Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Unto You a Savior is Born! {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 Herdman screams at the trembling shepherds, my kids and I love to yell it together: “Hey! Unto you a child is born!”

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

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 His Son to Adopt You {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.

“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.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

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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Grace 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. Sometimes 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.

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

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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Navigating Christmas When a Family Member Faces Cancer {Guest post for enCourage}

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I met my sister-in-law for the first time while receiving a blood transfusion on Christmas Eve. My brother brought her home for Christmas while she was still his girlfriend and I was two months into a battle with a rare cancer called angiosarcoma.

They came to the hospital as soon as they arrived in town, and I’ll admit—it was a little awkward. I wanted to show interest in this woman who had stolen my baby brother’s heart. I craved connection with her and with my brother, too.

But as the bag of blood dripped into the central line in my chest, I realized I had no emotional energy to give to my visitors. I was fatigued by the chemo, discouraged by bad news I had received a few days before, and wondering if this would be my last Christmas with my husband and young children. The year before, my husband’s sister had battled breast cancer during the holidays. So I knew from experience that when cancer meets Christmas, it’s difficult for everyone.

If you’re a family member of someone battling cancer this year, you’ve probably already been affected by your loved one’s diagnosis and treatment. You may wonder or even worry about how to handle the impacts of this tough situation during the holidays. I’ve been the one who is sick, and I’ve also been the family member wondering how to respond. I’d love to walk alongside you with a few suggestions.

You can read the rest of this post over on the enCourage blog of the PCA Women’s Ministry. 

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