Pray for Peace

There is a lot going on in the world today. If I am not careful I can spend my whole day reading CNN and Reuters. But here are some of the important things on my mind...

A possible Palestinian Israeli peace treaty.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are meeting in Annapolis today with President Bush, Condoleeza Rice, and other members of the administration along with dozens of other Mid-East dignitaries and Representatives. While there are other items on the agenda for this Mid-East summit, the main initiative is to get these two leaders to sign an agreement that says they will begin to seek a peace treaty between the two nations. So they are not actually signing a peace treaty now, but are agreeing to begin working on one that will be put in place by the end of 2008.

Peace between these two groups is absolutely necessary for the long term stability of the middle east. The violence and suffering have gone on long enough. It is in the best interest of the Middle East, the Israeli and Palestinian people, and humanity in general for these two men to begin the peace process.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is laying down his uniform and his claim to military rule this week after calling for emergency rule on November 3rd. In order for this Middle East country to sustain stability the emergency rule must be reversed so that the country can have free and democratic elections in January. Musharraf stepping down as President of the military is the first step to this happening. There is still much more to be done, but these first actions are hopefully a promising start, right?

The Korea's who have basically been at war since 1953 when their war ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty, age old enemies, are meeting this week to discuss and hopefully implement a few basic peace plans among the two nations. This is a big deal. A rare meeting of the two defense ministers coming together to discuss ways for the countries to promote some measure of peace and to resolve some age old disputes such as land and ocean divisions, the ability to share fishing space, and the desire to promote peace in the future.

And in our own country today Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins mourn the loss of their friend and teammate 24 year old Sean Taylor who was shot in his home in what appears to be a burglary gone bad. He leaves behind a family, a beautiful daughter, teammates, friends, and fans who are shocked at how quickly and tragically his life was ended.

Point is...

A lot of big things are happening this week. There are a lot of people coming together making the first, tiny, baby steps towards the direction of peace. There are a lot of people this week who are seeking peace in the midst of tragedy.

Peace seems to be the key word.

The words of Jesus say, "peace I give to you."
Today, as I read the news, my heart is not as heavy as it usually is, but hopeful. We are in the season where peace is celebrated and sought after. My prayer as these huge events take place this week would be for peace to be sought after and found. Keep these people and these events in your heart and mind this week...

Pray for peace.