Author: Michelle Lesley

Servant of Christ, wife, mother, churchwoman, women's discipleship blogger, podcaster, and speaker.
Book Reviews

Guest Post: A Review of “Before the Throne”

Michelle Lesley

If your theology pretty much matches up with mine (as outlined in the “Welcome” and “Statement of Faith” tabs) and you’d like to contribute a guest post, drop me an e-mail at MichelleLesley1@yahoo.com,
and let’s chat about it.

A Review of Allen S. Nelson IV’s
Before the Throne
by Melissa Googe

Each day, I become increasingly grieved by our world. We are surrounded by conflict over issues that, if we were to abide by Scripture, would be quickly settled. How can those saved by God’s grace be so divided over the answers to today’s controversies?

As a long-time Christian and the wife of a pastor, I am blessed to have spent many years in my faith. I grew up in a Christian home. I have many Christian friends. I teach in a public school system where our motto is JOY (Jesus, Others, Yourself). I am surrounded by Christians, yet I find myself so frustrated with family members, friends, or colleagues that I strongly consider unfollowing them on social media or want to avoid being around them.

Sadly, there is a movement among Christians to “modernize” our faith to make it more “relevant.” To accomplish this, churches have adopted popular worldly ideas instead of expecting the lost to embrace Biblical views upon salvation. In Nelson’s preface, when I was beginning to know that I had found a kindred soul, he wrote that the answer to the church’s compulsion to be relevant is “to look downward so as to look upward.” He continued on to say that “the church that looks long into the face of God in Scripture will find that the question for “relevancy” is no longer all that relevant.” (2)

Oversimplification of all that is involved in living a Christian life and reaching others for Christ has led to churches full of lost people who falsely believe they are saved. How do we know this? Just take an honest look around. Many who claim to be Christians today actually hold to a form of “practical atheism.” (19) Nelson describes a practical atheist as one who “acknowledges the existence of God in his or her mind but lives as though He either doesn’t exist, or that He actually doesn’t care how we live or how He is to be worshiped.” Wow! This description really brings some people to mind, doesn’t it?

I sat down with Nelson’s Before the Throne: Reflections on God’s Holiness with an expectation of encountering complex theology about God’s holiness that would require me to stop reading and research information to be able to make my way through the text. While God’s holiness is not a simple subject, instead of having to stop because of running into something I didn’t understand, I had to stop because I was being humbled. This book, while it is about God’s holiness, is guaranteed to cause you not only to reflect upon God’s holiness, but to realize how truly unworthy and lost we are without Him and the sacrifice of His son.

Sin. Such a small word, but what word carries more weight? Humans try to minimize sin, but there is nothing of greater cost to us as the dividing line between us and holiness of God. Acknowledging God but then living as though He doesn’t exist, as though He doesn’t care how we live, or as though He doesn’t care about how we worship Him is completely sinful. If we are honest, no one reading this would dare to claim to have never sinned in such a way. Like Paul said in Romans 7: 15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Nelson’s Before the Throne helps readers understand what holiness is, how God and holiness are synonymous, and what referring to God’s holiness really means. While God’s holiness is anything but simple, Nelson has done an exemplary job of detailed explanations and examples of God’s undoubtable, unspeakable, untamable, unblemishable, unmatchable, unquestionable, uncontainable, unchangeable, unapproachable, uncompromising, unborable, and unquenchable holiness.

I will not attempt to touch upon each of Nelson’s points; read his book and find for yourself the “excitement, woe, conviction, awe, and gladness” of God’s holiness that Nelson shares with readers! (1) Instead, I will share how reading Nelson’s book helped me to immediately recognize God’s holiness in action. God’s holiness isn’t something that we should only think about during the preaching hour on Sunday; we should spend time each day “intentionally contemplating the holiness of God.” (209) I propose that reading Nelson’s book will help to clarify attributes of God’s holiness that are described and present in His Word, and you will then be able to apply your improved understanding of God’s holiness to life’s many different circumstances.

Last week, our small, rural county lost a pillar of our community. I could never put into words what he meant to many in the area, as he, the owner of the only funeral home in the county, was the one who ministered to us when we lost family members and friends. One response to his passing on social media was to share an excerpt from The Shack by William P. Young. In this excerpt, “the Lord” states, “…because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn’t mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don’t ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I needed it to accomplish my purposes.” I know this was shared with the intention of comforting those grieving, but exactly how is reading about how the Lord has nothing to do with “unspeakable tragedies” going to comfort the bereaved?

I am sure we have all experienced the deep grief that comes with the passing of a loved one. Four years ago, my best friend’s battle with cancer ended. I believe He has a plan. I believe in God’s holiness. Yet it is hard to hold onto those truths in such times. Today, I could still allow myself to be drawn into the heartbreak of losing Katherine’s tangible presence, of missing our laughter, of seeing her children grow up without her. Instead, I choose, and let us all choose, to be comforted by these truths about God’s unquestionable holiness. “We don’t judge events and conditions and then question whether God was holy in His actions. Rather, we begin with the premise that God is holy and then we filter all these through this truth – even the events and circumstances we cannot fully explain.” (102) “For today, we only know in part, but part of what we do know is that all God decides, decrees, and demands is holy.” (103)

Yesterday, a friend shared a Steven Furtick video from Elevation Church dated April 4th in which Furtick seeks to illustrate God’s grace between the gaps of where you have been and where He is taking you. However, Furtick’s illustration shows that in walking with God, “When you take a step, when you make a move, God moves too.” According to Furtick, God will not let you reach Him because you would become arrogant; “So what God is gonna do, God is going to make sure that as you grow, the gap stays.” Essentially, Furtick’s illustration teaches that you can strive to live a holy and obedient life, but you will never grow any closer to God.

I am thankful for God’s unchangeable holiness and for His unapproachable holiness. Nelson cites A.W. Tozer who wrote, “For He, being unchanging and unchangeable, can never become holier than He is.” (132) God is not going to become any holier, so He is not going to continuously move away from us. As Nelson states, “The fact that God is unchanging is unquestionable upon any honest reading of the Scriptures,” and he references verses from James, Malachi, and Hebrews. (132-33)

Furtick’s illustration missed the mark. It communicated that you can walk in God’s grace, and you can grow from where you were, but you are not ever going to be able to reach God. The people in Furtick’s church cheered his message. Dear Christian brothers and sisters, this is a perfect example of why we need to know His Word, of why we need to be able to recognize false teachings, and of why we need a much better grasp of His holiness. “Grace doesn’t minimize our sin. It exposes it for what it really is and then covers it with the blood of Jesus.” (158) Christians should desire sanctification (an important word missing from Furtick’s illustration), at the same time knowing that “In and of ourselves, we cannot approach the God of unapproachable holiness. But the son can. And in Him, we can draw near to God.” (157) Praise be to God!

As a Language Arts teacher, I speak often of the vast number of words we have that fall short in the most important moments of life. Sometimes all we can do to express our meaning is to repeat our words. I leave you with a note from Nelson on God’s unquestionable holiness. “Language buckles under the pressure to satisfactorily describe God. The threefold repetition of holy is the best our words can do to show that God is holy to the maximum.” (100) There is nothing of any greater importance than God’s holiness, and no better example of when one word alone is not enough. May Before the Throne deepen your understanding of God’s holiness and leads you to desire to know His Word and our holy, holy, holy God evermore.

Allen “Cuatro” Nelson, IV, author of Before the Throne, is the pastor of Perryville Second Baptist Church in Perryville, Arkansas. Contact Allen directly via Twitter to order Before the Throne or his first book, From Death to Life. You can also order from Amazon.

Melissa Googe came to know Christ at a young age and is thankful for each day she has had to spend with Him. Being raised in a Christian home, being the wife of a pastor, and being the mother of three are just a few of the other blessings God has given her. Melissa’s primary ministry has been to serve as a middle school teacher for eighteen years in public schools. She enjoys sharing her love of reading with students and friends and fulfilling the call to minister to others.

ALTHOUGH I DO MY BEST TO THOROUGHLY VET THE THEOLOGY OF THOSE WHO SUBMIT GUEST POSTS, IT IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE FOR THINGS TO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS. PLEASE MAKE SURE ANYONE YOU FOLLOW, INCLUDING ME, RIGHTLY AND FAITHFULLY HANDLES GOD’S WORD AND HOLDS TO SOUND BIBLICAL DOCTRINE
1&2 Timothy Bible Study

1 & 2 Timothy: Lesson 9

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Read 2 Timothy 1

Questions to Consider

1. Before diving in to chapter 1, you may wish to review your answers to the introductory questions in lesson 8 (link above).

2. Examine the greeting of this letter (1-2). Who is this letter from? Where is he currently residing? (8) Who is this letter addressed to? What was Timothy’s position in the church at Ephesus? Since 2 Timothy is one of the pastoral epistles, how do its instructions apply to pastors, church members, and the church today?

3. Compare the greeting of 2 Timothy (1-2) to the greeting of 1 Timothy. How does Paul present his credentials, describe Timothy, and invoke God’s blessings in each greeting? What are the similarities and differences in each of these?

4. Read 3-18, noticing the repetition of three words, one in 8 & 12, one in 12 & 14, one in 8, 12, 16. What are these three words? What can these words help us understand about a general theme of this chapter and the letter as a whole?

5. Look closely at Paul’s personal remarks to Timothy in 3-7. Describe the ways Paul serves and encourages Timothy, personally, in this section. How can this section inform the church that pastors need encouragement? What might your own pastor(s) be in “tears” about? (4) Are you praying for your pastor(s)? (3) What specific words of encouragement could you offer your pastor(s) this (and every) week? (5-7)

6. What word does verse 8 start with? Backtrack into verses 6-7 to see what that “therefore” is there for. Would Timothy be able to carry out what Paul said in verse 8 without “girding up his loins” with the instructions in 6-7? Why is it important for us to prepare, spiritually, for future persecution?

Consider the context (6-7) of verse 8. What might Timothy have been “fearful” (7) of (hint: How was society/government treating Christians at that time in history?), and how does that inform our understanding of his being “ashamed” of the “testimony about our Lord” and about Paul? Does “ashamed” mean mere social embarrassment in this context? What would the consequences have been of Timothy aligning himself with the gospel and with Paul? (8b) (Compare with Peter’s “shame” over aligning himself with Jesus.)

Explain how a professing Christian today might be “ashamed” of the “testimony about our Lord” or of aligning herself with Christians who are suffering the consequences of being bold in the faith.

9. In verses 9-10 we have one of our recurring motifs (see lesson 5 question 9 – link above – if your memory needs jogging). What is it? Take a few moments to revel in this passage, soak up the beauty of the gospel, and thank God for it. Can you list all of the theological concepts alluded to in this passage? (eg. predestination, sola gratia, etc.)

10. Compare Paul’s “I am not ashamed,” and “I am suffering” in 11-12 with his instructions to Timothy not to be ashamed and to join in suffering in verse 8. How was Paul leaving an example for Timothy to follow? What are some ways we can follow Paul’s example today?

11. Examine the concept of “guarding the deposit entrusted to you” as it pertains to Paul and to Timothy in 12-14. Why did Paul say he was not ashamed – he did not fear or shrink back – to align himself with Christ and the gospel? (12b- remember that in this context, “for” means “because”). Who is the “he” in verse 12? (see v. 14) When Paul says “what has been entrusted to me,” what does he mean? What is the thing, the “good deposit” (14) that has been entrusted to him and to Timothy? (13) Who entrusted this good deposit to Paul? (11-12) To Timothy? (13) What does Paul mean by “guarding” this good deposit? (12,14) Have Christians received this “good deposit” today? Who entrusted it to us, and how are we to “guard” it? (14)

12. Read 15-18. Who does Paul mention that were “ashamed” of him? (15) Why do you think they “turned away” from aligning themselves with Paul? Who was not ashamed of aligning himself with Paul and the gospel (15), and how did he demonstrate this (16-18)? What are some ways you can demonstrate, through the good works God has ordained for you, that you are not ashamed of being aligned with Christ and the gospel?

Homework

Review 3-7 again. Examine the specific ways Paul encouraged Timothy in this section. Think of someone who is a true child in the faith to you, maybe your own child, a younger woman at church, etc. Drop her a card, e-mail, or text this week to encourage her in her walk with the Lord and to let her know how you’re praying for her.

Suggested Memory Verse

Homosexuality

An Open Letter to Beth Moore

Michelle Lesley

We have answered some of the most commonly asked
questions about the Open Letter to Beth Moore here.

If you are unfamiliar with the events surrounding this letter, please read
An Open Letter to Beth Moore – Timeline of Events.

Dear Mrs. Moore,

Hello – we hope this finds you doing well.

We as female Bible teachers ourselves write this letter to you in hopes of receiving clarification of your views on an important issue: homosexuality.

In the last few years, particularly since 2016, you have been very vocal in your opposition to misogyny and racism. Anytime a story with so much of a whiff of these issues comes to the forefront you are very quick to speak out. The actions of the Covington kids, for example, you said “is so utterly antichrist it reeks of the vomit of hell” in a January 19, 2019 tweet; a tweet you deleted, without apology to the kids, once the full video was shown that portrayed a very different reality than what initial reporting suggested.

It is this Johnny-on-the-spot readiness to engage issues related to misogyny and racism that makes your virtual silence on the issue of homosexuality so puzzling.

To your credit, in your book To Live is Christ: The Life and Ministry of Paul, you wrote, “I met a young man who had experienced freedom from the bondage of homosexuality” (pg. 119). This book was first published in 1997 and then republished in 2008 but it seems since then you have said very little if anything publicly about this issue.

Another factor prompting our open letter to you is the very public mutual affection and admiration between you, Jen Hatmaker and Jonathan Merritt.

Jen Hatmaker and you regularly exchange affirming posts of one another on social media. In just one recent example, Hatmaker on September 17, 2018 wrote “Beth Moore will enjoy my respect and devotion forever. She is worthy of being a mentor to an entire generation. And friends, I wish you knew how deeply and profoundly she has loved me these last two years” (Source). In an interview two years before this post, October of 2016, Jen Hatmaker said she was a “left-leaning moderate,” came out as fully supportive of homosexual marriage (saying it can be “holy”) and said practicing homosexuals can be part of the regenerate body of Christ (Source). It was then that LifeWay decided to pull all of her books from its shelves.

More recently, on April 9, 2019, Jonathan Merritt tweeted, “I no longer believe @BethMooreLPM is a human. I think she is an angelic being having a human experience.” (Source). Jonathan Merritt has admitted to having at least one homosexual encounter about a decade ago (Source). Today, by his own admission he rejects biblical inerrancy, says a “liberal Protestant” would be an accurate description of him, and says his sexual orientation he no longer views as “broken” (Source). In a crass response to Dr. Owen Strachan tweeting, rightly so, that there should never be an occasion in which men “cuddle” with one another, Merritt on May 1, 2019 tweeted in response, “C’mon, Owen. You can be my little spoon” (Source). Merritt also openly affirms that “queer” and LGBTQ people are included in God’s Kingdom and it is a “carrot of false promises” that the Gospel can make such people straight (Source, Source). He supports “Drag Queen Story Time” in which drag queens read stories to young children in public libraries (Source 27:40 mark). He even appears to doubt the exclusivity of Christ (Source).

Both Jen Hatmaker and Jonathan Merritt are known for their belief that practicing homosexuals can be Christians. Given that this is such a deeply held conviction that both share and this conviction (wrong though it is) has cost them both in their standing amongst theologically conservative evangelicals, and that they both praise you so highly, it raises the natural question as to where you stand on this issue.

Given his beliefs, Merritt publicly saying that he believes you to be “an angelic being having a human experience” strongly suggests that his high praise of you is, at least partially, rooted in your views on this issue that you have shared with him privately. It seems most unlikely that he would be praising you so highly if you had told him that as a homosexual man he will perish for all of eternity unless he repents. It likewise seems unlikely that Hatmaker (a married, straight woman) would praise you so highly if you told her that her affirmation of homosexuality and homosexual marriage is sinful and that she must repent.

When all of this is coupled with your total silence on homosexuality (in stark contrast to your very vocal stance on gender/racial/abuse issues) it naturally raises the question as to what your beliefs on it truly are.

With these factors in mind, and knowing that millions of people follow your teachings, we would like to ask you:

1. Do you believe homosexuality is inherently sinful?

2. Do you believe that the practice of the homosexual lifestyle is compatible with holy Christian living?

3. Do you believe a person who dies as a practicing homosexual but professes to be a Christian will inherit eternal life?

4. Do you believe same sex attraction is, in and of itself, an inherently sinful, unnatural, and disordered desire that must be mortified?

5. Why have you been so silent on this subject in light of your desire to “teach the word of God?”

We ask these questions to you out of genuine concern. As Bible teachers, all of us are held to a very high standard and will give an account for how we handle God’s word. As you know, homosexuality is widely discussed and debated amongst evangelicals and society at large.

Many families are affected by this issue. The most loving thing obedient Christians can do for them is to clearly communicate God’s truth. We look forward to your clarification on these pressing issues. Thank you.

Kind regards,

Susan Heck
With the Master

Debbie Lynne Kespert
The Outspoken Tulip

Michelle Lesley
Michelle Lesley- Discipleship for Christian Women
A Word Fitly Spoken Podcast

Martha Peace
Martha Peace

Elizabeth Prata
The End Time

Amy Spreeman
Berean Research
Naomi’s Table
A Word Fitly Spoken Podcast

Readers, if you would like to add your signature to this open letter, please comment below. (My regular comment parameters still apply.
Please read before commenting.)
Supportive comments will be considered signatures.

I will no longer be adding signatures to this list,
but please feel free to comment.

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336. Cindy Price     337. Linda Brown     338. Rhonda Gomez     339. Liz James

340. Laura Burton     341. Jamie Dollinger     342. Christie Ann Algeo

343. Kerri Wagner     344. Amy Wood     345. Amy Hall     346. Beth Malarkey

347. Jo Vazquez     348. Cindy Mock     349. Christine Combs     350. Catherine- BBF

351. Kim- BBF     352. Vicki- BBF    353. Tina- BBF     354. Tara- BBF

355. Cate- BBF     356. Patti- BBF     356. Anonymous- BBF     357. Pamela Couvrette

358. Doris Sparks     359. Deborah Hallman     360. Cyndy Adeniyi

361. Laurie Ingram     362. Susan     363. Kay Cude     364. Melanie Lockhart

365. Leah Johnson     366. Jeni Myers     367. Keri Stankova     368. Tanya Herring

369. B Logue     370. Charlotte Sutton     371. ameliavk     372. Jannelle Kodad

373. Debbie Nateghi     374. Lynette     375. Heaven Henderson     376. Jennifer Rice

377. Michelle David     378. Karen Butterfield     379. Sheila H. Bragg

380. Angela Wismer     381. Karen Short     382. Pamela Ellenburg

383. Danielle Ware     384. Emily George     385. April Chapman     386. Gayle Smith

387. Liz Maria     388. Kris Schlagel     389. Amanda Simkins     390. Julie Garber

391. Hope Green     392. Nicole Mitchell     393. Rachelle Journey

394. Chrissy Reimer     395. Margaret Gunden     396. Maureen Payne

397. Rebecca Barner     398. Melissa Armstrong     399. Holly Major     400. Lisa PS

401. Linda Rice     402. Nancy Carrera     403. Katy Alderton     404. Christine Frost

405. Renee J. Bailey     406. Amberly Wieler     407. Susan K     408. Katie Purvis

409. Valerie Ward     410. Alise Grant     411. mvfreeman     412. Jo Rodgers

413.  Mitzi Turpin     414. Tina Liouzis     415. Marsha West     416. Christine Parfitt

417. Leslie J. Witty     418. Victoria Nelson     419. Leah Stewart

420. Nancy Carrera     421. Lydia Harris     422. karolewithak     423. Diane Conklin

424. Tammy Monson     425. Katie Quintana     426. Diane Kelley     427. Carole Kaetz

428. Jessica Oathoudt     429. Valerie Muirhead     430. Lisa Schmidt

431. Kim Schwart     432. Raynie Sivillo     433. Lisa Ente     434. Tina Dewey

435. Amy. Rozycki     436. Jennifer Christensen     437. Christa Reynolds

439. Kathy Freeman     440. Traci Gardner     441. Debbie Landers     442. caligurrl61

443. Melissa McIntyre     444. Kim     445. Valerie Hupp     446. Sharon Buss

447. Kira Ulmer     448. Brittany Bieghler     449. Nicole Bibelheimer McAbee

450. Sandy Bitter     451. Monica Turner     452. Elizabeth Emerson

453. Kara Emerson     454. Janice Krieger     455. Peggy M. Miller

456. Cecelia Matchett     457. Wendi Peterson     458. LeDawn Kosek

459. Dianne Larios     460. Rhonda Owens     461. Kathleen Lanteigne

462. Terra Hicks     463. Brenda Block     464. Lisa Ente     465. Sarah Elizabeth

466. Darlene Diaz     467. Debra Wiest     468. Lyndsey Fromme     469. Laurie Tietjen

470. Connie Windham     471. Gladys Martínez     472. Beth Cavete     473. Linda Bell

474. Beth Finkbeiner     475. Heather Rollins     476. Charla Counts Tatom

477. Ose Burnett     478. Kathy Firth     479. Debbie Bergt     480. J Chen

481. Melissa Duerksen     482. Kate Hendrickson     483. Miranda Abugharbeya

484. Gisele Krippner     485. Robin Kelley     486. Kari     487. Maggie Gunden

488. Mollie Moore     489. Diana Johnson     490. Stacy Brooks     491. Gina Shaw

492. Kellie Watson     493. Bonnie Schwartz    494. Kay Davis     495. Lisa

496. Rosilind Jukic    497. Laura Kelly     498. Sandy Artus     499. Clare McNaul

500. Tami     501. Diane Ostrow     502. Amanda Ladefoged     503. Bev Azure

504. Hayley Bevier     505. Mary L. Briere     506. Rommy Miller     507. Tammy Derryberry

508. Billie Freeman     509. Amy Knight

Uncategorized

Blog schedule change

Michelle Lesley

To my regular readers- I apologize for the abrupt change in blog schedule. I know that many of you were expecting the next lesson in our 1&2 Timothy study today. Don’t worry, Lesson 9 in our study is coming tomorrow, but I needed to share a time sensitive item today: An Open Letter to Beth Moore.

Encouragement, Pop Theology

God created you to do amazing things?

Michelle Lesley

A while back, I saw this meme posted by a woman who is in a significant position of leadership in a Christian organization.

Ladies – especially those of us who lead, teach, and minister to women – we ought not be posting or teaching things like this.

First of all, it’s misleading. This is not what Ephesians 2:10 says. Ephesians 2:10 says:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Someone has taken it upon herself to summarize the verse in her own words and created a meme which makes it look like Ephesians 2:10 is being quoted. And her summary is incorrect – a mishandling of God’s Word.

Which brings me to point number two. This is not what Ephesians 2:10 means.

The “good works” God has prepared for us to walk in are seldom amazing – at least not in the way we usually define the word “amazing”.

The “good works” God has prepared for us to walk in are seldom amazing – at least not in the way we usually define the word “amazing”. Changing diapers, doing the laundry, breaking up fights between siblings, dealing with unreasonable bosses and annoying co-workers, and scrubbing toilets can all be “good works” God has ordained for us to perform to His glory, but most people wouldn’t call those things “amazing”. They’re mundane. Ordinary. Everyday life types of things.

And that’s OK!

First Thessalonians 4:10b-12 puts it like this:

But we urge you, brothers…to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

God has called us to serve Him and one another, and that is usually plain, unglamorous, non-prestigious, hard work. Forget “amazing” – often, no one will notice or thank us for our good works, or if they do notice, they might criticize the job we’ve done.

Cotton candy “theology” ends up being discouraging in the long run.

Finally, cotton candy “theology” like this ends up being discouraging in the long run:

“God created me to to amazing things, huh? This morning I ironed, cleaned dog vomit off the rug, and spent an hour ferrying kids to various activities. That doesn’t feel very amazing. When does this ‘amazing’ thing kick in? How long do I have to wait?”

Or:

“I’m a single mom with a full time job and three kids. I barely make it to church every week and struggle to get six hours of sleep a night with all I have to do. I’m exhausted. And now you’re telling me I have to do something ‘amazing’ on top of that?”

Or:

“I’m just an ordinary woman. God hasn’t really given me anything ‘amazing’ to do. Maybe He doesn’t love me. Maybe I don’t have enough faith, or I’m not praying hard enough, or there’s some secret sin in my life that I’m not aware of. Maybe I’m not even saved. What a failure I am.”

Ladies, ideas like the one in this meme do more harm than good. If we want to encourage each other, we need to do it biblically – with what God’s word actually says and with what God’s word actually means – with good, sound theology.

If we want to encourage each other, we need to do it biblically – with what God’s word actually says and with what God’s word actually means – with good, sound theology.