ABOUT THE WAR
(This is from the Cornerstone Quick News e-letter that I sent out to our church a few hours ago)

It appears all but inevitable that war will breakout over the Iraqi situation -- perhaps as early as tonight. Here are some things that I think we need to be doing as a church:

a) Don't give up on praying for peace. Even if things get nasty we need to continue on with the task that is ours as followers of Christ. We will let God work out how that peace happens. But ours is to seek it.

b) Do remember to pray for the safety of soldiers and civilians. Nothing would make the American government more happy than to have this "war" without firing a shot -- how much more so the Lord.

c) Don't get too glued to the television. I expect that there will be 24/7 coverage of the war with unending commentary and looped footage of the latest battle. If we fixate on the details we will bog ourselves down emotionally and we'll lose perspective (to say nothing of all the chores that won't get done).

d) Become a supportive neighbor. We have a lot of people in our community who have relatives in Iraq and they are obviously concerned. On top of that there is concern that fanatics will target Americans of Middle Eastern descent for abuse and violence. (The irony, of course, is that many of these people have been victims of abuse at the hands of the very people the American government is trying to force out. That's why they left to come live here). Become a calming presence. Check on your neighbors to make sure they're doing alright. They may just want to talk. If you hear people making off-color comments about the "foreigners" in our community speak up on their behalf. Avoid inflammatory remarks yourself -- no matter how deeply you may feel about an issue or a group of people. Excercise wisdom. Become "salt" and "light".

War is never a good thing. But it does provide us with a unique opportunity to showcase the peace of Christ. "God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God." St. Matthew 5:9

We're all on active duty.