Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Repost: The Cross of Jesus

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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. 

punished

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.

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The Jerk in the Starbucks Parking Lot

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The Jerk

As I drove into the Starbucks parking lot, I saw a large gray Buick pull into a place reserved for those with disabilities. The lot wasn’t full, so I left an empty space on the driver’s side of the Buick and pulled in two spots over.

 

I looked over, expecting to see an elderly woman driving the car. But instead, I saw a younger man with long hair and a hoodie. If I encountered him in a dark parking garage, let’s just say I’d be mentally reviewing my knowledge of self-defense.

 

“Some jerk is driving his grandma’s car and taking advantage of her disabled license plate,” I thought to myself.

 

I can’t stand it when people park in those spots and don’t need them. I’m far from perfect, but that’s something I’ve never been tempted to do. And in that moment, looking at the young man committing a grievous offense, I judged him harshly. I looked down on him from my tower of parking perfection.

 

I love rules. To be more precise, I love the rules I can follow. Don’t commit adultery. Check. Attend worship regularly. Double check. Don’t take God’s name in vain. Got it covered.

 

But when I start thinking about scriptures exhorting me to love my enemies, I start squirming. I can’t even patiently and sacrificially love the people who mean the most to me. Be content with what I have? Consider others more significant than myself? Wait, there’s got to be a loophole in here somewhere.

 

That’s how it is with judging others, isn’t it? I’m quick to judge those who sin in ways I don’t. And I’m quick to ignore sin in others that I’d rather not face in myself.

 

When I’m secretly shaking my finger at others, I’ve forgotten I’m dependent on God’s grace to cover all my sin. I’ve forgotten that I’m not accepted because I can keep any of the rules. I’m accepted because Christ kept God’s law perfectly and died to save my rule-breaking soul. As a sinner saved by grace, I am called to extend grace to others.

 

Back in that Starbucks parking lot, I gathered my things and started to get out of the car. I watched as the young man in the Buick emerged from his car with a significant limp. He hurried to the door and opened it for a woman as she approached the coffee shop.

 

The only jerk in the parking lot that morning was me.

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When a Melted Heart Meets the Gospel

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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.

 

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Why I Shrugged When I Saw My Shattered iPhone Screen

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If the people walking behind me at camp last Saturday were paying attention, they probably thought I was really strange.

 

I was walking to the car with my son after picking him up from his first week at overnight camp.  I had several things in my hands, and I dropped my iPhone on the pavement.  I picked it up and saw that the screen was completely shattered.  I shrugged, showed my son, and quietly said something like, “Oh.  Bummer.”  Then I calmly walked to the car like nothing had happened.

 

If I saw someone respond that way to a broken phone, I’d think they were either extremely easy-going, filthy rich or absolutely insane!

 

Here’s what any campers and parents who noticed the incident didn’t know:  just one week earlier, my cellular service contract had expired.  I was eligible for a phone upgrade at a discounted price, and I had my eye on a new iPhone 6.  The night before, I asked my husband if I could get one, and he said I could!  I planned to go pick one up that very week.  When I saw the broken phone, I thought, “I get my new phone today!”

 

The expectation of a new phone caused me to respond to adversity in an unexpected way.  

 

In a similar way, God’s promises enable His children to respond to suffering in unexpected ways.  Christ’s victory over sin and sickness and sadness and death empowers us to face difficult circumstances without fear and despair.

 

When I was diagnosed with cancer as an almost-34-year-old mom of three young kids, I didn’t shrug my shoulders and say, “Oh, bummer,” and go on like nothing had happened.  I was heartbroken.  I was scared.  But there was also a sense in which I was peaceful.  I knew I could trust God’s plan for my life when my plans had been shattered.

 

I know that God is making all things new and that He will make all things new.  He is currently making all things new as He walks with us through dark times and pours out His grace, comfort and peace.  He is weaving our threads of suffering into a beautiful tapestry for His glory.  And He will make all things new one day when we are with Him in new bodies and a new heaven and a new earth.

 

I am convinced that God’s promises are true.  I am convinced that NOTHING can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).  I praise God that I can cling to Him as my Rock when it feels like my whole world has been shattered (Isaiah 26:3-4).

     

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

     And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:3-5

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