Starting Over Again - I Chronicles 7-9 and John 6:22-44
Many people have an aversion to starting over again. If they can't do it right the first time, they do not want to try to do it again, or if they can't do it the way they were doing it, they do not want to do it another way the second time. This is a problem for people who follow the Lord, because sometimes He calls on us to start over again in life. We might have sinned, and we need to start over. At other times it may not even have to do with sin at all. It may be that we need to learn to trust Jesus more, so He leads us to start anew. Whatever the reason, we need to say yes, when the Lord tells us to begin again.
In I Chronicles 7 we read about Ephraim. His sons were killed for stealing cows. He spend time grieving his loss for a while, and then, he started over. He had a whole new family. What a powerful lesson for those who lose loved ones or have family problems. Don't get stuck in the grief process. Let God help you, and then, start over again. Chapter 9 gives us a list of the people who returned to Judah after the Exile in Babylon. After 70 years, they came back to start over. What a huge task! Many of them were Levites who took care of the Temple. Now, there was no Temple. What did they do? They waited on the Lord, and they rebuilt the city and the Temple. It was a huge task, but God is always up to the task, when He calls us to start over.
In John 6 Jesus is dealing with the Jews who were part of the miracle of feeding over 5,000 people. They were seeking Him, because of the physical bread, and He was telling them they needed the spiritual bread. He was and is the Bread of Life. They had a hard time with that statement. I think it had to do with the newness of what He was saying. They did not want a totally new way. They did not want to start over in their faith. They just wanted to add some things. Jesus was calling them to a totally new way. He was asking them to start over in a sense. It would all be new ground to cover, if they would be willing to follow Him and not the old ways. Many of them were not willing. They missed Jesus, because they would not admit their way was lacking and start on the right way. There are many people like that today. They miss Jesus, because they are set in their ways, and they do not want to change. They do not want to start new and fresh. I pray that you are not hindered like that. I pray that all of us will be ready to start over if that is what Jesus tells us to do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 10-12 and John 6:45-71.
In I Chronicles 7 we read about Ephraim. His sons were killed for stealing cows. He spend time grieving his loss for a while, and then, he started over. He had a whole new family. What a powerful lesson for those who lose loved ones or have family problems. Don't get stuck in the grief process. Let God help you, and then, start over again. Chapter 9 gives us a list of the people who returned to Judah after the Exile in Babylon. After 70 years, they came back to start over. What a huge task! Many of them were Levites who took care of the Temple. Now, there was no Temple. What did they do? They waited on the Lord, and they rebuilt the city and the Temple. It was a huge task, but God is always up to the task, when He calls us to start over.
In John 6 Jesus is dealing with the Jews who were part of the miracle of feeding over 5,000 people. They were seeking Him, because of the physical bread, and He was telling them they needed the spiritual bread. He was and is the Bread of Life. They had a hard time with that statement. I think it had to do with the newness of what He was saying. They did not want a totally new way. They did not want to start over in their faith. They just wanted to add some things. Jesus was calling them to a totally new way. He was asking them to start over in a sense. It would all be new ground to cover, if they would be willing to follow Him and not the old ways. Many of them were not willing. They missed Jesus, because they would not admit their way was lacking and start on the right way. There are many people like that today. They miss Jesus, because they are set in their ways, and they do not want to change. They do not want to start new and fresh. I pray that you are not hindered like that. I pray that all of us will be ready to start over if that is what Jesus tells us to do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 10-12 and John 6:45-71.