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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Your Heavenly Father Knows Your Struggles {No Matter What Monday}

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ps 56.8Psalm 56:8: You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 

 

When my daughter was younger, I convinced her that I literally had eyes in the back of my head. She couldn’t see the extra pair of eyes, but all evidence pointed to their existence. I had an uncanny way of knowing what she was doing, even when I wasn’t looking at her. Sometimes she didn’t realize I could see her in the rearview mirror in the car or hear her from the next room. Sometimes I made an assumption based on what I knew about how she behaved. Sometimes it was purely a lucky guess.

 

As much as my knowledge freaked her out, I think it also brought comfort to my young daughter. There is something reassuring about being known deeply by someone who cares about you.

 

Psalm 56:8 is one of my favorite verses, because it tells me that God knows my struggles, my sleepless nights, and my tears. He doesn’t know these details of my life because of eyes in the back of His head or because He made a lucky guess. He knows each tear because He created me, redeemed me, cares for me, and rules over every circumstance of my life.

 

When I spent months away from my family in 2011 battling cancer, I filled many of God’s bottles with my tears. When I was weighed down by sorrow and fear, I found comfort in knowing that God cared about every single tear that I shed.

 

No matter what you face this week, you have a Heavenly Father who knows your struggles and cares about every tear. How does this truth bring you comfort today?

 

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Jesus Will Wipe Away Every Tear {No Matter What Monday}

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rev 21.4

If you ask my 10-year-old son what he would wish for if he had three wishes, you’ll hear a couple of the things you’d expect to hear: unlimited Minecraft-playing time, no more homework ever. But he’ll probably include one wish that might surprise you: His wish that Jesus would come back today.

 

My son can’t wait for Jesus to return. Maybe it’s because he watched me suffer through cancer. He watches me grieve the loss of friends to the disease. We take meals to sick people so often that anytime I take them with me to deliver food to someone, my kids ask if the recipient has cancer.

 

My 10-year-old understands that he lives in a broken world filled with sickness, sadness and death. But my son also understands that he does not live in this broken world without hope.

 

He knows there is a perfectly joyous ending coming. He knows that every heartache he feels will be made right when Jesus returns in glory. He knows His Savior will wipe away every tear.

 

Revelation 21:4 gives us this promise to cling to: 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. 

 

No matter what you face this week, your triumphant Savior will one day wipe away your tears.

 

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Nothing Can Separate You From God’s Love {No Matter What Monday}

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Nothing

I have planned my husband’s funeral countless times.

My husband is a perfectly healthy forty-something-year-old who has never been in a life-threatening situation that I’m aware of.

But sometimes he is late coming home from work.

When he’s late coming home from work, I start to think he’s dead on the side of the road.

And when I start to think he’s dead on the side of the road, I mentally plan his funeral. If he’s really late, I might even brainstorm some of the hymns we’ll sing.

Sometimes I try to make myself feel better by telling myself that surely he just got one more phone call on his way out of the office. But the reality is that I’m not guaranteed to grow old with my husband. Sometimes telling myself the worst won’t happen doesn’t quite calm my fears.

But one truth that can calm my fears is this: no matter what, nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. The matchless, unfathomable love of Christ is a guarantee I can cling to.

What are you facing this week? What are you afraid of? Can it separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus?

Filter your challenges and fears through this test:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:38-39

We face many losses in this life, and they are heartbreaking. But we will never face the loss of His love.

No matter what you face this week, nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

 

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