Faith Archives - Page 75 of 117

Everlasting Love {No Matter What Monday}

April 24, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

A few years ago, I watched my wedding video with my daughter. She loved seeing my dress and veil, and she was riveted by all the pre-ceremony footage of my bridesmaids and mom bustling around me, helping me with my makeup and carrying my dress’s train. At one point, she turned to me and asked, “Is Daddy going to be in this video?”

God’s Word tells us that the human institution of marriage points to something greater—the love Jesus Christ has for His bride, the church. But often, our view of Christ’s love for us is marred by our experience with marriage: the sting of unfulfilled longings in singleness, the pain of broken promises in divorce, the end of marriage in death, or the unmet expectations in intact marriages.

God’s love is not like human love. I want my young, romantically-inclined daughter to understand that there is One who has loved her perfectly and will never stop. In Jeremiah 31:3b, the Lord says:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

Yes, my daughter’s daddy eventually made an appearance in our wedding video. But more importantly, her Heavenly Father is present with her, even in her most unlovable moments, pouring out His never-ending love and continuing faithfulness.

There is a love that lasts forever. The good news of the gospel is that there’s nothing you can do to earn this love and nothing you can do to lose it. Christ gave His life to make you His bride. His love is freely and faithfully given to you.

No matter what you face this week, God loves you with an everlasting love.

Christ Has Overcome the World {No Matter What Monday}

April 17, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

On November 11, 1918, representatives of France, Germany, and Great Britain met in a railroad station in France to sign an armistice agreement and end the fighting in “the war to end all wars.” They signed the agreement at 5:00 a.m. with the stipulation that the fighting would end six hours later – at 11:00 a.m..

I wonder why they didn’t stop fighting immediately. I suppose in those days, it took time for word to spread throughout the Western Front. At 5:00 a.m., everyone knew Germany had been defeated by the Allies and celebrations started around the world. But for the soldiers in the field, the war wasn’t over. There were thousands of casualties that day as the fighting continued.

We are living in a time similar to those six hours in 1918. When Jesus walked out of the grave, God declared victory over sin, evil, and death. Satan knows he’s been defeated, but he’s not ready to stop fighting. We’re caught in the crossfire—living in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet” of God’s victory.

We say, “Where, O death, is your sting?” but still weep at the graveside of those we love. We read that the power of sin over us has been broken, and yet we confess with the apostle Paul that we keep on sinning (Romans 7:15-8:2).

Jesus knew we would suffer as the battle continues to rage, and so He told His disciples:

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

We have peace because our hope isn’t in our own power to triumph. We trust in the One who has already conquered. Through our trials and our struggles, we can have confidence in this: God wins.

Take heart, friends. No matter what you face this week, Christ has overcome the world.

Why the Cross Matters

April 13, 2017 by Marissa 1 Comment

This week, we turn our thoughts to the cross and the empty tomb as Easter approaches. I love plastic eggs filled with candy, but Christ didn’t die and rise again to give us a holiday. He endured a shameful death because there was no other way to rescue us. There was no other way to reverse the separation from God caused by our sin.

Does it matter that over 2,000 years ago, Roman soldiers carried out a routine death sentence for a convicted criminal named Jesus of Nazareth?

It only matters if that criminal was actually guiltless. It only matters if He was fully human and fully divine. It only matters if His death satisfied God’s just demands on behalf of guilty sinners. If none of these things are true, it was just another day in the Roman Empire.

But if the man who hung on the cross that Friday afternoon was truly the Son of God, then when He uttered the words, “It is finished,” everything changed. Consider this list of the ways Christ’s cross impacts us:

Christ was betrayed so you could be reconciled to God. (Romans 5:10)

Christ was taken captive so you could be set free. (Matthew 26:50, Galatians 5:1)

Christ poured out His blood so you could be filled with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 26:28, Romans 8:11)

Christ was falsely accused so you could be free from the accusations of the evil one. (Matthew 26:59-60)

Christ was sacrificed so you could be rescued. (I Peter 1:18-19)

Christ was taken outside the city gates so you could be brought into God’s kingdom. (Matthew 27:33)

Christ was forsaken so you could be accepted. (Matthew 27:46)

Christ was disrobed so you could be clothed in His righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 27:35)

Christ became sin so you could be made righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Christ was wounded so you could be healed. (I Peter 2:24)

Christ was mocked so you could be welcomed. (Matthew 27:39-44)

Christ suffered so you could be sanctified. (Hebrews 13:11-13)

Christ was condemned so you could know no condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

Christ became like the guilty so your guilt could be removed. (Matthew 27:37-38, Psalm 103:12)

Christ was separated from the Father so you never will be. (Romans 8:38-39)

Christ died in the darkness so you could walk in the light. (Matthew 27:45, John 8:12)

Christ became cursed so you could be free from the curse. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)

Christ was humiliated so you could be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17)

Christ was rejected so you could be adopted. (Romans 8:15-16)

Christ felt the sting of death so you could be freed from its power. (I Corinthians 15:55-57, Matthew 27:50)

Christ was punished so you could be pardoned. (Micah 7:18)

Christ wore a crown of thorns so you could receive the crown of life. (Matthew 27:29, James 1:12)

Christ experienced God’s wrath so you could be spared from it. (Romans 3:25)

Christ was the perfect Passover Lamb so you could pass from death to life. (John 1:29, Colossians 1:13)

The cross of Christ matters. It’s good news for sinners like you and me, because the One who proved His love for us will never fail to keep His promises. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)!

This list of benefits of Christ’s cross originally appeared on this blog in April 2014.

You Have Been Rescued {No Matter What Monday}

April 10, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

At my son’s 4-year-old checkup, the pediatrician asked if he had any chores. He replied that he didn’t have any chores, but he had a job and a problem. That got the attention of all of us in the room! He explained that his job was to keep his baby sister awake in the car. (Yep!) His problem was that his grandpa had offered him some pickled beets, and they smelled sour.

In the mind of a 4-year-old boy, stinky vegetables are a serious problem.

We often think our greatest problems are the circumstances we can’t control, the behavior of those around us, our inability to reach our goals, or this fallen world we live in. But God’s Word tells us our most serious problem is our sin. This problem is universal (Romans 3:23), and it ranks at the top of the Problem List because our sin separates us from our holy God.

If your greatest problem is your troubled childhood, your boss, or your spouse, then your ultimate solution is a therapist, a polished resume, or a campaign to change your spouse’s habits.

If your greatest problem is your sin, you need a Savior.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Your sin was nailed to the cross with Jesus. He was sinless, but He took the punishment your sin deserved. He dressed you in His sinlessness—His righteousness. When you stand before a holy God, you stand dressed in the perfect record of Christ. By His wounds, you have been healed of your greatest problem—you have been set free from the curse of your own sin.

No matter what you face this week, you have been rescued from your greatest problem by Christ’s death on the cross.

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