When a man and woman marry, the two individuals then become one. This marvel of marriage implies both a new and tremendous liberty for them both and a vital and voluntary constraint upon them both.

On one hand, a tremendous liberty: two individuals working together in unity are able to accomplish and enjoy far more together than they ever could alone. Every good marriage is made up of more than just the sum of its two simple parts. Marriage multiplies the pleasures, the accomplishments, and the opportunities of life.

On the other hand, their new oneness implies restrictions — they are no longer free to make their own decisions or set their own goals as individuals, without consideration for each other. Go to any three-legged race and you will quickly see the awkwardness and bondage of two individuals, who are joined together, still trying to make their own way and rely on their own strength.

Although in our Western culture the decision to marry is made by the two individuals, once they commit themselves to the God-invented institution of marriage it is in effect God who has joined them together. They are therefore responsible to God for their commitment to each other.

What God has joined together in the holy bonds of matrimony is not to be lightly or selfishly or wrongly separated by any mere mortal. Therefore, strive to make yourselves, and those loved ones of yours who are married, more unified for the glory of God. Never seek to divide was God has glued together.–BBH

“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” 1 John 3:5

Jesus Christ was manifested to take away sins. This is the great purpose of His coming into the world…..This is the glorious gospel of hope. There is a way, but there is only one way. That is like saying that air is the only thing to breathe. We need only one way out of this human dilemma. There is only one way, because there is only one who has ever appeared in human history who can take away sins.

He does not do it by an act of magic. He does not wave a wand or utter some religious abracadabra and the problem is solved—poof! Suddenly you are free from sin, lawlessness is gone, and you will never have any problem with it again. If that is your idea of Christian faith, then you are badly mistaken… How does He do it? He does it by the impartation of life, by the turning on of light, by the awakening of love. These are the things that answer the manifestations of lawlessness. What is lawlessness? It is that which produces death, the destruction of life; darkness, the extinguishing of light; and hatred, the violation of love.

What does Jesus Christ give? He gives life in place of death, light in place of darkness, and love in place of hatred. When you receive Jesus Christ, that is only the beginning. The whole Christian life follows…. it is a process of growth, but the results are inevitably the same. There is the taking away of sin, there is the elimination of lawlessness, and there is the restoration to the human heart of order and peace. That has been the demonstration throughout human history. Repeatedly in every generation, the hardest cases have responded to this amazing remedy—homosexuals, alcoholics, drug addicts, sex addicts, murderers, and thieves. Even more difficult cases have surrendered—the proud, the intellectuals, the bitter, the cynical, the angry young men, the jaded old people. And always there have been the despairing, the wounded in spirit, the hopeless, the pathetic, the pitiful, and the lost, broken derelicts that float through life. No matter where or when people have lived, it has always been the same story, always the same deliverance, always the same results: the healing of lawlessness. The miracle occurs when people come to know Jesus Christ and receive Him into their lives. Then the sickness begins to heal.

Lord, may I have the privilege of being a part of this, the greatest cause of all, that I may see clearly that there is nothing greater that I could possibly give myself to than the thrusting forward of this mighty message of healing.(Ray Stedman)

“He will save.“Zephaniah 3:17

WHOM? The lost, the wretched, the unworthy. Every applicant; for “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” “Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out.” HOW? Freely, without money and without price; fully, by His blood, power, and providence; eternally, all who flee to Him for refuge, all who build on Him for pardon, peace, and life, shall be saved with an everlasting salvation, they shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end. WHY? Because it is His Father’s will; because He delighteth in mercy; because it will eternally glorify His name. FROM WHAT? From sin, in its guilt, filth, and power; from the present evil world; from Satan; from the wrath of God; from every evil work; and from all the evil designs of men. He has saved us, by receiving grace for us and dying in our stead. He does save us, by His presence, word, providence, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. He will save in every trouble, from every foe, even unto the end. Look to Him then, and to Him alone, to deliver, direct, relieve, and preserve. He says, “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” –James Smith, 1840

Why should I doubt His love at last,
With anxious thoughts perplex’d!
Who saved me in the troubles past,
Will save me in the next.