Life Connections in the Recovery Bible - Ezra

[janbear]

Ezra 1:1-4 God wants a relationship with us so badly that he’ll even use our enemies to bring us back to him. In the books of Kings and Chronicles, we saw how God used pagan countries to humble Israel. Here God “moved the heart” of King Cyrus to send the exiled Israelites back to their homeland. Though we sometimes give up our ourselves, God never gives up on us. He is truly the God of the second chance.

[janbear]

Ezra 5:2-5 Recovery is a lot like rebuilding the temple-that is, the temple of our bodies and souls. We will encounter people along the way who try to frustrate our efforts, but the “eye of God” is always watching over us, empowering and protecting.

[janbear]

Ezra 9:1-4 Ezra’s shock and horror over the Israelites’ intermarriage was because of his concern for their spiritual purity. What went on was the equivalent of a recovering person marrying an active addict and then saying, “Oh don’t worry-I’ll help him quit”. It doesn’t work.