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Day 125, or May the 5th.

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Sorry seems to be the hardest word.

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Our thoughts today are rooted in Ezra chapter 10 verse 1.

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While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house

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of God, a large crowd of Israelites, men, women, and children, gathered around him.

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They too wept bitterly.

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse.

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After much Bible study, the people finally resolved to do their part in getting their

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lives back on track and worshipping the God of their fathers.

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There has been a lot of intermarrying with other nations, despite God clearly teaching

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His people that they must remain a pure race.

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This may sound racist to our 21st century ears, but actually it was the only way for

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the Israelites not to be swallowed up by other nations' traditions and religions.

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In those days, when two nations were joined by a marriage, this brought together two families,

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and both of them worshipped each other's gods.

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Within a generation or two, any clear following of the true living God would be totally dissolved

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by the growing number of pagan gods, from here, there, and everywhere.

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And now our action step for today.

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One of the things that I find most irritable in our 21st century daily life is the fact

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that no one uses the word sorry now.

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I recall commenting on this to a shop assistant, with whom I was having a debate about a faulty

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item I was returning.

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I said, I think the word you're looking for is sorry.

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To which she replied, I don't think so.

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It would have defused the impasse straight away.

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I have since learned that some insurance companies have instructed clients never to say sorry,

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because it's an admission of guilt.

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What's wrong with that if it is your fault?

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The people of Ezra's day wept bitterly because they had so much to be sorry for.

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Why not try to incorporate the word sorry into your daily life when appropriate today?

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It will reduce arguments and also introduce an element of honesty and integrity into our

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daily lives.