Ezra 3, Ezekiel 33, Acts 20:17-38, Revelation 12:7-17, Psalm 128: In our reading today in Ezra we are tracing the steps of the Children of Israel as they are coming out of captivity and returning to Jerusalem. They are restoring the Temple and turning their hearts and worship back to God. They are literally picking up the pieces of what had once been a great place of worship and trying to put the puzzle back together again. Yes they were far from where it once was, but they were laying a foundation for what it would become again. Here is how Ezra records it

Ezra 3:11And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

I wonder if there are some reading this that can really identify with this passage. Maybe you attend a church that once was a house of worship that was on fire! God was moving in your midst, people were attending, you didn’t want to miss church for fear you would miss what God was about to do. You remember the glory of yesterday. You may even be like those mentioned here weeping for the losses you feel. And yet, God is doing something new. He is stirring again in the lives of those in the church. You may not see a huge move yet, but little by little a foundation is being set again. There are some shouting praises and you are still crying. May I suggest what is recorded here. Praise the Lord. Sing His praise. Give Him honor and glory right where you are. The new work may not look like the old, but in some ways it can be better. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Pray for the leadership in your church family. Pray for revival. Then you be the embers that spark the great awakening. Speak positive words about what God is doing. Look for Him at work all around you. God is looking to do a new work and it is looking for those willing to let go of the past to reach forward to what is to come.