I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20-21.

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16.

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. 1 Samuel 3:9.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 42: Sent by the Father to speak His word. Deuteronomy 18:18: I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And, John 8:28-29: So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

We watched last night the movie about Dietrich Bonhoeffer that, as with any movie, I am not sure of how much was true but I do know that he was killed by the Nazi’s just before the war ended. A part of the movie that shocked me I looked up and found did happen, that “In 1939, a group of pro-Nazi “theologians” established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish influence on German Church Life, and published a sanitized New Testament in 1940 titled The Message of God, completely removing the Old Testament and scrubbing the New Testament of all Jewish references, cities, prophecies, and reframing Jesus as a heroic, militaristic Aryan fighting against Jewish people; even transforming the Ten Commandments into twelve including “Honor Thy Fuhrer and Master.”” Crucifixes with Christ were forcibly removed from churches and replaced with the Nazi flag. How can anyone become so deceived? And it was dangerous to go against that awful messaging but how could any pastor not? How could anyone value their own physical life more than upholding all that is true and good and holy? I couldn’t help but agree with what Bonhoeffer said in the movie when faced with such unimaginable evil and cruelty…take me home now, take me home to be with You. Evil is shocking. Evil is wrong always. And in the face of evil, pray without ceasing that we, His servants can listen. Are we willing to listen? As we pray – and as we listen – we draw near to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, in closeness that is Life! After that movie we watched Riot and the Dance on Angel that helped serve as a needed reminder of the incredible beauty God created in the animal kingdom. Like a cleansing of the palate, it helped cleanse my spirit! We can be overcome by evil and there are times when evil overcomes everything as it did during Nazi reign or during oppression of every kind in every age including today. But God IS. His creation stands and shows us, if we are willing to see, the beauty and complexity of Life lived in the Light with Him. And if we are willing to turn to Him and pray and then listen, He draws near so we can finally know – He IS and has always been here with us. Don’t get lost in the darkness of evil where others stumble and fall. Turn to the light of His love and be with Him and the trust we find in Him who created all things for good and not for evil. When we turn to Him, He opens the way to others – that we may all be one, even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us! That is the powerful prayer that Jesus, the Son, gave for us and that He is working toward always.