Jesus the Man

Posted on December 24, 2022 by Mark Ashley

Being human is wonderful. I’d rather be me than be my dog. But being human is hard. What part of being human do you most dislike?
– Living under someone else’s authority?
– Getting tired?
– Being hungry?
– Having conflict with people you care about?
– Feeling deep sorrow?
– Suffering physical pain?
– Facing sinful temptations?
– Having to grow up and do adult things?
– Being treated unfairly by people and systems?
– Not knowing things?
– Being all alone?
– Facing death?

Jesus experienced all of these human things. While he was one hundred percent God, he was wrapped up in one hundred percent humanity. Jesus did not take on just the delightful parts of being human, but all of it–the good, bad, and ugly. But he did it perfectly, with grace and truth (John 1:14). He showed us what being human can be. Through his perfect life, substitutionary death, victorious resurrection, and glorious ascension, Jesus provides both an example for what we humans should be like in attitude, word, and deed, along with the power to actually do it. In his complete humanity he redeems our humanity completely.

It is tempting to think that Jesus was not fully human because he could not sin, and that because he could not sin he doesn’t really understand our battles with temptation. However, being sinful is not what defines being human. Adam became human when God fashioned him and breathed life into him, making him in God’s own image. Adam did not become more human when he disobeyed God. If anything, he became less than what he was created to be.

In his humanity, Jesus showed us mortals how to live with purpose and die with dignity. He showed us how to laugh and weep. He showed us how to make the things of God the most important things. He showed us how to be what we were created to be. But the one thing we do as humans that Jesus didn’t do, the one thing that is universally human but not the essence of our humanity, which is sin, he did not do and thus became the rescue for humanity.

In Jesus, all the fullness of God dwells in a human body. As a human, he was tempted like we are, but unlike us, he never gave in. Not once. So, we can come to him, and in him the beauty of our humanity can be restored.

As you celebrate the coming of God in human flesh, welcome him into every part of your celebration. “O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!”

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Yes, Jesus Loves Me

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Mark Ashley

Mark's blog post (300 × 300 px)One of the first confessions of faith I learned as a child was this simple lyric: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Where the Bible tells me so is in the witness of the Apostle John who knew Jesus loved him because Jesus told him so. This is clearly expressed in John’s writings.

The Apostle John was loved by Jesus. So were his companions in the band of Jesus’s Twelve disciples (John 13:1; 15:9, 12). But John is the one who specifically made mention of it (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20).

As John wrote, no doubt he was recalling things Jesus said. He was envisioning things Jesus did. He was remembering Jesus’s gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. The scene of Jesus’s crucifixion was seared into his mind, and the joy of Jesus’s resurrection still enthralled him. In all these memories, John could think of nothing more amazing than that Jesus, the Son of God, loved him. When John described himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” he was not being arrogant; he was expressing his indebtedness to grace.

Paul, another Apostle, describes the influence of Jesus’s love this way, “The love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). It is not an abstract idea in our minds but an active force exercising control in our lives. On another occasion Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). In other words, the essence of the Christian life is working out the love of Jesus in our daily experiences. Our words, actions, decisions, and reactions demonstrate what it means to be loved by Jesus. As John makes clear in his own life, to be a Christian it to be transformed by the love of Jesus Christ.

John most likely wrote his Gospel as an old man with more of his life behind him than ahead of him. He possessed a perspective that the passage of time and the accumulation of experience provide. Of all the descriptions that fit John – significant things like his ethnicity, family, occupation, education, personality, and ministry experiences and accomplishments – the one that most shaped him was that Jesus loved him.

Identity is a critical issue for us humans because who we see ourselves to be shapes how we live our lives. For some, it is their ethnicity or family. Others are defined by their careers and accomplishments. The control that identity maintains in our lives is why we must be so careful about who or what influences that identity. In answer to the question, “Who am I?” John replies, “I am loved by Jesus.”

No doubt it is desirable to be loved by others. But there is also no doubt that if you are loved by Jesus, you are loved enough. Yes, Jesus loves me. And he loves you, too.

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A Christmas Crisis

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Mark Ashley

It was a personal crisis he could never have imagined. Joseph is taken completely by surprise when he learns that Mary, his future wife, is pregnant. Joseph knew he was not the father. Mary had told him of the angel who told her the news. But Joseph still couldn’t believe what she was telling him.

The pain of betrayal and humiliation ran deep. Joseph knew the consequences of marital infidelity were severe under the Law, with the most severe being execution. It was his right to exact those consequences, especially if he wanted to clear his own name. But Joseph, choosing to avoid public shame, chose to quietly divorce Mary instead.

In the crisis, God shows up

In the midst of the confusion and pain, God is present. When Joseph’s marriage plans are crashing and burning, God says, “I am here.” As Joseph sleeps, God dispatches an angel with a message. The angel greets Joseph not by his vocation, a carpenter. Not by his location, a Galilean.  He is greeted by his royal lineage-a son of David. God knows who Joseph is and what role he will have in God’s divine plan.

The angel instructs Joseph to embrace his role as Mary’s husband, for she has not been unfaithful. She has indeed conceived this divine child by the power of the Holy Spirit. This child who will be called Jesus, the Savior of the world.

In the confusion, Joseph obeys God

Joseph’s response to the angel’s instruction is immediate. He abandons his plan to divorce Mary and instead takes her to be his wife. When this divine child is born, Joseph names him Jesus, assuming full legal responsibility for him. In doing so, Joseph bore the reproach that had fallen on Mary by those who believed her to be unfaithful. Joseph yielded his personal plans, his reputation and his rights in his decision to obey God.

Where do you find yourself this Christmas season? Like Joseph, are you in the middle of a crisis that has left you confused and heartbroken? If so, God knows and cares. He wants to help you.

Look for God – He is there for you.

Are you, like Joseph, in the middle of confusion, unsure of what to do next? Have your plans fallen apart and you have nowhere to turn? God has a plan and He wants you to know His plan.

Listen to God-He will direct you.

When God’s plan and your plan don’t align, trust that God’s plan is best.

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Back to Work

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Mark Ashley

It is no secret that businesses in our communities and across the United States are on a desperate search to hire workers. Incentives to go back to work continue to increase, with sign-on bonuses and even pet insurance being offered to lure in new employees.

Both speculation and research abound as to why people are not returning to the workforce in the continuing covid-impacted environment. “The Great Resignation,” as it has been called, may simply be a bump in the road on this unprecedented pandemic journey. Or it may be a cosmic shift in how people view work and what they are willing to sacrifice for their job or career. Either way, the potential exists for individuals to move away from habits of diligent productivity and move toward a lifestyle of idleness.

The term “idleness” does not refer only to the condition of sitting around doing nothing. It is not hard to find agreement that a frenzied work pace is not good for anyone and contradicts the biblical commands to observe a sabbath, a rest. However, idleness goes beyond simply taking an afternoon off to rest. Idleness, as used by the apostle Paul, refers to disorderliness and being busy doing something other than what you are supposed to be doing – hence, the term “busybodies,” found in 2 Thessalonians 3:11. They were busy doing something, but it was not their work. They had time on their hands to meddle in things that weren’t their business. Time to get involved in sinful behaviors or bad relationships. Time to waste being destructive rather than constructive. The warning against idleness is a reminder that when you stop doing what you should be doing it’s not long before you start doing what you shouldn’t be doing.

Paul gives a glimpse into his own work habits. As an itinerate preacher, he did not have a steady source of income. However, he was a skilled leather craftsman and made it his practice to set up shop in the local marketplace when he arrived in a town to preach. He would earn wages that provided for his shelter and food. He did not expect others to take care of his every need, though he had a right to do so. Instead, he provided an example for others to follow to avoid the dangerous trap of idleness.

It is important to note that Paul does not speak harshly of those who cannot work, those who cannot provide for their own needs but rely on the generosity of others for sustenance. The church had a plan in place to provide for orphans, widows, and those unable to help themselves. Paul’s criticism is directed toward those who have the ability to provide for their needs but choose to be idle, a choice that leads to trouble.

But Paul’s discourse on idleness circles back to a place of hope, a place of grace. The ultimate goal of this rebuke is not one of excommunication, as if chasing away an enemy. Rather, the goal is one of restoration, as if bringing a disobedient child back to the family after having a time-out in his room. While it is never okay to disobey God, His grace is always ready to help us no matter what our situation.

* If you do not have a relationship with God, that relationship will begin with His grace. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

* If you are in a relationship with God but struggling to obey His commands, He will answer your prayer for help with His grace. (Hebrews 4:16)

* If you are a follower of God who is weary in well doing, God promises that His grace will be sufficient to keep you “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  (I Corinthians 15:58)

Grace will meet you where you are but it won’t leave you where you are.

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Staying True in Persecution

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Mark Ashley

Yesterday was the annual Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. We participated in a special prayer service last evening at Northfield, lifting our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ before the Lord. Yet, because this kind of persecution is not happening right in front of us, we can find it difficult to relate to its realities, because it is not part of our daily lives. Christians do face opposition in America, but it is rare to hear of a believer in our nation being killed for following Jesus.

Yet what is at stake for Christians facing persecution today is the same as what is at stake for every believer who wants to follow Christ. We must resist the urge to place persecuted believers in an elite, unattainable category. These ordinary men and women who believe in Jesus have made important faith decisions. But anyone who wants to faithfully follow Jesus, whether living in Northfield or North Korea, must answer the same two critical yet personal questions.

Question #1: Do I believe the Gospel is true? I am not going to suffer loss or die for something I do not believe is true. Neither are you. So we need to examine this question closely. The believers in Thessalonica were commended by the Apostle Paul for their acceptance of God’s Word, “not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God” (I Thess. 2:13). They accepted the gospel as God’s revelation, not man’s intervention. And they honored the gospel by turning away from their idols to serve the living and true God (2 Thess. 3:1).  

If we do believe the Gospel, that we are sinners in need of God’s provision of salvation through Jesus Christ as our only way to Heaven, then we must also settle the matter of our obedience to the Gospel. Will I reject pressure to deny or be silent because I honor the gospel? Will I refuse to follow false teachings or altered and distorted versions of the gospel because I honor the gospel?  If you and I won’t speak up for Christ when our lives are easy and there is little to lose, we certainly will not stand up for the Gospel when faced with the hardship of persecution.

Question #2:  Do I believe the Gospel is worth my personal sacrifice?  If I believe the Gospel but I do not value the Gospel, then I will not be willing to count the cost for the sake of the Gospel. This question causes us to examine what we truly value in life. The believers in Thessalonica were encouraged by the Apostle Paul when he said “do not be moved by your afflictions because you know that we are destined to this” (I Thess. 3:3). Persecution is part of God’s plan. We must accept this truth. Persecution has been woven throughout the tapestry of the Church’s story from its beginning and will continue to be there until its end.

If we believe that persecution is part of God’s plan, then we must also settle the matter of our willingness to believe that God will meet our needs even if we lose everything because of persecution. One thing that gives persecution power is the fear it generates. Persecution threatens to take away from us what we value most: the closeness of family, the comforts of home, the security of a job, the blessings of freedom. Maybe even life itself. Are we willing to lose these things for the sake of Christ?

Believers around the world-in places like Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, and more-face the reality of these devastating losses. Don’t think for a moment this is easy for them or that they have no fear. They do have fears. It’s just that they have settled this question and have declared that the gospel is worth their personal sacrifice, believing God will sustain them even if they lose everything.

Kyle Idleman, in his book Not a Fan, makes this statement: There is no comfortable way to carry a cross. So as we remember and pray for our fellow believers around the world who are facing persecution, let us also reaffirm our belief in the true Gospel and our willingness to make personal sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel if we are asked to do so.  This call of Jesus requires just such a response:

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)

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