Matthew 26: 56 "All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. --NKJV
In the name of the One Who fulfilled the prophecies, amen.
There was a time when Jesus was all alone. Everyone left Him--He was the victim of broken promises. "Even if I have to die for You, I will never leave you!" one of his friends had said. This is the way it is with human beings. We don't do a very good job of keeping our promises. It begins when we are very young and a friend makes a promise and doesn't keep it. "If you can jump across that puddle, I'll give you three pieces of my candy," someone says. So you try real hard, and you jump across. Then your friend changes the rules, "no, you ran and jumped, that doesn't count." We get older and it continues. Maybe you stood before the altar of God and exchanged a promise with another person to love and care for that person until death do you part, but a short time later you were arguing so badly you were looking for a way out. Or, maybe that promise has been completely broken by you or your spouse by finding another person to fulfill the marital duty.
No, human beings don't do a very good job of keeping promises, and so we don't trust God to keep His. But God does keep His promises. When He said He would send us a savior, He sent Him and didn't miss the smallest detail of the promises He made about Him. If God didn't miss the smallest details, then you can be sure that the biggest parts of that promise are taken care of too. In other words, when God promised that our sins are taken away by Jesus, we can be sure that they are taken away. That even means that we are forgiven for not loving our spouse the way we should. We are forgiven for not keeping that promise. More than that, our spouse is forgiven by God too, and so we do not need to carry a grudge.
The person who is sorry for his sin stands in the undeserved love (grace) of God. He grows in the sunshine of the promise of forgiveness. God always makes good on His promises. Amen.
Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, out of Your great love You promised us forgiveness in Jesus Christ. We do not deserve such forgiveness, but You give it to us anyway. Bless us in the promise of forgiveness. Show us how You make all of Your promises come true. And may the forgiveness You give to us cause us to forgive others. We ask this in Jesus' name, our promised Savior, amen.