A Prayer a Day: Good afternoon, Heavenly Father. Today I was watching news reports about protesters and rioters. I looked at four different channels and sure enough, each channel was reporting on protests and riots around the country. I started wondering if the Bible has much to say about riots; I found Jesus himself was accused of causing riots. When the Jewish Council went before Pilate complaining about Jesus, they said his ministry had to be stopped because Jesus, “Had been causing riots everywhere.” The Jewish Council gave no specific examples, and no video was available to support their charges. In my opinion, the closest example of Jesus causing a riot would be his cleansing the temple of the money changers.This story is recorded in all four Gospels. ITurning over tables, whipping the bird sellers, breaking cages, and releasing birds, may have constituted a riot of sorts. Mostly, Jesus drew large crowds, caused people to be filled with wonder, and sent many home healed.Today, we say people are rioting, when they break windows, steal things, and set things on fire. Jesus didn’t set any buildings ablaze, but he did set hearts on fire with love for you, Lord. Jesus may have caused a riot of emotions in the people he met, by healing the blind, deaf, lame,and by raising the dead. Surely, these actions caused a stir, but I think of riots as negative, and I never think of Jesus as negative. Lord, please come and heal our land of these destructive riots. We repent of all the ways, that we have sinned against you,Lord, and against our brothers and sisters, because of our lack of love. Fill us with your Spirit, so that we may share your peace in our troubled world. Come Holy Spirit and make us peaceful: amen.