There is hope in God’s mercy. His ways are beyond our understanding and now we see in part what He sees in its fullness. He wants no one to perish but all come to Him for salvation in Jesus. All sin can be forgiven when we seek reconciliation and peace with the One who loves us most.
This is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life!”
Any serious consideration of Christ must include these words. God so loved the world. We’d expect an anger-fueled God. One who punishes the world, forsakes the world—but loves the world? This world? Heartbreakers, hope-snatchers. But God loves!
And he loves so much he gave his…declarations? Rules? Dicta? Edicts? No. The mind-bending claim of John 3:16 is this: God gave his Son…his only Son. Scripture equates Jesus with God. God then, gave himself. Why? So that whoever believes in him shall not perish. Max Lucado
Knowing Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for me to be in a relationship with God changes everything. It means I can stop striving to earn God's love and affection. It means I can rest in the middle of a storm. It means I can approach God with boldness and confidence. (Hebrews 4:16) Meghan Ryan First5
We are called to be holy and set apart. We get to choose to obey what God's Word says about how we should live. Not because we have to earn salvation or right standing with God but because it's our response to the grace we have been given. It's a way to worship God for what He has already done for us through Jesus.
Today I need a Pause Button, on this Ash Wednesday. To sit with three snapshots, ways to visualize, process, internalize and then find ways to sow seeds of compassion and hope. And grace.
For those who are fleeing: sanctuary
For those who are staying: safety
For those who are fighting: peace
For those whose hearts are breaking: comfort
For those who are no future: hope.
Terry Hershey “SabbathMoments “
1 Corinthians 7:10-16
10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? The New King James Version
While Roman law and some Jewish teachers permitted divorce, Jesus did not permit divorce except in cases of marital unfaithfulness. Paul addresses wives first, probably because women brought up this issue. Women in Graeco-Roman society could separate from their husbands, but this was not the custom in Jewish tradition. Paul is not categorically prohibiting all remarriage after divorce; instead, he is encouraging people to be free in Christ just as he is, rather than seeking another spouse. There may have been a problem in Corinth with believers divorcing unbelievers for the sake of marrying a believer. Paul’s prohibition makes that an unsatisfying option since it would result in a celibate lifestyle. Some married people converted to Christianity but their spouses did not. The Corinthians sought Paul’s counsel on this issue. Paul applies the same instruction to believers who are married to unbelievers. In this instance, if an unbeliever chooses to remain married to a believer, the couple should not seek divorce. Some believing spouses in Corinth may have been concerned that sexual relations with their unbelieving spouse would cause defilement. Paul explains to these believers that they are not defiled; instead, it is their unbelieving spouses who are sanctified through the process of knowing a believer. Just as it is acceptable for a believing wife to have sexual relations with an unbelieving husband, it is also acceptable for her to have children by her husband. Paul also reasons that since the marriage relationship leads to “holiness” instead of defilement, there is no need for divorce. Paul does not encourage marriage to unbelievers; he only argues for staying in an existing marital relationship when one of the spouses comes to Christ. The believing spouse is under no obligation to maintain a marriage with an unbelieving spouse who decides to leave the relationship. The believing spouse may have the opportunity to participate in the conversion of the unbelieving spouse. In this way, the believer becomes an instrument that helps the unbeliever turn toward God. Faithlife Study Bible
When Christ was on earth, He told us not to divorce a spouse; instead of divorce, Paul uses the word translated depart, which refers to wives leaving their husbands. The idea is the same: a believing husband and wife should not leave each other. The further statement that if the couple divorced they were to remain unmarried is consistent with Jesus’ teaching. Paul now presents a problem that was not addressed by Jesus. Sometimes a husband or wife would become a Christian, but the spouse would not. Paul exhorts the believer to remain married if the unbelieving spouse does not want to divorce. Sanctified primarily means “set apart.” Here the term refers to the special situation an unbelieving husband or wife enjoys when his or her spouse is a believer, being exposed to God’s teachings. Unclean here probably means the opposite of sanctified. Children with one believing parent may learn about God and come to Christ. If an unbeliever seeks to divorce a believing spouse, the Christian is not under bondage or obligation to continue the marriage. The Greek grammar suggests that Paul asked the question expecting a negative answer. God can make a skeptical spouse into a believing one. The NKJV Study Bible
Man and wife must not separate for any other cause than what Christ allows. Divorce, at that time, was very common among both Jews and Gentiles, on very slight pretexts. Marriage is a Divine institution; and is an engagement for life, by God’s appointment. We are bound, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men, therefore to promote the peace and comfort of our nearest relatives, though unbelievers. It should be the labour and study of those who are married, to make each other as easy and happy as possible. Should a Christian desert a husband or wife, when there is opportunity to give the greatest proof of love? Stay, and labour heartily for the conversion of thy relative. In every state and relation the Lord has called us to peace; and every thing should be done to promote harmony, as far as truth and holiness will permit. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Malachi 2:14 Yet you say, “For what reason?”Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
Malachi 2:15 But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring.“Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
Matthew 5:32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
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