Can a City Be Renovated?

I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost… Jeremiah 33:6 (MSG)

Is it possible for a city get a healing makeover?  It has been done before under God’s leadership as His people humble themselves and pray - seeking God while turning away from idols.  Anyone who has been to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in the past few years can clearly see that the city has undergone some radical renovation from a ghost town of ages past to new high-rise buildings towering over the city.

Unfortunately, much of the progress has been at the expense of urban slum dwellers, whose communities have been forcefully relocated to areas far outside the proximity of sustainable employment. So the question remains, can a city like Phnom Penh, or Vancouver or Washington, DC get a healing makeover? 

Scripture indicates that when the people that God has called turn from idolatry while calling out to God in faith, a deep renovation of the heart creates new foundations built on hope and love.  May that be so in Cambodia as it goes through national elections this month. May that be so in our own cities, too.

Find out how one man in Cambodia is renovating the country through forgiveness.

“But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost to Judah and Jerusalem. I’ll build everything back as good as new. I’ll scrub them clean from the dirt they’ve done against me. I’ll forgive everything they’ve done wrong, forgive all their rebellions. And Jerusalem will be a center of joy and praise and glory for all the countries on earth. They’ll get reports on all the good I’m doing for her. They’ll be in awe of the blessings I am pouring on her. Jeremiah 33:6-9 (MSG)