Christian – Page 32 – Michelle Lesley

Pop Theology ~ The Bottle

August 7, 2014August 6, 2014 Michelle Lesley

Dear Pop Theology-

I keep seeing Christian pages post this video, but I was wondering, does this bottle prayer thing match up with what the Bible says?

Signed,

Praying for an Answer

Well, what about it, Pop? Could you give us any reasons why this might not be a biblical way to learn about prayer?

Lemme lay it down for ya homies:

1. No one has the right to put words in God’s mouth. When you hear someone say, “God says _____,” the only thing that blank can safely be filled in with is Scripture. Otherwise, you’re turning God into a ventriloquist’s dummy and making Him say what you want Him to say. (Deuteronomy 18:21-22, Ezekiel 22:28, Jeremiah 14:13-16).

The truth is, things DON’T always become clear to us on this side of Heaven. Talk to a woman whose husband has abandoned her, or someone in chronic pain, or a parent who has lost a child in an accident. There are things in this life that are painful, dark, and confusing, and no where in Scripture does it say that God owes us an explanation for them or that things will “become clear.”

Did you notice the gentleman in the video didn’t use a single Bible verse to back up his “God says____,” or “Things will become clear,” statements? That’s because he can’t. Scripture doesn’t teach this. It’s just his opinion.

What Scripture DOES promise Christians is that, even in the darkest times, Christ will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), that God can use even the worst difficulties for the good (Romans 8:28), that even our Master learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8), and that when we trust God (regardless of whether or not we get what we want), He will keep us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

2. Where does Scripture say that “in order for Him to really begin to do the work that YOU want done” you have to “take the limitations off”? It doesn’t. Prayer isn’t about us maneuvering and manipulating God to get Him to do what we want Him to do. Prayer is about US getting on the same page with GOD’S agenda. Us submitting to His will. Us trusting Him regardless of the outcome. It’s not about the work that we have to do (and no matter how holy it might sound, all the “ya gotta…ya gotta…ya gotta” stuff in this video is work) to force God’s hand. The gentleman in the video makes it sound like everything rests on YOU and that if you’ll just pray hard enough, long enough, and with enough faith, everything will work out the way you want it to.

And if things don’t work out, guess whose fault it is? Yours. Because you didn’t have enough faith, or you didn’t pray long enough, or whatever. That’s a Word of Faith false teaching. It is not what the Bible teaches.

The Bible says that God is in the Heavens and does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3), that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, not the same as ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), and that when we pray, we don’t have to feel anxious. Prayer is to produce peace (Philippians 4:6-7), not worry over whether we’ve said the right things or said them long enough (Matthew 6:7-8). Even our perfect, sinless, holy Jesus, when He prayed in Gethsemane before going to the cross, said “NOT My will, but Yours, be done.” (Matthew 26:39).

3. Watch this video again, paying attention to HOW the liquid in the bottle becomes clear. Who, in this analogy, initiates the action? You. Who does all the work? You. (You take off the lid, you put the bottle in the sink, you turn on the water, you make sure the bottle is in the right place, you readjust the bottle to make sure you’re getting the result you want, you decide when it’s clear enough.) So who gets the glory if everything works out the way you want it to? You.

God says He will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 48:11), and that HE is the one who wills and works for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Ladies, if you want to know how to pray, a video like this featuring a guy who dares to speak for God outside of, and in conflict with, Scripture and doesn’t offer a single Bible verse to teach you about one of the most important aspects of the Christian life is not the way to go.

Don’t believe somebody just because what he says makes you feel good and he has a cool visual aid. Instead, if we want to know how to pray, we need to go straight to the horse’s mouth. That’s what the disciples did when they wanted to know how to pray (Luke 11:1-4), and here’s what Jesus told them in Matthew 6:7-13:

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

If that was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for us. Ya feel me?

Prayerfully,

Pop

Old Testament, Sunday School

Hezekiah: Who Are You Going to Believe? ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 8-3-14

August 3, 2014April 5, 2019 Michelle Lesley

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 31 ~ July 27- Aug. 2
Isaiah 44-66, 2 Kings 18:9-21:26, Psalm 46, 80, 135
Hezekiah: Who Are You Going to Believe?

2 Kings 18:1-8
This first part of the chapter sets the stage for everything we subsequently learn about and from Hezekiah. Even though he had a despicable, idolatrous example for a father (King Ahaz), Hezekiah somehow turned out to be a godly man and king. Could it have been the way his mother raised and taught him? Possibly. (The Zechariah mentioned in v. 2, is not the prophet in the book of the same name.) It could also have been one of the priests or Levites brought in to train him as part of his childhood education. Scripture doesn’t tell us specifically, but we should never discount the importance of a godly mother or teachers, and we should strive to take hold of every opportunity we have to impact children’s lives for Christ.

At any rate, Hezekiah was off to a good start. Notice that this passage talks much more about Hezekiah’s relationship with the Lord than his actions for the Lord. It says, “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (3), “he trusted in the Lord,” (5). He held fast to the Lord, did not depart from the Lord, and kept the Lord’s commandments (6). “And the Lord was with him.” (7)

His actions followed his faith: he tore down idol worship paraphernalia, rebelled against the king of Assyria, and struck down the Philistines.

9-12
This passage continues to set the stage by reminding us that during the first few years of Hezekiah’s reign in Judah, the king of Assyria captured Samaria (capital of Israel) and carried Israel away to Assyria because they had rebelled against God.

13-16 (2 Chronicles 20:12)
Sennacherib (king of Assyria after Shalmaneser, who had captured Israel) wasn’t wild about Hezkiah rebelling against him, so he attacked Judah and captured all the stronghold cities except Jerusalem (the capital), which was next on the hit list.

What was godly, faithful Hezekiah’s response. Did he pray? Seek out Isaiah or another prophet or priest for godly counsel? No. Here, Hezekiah showed us an example of what we are not to do. Before, we read that Hezekiah did what was right in God’s eyes. Here, he simply reacted to his circumstances in the way that was right in his own eyes, the way that was most expedient and practical. It was exactly what his father and others before him had done when they became vassals of Assyria or other kings. Instead of following in their footsteps, he would have done better to pray as his predecessor Jehoshaphat did:

“O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chron.)

What determines our response?
When we face an impossible situation like Hezekiah did, we have two options: we can let our circumstances dictate our response, or we can let God’s word dictate our response. Hezekiah didn’t consult God’s word. So, since he didn’t know what God would have him do in this situation, his only remaining option was to let circumstances dictate his response.

17- 37 (Isaiah 30:7, 10:5-6)
What happened? The 11 tons of silver and 1 ton of gold that Hezekiah sent Sennacherib, king of Assyria weren’t good enough for him. So Senaccherib sent his goon squad over to make Judah an offer it couldn’t refuse.

The Rabshakeh (commander) did his best to demoralize and talk Hezekiah’s men into surrendering. Notice that he didn’t really have to lie to them very much. Much of what he said was actually true:

Egypt was weak and would be of no help in fighting off Assyria (21,24). In fact, Isaiah had already told them this (Is. 30).

Even if Assyria herself supplied Judah with horses for battle, Judah was still too weak to defeat even the weakest of Assyria’s troops, so Egypt certainly wouldn’t be of any help. (23-24)

Whether the Rabshakeh knew it, or was just boasting and stumbled on the truth, Assyria was to be God’s arm of wrath against his people (25). Judah knew this because Isaiah had already told them (Is. 10)

From man’s point of view, and in his own flesh, Hezekiah would lose this battle and the people would be carried off to captivity in Assyria (29-32).

The false gods of the other nations had not been able to save them from Assyria (33-35).

But the truth was mixed with falsehood and fallible human wisdom:

The Rabshakeh didn’t know that the places of idol worship that Hezekiah had torn down were to false gods, not the true God. (22)

God might have been against Judah, but he wasn’t with Assyria (25).

The Lord is trustworthy and able to defeat any enemy (30, 32b, 35).

Hezekiah’s officials delivered the message to him. Would he believe the Rabshakeh? Would he react the way he did last time?

19:1-7
Hooray for Hezekiah! This time, he responded the right way. The first thing he did was to grieve before God and head to His house to pray (1). The second thing he did was to send his staff to Isaiah to seek God’s word. (2-4).

And what was God’s word? Do not be afraid; this dude’s going down. (6-7)

8-13
The Rabshakeh left and went back home only to find Sennacherib fighting with one kingdom and under impending attack from another. So, just to let Hezekiah know he hadn’t forgotten about him, Sennacherib sent another threatening message: “I may be busy right now, but I’m still coming for you. And don’t forget– none of the gods of these other countries saved them and your God isn’t going to save you.”

Hezekiah had a choice to make. Who was he going to believe, the Rabshakeh or God? The Rabshakeh had said a lot of stuff that was true. He even said that God had sent him. It would have made sense to listen to him, do what he said, and surrender.

14-34
But that’s not what Hezekiah did. He again turned to the Lord in prayer. While he was praying, Isaiah heard from the Lord, who reiterated and expanded on his earlier promise: God would defeat Assyria in this battle, and would even give Hezekiah a sign that confirmed His word.

35-37 Even though it seemed reasonable to believe Sennacherib, and even though he had talked about God sending him, Hezekiah chose to believe God’s word. He believed God’s word even though the situation seemed impossible. Even though he was scared. Even though it didn’t make sense.

Who are we going to believe?
God calls us to do the same thing as believers. We encounter a lot of situations these days in which people say things that seem to be reasonable, might even be true, and tell us they come to us in the name of the Lord:

“Pastors” and “theologians” who tell us that evolution or homosexuality or abortion or female pastors/teachers (of men) are OK with God, or that the Bible isn’t infallible.

Christians who tell us about trips to Heaven they have taken or “God told me ______” even when it conflicts with Scripture.

But no matter how strong the evidence might appear to be or how convincing the argument, it all comes down to this question:

Who are we going to believe?

Are we going to believe fallible, sinful human beings, or are we going to believe God’s word, even when it’s hard, even when we don’t fully understand it?

For Christians, SCRIPTURE ALONE is our final authority for what to believe, think, and do. It doesn’t matter what we (or someone else) have personally experienced, what our feelings or opinions are, what science says, what conventional wisdom says, or what political correctness says. God’s word stands, and let the chips fall where they may.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30

Uncategorized

Blog Swap

July 30, 2014March 21, 2015 Michelle Lesley

Got a blog? How would you like a little more exposure? How about a blog swap?

Sometimes blog hops and link parties can have so many contributors that your blog/article gets lost in the shuffle and you end up reaching fewer people than you’d planned on. With a blog swap, you get 100% of the audience’s focus.

It’s essentially an exchange of guest posts. You post one of my archived articles with a link back to my blog and I’ll post one of yours with a link back to your blog. It’s a win-win for reaching more people, and you don’t even have to write a brand new article.

Details:

1. I’d like for our articles to run concurrently, but if you have a conflict, no problem. You can run my article any time the week prior to the day your article is scheduled to run here. We’ll work out a mutually convenient date.

2. Send me up to five of your best articles to choose from. You’re welcome to choose any of my articles you like. (Just let me know if you need help/suggestions.) Fair warning-if you’re new, you should know that nearly all of my articles have to do with biblical topics, and all are written from a biblical perspective.

3. Any subject matter is fine as long as neither your article nor your blog in general violate Scripture or scriptural principles. Recipes, crafts, DIY, marriage, home schooling, singles, parenting, book/movie reviews, men’s interest, photo blogging, nutrition, exercise, etc., are all welcome.

4. If you submit articles of a theological or biblical nature, please also include a statement of faith. (It’s fine to link to your denomination’s or church’s statement of faith on their web site and say, “I agree with this.” Click on my “Statement of Faith” tab above for an example.) I cannot publish articles/blogs that I find to be in contradiction to sound doctrine.

5. Got friends with blogs? Please share this around!

Think you’d be interested in doing a blog swap with me? E-mail me at MichelleLesley1@yahoo.com with your name, links to up to 5 articles, a brief description of your blog, and your statement of faith (if applicable).

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Idolatry, Old Testament, Sunday School

An Overview of Hosea ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 7-27-14

July 27, 2014April 5, 2019 Michelle Lesley

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 30 ~ July 20-26
Hosea, Isaiah 28-43, Psalm 76
An Overview of Hosea

Hosea 1
Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. God used his family life as a picture of what he was prophesying. Hosea married a woman, Gomer, who would later prove unfaithful to him. God also had Hosea give his children names that reflected God’s message to Israel: Jezreel, No Mercy, and Not My People. But the real story of the book of Hosea is not Hosea or his family, but the love, reluctant wrath, and forgiveness of God towards His unfaithful people.

2:8
Everything Israel gave away -as sacrifices to idols, as tribute to foreign potentates, as bribes for foreign armies to come to her aid- everything had been given to her by God.

4:17
When sinners persist in their sin long enough, God finally gives them over to what they want. (Rom. 1:18ff). Often sinners think the harshest thing God could do would be to try to stop them from participating in the sin that they love, but His wrath is most poured out when He gives them exactly what they want.

5:6, 15; 7:13-14
Seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6). God was calling Israel to seek Him before He gave them over to a hard heart and a reprobate mind. The Lord is always found by those with a soft heart whose desire is to repent and love Him, but He turns a deaf ear to those who continue in rebellion until it starts raining, only to beat on the door of the ark because they don’t want to die in the flood.

God is not interested in the worldly sorrow that is only grieved over the consequences of sin. That soul still has its eyes firmly fixed on self and how self is affected. The truly repentant heart has her eyes fixed on God and how her sin affects Him.

6:4,6
God doesn’t desire empty rituals, lip service, or going through the motions. He wants worship from the heart.

8:2, 5-6
God will not allow syncretism (the melding of unbiblical worship with biblical worship). He requires, not that He be first in our affections, but that He be ONLY in our affections.
It did no good for Israel to claim that she knew the Lord (2) because she was a) worshiping other gods besides the Lord, b) calling an idol (the golden calves) “God,” and c) not worshiping God in the way He had commanded. None of these were acceptable in God’s sight then, and because He is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), it is still not acceptable to Him today.

That’s why false teachers are so dangerous. People like Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, and TD Jakes may not be fashioning golden calves and calling them “Jesus,” but they are fashioning false gods with unbiblical words and ideas and calling them “Jesus.” This is what Matthew 7:21-23 is talking about when it says:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

9:1
Just as Gomer has betrayed and forsaken Hosea, Israel has betrayed the Lord. She has loved adultery and the fleeting pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) that go with it instead of the true and lasting treasure that comes from loyalty to the Lord (Revelation 11:18).

10:5-6
The golden calf Israel worshiped would be used to pay off Assyria in tribute. God is sovereign. He will ultimately destroy everything that is raised up against Him. Idols, ideas, individuals.

11:1-4
God is not a cruel taskmaster. He led and cared for Israel with “cords of kindness” and “bands of love” as a parent leads a toddler. They didn’t have to live in fear of Him if they were walking with Him. Not so with other gods. With other gods, they could never be certain where they stood. Had they offered enough? Pleased it enough? Would it bless them with fertility or rain for their crops?

With God, on the other hand, His love for Israel came first. It wasn’t a reaction to whether or not their actions pleased Him. His love for them was there even before they knew Him (1 John 4:15-19). It was because He loved them that He lovingly spelled out everything He wanted Israel to do in worship, in daily life, and in their hearts. He also went into great detail about the things they could expect from Him, and He kept His promises time and again. They didn’t have to wonder how He felt towards them or what He required of them or whether He would come through for them. They could know.

11:8-9
It grieved God to destroy Israel as he had destroyed Admah and Zeboiim with Sodom and Gomorrah. God is not a God who delights in executing His wrath, but, rather, does so with a broken heart and only as a last resort.

“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” Ezekiel 18:23

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

13:4-6
When Israel was in Egypt and in the wilderness where she had nothing to depend on but God, she was loyal to Him, but once prosperity came, she left Him, just as Gomer left Hosea for something she thought was better.

It is often only when people have no other choice but to turn to Christ that they do so, but when they don’t “need” anything, they turn away from Him. This is why Jesus said “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24).

By stripping away everything Israel had and sending her into exile, God was bringing Israel full circle to the neediness she had started out with in Egypt in order to bring her back to Himself.

14:1-9
God’s desire is, and always has been, for His people to repent and be reconciled to Him, and enjoy a loving, father-child relationship with Him. We see this in His post-Eden relationship with Adam and Eve, in His blessing of the earth after the Flood, in His bringing Israel out of Egypt, in bringing Israel out of exile, and in the most important way of all, in saving us out of our sin that we might be permanently reconciled to Him through the precious blood of Christ, to love Him and serve Him forever.

I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.

Abortion, Forgiveness, Relationships

Aborting People

July 24, 2014May 18, 2025 Michelle Lesley

Cut the negative people out of your life.

Don’t lift a finger for people who won’t lift a finger for you.

Don’t allow people in your life who don’t deserve to be there.

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see something like this on Facebook. Clearly, there are people who are violent that we need to stay away from for our own physical safety, and marital problems absolutely must be resolved, but those aren’t what this line of thinking seems to be addressing. It’s talking about the difficult people. We all have them in our lives. You’re probably thinking of some right now.

The constant complainer.

The drama queen.

The narcissist.

The annoyance.

The just plain unlovely.

Maybe it’s a family member, a neighbor, or a co-worker. Somebody who’s in your life for some reason, only you wish she weren’t.

The world’s advice: abort people. If they’re negative, if they don’t further your success, if they drain you, if they’re somehow undeserving of your time and attention. Just cut them out of your life. Abort them.

The world’s advice: abort people. If they’re negative, if they don’t further your success, if they drain you, if they’re somehow undeserving of your time and attention. Just cut them out of your life. Abort them.
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Christians are on the front lines of the battle against literal abortion. “Every life is precious,” we say, and that’s as it should be. But somehow, the world’s abortive mentality has crept into our thinking when it comes to the relationships we have with others. Babies are being killed because they’re inconvenient, they’ll hinder someone’s pursuit of success, or they have a disability, and we’re – rightly – grieved and outraged, but do we have any pangs of conscience when it comes to throwing away that inconvenient friend or that personality-handicapped family member? Is every life really precious?

Do we have any pangs of conscience when it comes to throwing away that inconvenient friend or that personality-handicapped family member? Is every life really precious?
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We serve a Savior who loved the unlovely. Took time for the inconvenient. Invested in the drains. He felt their loneliness and rejection and knew the pain of being scorned.

Because He was one of them.

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:2b-3

Jesus stopped along the roadside, not for those who would further His success, but for those who were needy. He called the awkward and personality impaired “brother.” He called a betrayer, “friend.” Even those who wielded the whip, embedded the thorns, and drove the nails didn’t hear, “Go to hell,” but, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Yes, there are people who are so difficult that we may have to love them from afar, taking time between each encounter with them to pray, recover, and forgive.

But we must remember who we were called to be.

I love, not because people deserve it, but because He first loved me.

I am forgiving because I have been forgiven much.

I am kind because God has been so kind to me.

I lay down my life for messy people because Christ laid down His life for the biggest mess of all- me.

Extend grace. Because in God’s eyes, every life is precious. Even yours.