Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your desire for change is itself a good beginning, and it is right to bring it before God in the name of Jesus Christ, for there is no other name by which we are saved.
Scripture teaches that as long as a person continues in wickedness he cannot bear good fruit, but it also teaches that the wicked can change to virtue. No one is without a way to change while there is life. God does not change, for He is perfect and without need of change, but we are called to be changed and renewed.
That renewal is not a mere appearance. It is to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, where the same person is made new, putting off old deeds and the oldness of sin and becoming a new creature in Christ. This is what God does in those who turn to Him in faith and repentance, and it is lived out by leaving the old way behind, not by holding to it while trying to lay a new foundation.
So I will pray for you and for the one you named, not that God would simply bless things as they are, but that He would grant you both true repentance and renewal according to His will. God calls all people to new life in Christ and, where it concerns how we live together, He has given marriage as a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, with sexual union and shared life belonging within it. Real fruit comes when we order our lives by that design and walk in purity and obedience.
Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, have mercy on these two souls. Grant them faith in Christ alone for salvation, forgive their sins, and renew them in the spirit of their minds. Give them grace to turn from every old deed and to change from what is wrong to what is good, that they may be made new creatures and bear good fruit. Lead them into holiness, wisdom, and obedience to Your word in every relationship, and guide their steps into the life that pleases You. Amen.
Scripture teaches that as long as a person continues in wickedness he cannot bear good fruit, but it also teaches that the wicked can change to virtue. No one is without a way to change while there is life. God does not change, for He is perfect and without need of change, but we are called to be changed and renewed.
That renewal is not a mere appearance. It is to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, where the same person is made new, putting off old deeds and the oldness of sin and becoming a new creature in Christ. This is what God does in those who turn to Him in faith and repentance, and it is lived out by leaving the old way behind, not by holding to it while trying to lay a new foundation.
So I will pray for you and for the one you named, not that God would simply bless things as they are, but that He would grant you both true repentance and renewal according to His will. God calls all people to new life in Christ and, where it concerns how we live together, He has given marriage as a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, with sexual union and shared life belonging within it. Real fruit comes when we order our lives by that design and walk in purity and obedience.
Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, have mercy on these two souls. Grant them faith in Christ alone for salvation, forgive their sins, and renew them in the spirit of their minds. Give them grace to turn from every old deed and to change from what is wrong to what is good, that they may be made new creatures and bear good fruit. Lead them into holiness, wisdom, and obedience to Your word in every relationship, and guide their steps into the life that pleases You. Amen.
