[The devil’s] doctrine is easily swallowed, for it is comprehensible to reason. But here, where I am peaceful and do not seek war but strive to bring salvation to all the world and preach the Gospel, war is already at hand. The devil senses that the people are being snatched from his toils and trap and are being led into the kingdom of the Lord Christ. Therefore he agitates whomever he can, and he himself wakes up and becomes mad and furious. Thus the peaceful must have a reputation as disturbers of the peace; they must bear the blame for creating discord. But those who break the peace and start the controversy boast that they are lovers of peace. Let it go! The devil rages this way to intimidate people, lest they adhere to the Gospel. Thus he slanders Christ, His followers, and the apostles as instigators of strife and discord (Luther’s Works, volume 23, pp. 291-292).
Today I met a man in Israel I will never forget. Fifteen years ago he was voting in a primary for candidates of the Likud party. At the polling station, two Palestinian terrorists burst in upon the crowd who were choosing their candidate for the next election. They sprayed the crowd with automatic gunfire. Seven people fell to the floor, wounded by the barrage. The terrorists moved among the fallen, stopping to shoot each one between the eyes to make sure that they were dead. Six people died that day. Today I met the seventh. He was wounded four times in the initial burst of gunfire - once in each leg, once in the arm and once in the side. The terrorists then put a gun two feet from his face and put a bullet between his eyebrows. I saw the deep scar with my own eyes. The next year he spent in a coma. Today I met him at the little restaurant he owns outside the gates of the ancient ruins of Beth She'an. He stood in f...
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