Blessings to you, friends….and thanks for stopping by!  I want to share some insights from a morning quiet time I experienced a few days ago.  I happened to read through Isaiah 60 and it added some depth to my prayers for the peace of Jerusalem.  (Take a few moments to read that chapter.)  Here are a few things the Lord impressed upon me:

• God, the light of Israel, will indeed come in the midst of darkness. (verses 1-3)  Revelation describes the tribulation period as an extremely dark time, yet the Lord will rise and His glory will come to His chosen land and His chosen people.
• Israeli sons and daughters will come from afar and will be blessed. (verses 4-9)  I think of Israel’s re-birth (Ezekiel 36-37), and how Jews have come from the far corners of the earth.  They have come from afar, and God has blessed their land.  After the Jews were driven out of the land following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the land became desolate.  It remained that way for hundreds of years.  No one wanted the land…it was sand dunes, swampland, and barren desert.  Once the Jews began to return, they put their ingenuity to work and God blessed their land.  Check out this Made in Israel video (about 10 minutes) for an incredible look at how God restored the land when Jews began to return.
• Verses 10-14 describe building up of Jerusalem in beauty. When the Israelites returned from captivity in Babylon, they rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple.  They beautified the sanctuary of the Lord.  That beautiful sanctuary was ultimately destroyed, but when the Lord returns to rule and reign, the new heavens and new earth will far surpass the beauty of any temple ever built!  In fact, the Bible teaches us that there will be no need for the sun and moon, as the Son of God will be the Light of the World!  Indeed, it will be called the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel (verse 14).  I long for that day, don’t you!
• In that day (according to verses 15-16), God will make Israel an everlasting pride, a joy from generation to generation. Israel will know that He is the Lord, their Savior, their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.  Friends, God will indeed make Himself known to His people!  Though (for the most part) their eyes are currently veiled, they will soon see and recognize Jesus as Messiah!  O, that their eyes might be open very soon!  Let’s pray fervently for that!
• God will bring them gold, silver, bronze and iron (verse 17). The Bible tells us that the streets of the New Jerusalem will be paved with gold, and other precious jewels will be the building materials used in the New Jerusalem!  Furthermore, violence will not be heard in the land.  Praise God what we see happening today will not be a part of the new kingdom.
• Righteousness and the glory of God will reign! (verses 21-22)

Fellow believers, the peace of Jerusalem is possible only when the Prince of Peace rules and reigns!  Yes, we should pray that He would rule and reign in the hearts and minds of Jews, Arabs, Palestinians and all in the Middle East today.  But peace within the nation of Israel will likely not truly happen until the Prince of Peace returns to the land!  As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we’re praying for those two things: that peace will reign in individual hearts, and that the Prince of Peace will return to bring ultimate peace to the land.  This Psalm is a prophecy of that time when Jesus will physically rule and reign in the Holy City!

Maranatha, Lord, Maranatha!