Tag: Women

Book

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

Michelle Lesley

MH900440274Wooohooo! Time for giveaway!

Since it’s time for Mother’s Day and Teacher Appreciation Day, I’ll be giving away TWO copies of Jacob in e-book format this Saturday, May 11. Keep it for yourself or give it away to your favorite mom or teacher.

Jacob is available for Kindle, Nook, and a variety of other electronic devices, including your computer, smart phone, and tablet. Don’t let not having an e-reader stop you from entering!

And just how do you enter? There are two ways, so you get two chances to win!

1. Leave a comment below telling me your E-MAIL ADDRESS and who would get your copy of Jacob if you win. Don’t forget the E-MAIL ADDRESS, or I won’t have a way to contact you if you win.

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2. Like me on Facebook and come play Family Feud with us on Friday, May 10.   The name of everyone who answers at least one question will be entered in the draw.

Invite your friends, too!

Godspeed! :0)

Book, Uncategorized

E-BOOK SUPER SALE!!!

Michelle Lesley

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All e-versions of “Jacob” are on sale! Get a Kindle or Nook copy for just 99 cents, or other e-version at CBD for just 79 cents! (Click the hyperlinks here, or click on the “Books” tab above.)

You can give “Jacob” as a GIFT, too! At these prices, you can get one for all the women on your list for Mother’s Day or Teacher Appreciation Day!

And don’t forget your women’s Bible study group! You don’t have to have an e-reader or tablet. “Jacob” can be downloaded to your smart phone, computer, or tablet, too. This is a much less expensive way (especially for small churches on a limited budget) to do a women’s Bible study than ordering a $15 workbook for everybody. It’s a great time to start thinking about a summer Bible study!

Order your copies today– this is a limited time offer!

Bible, Types and Shadows

Types and Shadows: Study Notes on Exodus 1-2

Michelle Lesley

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Do you know what types and shadows are? To put it simply, it’s when we take a look at an Old Testament character and notice things in his life that are similar to, and foreshadow, the life and ministry of Jesus. I really enjoy studying types and shadows. For me it’s like Twilight Zone meets a treasure hunt meets the Bible.

This morning I was studying the first two chapters of Exodus, and I noticed several instances of Moses foreshadowing the life of Jesus. I have a couple of friends who enjoy types and shadows, and I figured there might be a few more of you who get as geeked up about this stuff as we do, so I thought I’d share my study notes with y’all.

A few of caveats: these are just “off the top of my head” study notes, so think of this as a rough draft rather than a polished article. Also, I didn’t consult any commentaries or other resources, so I’m sure I missed a lot of things that others have picked up on. Finally, this pretty much covers only Exodus 1 and 2, which ends before the burning bush episode, before Moses even returns to Egypt, so there are tons of things in Moses’ later life that I haven’t covered. There are many more examples of types and shadows after chapter 2, I just haven’t gotten to them yet.

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Types and Shadows in Exodus 1-2

  • Moses and Jesus were both born under oppressive kings who feared a takeover by the Hebrews and ordered a mass infanticide of Hebrew baby boys.
  • Moses and Jesus were both “adopted” by a parent who raised them as their own children: Moses, by Pharaoh’s daughter; Jesus, by Joseph.
  • Moses left the glory of his throne and palace and his position of royalty to “become” one of his own people, whom he delivered out of bondage to slavery. Jesus left the glory of Heaven and emptied himself of His royal position as King to become one of His own people, whom He delivered out of bondage to sin.
  • Rejection of Moses’ and Jesus’ reign/authority by their own people:
    “Who made you a prince or a judge over us?” (Moses)
    “We do not want this man to reign over us.” (Jesus)
    “We have no king but Caesar.” (Jesus)
  • Moses and Jesus both sat down by a well (Ok, this is less type/shadow and more of a common thing for Israelite shepherds to do. Wells were communal gathering places for shepherds.) And speaking of shepherds…
  • Moses was a shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
  • Moses and Jesus both escaped from leaders who were trying to kill them.
  • Moses and Jesus were both “sojourners in a foreign land.” 
  • God heard Israel’s groaning and sent them a deliverer at just the right time: after 400 years. He sent Moses after 400 years of slavery and Jesus after 400 years of silence during the intertestamental period (between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament).
  • Both Jesus and Moses returned to their homelands after the kings who wanted to kill them had died. God called Moses back to Egypt. God called Jesus out from Egypt.

Well, what did I miss? What other types and shadows do you see in Exodus 1 and 2?

Abortion, Forgiveness, Sin

There Is Forgiveness

Michelle Lesley

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Today is the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.

As we look back somberly on the 50 million babies who have died, we mourn for them. We are angered at those in power who have deceived women and men into thinking an abortion carries no more weight than having a tooth extracted or a wart removed. We rail at our leaders to put an end to the legality of this daily mass slaughter. We vote our consciences. We stand our ground.

And we forget.

We forget that after every abortion that takes place, there is a woman

or a man

or both

who need forgiveness.

The Bible says:

…the Lord hates…hands that shed innocent blood,
Proverbs 6:16-17

and

You shall not murder.
Exodus 20:13

Abortion is a grievous sin against God. It is a dreadful thing for a woman to grasp that she has tortured her child to death. Or for a man, who was created to protect the weak, to realize that he has murdered his helpless son or daughter.

But they must sit with that for a moment of time until it fully soaks in.

Because unless we see the horror of our sin for what it truly is, we will never be able to see the beauty of the cross in its fullness.

And, oh, how beautiful it is. For your sin and for mine.

There is forgiveness for abortion.

Lay the body of your child and your broken and contrite heart at the feet of the bloodied and battered Redeemer.

He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes
we
are
healed.

Faith, Gospel, Ministry, Women

It’s OK To Be Ordinary

Michelle Lesley

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Titus 2:3-5

Love our husbands and children.

Be self-controlled, pure, and kind.

Work at home.

Be submissive to our own husbands.

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In other words: ordinary. 

I didn’t see anything in there about changing the world or living out great big enormous dreams, did you? I think, often, as 21st century Christian women, the evangelical culture can make us feel like we are failures if we don’t have some sort of huge ministry or preach the gospel on the street corner every day. In Titus’ day that sort of thing would have been unbecoming for women. In our culture, women have more opportunities to be involved in various ministries than back then, but we have to remember that God calls us to faithfully serve Him in whatever life circumstances He has put us in. And He has not called the vast majority of us to be ministry superstars or Christian celebrities.

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He has called most of us to be ordinary.

Staying home and pouring the gospel into our families or being a gospel influence to others at work or teaching Sunday school or sharing the gospel through volunteer work, and so on, though it may not amount to much in the world’s eyes, is success and faithfulness in God’s eyes. And that’s all that matters.

You’re not failing God if you’re ordinary.