Amen!!! <>< (NOTE:We must pray this daily from here on out. Getting obvious now!)
Psalm 91
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,*
2 will say to the Lord, âMy refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.â
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,*
the Most High your dwelling-place,
10 no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honour them.
Almost Persuaded:
Is President Trump âAlmost Persuadedâ?
20260203.0815.SpartanSixDelta.OpEd.AlmostPersuaded
Almost Persuaded
In Acts of the Apostles 26, the Apostle Paul stands in chains before King Agrippa. He is not there to flatter power or bargain for freedom. He testifiesâplainly, calmly, truthfullyâabout repentance, resurrection, judgment, and grace. Agrippa listens carefully. He understands the Scriptures. He grasps what Paul is claiming.
And then he answers with words that have haunted history:
âAlmost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.â
Not rejection.
Not disbelief.
Just hesitation.
Scripture never records Agrippa crossing that line. His legacy is not hostility to the Gospelâbut delay.
A Modern Moment at Thirty Thousand Feet
Nearly two thousand years later, a remarkably similar posture surfaced in a very different setting.
Aboard Air Force One, during an in-flight press gaggle captured on video and widely circulated, Donald Trump was asked a direct, personal question about heaven. The reporter referenced earlier comments the president had made about hoping that peacemaking efforts might count for something in eternity and pressed him to clarify his own expectations.
The president pausedâand answered with striking candor.
âIâm being a little cute,â he said.
âI donât think thereâs anything going to get me in heaven. Okay? I really donât. I think Iâm not maybe heaven-bound.â
It was not defiance.
It was not mockery.
It was not atheism.
It was an open admission of unworthiness.
In an age of scripted answers and guarded language, it was unusually honest. A sitting president acknowledged belief in heavenâand at the same time, acknowledged that he did not believe himself qualified for it.
Surrounded by Believers, Yet Faith Remains Personal
President Trump has been surrounded by outspoken Christiansâcabinet members, advisors, pastors, and believers who pray openly and speak plainly about Christ. He has defended religious liberty and spoken respectfully of Christianity.
But Scripture is relentless on one point: proximity to faith is not the same as surrender to it.
Agrippa sat face-to-face with Paul.
He heard the Gospel clearly.
He understood it.
And stillâalmost.
The Air Force One exchange revealed a similar tension. The president did not deny God. He did not deny heaven. He did not deny judgment. He simply stated, plainly, that he did not believe there was âanythingâ that would get him there.
And here the Gospel presses hardest.
Christianity does not begin with being worthy of heaven.
It begins with admitting that we are not.
Paul did not stand before Agrippa claiming moral sufficiency. He stood as a forgiven persecutor, saved by grace alone. His chains testified not to failure, but to obedience.
Agrippaâs danger was not ignorance.
It was delay.
Why âAlmostâ Is the Most Dangerous Place to Stand
âAlmost persuadedâ sounds reasonable. It sounds thoughtful. It sounds cautious. But Scripture never treats almost as neutral ground.
Conviction without surrender leaves a soul unchanged.
Understanding without repentance saves no one.
Acknowledging heaven without trusting Christ leaves the question unresolved.
Agrippa recognized the truthâand postponed a decision eternity does not promise can be postponed. Scripture records no second hearing. Paul is sent away. Agrippa returns to power. The moment passes.
That is why the Air Force One moment mattersânot politically, but spiritually. A man at the height of earthly power admitted, publicly, that he did not believe himself âheaven-bound.â
That awareness is not the end of the Gospel story.
It is the doorway to it.
A Prayer, Not a Verdict
This is not written as judgment. It is written as prayer.
A prayer that a leader surrounded by Christians would not remain almost persuaded.
A prayer that honest admission would not harden into permanent delay.
A prayer that humility would lead not to resignationâbut to surrender.
Paulâs final words to Agrippa still speak:
âI would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I amâexcept these bonds.â
That remains the prayer today.
Not almost persuaded.
Not respectfully adjacent to faith.
But altogether persuadedânot by merit, but by grace.
Because history is unforgiving to the word almost.
And Scripture is clear:
Now is the acceptable time.
