lord God. Are you praying for the wonderful results that God has available to you as you pray to Him? Can you communicate and connect with God…read His word and pray?

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

Prayer – Lord God, forgive me for the times in this past week when I could have spent time in prayer and didn’t. I know there is power in prayer…even if I’ve waited years for answers. In Your love and mercy, bless my family members who are struggling with medical issues, giving them renewed health and strength. Shower us all with Your peace and love as we rejoice and praise You—for Your sacrifice, Jesus, and for Your power over life and death. Thank you.

Meditate. Pray.

Verse 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

Are you putting God first today?

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

Sunday, August 3, 2025

How to Keep in Touch with God

If you have chosen to accept Jesus as your Savior, you’ve become part of God’s family. How do you grow this relationship with your Father God? How do you keep in touch with Him?

There is a wonderful mechanism that God Himself instituted and Jesus practiced regularly when He was living on earth. It is called PRAYER. It is simply having a conversation with God. Just like you’d talk to anyone you know or those around you—just verbalize your thoughts, wishes, dreams, ideas, and consider how you can praise, glorify, and honor God through communicating with Him. You don’t need a phone, computer, or iPad to keep in touch with our Creator and Heavenly Father. You can pray to any part of the Trinity: to God the Father; to Jesus, the Son, our Lord and Savior; and to the Holy Spirit. Prayers are heard by them twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. God doesn’t sleep. Read about that in Psalm 121.

If you don’t want to pray out loud or even just quietly talking to God in your thoughts—He will hear you—you can always write in a journal notebook or yes, even typing a note daily to Him on your computer will work, too. You can sing prayers to Him. He loves music.

Most conversations are two-way. So, you must give God a chance to speak to you, too. He does that through His written word, the Bible. Any translation that is easy for you to understand is the best one for you to use. Several of my friends are using the English Standard Version (ESV), the New Living Translation (NLT), and my favorite, the New American Standard Bible (NASB). There are some people who still hold onto the King James Version. Other popular translations are the New King James Version (NKJV) and the New International Version (NIV). Most of these are also available on-line on Bible Apps directly associated with the particular translation or on Apps like the Blue Letter Bible or Bible Gateway.

Statue of St. Francis of Assisi
Capernaum, Israel
Lift up your hands in prayer.

One of the best ways to communicate with God is praying scripture to Him. Initially, you may want to follow a pattern like the Lord’s prayer that Jesus explained to His followers in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13). The ACTS acronym uses the same idea. Adoration. Confession. Thanksgiving. Supplications. No matter how you pray…or even where you pray, God is honored by your attention and devotion. Give Him time every day. We are admonished in the Old and New Testaments to pray continually.

O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the LORD. Isaiah 62:6

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Enjoy your prayer time throughout your day with the Lord. He is always with us since He has promised to never leave us or forsake us! The choice of praying—being committed to keeping in touch with God—is yours.

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Prayer – Lord God, it is an awesome privilege to come before You in prayer. I deeply adore and respect You—for You are the loving Father, King of kings and Lord of lord, creator, sustainer, judge, eternal ruler, comforter, and friend. Please forgive me for the trivial things that I focus on in my life and my selfish attitude that draws me away from, not closer to You. I am eternally grateful for all that You have done for me, Jesus. I am unworthy of Your sacrifice—but You did it anyway. Thank you. Just as You taught Your disciples…give me this day my daily bread, both physically and spiritually. I long to spend time discovering more truths about You in Your word. I praise and adore You continually throughout my day. Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditate. Consider how prayer connects you to God.

Verse of Salvation ~ But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, "The LORD is great!" Psalm 40:16

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, August 2, 2025

How To Establish a Relationship with God

How do you establish and build a relationship with the powerful, righteous God Almighty? What is the first step?

Do you need to put on your glasses to seek God?

Seek God and you will find Him. This is just what king David told his son, Solomon. It was wise advise for his son and for all of us. There is more to this counsel than just looking for the LORD God. When we earnestly seek Him with all of our heart, understand that God knows our very thoughts, and we shouldn’t give up or abandon Him.

And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 1 Chronicles 28:9

The key to finding God...
is reading your Bible and praying.

Seek Him. Are you doing that? Where will you find Him? Of course. you can see Him in nature and His creation, but don’t look under a rock. You’ll find some bugs or spiders, not God. Discover Him by reading your Bible and understanding that Jesus died, was crucified for our sins. This act of obedience on Jesus’ part rescued us from the sin—even the very sin that separated Adam from God’s friendship. Remember how Adam and Eve walked in the Garden with God. Now the opportunity for friendship with God Almighty, the great and awesome Heavenly Father, was restored when Jesus’ blood was shed, covering and washing away our sin.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:8-11

Rejoice in the new relationship we have with God. That is the beginning of a relationship with the great and awesome God Almighty. He wants to have a relationship with you—His creation.

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth's foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the LORD's blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Psalm 24:1-5

Accept Jesus as your Messiah—your Savior. His blood was shed for our sins. This acknowledgement of Jesus as a personal Messiah initiates the relationship between you and God. If you have just made this choice, congratulations! It is the most important choice of your life! Day by day—actually moment by moment—as you learn more about God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—yielding more of your life to Him, your relationship will grow.

Prayer – Lord, thank you that we can have a relationship with You—Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. I praise You—for You truly are an awesome God, worthy of praise. Just as the Doxology song says, "Glory be the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.”

Meditate. Read God’s word and listen to what He is saying.

Verse of Salvation ~ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days. Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. 1 Peter 1:18-21

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

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

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

Friday, August 1, 2025

Welcome August – Begin a New Month – Time to Begin a New Habit?

We’ve all heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Time to shed an old habit—and take up a new one. The beginning of a month is always a good starting point. What old habit would you like to trade in for a new one? I’m sure you are long past the nail biting or foot shaking kid type habit. A couple of years ago I blogged about a challenge. That is one way to change a habit.

Imagine yourself sitting around a big table—reclining as they did in Jesus’ time—and feasting at a meal with other Christians. Please pass the hummus…and the pita bread. Would you like more water, wine, or tea? Laughter. Smiles. A joyous meal. Tomorrow, come to my house. I’m cooking up some lentil soup. It will be a tasty meal. Did you hear that the gentleman across the street just accepted Jesus as his Savior? Ah. Here he is now—and he has his wife and son with him. Praise God! Our fellowship is growing.

Building relationships is the key to a growing fellowship. Those relationships with others and with God depend on spending time together—just as the early Christians did. Time of worshipping, studying the scriptures, fellowshipping, sharing meals, and generously giving to others. If they needed clothes, food, or help with a project—I’m sure they shared with each other. Time together and shared resources bonds people to each other, socially and spiritually.

Time to intentionally
start new relationships...
with God and with others.

Think about your group of friends. Do you share meals, scripture, and fellowship? Actually, consider those with whom you want to be friends. A few years ago, I was at a ladies’ conference when the speaker, Lucy Luginbill, mentioned a book she had just read, “Friendships Don’t Just Happen” by Shasta Nelson who encouraged ladies, but it could apply to men as well, to intentionally establish circles of friends. Without the epidemic threat of isolation, we can now interact with people, real time and face to face, so we have that opportunity to establish new friendships. Those new companionships give them and us the possibility to do as Jesus taught…to love others as we love ourselves. Start a new habit today intentionally building a relationship with God and with others in that God has brought into your midst. Then joyfully start new friendships like those in early Christian fellowship as Luke described in the book of Acts.

Twenty-one Day Challenge:

We aren’t to put money, or career, home, or even family before God. That may be a real challenge for some people. So, I challenge you to put God first every day for twenty-one days. That’s the length of time it takes to change a habit. No better habit that to put God first in your life. Intentionally develop a deeper friendship relationship with Him and with other Christians. Begin today and evaluate your progress on August 22^nd.

They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do (or are in the habit of doing), but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25

Prayer – Lord, You were marvelous at creating friendships. It isn’t that easy for me…but I am willing to try. Then I think of the quote from Yoda…“Do or do not. There is no try.” Wise advice. Your advice also rings in my head…“Do unto others as you would have them do to you. (Matthew 7:12)” I think that includes making and keeping friends. Show me how to intentionally do that. You, Jesus, are the one that I most want to develop a closer, deeper relationship.

Meditate. Consider God’s guidance in scripture. Read God’s word and listen to what He is saying.

Verses of Salvation ~ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:8-11

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

Hummus
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (start with 1 cup dried, soak and cook in 4 cups of water for at least three hours) OR 1 can garbanzo beans (15 oz.) drained, reserve liquid
1/4 cup tahini (sesame butter)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon or about 2 Tbsp
6 cloves garlic, grated with microplane grater (or more if preferred, never too much garlic)
1 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp horseradish (optional)
pepper to taste
paprika or fresh parsley to garnish

Chop garbanzos in food processor; blend in the rest of ingredients, including some of the reserved liquid until smooth and it reaches your desired consistency. This gets better with age, so prepare it a day before if you like. Pour into serving bowl & sprinkle with paprika or parsley. Serve with triangles of soft pita bread, crisp pita chips, sliced cucumber, carrots, celery, sliced fresh sweet pepper or sliced apples.

Recycled portions from February 8, 2023 Banquet With The King blog

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