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Day 123, or May 3. Let's start again. Our thoughts today are rooted in Ezra chapter

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6 verse 14. So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of

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Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple

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according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Arta-Xerxes,

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kings of Persia.

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But first, here's the big picture surrounding this verse. After the first excitement of

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wanting to rebuild the temple of God, there is a considerable delay for up to forty years.

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Then on to the scene come Haggai and Zechariah, two prophets who would encourage the people

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to resume their building project, and finally complete it. There was immediately a problem

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from some of the local authorities. They must have been very well connected, because they

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went right to the top and sent a letter to the king himself. Imagine the red faces when

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the king replied that the project may proceed with his blessing. Finally it's completed

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and the Passover feast is celebrated. The temple is complete and the people worship

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God. All is well. God has given them a fresh start, because He loves them.

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And now today's action step. Oh, if only I could start again, knowing what I know now.

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Our God is the God of new starts. The people of Jerusalem must have been so excited when

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they saw the temple completed. Then there were the dedication sacrifices and the celebration

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of Passover. Could it possibly get better? God has something new for each of us every

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day too. Should we start again? My grandchildren love to hear that, so that they can enjoy

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a game or storybook all over again. We have the privilege of starting again too. One of

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the big barriers to enjoying a new start is forgiving ourselves for the mess we made of

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the last one. If God can forgive us, and He does, then we must forgive ourselves and go

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forward holding the hand of the God of new beginnings.