Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

A Savior Has Been Born to You {No Matter What Monday}

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Every December, I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with my kids. We sit by the Christmas tree and read about how everything went wrong, starting with Mrs. Armstrong’s broken leg and ending with the Herdmans bringing their ham to the baby Jesus. (That part always makes me cry!)

When we get to the line that the feisty Gladys Herman screams at the trembling shepherds, my kids and I love to yell it together: “Hey! Unto you a child is born!”

Luke 2:11: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Many of us have heard these words so many times that we fail to recognize how bizarre, how profound, how amazing they truly are.

When the angel says to the shepherds that unto them a child is born, that had to be shocking news. (And not just because it was delivered by an angel in the middle of the night.) Shepherds weren’t celebrities or powerful rulers or the religious elite. And yet, this Savior was born to them. Christ’s arrival was turning all the social norms upside down.

Next, the angel says the child is born this day in Bethlehem. The birth of the Son of God was an actual event in history, on a specific day, in a specific place. It unfolded according to centuries-old prophecy so there would be no doubt Who this baby truly was.

Then the angel delivers the really good news: this baby is a Savior, Christ the Lord, the promised and long-awaited Messiah. But He’s not only divine. He’s human, born of a woman, a baby lying in the animals’ feeding trough.

The shepherds knew the only appropriate response to this bizarre news was to run to the baby Messiah. I pray that no matter what you face this week, you will run to your Savior and Lord in worship and praise.

Merry Christmas, friends. Unto you a child is born!

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God Sent Forth His Son {No Matter What Monday}

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What comes to mind when you think of Christmas? Smiling family members sitting by a lighted tree, a fire roaring in the fireplace, hands wrapped around mugs of hot cocoa as you sing “Joy to the World” together? Kids dashing downstairs at dawn to find everything they ever wanted under the tree? Or maybe you think of the family members you’ll be missing this Christmas because you’re separated by distance, disagreement, or death. Perhaps your Christmas memories are painful, your current holiday situation is stressful, or your joy is clouded by the sadness of friends and family who are walking through the holidays without a loved one.

No matter where your family falls on the spectrum from delightful to dysfunctional, Christ was born to redeem you and bring you into God’s family.

Galatians 4:4-5: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

This is why Jesus came. Not just to heal the blind and change water into wine. Not only to tell us how to love others. Not to start a new religion. He was God’s Son, born of a woman to redeem those who were under the law. We were living under the curse of our inability to keep God’s law, so Jesus came to redeem us with His perfect life and to die in our place.

And as He redeemed us, we were adopted into God’s family. As God’s children, we are loved fully and perfectly. Not because we are good children, but because we have a good Father. No matter how messy our earthly family interactions get, we can rest in our Father’s love demonstrated to us in our redemption and adoption through Christ.

No matter what you face this week, you have been redeemed and adopted because God sent forth His Son.

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The Grace of God Has Appeared {No Matter What Monday}

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Do you have days when you wonder if God exists? Even though Christ grabbed hold of me decades ago, even though I’m completely convinced of the truth of His Word, even though I’ve seen evidence of His Spirit at work in me . . . I still doubt. I still struggle to understand the nuances of the Christian faith. I wonder if it would be easier to believe if I could see God face-to-face. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of these abstract concepts of our faith were a little more concrete?

Throughout the Old Testament, God gave His people visible, tangible reminders of His presence with them. Noah’s rainbow. The burning bush that didn’t burn up. Manna falling from the sky. The tabernacle. But His people still waited for God’s plan of salvation to be fully revealed.

And then, God sent a visible picture of His love. God the Son became man and walked among us. He was the embodiment of the grace of God.

Titus 2:11: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.

The baby in the manger is the grace of God. The man who fed thousands, healed blind men, raised the dead, and proclaimed God’s Kingdom is the grace of God. The Lamb of God who suffered and died on the cross and rose again—our Savior is the grace of God, a gift given to show God’s people His plan for redeeming the mess of sin.

God’s grace is no longer vague, abstract, or mysterious. We see His grace clearly in the person and life of Jesus. The gift of salvation given to us through a baby in a manger strengthens us to face life’s uncertainties.

No matter what you face this week, in Christ, the grace of God has appeared.

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The Light of Christ Shines in the Darkness {No Matter What Monday}

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My daughter calls out as I start to leave her room: “Don’t forget the closet light, Mom!” This part of her bedtime routine is just as important as the kiss on the forehead. She hates being alone in her room at night—being alone in the dark would be unbearable.

 

As adults, we have our own versions of being scared of the dark. What dark struggle, question, doubt, or fear are you facing?  Are you searching along the wall for a light switch, for anything that might dispel the darkness? For answers, comfort, resolution, or restoration?

 

Isaiah 9:2: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

 

God’s people in the Old Testament walked in darkness for centuries. They awaited the Messiah, a Savior who would rescue them from the darkness of sin and death. They clung to a promise without understanding what it meant or how it would be fulfilled. How could God possibly unravel the mess caused by evil and sin?

 

In John 1, we see that Jesus Christ is the answer to life’s darkness. He is the light that those walking in darkness so desperately need.

 

John 1:5, 9: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

 

The true light is here, breaking through the darkness. In Christ, we have everything we need to battle fear, sin, questions, doubts—even death. The darkness of these struggles cannot overcome His light. The light of Christ guarantees that the darkness will never win. He brings forgiveness for our sin, power for our struggles, and comfort for our troubled hearts.

 

No matter what you face this week, the light of Christ shines in the darkness.

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