Annapolis Peace Conference

“Salaam” is a common greeting in many Arabic-speaking and Muslim countries. “Shalom” is the salutation used by Jews at meeting and parting. Both terms mean “peace.” Yet there seems to be a lack of peace here in the Middle East. Maybe they should all adopt the English “greetings,” “what’s up?” or simply the head nod instead.


A Middle East Peace conference is to be held on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 in Annapolis, MD. The primary purpose of the conference is surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been going on for many, many years. It wasn’t until I moved to Jerusalem and have taken classes that have dealt a little with this issue that I realize how deep and complex the whole issue is. The U.S. Government has been working hard in preparation for this conference and Condoleezza Rice seems to have been here about every other week as we have seen her ride by in her caravan while we were walking to Hebrew class a few times this fall. May God bless the governments’ efforts.

I have taken some time to look at the Scriptures to see what God says about peace. The English word “peace” is found 250 times in the Bible such as when the Apostle Peter said in Acts 10:36, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” But I also found it interesting that many times the term “peace” was used in the New Testament, it was coupled with the word “grace,” (found 123 times in the NT). In fact EVERY single one of Paul’s letters starts out with “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Some have said this was simply a cultural greeting in a letter, but all of his letters are packed with themes of grace and peace and he even closes each letter (including the short 25 verse letter to Philemon) with something like “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” The much-needed message of the Gospel of Jesus is grace and peace.

Grace and peace.

Which is really interesting to me when I think about the little that I know about the current conflict between these two people groups in Israel. Both people groups have had horrible things done to them in the past, both by others and by each other. Both people groups seem to be hanging on to those things. No grace for past hurts, no peace in the present.
I am asking you, friends, family, brothers and sisters worldwide, to please join us in prayer for this conference. Pray for the leaders from 40 different countries who have been invited to the meeting in Annapolis. Pray for wisdom in complicated decisions. Pray for grace to be known, given and received. And may Messiah Jesus bring His peace to the Middle East...and to the ends of the earth. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:14).

Shalom. Salaam. Peace.