ZECHARIAH 8:20

“‘The LORD of armies says this: “It will yet turn out that peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities.”’”

You may be one of those people who love to shop on Black Friday. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is traditionally the Friday after Thanksgiving when the Christmas shopping season begins. Here in the U.S., huge crowds gather outside stores offering reduced pricing on items. People get a little crazy on this day and crowds can become unmanageable. Personally, I stay as far away as possible from shopping areas on that day.

The people aren’t gathering in Jerusalem to shop here in verse 20. The Lord says that people are going to come to Jerusalem from all over. We will see in the next few verses why they are coming, but we know it is all about the Lord. They have seen how He has restored Israel, and they want to be a part of that. Instead of being shunned by the nations, Israel is seen as a destination point.

APPLICATON

I want to be in the midst of wherever the Lord is, don’t you? I love Moses’s words to the Lord in Exodus 33:15-16. “15 Then he said to Him, ‘If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. 16 For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are on the face of the earth?’”

Listen, we should look different from the world. We should be attracting people to come be a part of us. Last night my home church had a members’ meeting. We welcomed a couple of dozen new members to our church. People are coming to join our body of believers. Why? I would hope it is because they sense the presence of the Lord in our midst. We feel just like Moses. We are distinguished by His Holy Spirit among us.

I pray you are part of a body of believers. If not, seek one out. You need that fellowship. You need that accountability under a shepherd. And the body needs you. You, as a believer, are filled with the Spirit of God. As you join others with the same Spirit of God, the unity of the church universal is strengthened. Come to His gathering place and feel the presence of the Lord.

I come, Lord, into Your presence each week as I gather with other believers. Thank You for the fellowship I have with them.