Jesus – Page 31 – Michelle Lesley

Risque Business: Or, How an Adult Product Company Provided Some Very Interesting Content for my Blog

July 21, 2012February 17, 2015 Michelle Lesley

I received a hilarious e-mail today. Was it a video of a cute and bumbling puppy? No. A clever joke or anecdote? No. A funny political cartoon? No.

It was actually a piece of spam from an up and coming …shall we say… “adult” products company.

Normally, I would just roll my eyes that my spam filter didn’t catch it and simultaneously click delete, but due to the fact that there were no pictures in it nor a subject line that would raise a red flag, I didn’t realize what it was until I started reading it.

This company wasn’t trying to sell me one of their products, they wanted me to review one of their products.

On my blog.

Which sent me into hysterical fits of laughter.

The company wants to provide me “with the opportunity to write interesting content for [my] site.” And, “If this project goes smoothly, there are probably other ways we could work together as well.”

Do tell.

No, on second thought, don’t.

Sorry, my friend, I’ve already got the most interesting content on the planet for my site.

I’ve got a God-man who came to earth, lived for three decades without ever committing a single sin in thought, word, or behavior, turned water into wine, healed blind eyes, deaf ears, crippled limbs, and broken minds, fed tens of thousands of people from one plate of food, and spoke the wisest words that have ever been uttered.

And to top that all off, He willingly let His own community butcher him. Why? For billions of rebellious people who hate Him. So that He might set them free and rescue them from an excruciating eternity.

Oh, and then there’s that bit about Him coming back to life.

My reply to the spam e-mail I received was this:

I’m just curious, have you actually read my blog? Take a look and let me know whether you still think it’s a fit for your product: (web address)

I truly hope my e-mail makes it through and is actually read by someone. Because it turns out that “Brian” at the adult product company was right. They did give me the opportunity to write interesting content for my site: the Gospel.

And, Brian, if you want to discuss this interesting content more, get in touch and we’ll chat. I believe you have my e-mail address :0) “If this project goes smoothly, there are probably other ways we could work together as well.”

Faith, Heaven, Salvation, Sin

Andy Walks with Me, Andy Talks with Me…

July 8, 2012July 5, 2015 Michelle Lesley

Actor Andy Griffith died last week, and in the wake of his passing, I’ve seen several cartoons like these, depicting him entering Heaven.

From everything I’ve heard and read, Andy Griffith was a nice guy. A loyal friend. A hard worker. A caring person. All qualities to be admired and emulated.

But is being a “nice guy” enough to get somebody into Heaven?

Answer: No. No, it’s not.

The truth is, the question itself is fundamentally flawed. From God’s perspective, there’s no such thing as a “nice guy.” We’re all born sinners in a state of rebellion against God, and things just get worse from there as far as our “niceness,” in God’s eyes, goes.

as it is written, “ THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
Romans 3:10

Many people hope that when they stand before God after death, the good things they’ve done in life will outweigh the bad things they’ve done.

That’s impossible.

The Bible tells us that even the good things we do are dirty.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Isaiah 64:6

A “filthy garment.” Ick.

My husband owns a home maintenance and lawn care business, and does almost all of the labor himself. Frequently, that heavy physical labor has to be done outside.

It’s July.

In south Louisiana.

A.k.a. “hell’s armpit.”

There are days when my husband comes home from work so sweaty, dirty, and nasty that he strips down before coming in the house and leaves those disgusting clothes on the back porch until they’re ready to be picked up and put straight into the washing machine.

I’m familiar with the concept of a “filthy garment.” And those are the good things we do.

Giving money to charity. Helping at a soup kitchen. Letting somebody else go first in line. Visiting your grandmother in the nursing home.

That’s the stinking pile of rags we’re going to lay before the King. And that dirty laundry isn’t going to buy a single day in Heaven.

Why are those things a stench in God’s nostrils? I mean, they’re all good, noble things to do, right?

Imagine that I went to Tiffany’s and bought you the most exquisite diamond ring they had. But, before I gave it to you, I took it home, went out into the back yard, and rolled it around in some dog poop. Would you reach out for it eagerly when I offered it to you? I doubt it. Nobody wants a poop covered ring, no matter how nice it is.

That’s how our good deeds look to God. They’re made so gross by our sin that they’re not appealing to Him, they’re repulsive.

Fact is, there was only one truly “nice guy” who ever lived. His name was Jesus, and He died on the cross and was resurrected so we could be made clean from all that sin.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

Being a “nice guy” won’t get you into Heaven. The only way is to confess and turn from your sins, accepting, through faith, that Christ paid the penalty for those sins for you.

We can’t assume that Andy Griffith is in Heaven just because he was a nice guy. But if he repented and placed his faith and Jesus, book it. He’s there. And if you do the same, Heaven will be your eternal home, too.

Whenever they “may bury” you.

Christmas, Faith

The “Merry Christmas” Melee

December 6, 2010December 20, 2021 Michelle Lesley

It’s that time of year again. Time for love and good cheer. Peace on earth. Joy to the world.

And war.

Over the last several years, there’s been a sometimes quiet and respectful, sometimes loud and obnoxious battle raging between conservative Christians and merchants over whether said merchants use the term “Merry Christmas” or the more general “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” in their advertising and in greeting customers at their stores.

I don’t know about you, but it’s driving me bananas.

Would I prefer for everybody to say “Merry Christmas”? Sure. But on my list of things to have an aneurysm about, it falls somewhere between my dentist telling me I should floss more and deciding where to get the dog a pedicure. I just really don’t care that much. And I’m wondering, in the grand scheme of things that should be pressing upon Christians’ hearts, should something this minor even register on the scale of issues that upset us?

What Do We Expect?

Speaking strictly numerically and statistically, genuine Christians– not just people who say they’re Christians and/or go to church, but people who have actually been regenerated by the blood of Christ –are a very small minority. Despite what you may hear to the contrary, the United States is not a Christian nation. It may have been founded on Biblically inspiried principles, but in practical societal terms today, this is a nation mostly made up of lost people.

This means that it’s a safe bet that the majority of the people at the helms of these corporations are lost. And guess what? Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and lost people gotta act like lost people (Romans 8:7). What this means is that their decision whether to use “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” has nothing to do with Jesus or respecting the “true meaning of Christmas”. Their decision is going to be based on what’s going to make the corporation the most money. If saying “Merry Christmas” will get more customers in the door, that’s what they’ll do. It doesn’t mean they’re honoring Christ, it mean’s they’re pandering to Christians.

When we exert pressure on these corporations to say “Merry Christmas”, what real change are we effecting? Are we not just creating more people who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13)? Are we not sending them the subtle message that external behavior, rather than a reborn spirit, is what counts? One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). One day. But that day is not today. We can’t force change in people’s hearts by coercing them into saying “Merry Christmas”. And, to God, a change of heart is the only thing that matters.

Where Should Our Passions Lie?

I used to belong to a Christian “social issues” organization. In many ways, it’s a great organization. I got frequent e-mails from them regarding which social issues various corporations were investing their profits in, where politicians stood on the issues, and lots of other helpful information and resources.

But every autumn they would begin their annual “Merry Christmas” campaign. They have buttons you can order that urge people to say “Merry Christmas”. They have leaflets and stickers and videos you can order for your church to promote saying “Merry Christmas”. They publish a “Naughty and Nice” list of merchants who use “Merry Christmas” (nice) or some other wording (naughty), so you’ll know which stores to shop and which to boycott.

And it made me stop and think– how many man hours go into that campaign every year? How much money does the organization invest in it? How much money do churches and individuals spend on their materials? Is investing that much time and money in promoting “Merry Christmas” good stewardship?

We have brothers and sisters all over this planet who would give anything to own a copy of the Bible. There are crisis pregnancy centers that operate on a shoestring trying to help women and their babies. There are missionaries who live in poverty in third world nations taking the Gospel to those who have never heard it. There are people starving. There are children who have been kidnapped by human traffickers.

And “Merry Christmas” is what we want to get all worked up about?

What’s more upsetting to us, the fact that someone says “Happy Holidays” or the fact that the person who said it might die and spend an eternity in hell? Where do our passions truly lie? Are we passionate about the same things God is passionate about?

This Christmas, can we just focus on what’s important? We have a God who loves every person so deeply and so intensely, and whose mercy and grace are so unfathomable, that He came here personally to redeem us.

And there are people all around us who don’t know that.

And they desperately need us to love them enough to tell them that in Jesus there’s hope. A way out of their sin. A way to get clean. A secure eternity. Peace.

God and sinners, reconciled. Oh, what a Merry Christmas!