Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

The Great Swap {No Matter What Monday}

by 2 Comments

Have you ever wanted to trade places with someone? Many mornings, my dog torments me by curling up in the empty space I just left in my bed. As I stand at the bathroom sink getting ready for the day, I’m forced to watch him lay his little white head on my pillow and doze off. 

His life seems so easy: sleep, eat, repeat. But then I remember that he eats the same thing every day and has to go outside to use the bathroom, even in frigid temperatures and thunderstorms. Maybe the trade wouldn’t be so great after all! 

This month’s devotionals will focus on the benefits we receive from Christ’s death and resurrection. Today we’ll see how and why Jesus traded places with us. Our Savior saw our hopeless condition—we were sinners who could not save ourselves. He humbled Himself to take our place on the cross, so that we might have a place with Him forever. 

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Christ became sin for our sake. In this passage, Paul is talking about reconciliation—specifically, how sinners are reconciled to a holy God. Christ took the punishment for our sin so we could be reconciled to God. Paul says He “became sin,” receiving what our sin deserved. 

Christ became sin even though He was sinless. If He had sinned even once, the punishment He received would be His own. Only a sinless Lamb could trade places with us and take our place on the cross. 

Christ became sin so that in Him we might receive righteousness. We can think of this as “The Great Swap.” On the cross, Christ took our place and received the punishment our sin deserved. In exchange, He gives us His perfect record of obedience–His righteousness. We receive what Christ has earned: right standing before a holy God and eternal life with Him. 

This Great Swap is the good news of the Gospel: those who are in Christ look at the cross and see their punishment given to Christ and the righteousness of Christ given to them. 

No matter what you face this week, our sinless Savior became sin so sinners might receive His righteousness. 

Share

Our Ever-Present Help {No Matter What Monday}

by Leave a Comment

When you need help, where do you turn? A few years ago, I realized that the internet’s vast supply of answers to life’s problems can cause us to be more disconnected from others. Before Google, if I needed to know how to poach an egg or house-train a puppy or get olive oil out of my favorite sweater, I would call my mom or a friend. Now those phone calls don’t happen because I have all the answers at my fingertips. 

So when my son threw up on the loveseat in our living room, I decided to call my mom to ask how to clean it rather than typing the question into an impersonal search engine. I explained my predicament and asked her what I should do. The first words out of her mouth were, “Have you Googled it?” 

I’m thankful for my helpful mom, knowledgeable friends, and of course, Google. But I’m even more thankful for the One we can turn to for help in any and every problem we face. 

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2)

God is our refuge. He provides safety because He loves us and reigns over any circumstance, any power, or any person that would threaten us. As Paul says in Romans 8:38-39, nothing in this world can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ. 

God is our strength. The One who created the heavens and the earth is your helper (Ps. 121:1-2). He placed in stars in the sky and the fish in the ocean depths, and He promises to give you His strength when you’re weak. 

God is always present in our suffering. This is why the psalmist can say: “Therefore we will not fear . . .” We can face our troubles with confidence that the Lord is with us. He’s not just a passive, uninterested bystander. He’s not just an automated source of abundant answers as we attempt to solve our problems. He is our heavenly Father, our refuge, and our strength. 

No matter what you face this week, God is an ever-present help in trouble. 

Share

God Proved His Love {No Matter What Monday}

by Leave a Comment

Arkansas basketball fans will never forget that night. It’s one of those “I remember where I was when . . .” moments. I was a senior in high school, riding home from an orchestra rehearsal. I listened on the radio as the Arkansas men’s basketball team beat Duke to win the 1994 NCAA National Championship. When we said we were #1, we weren’t just saying it—we had the trophy to prove it. 

Have you ever read about God’s love for you, but the words felt hollow? Maybe as empty as the boastful claims of a losing team? We sometimes wonder if He really loves us. Our circumstances don’t always appear to reflect His love—at least not the kind of love we would choose! 

And yet, God’s Word tells us that God doesn’t just say He loves us. He’s proved it. There’s no greater proof He could give than the sacrifice of His only Son. 

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

Here’s how you know God’s love for you: before you ever loved Him, He sent His Son to be the propitiation for your sin. But what is propitiation, and what does it have to do with love? 

Propitiation refers to Christ’s turning away God’s wrath from us by taking it on Himself. Christ laid His life over ours like a big shield, taking what we deserve because of our sin. Being our propitiation, our wrath-shield, came at a high price. The sinless One took the punishment our sin deserved and proved God’s great love for us. 

When we start to wonder, “Does God really love me?” we can look at the cross and find reassurance. God sent His Son to give us new life. The Son died and took the wrath we deserved. There’s no higher price God could pay and no greater proof we could ask for. 

No matter what you face this week, God proved His love for you in Christ. 

Share

God’s Provision for Every Battle {First 5}

by Leave a Comment

Today I have the privilege of sharing about the armor of God in the First 5 app. Here’s a preview . . .

Today’s Reading: Ephesians 6:13-17

Ephesians 6:13 (ESV) “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

As a mom, I spend much of my mental energy making sure everyone has what they need on their way out the door. I’m constantly thinking through every event on our calendar and what each person needs. In the early days, it meant having plenty of diapers, wipes and a couple of extra pacifiers. Now I’m double-checking that everyone has their homework, lunch and jacket as they leave for school.

In today’s passage, Paul told the Ephesians what they would need as they headed out into the world as God’s redeemed people. When the recipients of Paul’s letter were exhorted to stand firm in a battle against the spiritual forces of darkness, they may have felt overwhelmed. (Ephesians 6:12) Maybe you feel overwhelmed, too, as you look at the rampant wickedness and unending problems in our world. Maybe you’re burdened by the weight of personal temptation or past failures.

But as we keep reading in Ephesians 6, we find that God knows exactly what we will face each day and He has already supplied everything our battle requires. In Christ, God gives His children everything we need to stand firm against the devil.

You can read the entire teaching by clicking here or downloading the First 5 app. I’d love for you to join us as we finish our study of Ephesians!

Share