Tag: Discernment

Podcast Appearances

Echo Zoe Radio Guest Appearance: Potpourri

Michelle Lesley

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I recently, once again had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with my friend Andy Olson as his guest on the Echo Zoe Radio podcast.

Click here to listen in

or watch the video!

Andy and I had a great time talking about all kinds of things from social justice to complementarianism, discernment ministries, leggings, and more!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and follow Echo Zoe on Facebook and Twitter!

Got a podcast of your own or have a podcasting friend who needs a guest? Click the “Speaking Engagements” tab at the top of this page, drop me an e-mail, and let’s chat!

Uncategorized

The Word on Wednesdays

Michelle Lesley

 

I’m baaaaaack! :0) Lord willing and the creek don’t rise (and all the laundry gets done), this will be our last “re-run” Bible study for a while. Next week, I’ll announce our new regular weekly study and title pic contest. So if you were wanting to get finished up with anything you’re working on, you’ve still got a couple of weeks before lesson 1 of the new study.

Also, for those who have messaged me to let me know about all the broken links on previous Bible studies, thank you for reminding me! The Bible studies are the first things I’m going to fix links on. (Until I’m able to get to all of them, if you click on a broken link, just go up to your browser bar and delete the word “books” from the site address (so that it says MichelleLesley.com instead of MichelleLesleyBooks.com) it’ll take you right where you need to go.) So far, I’ve fixed The Women of Genesis, and everything in Imperishable Beauty looks like it’s working. I’ll get the others taken care of as soon as I can.

Here’s today’s “re-run”:

Wednesday’s Word

Wednesday is Bible study day here on the blog. In my Wednesday’s Word study, you’ll find miscellaneous, one lesson Bible studies from each book of the Bible. One chapter of Scripture followed by study questions. This sampler series demonstrates that there’s nothing to be afraid of when approaching those “lesser known” books and that every book of the Bible is valuable and worth studying.

Wednesday’s Word ~ 2 John

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The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love. Keep reading…

Share Your Testimony

Testimony Tuesday: Stories from Several Sisters 4

Michelle Lesley

On today’s Testimony Tuesday,
several sisters in Christ share their stories.

Gaylin’s Story

THANK YOU! For #6…“Extra-biblical revelation sets up a class system within Christianity.” I found my way to this site due to this exact issue! A friend shared a link on Facebook to some guy who regularly has dreams and “hears” from God…I thought, “Why him and not ME?!” My heart was breaking and I was SO sad!! Yet deep down, I knew something was off; it didn’t sit right. You, my friend, are a balm to a bruised heart, using the Word as a healing salve. Reminding me to let go of the emotional kick in the gut the devil aims at me and keep my eyes on HIM.

Louise’s Story

At one time, I was a follower of Joyce Meyer and other false teachers. I had her teaching tapes and would listen to them over and over but never read the Bible to make sure her words were lining up with it. I was the church secretary (an Assemblies of God church) and one morning on the way to work I tuned in to hear R.C. Sproul teaching on the Holiness of God, something I had never heard of. I pulled into the parking lot and sat to listen until he finished. That was the beginning of me coming out of the A/G churches, eventually quitting my job, and looking for another church. It took a while, but after a year I was introduced to the church I’ve been in for over 15 years where the Bible is taught verse by verse and reading the Bible is highly stressed. I now listen to John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, and a local pastor who correctly interprets God’s Holy Word. I have read the Bible from cover to cover and I thank God for leading me out as He did.

Dolores’ Story

I was one of those women who followed particularly Joyce Myer, Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince, etc. One reason being I only had my TV as my resource. Since receiving the gift of a “tablet” my world has opened up to YouTube, Google, etc. I prayed for discernment due to the fact I’m the only practicing Christian in my family. I repented to my children/grandchildren that I was wrong to have followed false teachers. I wanted to learn so much, and as I said with limited resources. They respect my faith and will often still discuss why and what I believe. I have spent many hours listening to programs like “Wretched” which is helping me to discern more carefully, including in the church I’m currently attending. I don’t know where this will lead me, but I do know with God’s guidance and people He has given the gift of discernment to also guide me His will will be done. Thank you. I turn 80 this year – never too late.

Kim’s Story

[This was] my testimony until I was 33 years old and surrendered my life and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour! Deceived for years but God opened my eyes by reading 1 John ….describing pretty succinctly what your life will look like if you truly know Him. He gave me the gift of faith unto salvation and revealed Himself so very clearly to me in His word.

Alma’s Story

Here’s a wonderful story of God’s faithfulness in steering the ladies ministry at my church out of doctrinally weak teachers. I joined my daughter’s Southern Baptist Church about 10 months ago to be able to worship with her and my 3 grandchildren. I met with the pastor a few times and we had wonderful conversations about Reformed theology and the church’s long history.

Since I had developed somewhat of a rapport with him I felt comfortable going to him when I found out the ladies ministry leader had chosen, yet again, a not so doctrinally sound study. Last fall we did a study by a popular Christian women’s author which I faithfully attended and early on realized was not what I needed or wanted in a Bible study. This teacher likes to share personal stories of her life in each of her weekly video lessons and it soon became burdensome and kind of annoying (I don’t have much patience when it comes to studying the Word). Before that study were several studies by other problematic authors, so the church has had a history of fluffy studies.

In late December of last year the announcement was made that we would be doing yet another popular study by a false teacher. I was disappointed to say the least. I prayed a lot about how to approach my pastor about this because the woman in charge of selecting our studies is a friend and fellow Sunday School attendee.

Since I’m so new to the church I decided to find out who was in charge of overseeing the ladies ministry. I assumed it was a deacon but soon found out that wasn’t the case. The head of the deacons told me it was our discipleship minister. So I contacted him and he confirmed that he oversees the men’s and ladies’ ministry and when I asked if he oversees the Bible study selection he said that’s left up to the ladies’ ministry leader. So I decided it was time to talk to my pastor.

I did my due diligence and researched the problems and concerns about the author of the upcoming study and sent him links to your critique and also pastors who have written about her to warn the women in their churches.

One of the comments my pastor made in his defense was he assumed if a teacher is promoted by LifeWay, they must be good.

I was surprised he didn’t know about LifeWay and all the [doctrinally unsound] authors and books they have on their shelves. I also shared with him the problems and concerns with other studies the church has done in the past. He listened, reviewed the links I sent him and decided he needed to call a meeting with the discipleship minister and ladies’ ministry leader to discuss this matter. That meeting hasn’t happened yet (he promised it would be soon) but I’m praying for all to come to the right decision going forward. I give all glory to God for giving my pastor eyes to see and ears to hear.

Ladies, God is still at work in the hearts and lives of His people, including yours! Would you like to share a testimony of how God saved you, how He has blessed you, convicted you, taught you something from His Word, brought you out from under false doctrine, placed you in a good church or done something otherwise awesome in your life? Private/direct message me on social media, e-mail me (MichelleLesley1@yahoo.com), or comment below. Your testimony can be as brief as a few sentences or as long as 1500 words. Let’s encourage one another with God’s work in our lives!

Bible Study, Biblical Resources, Favorite Finds

Favorite Finds ~ February 19, 2019

Michelle Lesley

Here are a few of my favorite recent online finds…

I’ve recommended my friend Kesha’s ministry, Bible Thinking Woman,to you in the past. Now Kesha has put together another resource I think will be very helpful to you. It’s a Facebook support group for sexually abused women. Kesha says, “As a victim of sexual abuse, I know all too well the damage and destruction the trauma of abuse has. Yet, I also know the healing, freedom, and victory that we have in Jesus Christ. If you’re a Christian woman who wants help, prayer, guidance, encouragement, and a listening ear, please consider joining our private Facebook group, Support for Sexually Abused Christian Women. Even if you’ve never been abused, personally, I would encourage you to reach out to Kesha if you’re helping a friend or loved one through the journey of healing.

 

Need recommendations for a good concordance? A systematic theology? A set of commentaries? The Master’s University has you covered. Check out this extensive listing of biblical reference works. You probably won’t need all of these books, and the ones you do need you might be able to obtain less expensively by purchasing them via e-book, or checking your local public, church, or seminary library (your pastor might even be willing to lend out his copy of the volume you’re looking for).

 

Let’s go to the movies! I’ve heard about two movies recently that I’m really interested in seeing. Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy will be in select theaters March 14, 16, and 19. It’s a documentary on Moses as author of the Pentateuch. I saw the first movie in the Patterns of Evidence series – Exodus (you can rent it on Amazon Prime) – and it was phenomenal. I’m hoping Moses will be as well.

Roe v. Wade is a secular movie (so it’s probably going to have profanity and other sinful content in it – don’t go see it if those things violate your conscience) on the history of the original 1973 Supreme Court decision. If you can wade (pun intended – I like puns. I always intend them.) through the left-leaning worldview of this WaPo article, you’ll find that Roe v. Wade boasts a cast made up of “a veritable who’s who of conservative Hollywood” and other info. about the film.

Just a reminder – as of today, I haven’t seen either of these films, so I can’t vouch for their contents. I’m just saying I’m interested in seeing them and I thought you might be, too.

 

Need some help memorizing Scripture? David Mathis offers us 5 Tips for Bible Memorization that are sure to come in handy.

 

 

People are always asking me about Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). Is there anything good out there? Which songs or bands should be avoided? To be honest, CCM, even the doctrinally sound stuff, is not a style of music I enjoy. I don’t listen to it, so I’m almost completely ignorant of what’s out there, as I explained in my article, False Doctrine in Contemporary Christian Music. So, I’m glad to have another resource to recommend to you. Reformed Fellowship Church just kicked off their Christian Music Review on YouTube. Here’s their first installment:

Discernment

The Mailbag: Do You Recommend Angie Smith (“Seamless”)?

Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against false teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

I get lots of questions about particular authors, pastors, and Bible teachers, and whether or not I recommend them. Some of the best known can be found above at my Popular False Teachers tab.

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, or author, he or she has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

Just to be clear, “not recommended” is a spectrum. On one end of this spectrum are people like Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth and Kay Arthur. These are people I would not label as false teachers because their doctrine is generally sound, but because of some red flags I’m seeing with them, you won’t find me proactively endorsing them or suggesting them as a good resource, either. There are better people you could be listening to. On the other end of the spectrum are people like Joyce Meyer and Rachel Held Evans- complete heretics whose teachings, if believed, might lead you to an eternity in Hell. Most of the teachers I review fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum (leaning toward the latter).

 

Angie Smith– Not recommended. Wife of Todd Smith of the Christian music group, Selah, Angie started out as a blogger, then blossomed into a Christian author and speaker. Her best known book to date is a women’s study: Seamless: Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story. 

While all of Angie’s currently scheduled speaking engagements appear to be for women’s events, she has preached at least one Sunday morning sermon (to a congregation of men and women)- at Cross Point Church.

Angie is on the leadership team of Jennie Allen’s IF:Gathering conference (along with false teachers Jen Hatmaker, Ann Voskamp, Rebekah Lyons, Bianca Olthoff, and Christine Caine), has been a featured speaker at IF several times, and is scheduled to speak again at IF:Gathering 2019. Angie’s first speaking engagement of 2019 is at a Methodist “church” at which nearly all the ministerial staff are women, including the senior and associate “pastors”. She’s speaking at three Women of Joy conferences alongside false teachers Sheila Walsh and Lisa Harper. Angie partnered with Lysa TerKeurst to offer an online version of her study, Seamless, through the Proverbs 31 website. Angie partnered with Christine Caine for the Women of Faith Conference, and has appeared on Priscilla Shirer’s The Chat.

It’s humorously played up, but Angie’s devotion to Beth Moore is a bit over the top. She calls herself “a little bit of a crazy stalker fan supporter of Beth Moore” and says her “favorite Bible teachers are Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer,” adding, “I’m pretty sure they will both have special chairs very near to Jesus in heaven,” and “I have a little area of my house devoted to Beth Moore. Okay, that’s a lie too, but if it wasn’t idol worship, I probably would. At least a little candle or something? framed pictures? A life-sized cardboard cutout? Such a delicate balance between admiration and a restraining order…”

Space doesn’t permit me to list all the times Angie has partnered with false teachers nor all the false teachers she has partnered with. As I’ve previously mentioned, not only does surrounding yourself with false teachers influence your doctrine, it is impossible to be endorsed by so many false teachers unless your doctrine is acceptable to them, and they do not put up with sound doctrine.