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Day 121, or May 1. The best of intentions are not always enough. Our thoughts today are

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rooted in Ezra chapter 1 verse 5. Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the

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priests and Levites, everyone whose heart God had moved, prepared to go up and build

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the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. The book of Ezra is unusual in that Ezra

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himself only comes on to the scene in chapter 7 of this ten-chapter book. He could well

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be the author of the books of Chronicles, and was very influential in the settling of

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the returning Jews after their exile in Babylonia. After seventy years in exile, the most fervent

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and determined of the Jews, almost fifty thousand in total, set off to rebuild their temple,

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and through it reestablish their nation in the land that their God had given them so

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many centuries ago. Their forefathers had let themselves and God down badly. But this

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new generation were determined to succeed where their ancestors had failed so miserably.

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And now today's action step. Have you ever resolved to change and do the right thing

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in the future? You'll be a very unusual person if you hadn't. New Year's resolutions may

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not be as popular as they used to be, but most of us have the intention to turn over

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a new leaf many times in our lifetime. However, for the more important promises and resolutions,

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simply being determined is rarely enough. Of course, we do need to be determined, but

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we also need the help of God if we are to know true, long-lasting life change. God is

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always pleased to see our efforts to become more like His Son Jesus. But too often we

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go one way to frustrate the process when we thank Him at the beginning, and then declare

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independence for the rest of the process. It could be that there is some change in your

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life today that you have started but are unable to fulfil. Why not ask God now to help you

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further your cause, but be ready for it not to succeed if God has other plans for you?