[Dailydevo] Monday Devotion May 29, 2006

[Barry Ludwig]

This week Pastor Barry will besending our e-devotions to you from in the Jerusalem Internet Cafe. We will depart from our normal routine as I share thoughts with you that flow the experiences of the day.

Jesus told us to love one another as he has loved us. In a land that is miltarized, building high cement walls, and filled with check points where you have to pull out your passport and prove to ak47 bearing teenage soldiers who you are, there is more fear than love, more resentment than kindness. This has truly become a broken land. And yet yeterday as I helped to lead the prayers at an arabic speaking Palestinian church in Bethlehem, I was deeply moved by the love of my fellow Christians, whose deepest desire is to have a lasting peace based upon justice.

If we are to follow the command of our Lord to love as he has loved, then we must be willing to stand up for what is fair and true. It is my hope that today you will speak kindly to your neighbor, hug your loved ones (and forget about the arguement you had yesterday), and that you will ask what you can do to make our community and world more of a Jesus place.

Shalom,

Pastor Barry