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In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The Lord built his city on the sacred hill; more than any other place in Israel He loves the city of Jerusalem. Listen, city of God, to the wonderful things He says about you:
“I will include Egypt and Babylonia when I list the nations that obey me; the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
Of Zion it will be said that all nations belong there and that the Almighty will make her strong. The Lord will write a list of the peoples and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem. They dance and sing, “In Zion is the source of all our blessings.”
Psalm 87 (GNT)
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Are you a Christian? Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, receiving the gift of eternal life from God? If so, then you have been born again in two ways:
First, you have been born again into a new life as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) as you walk in the ways of Christ vice your own. The things the world would have you do have been replaced by the things Jesus did for He is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and we’re expected to live as He did. After all, the root word in Christian is Christ and once we’re born again, our new identity is in Jesus.
Second, when we are born again, we are born anew into dual citizenship. We are worldly citizens of whatever nation, state, county, or city/town we reside but we gain a spiritual citizenship in Jerusalem, not the current holy city of Jerusalem in Israel but the new Jerusalem soon to come when Jesus returns. Consider this passage from the Book of Revelation:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:1-8
Friends, this is a vision of what will happen when Jesus returns for those dead and alive in Him. When we are born again into Him, we automatically granted victory over death just as Jesus defeated it when He was resurrected on the third day and later ascended to the heavens to live with His Father, our Father. One day, all Christians will dwell there in the New Jerusalem after this world is no more. What an awesome future we have awaiting us!
As we look at the 87th Psalm, specifically written as a praise of Jerusalem, we find the psalmist writing incredibly prophetic words, words that held one meaning for him but eternal meaning after Jesus lived and died. Let’s look at this psalm:
The Lord built his city on the sacred hill; more than any other place in Israel He loves the city of Jerusalem. Listen, city of God, to the wonderful things He says about you:
“I will include Egypt and Babylonia when I list the nations that obey me; the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
Of Zion it will be said that all nations belong there and that the Almighty will make her strong. The Lord will write a list of the peoples and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem. They dance and sing, “In Zion is the source of all our blessings.”
One thing we find from both this scripture and the earlier one from Revelation is that whether old or new, Jerusalem is the beloved city of God. In fact, the psalm tells us that God loved Jerusalem, built on a sacred hill, more than any place in Israel.
Now who were considered part of the city’s population? Well, this is where the psalmist shared what God had to say about the subject:
“I will include Egypt and Babylonia when I list the nations that obey me; the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
Of Zion it will be said that all nations belong there and that the Almighty will make her strong. The Lord will write a list of the peoples and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem. They dance and sing, “In Zion is the source of all our blessings.”
In other words, God knew a day was coming when Jerusalem would not solely be inhabited by the Jews. For He was soon to send His only Son to live and walk among His people, bringing a new covenant of salvation – a covenant that would make eternal life within the grasp of all people, Jew and Gentile alike. All people of all nations have the opportunity to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and choose whether they will accept or receive Him as Savior. For those who do place their faith and trust in Jesus, God will write their names in the Book of Life and they will become part of the first census of the new Jerusalem when Christ returns.
So when that day comes and the new Jerusalem becomes a reality, how will Christians, the new residents, respond to their new home?
Well, the psalmist writes that they will dance and sing, proclaiming their new home as the source of all blessings. Looking at Revelation again, we can see what some of those blessings will be:
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new! To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”
No more pain or suffering or hardship or death. Nothing that this word brings upon us will exist anymore. We will only have peace and joy and love forever as we dwell with God the Father and Jesus, our Savior.
Being born again in Christ brings us a new life in the here and now but it also grants us access to a rich inheritance which includes a home one day in the new Jerusalem. Thanks be to God for the amazing hope He gives us through this truth.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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