Always Room At God's Table

Today's Reading: Psalm 87

On the high mountain stands the city founded by the Lord.  He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel.  O city of God, what glorious things are said of you! 
I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me--also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.  They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!  Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, "Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there."  And the Most High will personally bless this city.  When the Lord registers the nations, he will say, "They have all become citizens of Jerusalem."
The people will play flutes and sing, "The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!"

     When we read how God loved Jerusalem and that He made it His resting place, it is easy to believe that the rest of the world is left out in the cold, standing outside Jerusalem's gates looking in, that we aren't allowed to be part of His kingdom.  But that just isn't true.  In fact the opposite is the truth.  God wants all of us, all nations, to come to Him.  Egypt, Philistia and Tyre along with others like Assyria were listed in Psalm 83 as being the rebellious nations looking to destroy Israel in the Old Testament.  Yet here in this chapter of Psalm, we see God welcoming them into His kingdom with open arms.  He will do the same for each one of us.  We can all be "citizens of His Holy Place".  All we must do is believe.

Power Verse:
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.     --John 3:16