Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Jesus Christ died to secure your forgiveness {No Matter What Monday}

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Do you have regrets as you look back on your past? We all have moments we’re not proud of. Maybe you’re currently struggling with sin, and you’re consumed with guilt every time you mess up again. The more I learn of God’s holiness, the more I become aware of how I sin against Him every day. 

We’re spending this month looking at the benefits we receive from Christ’s death and resurrection. Our debt has been paid, and we’ve been justified by God’s grace. Today we will see that because Christ shed His blood for us, all our sin has been forgiven. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

When we confess that we are sinners and need the salvation Christ provides, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins. 

God is faithful to forgive our sins because He always keeps His promises. Psalm 130:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” You can count on Him to forgive you today and every day, because He never fails to do what He says He will do. 

God is just to forgive our sins because our forgiveness was secured by Jesus when He bled and died for us. First John 1:7 tells us that “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” God poured out the punishment we deserved on Christ—God won’t demand payment for that sin again. His justice has been satisfied by Christ, and our forgiveness is the glorious result. 

God is faithful and just to forgive all our sin—past, present, and future. There is no sin so great that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice can’t cover it. For all who hope in Him, forgiveness is completely secure. We can rejoice as we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection for us, knowing we are fully forgiven. 

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ died to secure your forgiveness. 

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Jesus Christ gives you His perfect record {No Matter What Monday}

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My daughter has been obsessed with cleaning lately. (It’s pretty much the best thing ever.) If you come to my house after one of her cleaning sprees, you’ll see spotless kitchen counters. And if you haven’t read this devotional, you’ll assume that I’m great at keeping my counters clean. But the truth is, my kitchen is usually a mess. 

But my lackluster housekeeping skills aren’t my biggest problem. I am a sinner, and I cannot stand on my own before a holy God. The good news of the gospel is that I’ve been given a righteousness I didn’t earn. Just as I benefit from my daughter’s work on my behalf when my kitchen counters sparkle, I benefit from my Redeemer’s work on my behalf and receive a spotless record in God’s sight. 

This month we are looking at benefits we receive from Christ’s death and resurrection. Last week, we saw that our debt has been paid. But the good news gets even better! Christ died and rose again not only to remove our sinful record but to give us a perfect record of obedience. By His death and resurrection, we are justified—declared righteous by a gift of God’s free grace. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24)

These verses tell us that we are justified by God’s grace as a gift. Our justification is undeserved and unattainable on our own. We can’t earn it—we can only receive it by faith. Jesus Christ earned our justification when He lived a perfect life in our place and then took the punishment our sin deserved. 

When Jesus took your punishment, He gave you His perfect, sinless record. If you are in Christ, when God looks at your life He sees what Christ has done. You can walk in the joy and freedom of God’s grace. 

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ gives you His perfect record. 

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Jesus Christ paid your debt {No Matter What Monday}

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It’s happened to me twice now, and each time was surprising and impactful. I’ve pulled up to the Starbucks window and found out that my (grande, non-fat, one-pump-caramel) latte was paid for by the driver in front of me. It feels strange to receive my drink without giving anything to the cashier. I accept the gift of a free latte because someone I don’t know paid the debt I owed. 

It’s a beautiful picture of the gospel. Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

Condemnation is not a word we like to discuss. But God’s Word is clear that we are all sinners, and our sin deserves God’s punishment.  

So how can Romans 8:1 say there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? Has God decided to look the other way? Did He change His mind about sin? Is He just being nice? 

There is now no condemnation because Someone else paid for our sin. 

On the cross, Jesus took the punishment our sin deserved. God is fully satisfied with Jesus’s sacrifice and will not demand payment from those who are in Christ. Our debt has been paid. We freely receive the gift of God’s grace. 

As we drink deeply of His grace, we are set free from trying to convince God and others that we’re good enough. We don’t have to keep looking around, hoping to be a little better than the next guy. We don’t have to keep striving, hoping the good works will outnumber the bad. 

This month we will be looking at benefits we receive from Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. One of the many benefits we receive is this payment of a debt we could never pay on our own. I can’t wait to explore others with you in the coming weeks! 

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ paid your debt.

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Yet I Will Rejoice {No Matter What Monday}

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We’ve been taking a journey this month with the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. He’s pleaded with God to relieve his suffering, heard a troubling answer, reminded himself of God’s character, and received comforting promises from his God. The book of Habakkuk concludes with a beautiful prayer of trust and hope that Habakkuk wrote to be sung by God’s people in worship. 

After remembering God’s faithfulness to His people throughout their history, Habakkuk ends his prayer with these words: 

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

These verses sounds strange to our modern ears . . . no figs or olive oil? Problems with the flock? But this is describing a natural disaster of huge proportions for an ancient, agrarian society. For Habakkuk, if the trees don’t blossom and the flock is gone, there is no food. Habakkuk is saying, “Even if the world falls apart and I lack basic necessities like food, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.” 

What’s your “even if”? If the cancer comes back . . . if you never get married . . . if you suffer another miscarriage . . . if your prodigal child never returns home . . . if your relationship with your estranged family member never improves . . . yet we will rejoice in the Lord, we will take joy in the God of our salvation. 

Habakkuk isn’t trusting that his circumstances are going to get better – he’s trusting who God is, no matter what. He knows God can and will keep all His promises. He knows God is ruling and reigning over all things. The Lord is his strength as he seeks to live by faith, remembering that the One who’s been faithful in the past will be faithful throughout Habakkuk’s uncertain future. 

No matter what you face this week, find your joy and your strength in the faithful Lord. 

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