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Repost: The Cross of Jesus

March 24, 2016 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Two years ago, these words came to mind as I prepared my heart to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. I’m returning to these verses again this year, so I thought I’d share them again with you. The following was originally posted here on April 17, 2014.

Tomorrow is Good Friday. We are studying Matthew 27 (the crucifixion) in Bible Study Fellowship this week. So the cross of Jesus has been on my mind lately, and it’s showed me two things:

1. The cross doesn’t enter my daily thoughts very often, and 2. It really, really should.

Life is busy. My thoughts are usually consumed with my to-do list, dinner plans, parenting challenges, and vacation daydreams. But these last several days, as my thoughts have turned more and more to the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ, I started making a mental list of how I benefit from Christ’s death on the cross.

I’d like to be more aware of these benefits on a daily basis, not just during Holy Week. And so as I record them for myself, I’ll also share them with you. I hope contemplating what Christ has done will encourage you as it has encouraged me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christ became sin, so I could be made righteous. (II Corinthians 5:21)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John 19:30: When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

When a Melted Heart Meets the Gospel

January 15, 2016 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Have you ever watched as God worked in a loved one’s heart right before your eyes? As a mom, I have the honor of seeing the Lord at work in my children’s lives, usually gradually and more slowly than I would choose. But last week, I witnessed God’s handiwork unfold in a matter of minutes.

As I was busy making dinner, I handed down a small behavioral correction to my 6-year-old daughter. A few minutes later, I overheard her confess to the dog that she thought she might go to hell because of the mistake. I left the barbeque pork chops, called her to me, and pulled her onto my lap at the kitchen table. Then I asked, “How good do you think you need to be to go to heaven?”

She shrugged.

“Do you have to be really good? Just a little good? More good than bad?”

More shrugging.

“Darling, did you know that God says we have to be perfect to go to heaven?”

Disbelief crept onto her face, and she asked in a small voice: “Perfect?”

“Yes,” I answered, “God is holy. He cannot be in the presence of sin. We must be sinless and perfect to be with Him in heaven.”

It was not the first time I have spoken these words to her. We’ve talked about the gospel truths of our sinfulness and need for Christ over and over again. Most of the time, she seems uninterested, and I’ve been asking God to soften her heart.

He must’ve not just softened it, but completely melted it. Because this time, upon hearing that God demands perfection, my sweet daughter started weeping.

Tears streamed down her face and the sound of her wailing brought her brothers from opposite ends of the house to see what was wrong. I shooed them away and tried to soothe her.

“There’s more, Sarah Kate, there’s more,” I said, as I held her and rubbed her back.

Because God’s demand for perfection isn’t the end of the gospel story.

When she was quiet, I continued. I explained how Jesus lived a perfect life for her. He died for her, taking the punishment for her sin. He’s given her His record of perfection. If she is in Christ, when God looks at her, He doesn’t see her sin – He sees Christ’s perfection.

Once again, her eyes filled with tears. But these quiet tears were accompanied by a smile. The truth of the gospel moved her from hopelessness and despair to quiet rest. It is so sweet to trust in Jesus.

She gets it. She gets it. I pray that she will be filled every day with an awareness of Christ’s work on her behalf. And yet, I know that she will struggle. She will feel the weight of the world’s demands, of the expectations of others, of her own desire for perfection. She will be distracted by busyness, by worry, and by materialism.

I know this because I’m living it. And my prayer for her is my prayer for myself: that we will live each day in the freedom of the gospel, knowing that God’s demands have been met perfectly by our Savior.

Cookies, Counting and the Cross

April 20, 2015 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Do you know the difference between a two-year-old and a three-year-old? A two-year-old will share her cookie with you. A three-year-old won’t.

Sometime around our third birthday, we learn that the quantity of the cookie is limited. We realize that giving part of our cookie to mommy means less cookie for us. And we’ve known for some time that less cookie for us is a very bad thing.

I think this understanding of limited quantities of desirable things can hinder us from understanding God’s grace and forgiveness. It’s hard to wrap our brains around a fountain of grace that never runs out . . . that never lessens later no matter how much I need now . . . that never lessens for me no matter how much you need.

I love these thoughts from The Valley of Vision, “Calvary’s Anthem”:

“At the cross there is free forgiveness

for poor and meet ones,

and ample blessings that last for ever;

The blood of the Lamb is like a great river of infinite grace

with never any diminishing of its fullness as thirsty ones without

number drink of it.”

Can you imagine a river of infinite grace that never diminishes in fullness? We can never exhaust God’s grace and forgiveness. Christ accomplished this for us!

When my troubles exhaust my emotional resources and when my sin exhausts my spiritual resources, this truth brings great comfort – the resources of grace and forgiveness that I own in Christ will never run out.

My daughter likes to beat me in the “I Love You” game by saying she loves me to infinity. The other day, she confessed that she can’t count to infinity because she doesn’t know all the numbers. I told her that even if she did know a lot more numbers, she could never count to infinity.

Infinity means there is always one more number. And the reason there is always one more number is because we live in a world created by an infinite God. We can never get to the end of His numbers, and we can never get to the end of His grace.

“O Lord, for ever will thy free forgiveness live

that was gained on the mount of blood;

In the midst of a world of pain

it is a subject for praise in every place, a song on earth, an anthem in

heaven, its love and virtue knowing no end.”

– The Valley of Vision, “Calvary’s Anthem”

The Best News Ever

February 25, 2015 by Marissa Leave a Comment

From time to time, I serve as the liturgist for our church’s worship service. That means I need to make sure I have on matching earrings and be on time. It’s not usually much more complicated or meaningful than that.

But awhile back, the assurance of pardon came from my favorite verse in all of Scripture: Romans 8:1. It says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Simple words, and they can be read without a lot of emotion. But I think if you go back to Paul’s original writing, it would look more like this: “There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION–that’s right! NONE!!!–for those who are in Christ Jesus!!!!” (Seeing as how it’s the Best News Ever, I take issue with the translators’ serious lack of exclamation points.)

I found that this verse completely changed my experience as the liturgist. It suddenly meant much more than making sure I didn’t look ridiculous and knowing how to pronounce any strange names in the Scripture passage.

On that Sunday, I got to speak the truth of Romans 8:1 to a congregation of my brothers and sisters. After they confessed their sin, which deserves God’s wrath and judgment, I got to give good news. There is therefore now NO condemnation for you! Christ took it! And if you are in Him, you are safe from God’s wrath and brought into His house as His child.

During the sermon, the pastor talked about redemption and asked, “What does redemption mean to you?” It got me thinking about the truth of Romans 8:1. What does it mean that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?

It means that we have nothing to fear. It means that we have freedom. It means that when Jesus said, “It is finished” on the cross, He fully paid our debt and took every last bit of the condemnation we deserve. He drank the cup of wrath so that we could drink the cup of blessing, resting solely in His finished work on our behalf. It means that when we talk to our children or our neighbors or ourselves about our sin, we have good news to share: there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

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