Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. John 15:4.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 59: The enmity of kings foreordained. Psalm 2:1-3: Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” And, Acts 4:25-28: Who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the LORD and against His Christ.” For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.

Another quick program note for this blog. At the end of my blogs I’m going to include a prayer from the book Amen and Amen, A Timeless Collection of Prayers and Hymns for Life’s Journey compiled by Douglas Jacoby. I have been feeling a deep need to share in the prayers of those who came before, prayers raised to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, from the faithful throughout the years, because it truly feels as though we are then part of the springs of living water, the Holy Spirit joining with hearts worshiping Him, bringing words beautiful and needed.

Last night on Netflix we watched a documentary on Ulysses S. Grant, the general of the Union soldiers during the Civil War and the 18th President after the war. The wounds of slavery have run deep fed by wounds of hate. It’s difficult for us to imagine living through what it must have been like for our country to have been torn apart internally by war and then to face the reality of how to go on living after the war ended for both sides. It’s one thing to say enslaved people are free, and another to know how that works going forward. There were two images that stuck in my mind watching that documentary. Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman, and Grant shaking hands in the Oval Office after Douglass appealed to Grant for federal help to protect black citizens; and archival images of citizens holding signs up for the Klan with determination and hate on their faces. I keep thinking about that dichotomy even as I can’t help but think about my need to join with others who went before me and have found God’s love. Racial hatreds exist still today bringing deep wounds. So do political hatreds, religious hatreds, hate of every kind. Is it any wonder Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God and His love was so radical and so needed?

***STRENGTH FOR TODAY – Father, this morning I thank You for the grace to desire to be with You now. With this new day ahead of me, I pray that I may be filled with Your presence, and that my faith, hope, love, and joy in You may be renewed. Help me to renew, too, my longing for others to know You better and be closer to You. With Your steadfast love, You have been so kind to me, patient with me, and supportive of me. Let this awareness inspire me to love my friends, brothers, and sisters. Help me to be an encouragement to the discouraged – a help to bear their burdens and limitations and to lighten their loads. Keep me from words and actions that might hurt and destroy. Keep me from making hasty conclusions and judgments about others, knowing well that we are all at different stages of growth, with different family backgrounds, values, and cultures, and that You are dealing with us in different ways. For this, Father, I need Your continued guidance and strength. Amen. Presence (St Pauls Publications, 1991), 130-35. ***