Israel was granted permission to leave captivity in Babylon and return to Jerusalem; a very small group left captivity. Their purpose was to establish the temple, a place to worship God. Without the temple, God's presence wouldn't come. They had been in a place of desolation. Jeremiah prophesied that the desolation would not remain.

Jeremiah 33:10-11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; His love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.

God does not want any of us to remain in desolation. Israel was as low as you could go spiritually in captivity in Babylon and yet this was the new beginning the Lord had promised to Israel. God is a God of new beginnings, both corporately as with Israel and individually to those in need. Are you hoping for a new beginning? He is a God who gives not a God who withholds. God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Begin today to prepare a place for God to come and dwell.

The Bible may not seem like the collection of 66 books has any connection, but in fact, there is a single scarlet thread connecting everything into one cohesive story of redemption.

As we study Ezra, it’s important to recognize which part of the thread we’re looking at. It is here that God designates a temporary means of redemption through the temple sacrifices. We know now that these were only a shadow of what, or rather Who, was to come. It all pointed to the great redemption that would come through Jesus, which is still offered to all who will come to His open arms. It’s in His arms that we find forgiveness for sin, love, and a new identity as a child of God.

When coming out of these seasons of what feels like exile, how we go forward matters. Daniel goes back to God's Word. It is what we must do - read God's Word and repent.

Out of exile is about a new beginning.

Nothing happens by coincidence. Whatever situation you find yourself in is no coincidence. God has a place for us and a path to follow. There is a desire in the hearts of people today to begin again after this time of the pandemic. We feel stuck yet have a desire to move forward. We, too, can be a people of God to hear and bring about God's will to the world around us. 

It matters how we approach God's bride!

Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Paul was tearing down cultural norms at the time by laying down this principle - love your wives as Christ loved the church. How did Jesus love the church? By leaving His world and entering into ours, sanctifying her, cleansing her - to set apart as a holy thing. Why? so that He might present to Himself the church - without spot or wrinkle but that the church would be holy and blameless. What began as instruction to men becomes a revelation of Jesus' relationship with His church. It is the practical, everyday instruction on how to live out intimacy with God and intimacy with others. 

Spots refer to sin. Sin is the refusal to allow Jesus to serve and to satisfy us as members of His body. Jesus left everything because He loved the church and gave all up for her. He is there to minister and care for us by taking away our spots. 

Pause... and ask yourself... What is your true relationship with Jesus and His church right now? Is intimacy with God and the community of the saints valuable above all else?

God's ultimate goal is to present to Himself the church and all her glory.

Revelation 19:6-9 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.

What we do here matters there! It matters how we approach God's bride! The goal of God is glory; the reality for many is spots.

1) Get your eyes on the proper goal. 2) Start investing in your retirement home of eternity by putting your energy into heavenly rewards. 3) We cannot experience the abundant life that Jesus is calling without investing in relationships.

There is a difference between knowing the Lord and being a friend of God. Friends spend time together. Friends are not a bother to each other. We tend to build walls that protect us from real relationships that can hurt and that can bless. We then create a shallow life around us and therefore a distant relationship with God. We cannot be close to God and not love the things that God loves. When we love God, we will be attracted to the things that God loves and He loves His church! Don't criticize the bride of Christ.

Are we praying that the Lord will shake the church, us, out of our sleep and despondency? It is necessary to be with the church because when we break fellowship with the church, we break fellowship with God. God's call is to enjoy freedom from sin and wrinkles and it begins by being a friend of God and loving what God loves, His church, His community, spots and wrinkles included. 

There are two groups of people from Matthew 22 - Parable of the Wedding Garment. 1) The people proud of their individuality, despising the church, and unwilling to enter. 2) The people looking a mess, with spots and wrinkles, and not worthy of entering. Jesus gives His coat and blood to cleanse us so that we can enter in. 

Take Jesus' hand and accept what Jesus did for you! Let Jesus deal with the spots and wrinkles. The church is open to all.

Many believe that "community" is a time to get together as a congregation. But is it?

Community is universal as we all have a desire to be connected to others. We cluster in what we overlap in as in doing the same things or thinking the same way. What does a community in the Kingdom of God look like? Many believe that "community" is a time to get together as a congregation. But is it?

The triune God is one. Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” Mankind began from a community - God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; three in one. So we gravitate to community as we were created. John 17:21 that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Adam realized his aloneness as he names the animals. When he sees Eve, he has an immediate connection with someone like him.

Then sin... Adam and Eve's first response was to cover themselves. They also hid from each other and from God. How many believers continue to hide what is really inside from those around them? We cover the sin in our lives because our community might not accept us. Then we have a disconnect, an awareness of differences, and are ashamed of what is exposed. It's then a fractured form of relationship. We tend to build connections but not unity. Connections are easier and based on external things we can control.

Community tends to develop around things that are common - a group of people that have a particular interest and/or proximity. But what happens when it changes? Did God intend for something more for community? Should it satisfy something bigger than proximity? How do we attain it? The answer is Jesus! We complicate it by trying to pay for our sins.

Understanding that our primary identity is in Christ sets the foundation for us to discover true community. True community transcends proximity, interests, and even our differences. Community cannot be based solely on everything that is the same with others, otherwise, it will stifle growth and true understanding. When real community is built on things that are internal then my identity in Christ creates for us a community that transcends worldly differences.

We are reconciled to God because of Jesus Christ. We are a new creation with no need to hide from each other. Community built on anything other than the cross will lead to failure. 

Acts 4:32-36 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power, the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.

Scripture doesn't say that they were required to do this. There were so many differences in this community, yet this group grew. Belief was the foundation for this community and any real community. They shared a common understanding of the cross - one heart and one soul. Their heart was their love for one another; it was their motivation. Thousands were coming together because of this oneness. One soul was their common bond of Jesus Christ. We all have a need for community and all have a need for a Savior. You can have a worldly community but it will change. If we start with Jesus, then we have a community that will not change. Should we not offer a community that changes lives?