Do you feel the need for spiritual renewal? Perhaps you feel like you are in a spiritual desert. As sinful people, we can have long and difficult seasons that wear us down. From personal experience, when I have taken time to focus on spiritual renewal, it has been life changing. Sometimes I wonder why I let myself get so run down before turning to the Lord for renewal. Jesus wants to bring renewal to your spiritual life and refresh you with His living water.
The Exiles Needed Spiritual Renewal
Ezra led a group of Israelites back from captivity to Jerusalem. Settling into a new land was difficult and much of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas were not very productive. The vineyards, farms, homes, and businesses needed to be rebuilt. More importantly the people needed to be rebuilt spiritually.
Ezra gathered the people and read the Book of Moses to the people. Then he gathered them in small groups and the Levites went over the word again to help the people understand God’s word. The result was spiritual renewal that was more important than rebuilding the Temple or the wall around Jerusalem. It was their sin that resulted in their captivity, and it would be their faith in God that would really rebuild their nation.
Nehemiah Gives us a Model for Spiritual Renewal
Renewal step 1 – Spend time with God in His Word and pray the Lord would open your heart to what He wants to tell you. Ezra read the Word of God to the people and then gathered them into small groups to explain God’s Word. For God’s word to work we must understand it. Romans 12:2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.[1]
Renewal step 2 – Remember the Lord is always with you! The enemy likes to tell us our Lord is far away and does not care, but nothing could be further from the truth. Remember what God has told us in His Word to counter the enemy. Matthew 28:20And be sure of this: I (Jesus) am with you always, even to the end of the age. [2]
Renewal step 3 – Renew your spiritual life by confessing any known sin in your life. When Ezra read the word to the people, they realized their sin and asked God to forgive them. This was a major step that led to their renewal. The same is true for you and me. As we confess our sins our Lord washes us clean. Isaiah 1:18Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. [3]
To hear more about the need for spiritual renewal, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/rebuilding-unfinished-hope-spiritual-renewal
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.