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Day 177, or June 26. May the Prince of Peace reign.

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Our thoughts today are rooted in Psalm 122, verses 6 and 7.

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Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love you be secure.

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May there be peace within your walls, and security within your citadels.

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And now the big picture surrounding these verses.

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Psalms 120 to 127 are often described as songs of ascent.

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In the temple courtyard there was an ultra-wide stairway that consisted of 15 large semi-circular

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steps that ascended into the inner section of the courtyard. The Levites, whose job it was to

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accompany the temple service with songs and instrumental music, would stand on this staircase

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and sing from the 15 Psalms that were the songs of ascent. They would have been regularly used in

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the days of Jesus. A particularly poignant one is Psalm 122 that urges us all to pray for the

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peace of Jerusalem. Another worthy of comment is Psalm 127, which is attributed to King Solomon,

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who built the original temple to the glory of God.

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Now today's action step. It has always seemed tragically ironic that so many wars have been

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declared over the centuries in the name of the Prince of Peace. Psalm 122 includes a specific

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appeal to pray for peace in Jerusalem, whose name can be translated as Place of Peace.

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Significantly, the second part of the name is in daily use amongst Jews and Arabs as they greet

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one another with the words Shalom or Salam respectively. I believe as Christians we ought

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to pray for peace, but not just in Jerusalem, but also all around the world. Of course,

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we must not limit peace to just being the absence of war, because it's so much more than that.

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When the Prince of Peace rules in individual hearts, then true peace reigns. We will never

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legislate our world into peace. We can never produce true peace by inventing lots of rules.

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The only source of peace is Jesus himself, and as his representatives on earth,

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it's our privilege and duty to reveal it to the world.