Welcome to lesson 1 of the A United Front course. I am sorry for the circumstances that brought you here but eager to share some good news and to comfort you as you seek the Lord during this difficult time.
As you read in the introduction, sexual impurity assaulted my marriage, and it was terrible. My husband and I were both like the man beaten and left half-dead on the road to Jericho (Luke 10:30-37) - broken and in need of help.
Maybe you are here today, thinking, as I once did, that your marriage is a lost cause. You feel hopeless and weary. Well, come with me through these lessons and allow me to share with you the comfort and instruction that I received from Christ. What we will find together is that there is real life-sustaining and transforming hope in Jesus as well as practical instruction from God’s Word.
God has brought me through many trials in my life, and I boldly testify that there is no hurt too deep that God cannot heal it, no obstacle too great that God cannot overcome it.
Out of love for us, God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to save us, heal our broken hearts, mend our lives, and restore our relationship with Him and with each other. He has not and will not abandon us in our time of need.
There is real hope for our spouse too. The Bible provides us with many examples of men and women who committed all manner of sin but then repented, were forgiven and restored - King David (2 Samuel 11, Psalm 51), the woman at the well (John 4), the woman caught in adultery (John 8), Peter who denied Christ, and Paul who persecuted the church, to name a few. Seeing how God transformed these lives gives us hope for our own situations.
Now, look with me to see the hope that God conveys in the following passage:
“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has injured us, but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days, he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” Hosea 6:1-2 NIV
Question 1. Please read Hosea 6:1-2. How does this passage give us hope?