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Jesus Christ is your Righteous Advocate {No Matter What Monday}

December 11, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

In an episode from the first season of The West Wing, White House Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn is on his way out of the office for a weekend away when he runs back to his desk to answer one last phone call. It’s an old high school acquaintance, now a defense attorney, calling to plead the case of a federal death row inmate seeking a stay of execution.

The defense attorney needs someone with the ear of the President, so he calls Sam. The condemned man doesn’t just need an advocate, he needs an advocate with power and influence to present persuasive arguments to the one man who can grant a reprieve.

We need an advocate, too. We are condemned by our sin, and the punishment we deserve is death (Romans 6:23). But the Lamb of God who was the redeeming sacrifice for us and reconciled us to God is now seated at the right hand of the Father. What is He doing as He sits there? He’s advocating for us.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1)

Jesus has the evidence needed for our forgiveness. John describes our advocate as “Jesus Christ the righteous.” Jesus is not only our redeeming sacrifice, He covers us with His righteousness. He advocates for us to the Father based on the perfect life He lived for us, not any good that we have done.

Jesus has the ear of the Father. Romans 8:34 tells us that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. The Father has given the Son the exalted place at His right hand, and we benefit from it. We have a Savior who has the ear of the Creator and Judge, saying, “She’s mine. She’s covered.”

Because of our righteous advocate, “when we enter into the presence of God, we go not to hear his justice prosecute us but to hear his love plead for us” (William Barclay, The Letter to the Hebrews, p. 19).

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ is your Righteous Advocate.

Jesus Christ is your Reconciling Savior {No Matter What Monday}

December 4, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

I got my first credit card when I was in college. It was meant for emergencies only, but I became very relaxed with my definition of “emergency.” (Is being out to dinner with friends an emergency? What about not having something to wear to a special occasion?)

By the time I graduated, I racked up more than $1000 in credit card debt and had no way to pay it. The debt weighed on me—I felt the burden of it every day. Finally, I had to tell my fiancé that he was marrying into this debt. He was gracious about it, and we used wedding gifts to pay off the debt. But I regretted that I was starting married life with barely a clean financial slate and nothing positive to offer our financial situation.

Here’s what I love about the redeeming sacrifice Christ made for us: He didn’t just wipe the slate clean and leave us to prove ourselves to God on our own. He could have forgiven our debt, put us back at zero, and then let us earn our way into God’s favor. But that’s not what He did.

In His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ did all that was necessary to fully reconcile us to God:

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19–20)

We have peace with God because of the blood Christ shed on the cross. This is why the baby was born in the stable—to fix the devastation our sin caused in our relationship with God. These verses tell us that His redeeming sacrifice had the power to reconcile all things on earth or in heaven.

Because the fullness of God dwelled in Him, Jesus Christ has the power to reconcile you to God. You don’t need to worry about getting yourself on God’s positive side with your good works. Christ’s work has perfectly ushered you into a reconciled relationship with your Heavenly Father.

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ has fully reconciled you to God.

Jesus Christ is Your Redeeming Sacrifice {No Matter What Monday}

November 27, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

The week after Thanksgiving, most of us fall into one of three groups: those who are feeling great about our Christmas preparation progress, those who are trying not to panic, and those who are blissfully optimistic that Santa and his elves will make, wrap, and deliver the perfect gifts for their loved ones on Christmas Eve.

When you’re buried neck-deep in shopping lists, tangled tiny lights, and wrapping paper, it’s easy to lose sight of why God the Son came to earth and was born in that Bethlehem stable.

I’ve got good news for you—He didn’t come just to give you more to do every December. For the next four weeks, we’ll dig into why Jesus came to earth and what He accomplished for us.

“The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29)

In this verse, John the Baptist proclaims the reason the Son of God walked on earth—to be the Lamb of God who takes away our sin.

The Lamb of God lived the perfect life. God’s justice requires a perfect sacrifice—a spotless lamb without blemish. Jesus Christ perfectly obeyed His Father and met the standard of righteousness that we fail to reach.

The Lamb of God died for you. Romans 8:32 says, “God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.” After living the perfect life, Jesus Christ took the punishment for your sin as He suffered and died on the cross.

The Lamb of God rose again. First Corinthians 15:55 reminds us that the Lamb of God defeated death for us: “Oh death, where is your victory?” Jesus Christ rose again, proving His power to give eternal life to His redeemed people.

In His life, death, and resurrection, the Lamb of God accomplished all that was required for your redemption. He came with a mission, and He completed it. Now that’s a reason to rejoice as we prepare to celebrate His birth!

No matter what you face this week, Jesus came to be a redeeming sacrifice for you.

(Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash)

Your Savior Humbled Himself {No Matter What Monday}

December 26, 2016 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Have you seen the television show “Undercover Boss”? In each episode, the CEO goes undercover as an entry-level employee of his company. The boss learns what life is like for the men and women whose jobs and lives are very different from his own. Often, the undercover boss is shocked by what he learns. And then he gives a promotion and tear-inducing gifts to one of his employees, and they all live happily ever after. (It’s “reality” television!)

When Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us, He didn’t leave behind a board room and a chauffeur. He left Heaven. He left perfection. He left blissful fellowship with His Father.

And Jesus was not surprised by what He discovered when He arrived. He knew this world was groaning under the weight of sin, sadness, and death. That was exactly why He came to rescue us. He came to dine with prostitutes and wash the filthy feet of His betrayer. He came to save His children from the bondage of sin.

Philippians 2:5-7: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

What would motivate someone to leave perfection and humbly put on frailty and pain? Why would anyone trade the glory of Heaven for a life spent serving His enemies and giving His life for them? This is how much Christ loves you—He humbled Himself not only to sympathize with your weakness, but to rescue you. He gave up Heaven so that one day you could join Him there.

No matter what you face this week, your Savior humbled Himself because of His love for you.

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