12/01/20 WHAT’S NEW? #1 — Ezra 9:8-9 (HCSB) 8 But now, for a brief moment, GRACE has come from Yahweh our God to PRESERVE A REMNANT for us and give us a stake in His Holy Place. Even in our slavery, God has given us NEW LIFE and LIGHT to our eyes. 9 Though we are slaves, our GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED US in our slavery. He has extended GRACE to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us NEW LIFE, so that we can REBUILD the house of our God and REPAIR its ruins, to give us a WALL in Judah and Jerusalem.

NEW LIFE and LIGHT: Scripture is clear that, as each of us begins life on earth, we are SPIRITUALLY DEAD. We are NOT ignorant and need a teacher. We are NOT sick and need a doctor. We are NOT lonely and in need of a good friend. We desperately need NEW SPIRITUAL LIFE; we need a SAVIOR and REDEEMER! Only then can we cast off the works of darkness and live in Christ’s NEW LIGHT!

REBUILD… REPAIR: In a survey of the OT Prophets I have done several times, I like to find all the “RE-Minders” in each book, i.e. words that begin with “re-,” such as renew, redeem, rebuild, repair, repent, remove, restore, etc. And, lo and behold, even though Ezra is not considered a prophetic book, we notice here that when God extends His Amazing GRACE to us and gives this NEW LIFE, He also gives us the ability to REBUILD and REPAIR our “RUIN”ed cultures, churches and families, so that we are PROTECTED as if by a “WALL.”