Author: Michelle Lesley

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

Back to the Basics, Part 3: “Himmed” In

Michelle Lesley

Hello, readers! I am taking this week off. I hope you’ll enjoy this three part series while I’m gone.

Part 1 Part 2

Originally published February 16, 2011

Establish my footsteps in Your word,
And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me. 

Psalm 119:133

A few years ago, we had a little dog named Mathilda. She was cute, but to be perfectly honest, she was not one of my favorite dogs because she was completely disobedient. Maybe it was because she was rebellious. Maybe it was because she was dumb as a rock. I never did figure that one out.

We’d tell her to come; she’d run away. We’d tell her to stay; she’d run away. Frankly, pretty much anything we told her to do, she’d ignore and run away. Which was all well and good as long as she stayed inside the confines of our fenced back yard. As long as she stayed in familiar territory, she knew where and how far she could run and still be safe.

The problem was that in order to get from our back door to our carport, we had to go through the gate that kept Mathilda in the back yard.

Did I mention she liked to run away?

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One day, someone opened the gate, and Mathilda was off like a shot. My daughter was on search and rescue duty that day, so she took off after Mathilda. Unfortunately, Mathilda, with no boundaries to contain her and in unfamiliar territory, got confused and crossed the street at exactly the wrong time- just as a car was coming. And, sadly, this is where her story ends.

Have you ever heard someone say, “Children need boundaries”? Well, children aren’t the only ones. Just as Mathilda discovered, the world can be a big confusing place, fraught with unseen dangers. Even before the Fall, when there were only two people in the world and things were perfect, God didn’t just turn Adam and Eve loose to roam the planet indiscriminately. He placed them in the confines of Eden and gave them a one rule boundary. It was for their protection and their joy.

As Christians today, our confines are less visible than the borders of a garden. Our boundary is the Bible. For our protection and our joy, we must stay inside the walls of God’s Word.

As Christians today, our confines are less visible than the borders of a garden. Our boundary is the Bible. For our protection and our joy, we must stay inside the walls of God’s Word. In order to do that, we must:

Know what the Word says:

I will meditate on Your statutes.
Psalm 119:48

Study God’s Word. Memorize it. Dig down deep into it. Listen to Biblical preaching and teaching.

Obey the Word:

So I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever. 
Psalm 119:44

Often, the problems we experience and the confusing situations in which we find ourselves are a direct result of sin. God’s commands are for our good, our joy, and His glory. When we stray from them, things get messed up. And after all He has done for us, is obedience too much to ask?

God’s commands are for our good, our joy, and His glory.

Go Back to what You Know:

For I trust in Your word.
Psalm 119:42

Sometimes, despite our obedience and our love for the Lord, he allows confusing, painful, awful situations into our lives. We don’t understand what’s happening or why God would allow this terrible thing to take place. It’s especially important at these times to stay inside the fence of God’s Word, draw upon His truths we have memorized and studied, and trust Him. When we’re not sure what’s going on around us, we can go back and stand on what we can be certain of: God’s promises.

When we’re not sure what’s going on around us, we can go back and stand on what we can be certain of: God’s promises.

God is good, not evil. Psalm 100:5

God loves us. Romans 5:5,8

If we depend on Him and trust Him, God will strengthen us to walk through any situation He sends our way and make us content. Philippians 4:13

God can bring good out of any situation. Romans 8:28

Suffering can bring about invaluable spiritual growth. Psalm 119:67, 71, Philippians 3:10, Romans 5:3-4

God’s overall greater purpose is more important than an individual’s personal comfort. Genesis 50:20, John 3:16

God is faithful and will not abandon us. II Thessalonians 3:3, Deuteronomy 31:6,8

God’s comfort is available to us. II Corinthians 1:3-5, II Thessalonians 2:16-17

One day, all things will be set right. Romans 12:19, Revelation 21:3-4

Know the Word. Live it. Breathe it. Stay inside its good and protective boundaries. It’s for God’s glory and our joy.

Know the Word. Live it. Breathe it. Stay inside its good and protective boundaries. It’s for God’s glory and our joy.

Faith

Back to the Basics, Part 2: Sit at His Feet

Michelle Lesley

Hello, readers! I am taking this week off. I hope you’ll enjoy this three part series while I’m gone.

Part 1

Originally published January 16, 2011

Luke 10:38-42:

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” 

I enjoy staging productions and events when I have time and the occasion calls for it. I put together business events when I worked a “real” job. I staged musicals when I directed children’s choirs. But the production I enjoyed staging the most was my wedding.

I didn’t have a wedding planner. Hardly anyone did back then, and, besides, I wanted to do it myself. I had a ball picking out flowers, shopping for the cake, and taking care of all the other arrangements. But even though I enjoyed those things, on my wedding day, I wasn’t immersed in taking care of little details. I was focused on my husband. It would have been silly of me to neglect him in favor of rearranging centerpieces or something like that. And, today, my marriage would be a pretty cold place if all I ever did was fold my husband’s laundry and serve him meals without us spending any time just enjoying each other’s company.

It’s easy to see how those kinds of scenarios would be detrimental to a marriage. But as members of the bride of Christ, we do things like this all the time. We get so wrapped up in serving God that we forget about sitting at His feet and loving Him. It’s like having a birthday party without the guest of honor. Or a marriage without a husband.

We get so wrapped up in serving God that we forget about sitting at His feet and loving Him.

Serving God in ministry is important – after all, if no one put his hand to the plow and served, we’d have no pastors, teachers, missionaries, etc. – but our one on One relationship with God should take precedence over everything else. We get the cart before the horse when our relationship with the Lord is completely tied up in ministry and its results and effectiveness rather than in our own individual relationship with a Person– Jesus Christ.

I’ve always jokingly said that God needs Marthas like me, because without us, nothing in the Kingdom would get done. But I’m discovering that’s not true. God doesn’t need the efforts of any human being in order to get Kingdom work accomplished. He’s quite capable of getting the work done on His own. And, frequently, the tasks on my list that I think need to be done are not the same as the items on His agenda.

Therefore they said to Him,
“What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

John 6:28-29

Jesus isn’t my boss; He’s my bridegroom.

He doesn’t need my work; He wants my heart.

Jesus isn’t my boss; He’s my bridegroom. He doesn’t need my work; He wants my heart.

It’s my job to love Him, to know Him, to have an intimate relationship with Him.

‘Scuse me, I’ve got some work to catch up on.

Faith

Back to the Basics, Part 1: Grab God’s Hand

Michelle Lesley

Hello, readers! I am taking this week off. I hope you’ll enjoy this three part series while I’m gone.

Originally published January 12, 2011

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Every year at this time, there’s a lot of talk about New Year’s resolutions. The new year seems to bring with it a feeling of starting fresh, getting a do-over. I’ve never really been one for making resolutions, but this year, New Year’s coincided with some work God was doing in my life to give me a fresh start.

Sometimes we can get into a rut in our spiritual lives, a rut that’s too deep to just step out of by making a few minor adjustments. God has to reach down and pull us up and out of it. That’s where I was. Spiritually, I felt dry; as if God were in the other room, and I couldn’t quite find the door to get to Him. My Bible study and prayer time were shallow and hit-and-miss at best, and I was frustrated.

In answer to my crying out to Him, the Lord began to pull me up out of that rut. As He did, what He showed me was that I needed to get “back to the basics” in my spiritual life. This article is the first in a series exploring the basics God is leading me back to.

Grab God’s Hand

Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

2 Timothy 2:5

Looking back, I can see that one of the ways I got into my rut in the first place was some “stinkin’ thinkin'”. My spiritual life was just beginning to show some signs of dryness around the edges. I thought it was because I was doing my Bible study and prayer time out of habit every day rather than doing them because I felt a supernatural draw to them.

I decided that, rather than have my time with the Lord as a built in part of my every day schedule, I would ask God to give me a hunger for Him and his Word, and that when I felt that longing for Him, I would spend time with Him. I honestly did this with the best of intentions, because I felt myself slipping away from the Lord and wanted to be close to Him again.

Good intentions are a great thing, but if the action they inspire is wrong, the intention is worthless.

Good intentions are a great thing, but if the action they inspire is wrong, the intention is worthless. The action has to be the correct one. Mine was not. John Wesley said, “A fanatic is one who seeks desirable ends, but ignores constituted means.” “Constituted means” simply refers to the normal order of operations God has set up. For example, if I want a cake– a desirable end –I don’t hit my knees, ask God to send me a cake, and then go look in the oven to see if it’s there. I go to my cabinet, get out the ingredients, mix them up, and bake them. Those are God’s constituted means by which I can get cake.

It works the same way in our spiritual lives. Holiness, sanctification (spiritual growth), and hunger for the things of God aren’t three wishes magically granted by a genie, even if you call that genie “God”. You have to use God’s “constituted means” – the work of the Spirit and your obedience – to get there.

Holiness, sanctification, and hunger for the things of God aren’t three wishes magically granted by a genie. You have to use God’s “constituted means” – the work of the Spirit and your obedience – to get there

Paul describes our walk with the Lord as a race or athletic event. You don’t just rub a lamp, make a wish, and, BAM! you’re a great athlete. You get up every day and train and condition whether you feel like it or not. Some days, you’ll be excited about working out, other days, you’ll want to stay in bed, but regardless of how you feel, you still do it. It’s the “doing it” that creates the desire to hone your abilities more, and makes you love the sport more.

Likewise, we will never develop holiness and a closer walk with the Lord just by asking Him for them and then sitting and waiting. As we ask, we have to do the work of study and prayer– even when we don’t feel like it. It is in the “doing it” that God creates the hunger for more of Him. I discovered as I waited and waited for God to draw me close to His side that I was slipping farther and farther away from Him. I was trying to get to my desired end without using His constituted means.

So, when we’re down in that rut we can’t get out of, we should cry out to God to reach down and lift us out of it, but that’s not all. When God extends His hand to pull us out, we’ve got to reach up and grab hold of Him and hang on, even when we don’t feel like it. That’s called obedience, and Jesus said if we love Him, we’ll obey Him.

There are going to be some dry spells. After all, God didn’t talk to Moses from the burning bush every day, now did He? The answer is not to ask God to set the bush on fire, but to hang on to Him in faith when all we see in front of us is a charred pile of sticks.

The answer is not to ask God to set the bush on fire, but to hang on to Him in faith when all we see in front of us is a charred pile of sticks.

Keep walking, keep obeying, keep seeking Him. He has promised we’ll find Him.

Faith

God is NOT Running for Office

Michelle Lesley

Originally published October 1, 2008

Everybody seems to have an opinion about God. Some love Him. Some hate Him. Some will swear He doesn’t exist, while others seem to have Him confused with Santa Claus. Many complain that He isn’t doing His job.

If you were to ask a hundred people who they think God is you’d get a hundred different answers. We all want God to be who we think He is. We want Him to fit neatly into the little box we’ve designed for Him so that—like the perfect purse or pair of shoes to our favorite dress—He doesn’t clash with our lifestyles, but rather, fits right in and complements what we’ve already got going.

Over the course of the past few months, I’ve heard or read statements similar to these:

  • I think Jesus was a liberal because He did X, Y, and Z.
  • I’m homosexual. God wouldn’t create me this way and then send me to hell because of it.
  • I think God is much less concerned with (insert sin being defended here) than He is with people being nice to each other.
  • Please pray that God will bless me as I move in with my boyfriend.
  • I’ve decided _______ isn’t a sin.
  • We shouldn’t be preaching about this or that Biblical principle at church, because people might get offended and stop attending.

I’ve got news for all of us, myself included:

Who God is is not determined by opinion polls.

Who God is is not determined by opinion polls.

He’s not a politician who will change His personality or his stance on the issues to please us, because we are not His constituents—we’re His creation.

So just who is this God anyway? Moses had the same question when he was first starting out. In Exodus 3:13-15, God has just told Moses that He wants him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses, trying to wrap his brain around this unforeseen turn of events, says to God in verse 13 (my paraphrase here), “Ok, when I get there and tell the Israelites that God has sent me to them, and they say ‘Who is this God you’re talking about? What is His name?’ What am I supposed to say?”

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (14a)

This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. (15b)

God is who He is. Not who we think He is. Not what’s convenient and palatable to us. Not who we want Him to be. He has always been that way, still is, and always will be, as we see at the end of verse 15.

God is who He is. Not who we think He is. Not what’s convenient and palatable to us. Not who we want Him to be. He has always been that way, still is, and always will be.

Alright, so we know that God is who He is. How do we go about finding out what “is” is? Well, if we want to know who a human being is, we spend a lot of time with that person, we talk to him, we listen to what he has to say, and we watch him in action.

It’s the same with God. We spend time with Him. We talk to Him in prayer. We listen to what He has to say about Himself in His Word, the Bible. We observe the way He acted in the Bible and the way He acts around us today.

As we get to know a person better, we may discover some things about him that we don’t like or don’t understand. Maybe he puts ketchup on his eggs (ick!), or roots for the wrong football team (anybody who plays against LSU), or—horror of horrors—puts the toilet paper on the roll so that it comes out from the bottom rather than over the top (We all know that’s the wrong way, right? It goes over the top. :0)

As we discover things we don’t like about a human being, does our dislike or lack of understanding about one of his particular quirks or habits change said quirk or habit? No.

Again, it’s the same way with God, and even more so, because while a person might be willing to change some of his ways to please another person, God is not. And if we think about it, why should He? And would we really want Him to bend to suit our fancies even if He were willing to do so?

Would we really want God to bend to suit our fancies even if He were willing to do so?

Imagine you bought an over the top, fantastic new car and had the opportunity to meet the car’s designer. At this meeting, he tells you all of the things you should do and not do to keep the car running in tip top shape. He even gives you a detailed owner’s manual reiterating everything he’s just told you. Would you believe what he says about taking care of the car?

How much more should we believe and obey what God has to say about the way we should live? He designed us. He knows exactly how we work and what is good for us and what isn’t good for us. Moreover, He loves us and always wants what is best for us. We didn’t design us or anything in our environment. We don’t know everything. Lots of times we don’t even want what’s best for ourselves because we don’t know what’s best for ourselves. Who are we to tell God how He ought to run things?

When God says something is a sin–harmful to us and an affront to Him– it is. When He says something is good and holy, it is. End of story, no discussion, period. You and I don’t get to change those things to suit ourselves. When we try to, what we’re ultimately saying is that God is wrong and doesn’t know what He’s doing. That we know how to handle things better than He does. That we are more qualified for the job of being God than He is.

When God says something is a sin–harmful to us and an affront to Him– it is. When He says something is good and holy, it is. End of story, no discussion, period.

This is the absolute antithesis of Christianity. Jesus said, “…If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” There is no such thing as a “Christian” who willfully, purposefully, and continuously decides to immerse himself in, and pursue, a lifestyle of anything God calls sin. Becoming a Christian requires that we put ourselves, our opinions, our feelings and our impulses aside and submit to the authority of Christ. Salvation does not take place until we embrace the fact that He is God and we are not.

When we refuse to bow to who God really is, who He says He is in the Bible, and start redesigning Him according to our own opinions, according to what’s popular, or according to what is politically correct, what we have done is to set up an idol, a false god, to worship. Take a look at Exodus 20:1-4, and notice that in the middle of verse 4, it says we are not to “make for [ourselves] … any likeness of what is in heaven above“. While we may not be carving a literal statue of stars or planets to worship, which is the context of this passage, we frequently figuratively carve out our own likeness of heaven’s God.

God is who He is. We can take Him or leave Him, but we can’t re-make Him. We were made in His image, not He in ours. He isn’t going to formulate a platform we’ll like so He can earn our vote. He already holds the office of King, and even though He’s frequently opposed, He’s not going to be deposed.

Faith

Kissing the Face of God

Michelle Lesley

Originally published October 15, 2008

A few Sundays ago as we were getting ready to go to church, I picked up my five year old, hugged him, and asked, “Are you ready to go to worship?”

He smiled and nodded, gave me a kiss on the cheek and then said something which he will never recall, but which I will never forget. He said,

“I just kissed you and God at the same time.”

I’m not sure what he, in his five year old reasoning, meant to convey by that statement, but I have been thinking about what God could have meant by it ever since.

Because I’m a Christian, my body quite literally houses the Holy Spirit, so in a way, what my son said was true.

The last part of 1 Corinthians 6:20 says that because the Holy Spirit lives in me, I’m to glorify God in my body. Everything my body says or does is supposed to point people to God, so that when they look at me, they see Him.

Wow. That’s a pretty heavy duty responsibility. Am I doing that?

Unfortunately, the answer is “no” more often than I care to admit.

I want to live that way, though. I want people to feel God’s healing in my touch, hear His kindness in my voice, experience His forgiveness in my embrace. Because I’m the only Jesus some will ever see, I want to be Jesus to them.