It was 738 days. Read Psalm 125. I was on a Cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea, having dinner on October 7, 2023, when the captain came on the speaker system and announced that the itinerary had changed. Our next stop would be Cyprus, not Israel. Georgiana, our group leader, came to our table to inform us that a terrorist group had attacked an Israeli village, killed many Israeli citizens, and taken many more hostages. The Prime Minister of Israel declared war on Hamas, the terrorist group that carried out the attack. Over the course of the 738 days of war, hostages were tortured, killed, and some were released. During the 738 days, the military of Israel destroyed Palestinian cities in Gaza, and many innocent people were killed and displaced. We returned home safely from our Bible Land Cruise after visiting Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, and Cyprus. For 738 days, we have had the freedom of spending time with our families, working, playing, laughing, worshiping, vacationing, and all those things. On October 13, 2025, the last twenty remaining Israeli hostages were released in a prisoner exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Psalm 25 is one of the many psalms with a prayer for peace. People all over the world have prayed for the conflict to end so that there would be peace. Let us continue to pray for peace to be sustained. Homes and businesses need to be rebuilt. More importantly, lives need to be rebuilt. 

God of peace, you cannot be shaken. Do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. May those who do evil repent of their wicked ways and turn to you. By your power, bring peace in places of conflict. Bring the land and the people back to life and prosperity. Amen.