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God Chose You {No Matter What Monday}

September 18, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

I stood in the grass behind Root Elementary School, waiting for my inevitable embarrassment. Two of my classmates stood facing the rest of us, wielding as much power as a 4^th grader could hope for. It was time to choose teams for kickball in P.E.

I stink at kickball. Always have, always will. No one has ever been excited about the prospect of having me on any sports team.

Maybe you’ve felt the sting of rejection, too. It’s not just a 4^th grade phenomenon. As a 40-year-old, I still feel left out, less than, and unwanted sometimes.

But Ephesians 1 gives us good news. Remember those spiritual blessings we talked about last week? Paul gives us more details as we keep reading:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Ephesians 1:3-4)

God chose you.

God chose you in Christ—His choosing is based on what Christ has done, not what you have done. He chose you in Christ and for Christ, to be one of those whom the Father has given the Son (John 10:29).

God chose you before the foundation of the world—before you ever had a chance to show Him what a great pick you’d be. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 tells us that God chose a people to be His treasured possession, not because they were great in number, but just because of His love and faithfulness.

God chose you to be holy and blameless before Him, because He has exchanged Christ’s perfect record for your sin. We can have confidence before God because He chose to pull us out of our sin and reconcile us to Himself (Colossians 1:22-23).

No matter what you face this week, God chose you because of His love.

Trust the Faithful Creator to Perfectly Guard Your Soul {No Matter What Monday}

August 21, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Confession time: I am a control freak. This admission is no big surprise to those who know me! One annoying side effect of my control-freak condition is that I stink at delegating. I love the idea of it—I’d like you to do some of the work. But in the back of my mind, I’m wondering if you’ll do a good job. Will you get busy and forget? Will you hand it off to someone else? Will I need to fix your mistakes?

But what if you were perfect? What if you could show me a flawless record of always doing exactly what you said you would do? What if I knew you would excel in every task I handed you? If I believed these things were true, I’d trust you with anything!

We’ve been looking at God’s faithfulness for the past two weeks. This week’s Scripture tells us that we can trust our faithful God with the most important task—the security of our souls.

“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Peter 4:19)

In this passage, Peter is encouraging his readers to persevere through persecution. He tells them there’s something for them to do, and there’s something for them to leave in God’s hands.

It’s God’s job to guard our souls. We don’t need to fear persecution, suffering, or even death – because our faithful Creator can be trusted with the eternal care of our souls. The One who made us has also redeemed us and will guard our souls. Because He is faithful, He can be trusted to do so perfectly and completely.

While we delegate our soul-security to our faithful Creator, we are to do good works, even in hard times. It seems like a tall order! But when the responsibility for protecting ourselves is given to the Lord, we can focus on living out our faith in the midst of suffering.

No matter what you face this week, you can entrust your soul to your faithful Creator.

The Work is Finished {No Matter What Monday}

July 31, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

I’m a list-maker. Are you? If not, I’d love to hear how you function – I’d never survive without my lists! I’ve got my daily list, my weekly list, my monthly list, and my “someday” list. (It’s a rare, exciting day when I cross something off the someday list!) Making sharp little checkmarks next to completed tasks makes me smile.

If you find me curled up in bed with a book or plopped down in a recliner in front of the tv around 9pm, it means my list for that day boasts a lot of checkmarks. I don’t sit still unless the day’s essentials have been completed and the non-essentials bumped to the next day’s list.

So I find it fascinating that nine times in the New Testament, we read that Jesus Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand. Jesus lived and died for us. He rose again. Then He ascended to heaven, and when He got there, He sat.

“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:12)

Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on the cross completed the work required by God for our salvation. He fully paid the debt we owed because of sin. Yes, there is work that God asks us to do as His redeemed people. But the work of salvation is finished. The sacrifice offered by the prefect Lamb of God was complete and sufficient.

Jesus Christ completed His mission, returned home to the Father’s side, and sat down. As we go about our tasks this week, whether we’re checking off a list or just doing the next thing, let’s joyfully remember that our Savior completed the most important work for us.

No matter what you face this week, remember that Christ’s work for your salvation is finished.

You Belong {No Matter What Monday}

July 24, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Have you ever had a moment when you felt confident you belonged? Or a moment when you were certain that you didn’t?

This past weekend, I attended a conference for Christian writers and speakers. I loved it. I spent time soaking up great teaching and encouragement with several hundred women who love Jesus and words as much as I do. At one point, I texted my husband to thank him for letting me make this trip and experience this community. I told him, “These are my people.”

God created us with a desire to belong. And while we have moments when that longing is fulfilled, there are other times when we feel lonely, less than, or left behind. Even in the midst of connecting this past weekend, there were moments when I was the awkward girl hovering on the outskirts of a conversation, waiting to be invited in.

Our desire to belong will never be fully satisfied by our human relationships. It is meant to point us to the One who says we belong to Him.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)

God calls us His people. Not because of our impressive resume or sparkling personality, but only because of the perfect record of His Son. God, in His mercy, covers us with Christ’s righteousness and makes us His people.

When you long to belong, find comfort in knowing you are the Lord’s. He has made you His people by His mercy. He gave His Son so that you could be His child. He brings you into His family and says, “You are Mine.”

No matter what you face this week, because of God’s mercy, you are now His people.

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