Tag: Salvation

Faith, Gospel, Salvation, Throwback Thursday

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

Michelle Lesley

Originally Published July 21, 201210900047_932153883492213_7491827866857274193_o

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, Hell, Salvation, Sin, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday ~ Are you a Bin Laden?

Michelle Lesley

Originally published March 2, 2011bin laden

Osama Bin Laden is dead.  Across the globe, people are celebrating.  There’s a general sentiment, even among non-Christians, that he is in hell, because that’s what he deserves.

I’m guessing that, some of those people, if you had shared the Gospel with them two days ago, would have said they didn’t believe in hell.  Or that a loving God wouldn’t send people to hell.  Or that God just forgives everybody when they die, and everybody goes to heaven.

If you hold any of those beliefs, the law of non-contradiction requires that they be applied across the board to everybody.  In other words, you can’t say you don’t believe in hell and at the same time believe that Bin Laden is in hell.  If it doesn’t exist, he can’t be there.

So I’d like to pose two questions to people who hold the aforementioned beliefs:

1. If God decided not to send Bin Laden to hell, but rather allowed him into heaven, has justice been done?

2. Do you think it’s fair that you will have to spend your own eternity in heaven with Bin Laden?  And Hitler, and Nero, and Mussolini, and Caligula, and Jack the Ripper?

As broken and messed up as we are, even we humans demand that there be justice –punishment– for people who have committed such heinous crimes.  If God doesn’t punish these awful people, what does that make Him?  How could He be perfect in every way and let such people off scot free?

I can tell you how.  Because I used to be Bin Laden.  And Hitler, and all of those other people rolled into one.  Me.  A good little Sunday School girl.  Guilty.  James 2:10 tells us:

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

In God’s eyes, when I broke curfew to stay at Bible study just a little bit longer, I was as guilty as a serial murderer.  When I said, “Oh my G-d!” I was on par with a child molester.  When I refused to forgive someone, I might as well have flown one of those planes into the Twin Towers myself.  And I deserved the same punishment as all of those horrible people.  Hell.

God is perfect.  He’s perfectly holy and perfectly just.  And that’s why He can’t let any sin slide, no matter how small.  But He’s also perfectly loving and compassionate.  He knew none of us would measure up to his standard for us –perfection, no sin whatsoever– so He made a way for us to escape punishment, yet still serve justice: Jesus.

God Himself came here and lived out His perfection as a human being.  And when it was time, on the cross, He took the punishment for our crimes against God.  He got our sin and our punishment, and because of His death and resurrection, we can get His sinless perfection.

We can get it, but it’s not an automatic thing that just happens to everybody when they die.  As I said in a previous post, you can’t have it both ways.  If you decide to get married, you give up the single life.  If you decide to become a star athlete, you give up being a couch potato.  And when God enables you to turn from your sin to faith in Christ, He empowers you to give up a life of embracing sin, and, instead, embrace Christ and the new life He has for you.  Here.  Now.

Is Bin Laden in hell?  I can tell you with certainty that if he did not, in the last moments of his life, sorrowfully turn from his sin and bow his knee to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, yes, he is indeed in hell.

And there, but for the grace of God, go I.  And you.

New Testament, Sunday School

1 John: A Read-Through ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 12-28-14

Michelle Lesley

UPDATE to this post:
Due to sudden and unforeseen circumstances beyond my control, I will not be teaching/blogging the “Jacob” study after all. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

1 John

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 52 ~ Dec. 21-28
Hebrews, 2 Timothy, 2 Peter, Jude, 1, 2 & 3 John, Revelation 1-5
1 John

Wednesday will mark the end of our “Through the Bible in 2014” readings and lessons. It’s been a great study, and I hope you have learned from it and enjoyed it as much as I have. So, because next Sunday will be the first Sunday of the new year, on the 4th we will start a new curriculum.

For the next few months, we will be using my book, Jacob: Journaling the Journey, to study the life of Jacob in the book of Genesis. If you’re familiar with the book, you know that it is divided into 77 short lessons. It begins with Scripture, followed by expository teaching, followed by questions for the reader to consider as she journals what she has learned from the lesson. In class, I anticipate that we will cover about 2-3 lessons per week, using the quesions at the end of each lesson for discussion.

If you physically attend my Sunday school class, there is no need for you to purchase the book since we will be verbally covering nearly everything in it. However, you may purchase it if you’d like to study ahead. If you would like a copy but cannot afford one, let me know, and I’ll make sure you get one.

If you do not physically attend my class but like to follow my Sunday school lessons here on the blog, you will need to purchase a copy of the book (click on the “books” tab at the top of this page- the e-book version is on sale dirt cheap right now!), and study it on your own. Generally speaking, we will be following the “3 lessons per week” schedule found at the beginning of the book. I will not be posting the text of the lesson since it can be found in the book. Each week’s Sunday school lesson post will be more like an on line discussion/Q&A session for that week’s lessons from the book. I welcome your comments, questions, and input.

Today, we’re going to be reading through the book of 1 John, and pausing to discuss comments and questions from the class as they arise. We will start at chapter 1 and see how far we can get before the bell rings. It is chock full of good stuff, so I encourage you to read 1 John in its entirety when you are at leisure to read and savor it slowly.

One verse I want to make sure we get to is 5:13, because it is here that John explains to us his purpose in writing this epistle:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

First John is not written to lost people for the purpose of sharing the gospel with them. First John is written to Believers to assure them of their salvation and eternal life. We have all had moments when we wondered if we were really saved or not. The book of 1 John gives us a sort of measuring stick to compare our walk with Christ to. We will particularly see this in the first couple of chapters.

As you read through the book of 1 John, what jumps out at you? What questions arise as you read?
Comment below and let’s chat.

New Testament, Salvation, Suffering, Sunday School

3 Reasons to Rejoice ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 12-14-14

Michelle Lesley

Rejoice

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 50 ~ Dec. 7-13
Acts 20-26, Romans
3 Reasons to Rejoice

Background

Paul wrote the epistle of Romans to the church at Rome while he was still in Corinth, around A.D. 56. His main purpose in writing was to instruct the Roman believers in basic Christian doctrine, beliefs, and practices, since neither Paul nor the other apostles had yet been able to instruct them in person.

Rome was a dangerous place for Christians at that time. There was persecution of the sort that, today, we can only have nightmares about. But even in the midst of that horrific situation, those who were in Christ had good reasons for hope and rejoicing. Paul shares three of them in Romans 5:1-11 to comfort and encourage the Roman church.

Romans 5:1-11

Reason to Rejoice #1: Our Standing (1-2)

What is our standing before God before we’re saved? We stand guilty in our sin before God. There is no way out of that sin, and no way out of its eternal consequences. There is complete uncertainty about what will happen to us after we die. For the lost, there’s no hope that, no matter how bad things get in this life, God will set all things right in Heaven. Without Christ, the best we can say about our eternity is, “I guess,” “I hope,” or “Maybe.”

Verses 1-2 remind us that because we have been justified (legally exonerated of our crimes against God) by faith in Christ, our standing has been changed. Because of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin, we now stand before God as righteous, not as guilty. And because of that standing which we now experience dimly here on earth, we have the hope of one day standing before God in all of His glory– not ashamed and cowering before Him, but loved, welcomed, and accepted. We have that certain hope, and we rejoice in it.

Reason to Rejoice #2: Our Suffering (3-5, Hebrews 12:2)

Every one of us has suffered or will suffer. Even the richest, most powerful, most popular, most famous person you can think of suffers. In this life, the question is never, “Will I suffer?” but “Will I suffer with Christ or without Him?”

I have a friend who’s a physical therapist. Physical therapy can be excruciating, but one thing my friend helps her patients to focus on is that the pain they experience is not pointless. It is “pain with a purpose.” That pain means that one day that patient will be past the injury and able to walk better. There’s a reason for it. It’s the same way with suffering.

The reason God allows lost people to suffer is to cause them to cry out to Him for salvation. Paul explains, in verses 3-5, the reason God allows saved people to suffer: it grows and matures us in Christ.

We need endurance. Most of us have many years ahead of us to live for Christ. Coming through suffering builds the endurance we need to depend on God’s strength, keep on keeping on, and finish our lives out as faithful servants who refused to give up on following Christ, no matter how hard it got.

The Greek word translated “character” here means “proof.” When gold is refined in fire, all of the impurities burn away and what comes out is the proof of what was there all along: pure gold. When we endure passing through the fire of suffering, what comes out on the other side is the proof that the “pure gold” of Christ in us is what survives the flame. And the world desperately needs to see that proof -through our endurance of suffering- that Christ is their only hope. Not only that, but that very same proof that Christ carries us through suffering gives us hope that He will continue to carry us through suffering until He carries us Home. Just as Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Heb.) we endure suffering for the joy of what’s waiting on the other side– another hope to rejoice in.

Reason to Rejoice #3: Our Salvation (6-11)

There are so many reasons to rejoice in our salvation, but I’ll limit myself to the ones Paul outlines here.

6-8- We don’t have to clean ourselves up before coming to Christ. (Mark 2:17, Romans 3:10)
In fact, we can’t. It’s not possible. Jesus Himself said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (and, by the way, “None is righteous, no, not one;” so that’s all of us). Before we ever drew breath, before we ever thought about getting our lives in order before we could come to Him, while we were enjoying our sin and shaking our fists at God, that’s when Christ died for us. That’s why even the worst sinner can have the hope that Christ will save him, because God’s desire to save us doesn’t hinge on who we are or what we’ve done. It hinges on Him and His love for us in spite of our sin.

9– We no longer have to fear God’s wrath. (Romans 8:1)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

None. Zero. Zip. Unsaved people should rightly fear God’s wrath being poured out on them for their sin. That fear should drive them to run to the loving arms of the merciful Savior who stands ready to welcome and forgive them. But Believers can rejoice in the fact that Christ has already absorbed God’s wrath –all of it– towards us when He endured the cross.

10-11– We are reconciled to God.
Have you ever had a big fight with your husband, your sister, your best friend, or someone else you’re really close to? Think for just a moment about how you feel during the hours or days before you and that person make things right with each other. You feel separated from that person- disconnected -maybe like there’s a huge wall between you. You don’t feel bonded with that person. You don’t feel at peace. You wake up every day feeling like something is off kilter. But then think of the peace, and joy, and reconnection you feel when you and that person make up, forgive, and move ahead in your relationship.

That’s what it’s like to be reconciled (brought back and reunited with) to God through faith in Christ. We’re no longer separated from God. That disconnect is gone. We’re not enemies with Him anymore! We can rest in Him, enjoy Him, be at peace with Him, and be in harmony with Him. “God and sinners reconciled!” Rejoice!

When I first started putting this lesson together, I thought, “Hmm…Romans 5 is a great passage, but it isn’t very Christmasy.” But if you think about it, the rejoicing in Romans 5 is the very reason we rejoice in the birth of Christ. He was born so that, through Him, we could stand before God as righteous. He was born to shine the light of the gospel -and give us hope- through our suffering. He was born to reconcile man to God. Those are reasons to rejoice at Christmas and every other day!

Faith

Being Slaughtered by Terrorists Isn’t the Worst Thing that Can Happen to You

Michelle Lesley

Everybody seems to be walking around scared these days. I’m a little scared, myself. It’s understandable. There’s a lot of scary stuff happening. Boko Haram. Ebola. ISIS. The persecution of Christians abroad, and, increasingly, here at home.

Terrorism, suicide bombers, the seemingly daily acts of violence that take the lives of innocent bystanders– that all used to happen over there. Thousands of miles across the ocean. And all we had to do to make it go away was turn off the TV, click over to Farmville, or put down the paper. Problem solved. It was unfortunate, but didn’t really touch our lives in any meaningful way.

Until now.

Now we know that there are terrorists living among us right here in the United States, as well as those trying to infiltrate our country by stealthily crossing our borders. When will the next beheading or 9-11 take place on U.S. soil? Who will the next victim be? Will it be you? Will it be me? Will it be thousands of us in one fell swoop?

Any reasonable person would be afraid of that.

Don’t.

That’s what Jesus said. Just don’t.

We’ve got bigger fish to fry in the fear department. Even though it would be awful, the worst thing that could happen to someone is not being killed or even tortured by a terrorist. The worst thing that could happen is for someone to spend an eternity in Hell because she has rejected Christ (which should tell you something about how horrific Hell is).

If you have never turned from your sin and placed your faith in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection as payment for the penalty for your sin, how you’re going to die is the least of your worries compared to what’s going to happen to you after you die. That should scare the living daylights out of you.

If you have never turned from your sin and placed your faith in Christ, how you’re going to die is the least of your worries compared to what’s going to happen to you after you die.

The good news is, Christ offers to forgive you today. His goodness for your badness. His purity for your sinfulness. His grace for your gross. He will set you free from your sin so you’ll no longer fear standing before Him on the day of judgment.

Christ offers to forgive you today. His goodness for your badness. His purity for your sinfulness. His grace for your gross. He will set you free from your sin.

And, if you belong to Christ, you have nothing to fear in this life or the next. Take a look back at that verse. It says to “fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  But if you’re in Christ, you no longer have to be afraid of Him. And the first part of the verse says not to be afraid of people who can kill your body but not your soul. Nothing to fear now. Nothing to fear later.

So what’s left to fear? Nothing.

What must I do to be saved?