Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends…I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 13:13, 15. We know love by this – that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16.

He has told you, O man, what is good: And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. Psalm 139:13-14.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 61: His Character – Holiness. Psalm 2:6: But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. And, John 8:46; Revelation 3:7: Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, say this:

Our young grandson is so excited because his favorite player, Mbappe, plays today for France in the FIFA World Cup! And I am so excited for him and for all the players and all the fans! For some reason this feels more exciting than the Olympics and I’m not sure why. I think it’s because it brings forward together in every nation the love that transcends all politics because this is all of us playing. And as we come together and play, we feel the energy for possible.

Our true energy for possible comes from Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. I often think about what it must have been like to be alive and with Jesus the Son as He lived among the people living then; and yet, He reminds me that though He was with them then in the flesh, He is with us today in Spirit, just as He was then in the flesh with our Father in Spirit. The energy He brought for all that is possible for the people living then transcended all the barriers that politics and religious adhering to rules at the expense of belief in God and trusting in His love obscured. We see that energy break out today in hope that cannot come from politics or the stifling of the human spirit in hate and division. So I hope the team playing for Iran can be allowed to join with all other teams in experiencing and knowing the love and joy of the world playing together that transcends all politics. God’s love and our hope in Him cannot be obscured by any man-made construct that denies Him and for that we can give profound thanks and live into our hope for His return for with Him comes the energy possible for all things good that Creator God is doing. And in the meantime, every single day, I want to lay down my life so it can be taken up by our Creator who created love and joy and excitement the nations coming together to play understand!