God is our refuge and our strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the Lord,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shields with fire.
Psalm 46:1-3,6-9

To the west of us here in Kodaikanal, India, war is waging in the Middle East.Coalition forces attack Iraq – bombs and missiles rain down fire.Chemical and biological weapons are feared.To the east of us, war is being practiced in Asia.U.S. and South Korea play at war, while North Korea threatens real war.Nuclear weapons are feared.In the north of this country hostilities continue to be exchanged in Kashmir and over the Indo-Pakistan border.

We pray to know God's heart and He says, "For I so love the world, that I sent my one and only son, Jesus, that the world would be saved through him.Those who believe and love me will be my sons and daughters."

We have not experienced any hostility or threats as we live and work in Kodaikanal or travel in south India.Life goes on in India with more focus on internal conflicts and people's daily needs than on world events.The Muslim-Christian tensions here are not what they are in many parts of the world today.Each of these groups experience more conflict from the Hindu presence, with the history of Hindu-Muslim and Hindu-Christian clashes.As a result Christians and Muslims see their similarities much more than their differences.It was only a few months ago that Christians and Muslim in our town of Kodaikanal marched shoulder to shoulder to protest the anti-conversion legislation promoted by Hindu leaders.

Perhaps that is one thing that Jesus Christ does for us as a global community:In the presence and light of Christ we can see our similarities much more than our differences.We can see that God loves each one of us and hopes that every one be reconciled to Him.

"Be still and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth."

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:10,11