“The strength of a man’s virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts” (Blaise Pascal). I believe that these words hold true for an individual and a nation. Governing is extraordinarily difficult in times of calm, but it must be overwhelming in times of great stress. It should not surprise us today to be reminded that the ruin of a great people and nation rarely...  Read More

On 17 June, 1812, some 208 years ago, the brig Caravan sailed into the harbor at Calcutta, four months after embarking from Salem, Massachusetts. Its safe arrival was remarkable, for war seemed to be everywhere, threatening its passage. Napoleon and his French army, menace to all of Europe, was suffering defeat at the hands of the Russians. South Americans were rising in force to follow Simon Boli...  Read More

The word “legacy” rises to the surface of discussions in politics, business, and even in families because people are concerned with leaving something beneficial behind when they pass off the scene. Such a heritage is meant to guide future generations in their decisions for the good. Paul makes an interesting “legacy” statement to Timothy in this power-packed section of his letter. Let’s examine it...  Read More

Humankind the world over longs for the day when justice will rain down and nourish all of the earth. The psalmist teaches what our Savior instructed his disciples to pray—your kingdom come! I imagine that you are like me and long for the day when God will restore order to the disorder around us. The Reformer, John Calvin once wrote, “It is therefore our bounden duty to beseech him to restore to or...  Read More

Christian joy enables us to display buoyancy despite wave after wave of overwhelming tribulation (1:12-26). Our “world” has been inundated with rolling tides of trials in 2020. We have experienced a major pandemic, 40+ million Americans out of work, numerous destructive storms, and massive rioting and property destruction. All of this has occurred in the first five months of the year! I would have...  Read More

[Originally published June 1, 2020] A long philosophical history has led our nation to attach theoretical moral rights, grounded in deity and nature’s laws, to actual statutes with the goal of securing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. How can it be that this most basic human right, a right to protect one’s own person, was violated before our eyes last week on a street in Minnea...  Read More

The Spirit-directed life flows from the choice to embrace it, then apply it. Henry Blackaby has said, “God speaks through a variety of means. In the present God primarily speaks by the Holy Spirit, through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church.” We have all of these means at our disposal, so none of us should believe that living in the Spirit is out of reach. Paul reminds us today that ...  Read More

More than a few rags-to-riches graduation videos have made social media news this year. I enjoy viewing the stories of young men and women who have overcome great hardship to accomplish academic milestones. I guess we can say that Bathsheba’s boy was featured in the Israelite Gazette! His success is well-chronicled in Kings. His predecessor Saul had overseen a loose confederacy of tribes, and his ...  Read More

It was twenty years ago this spring that I set off for England. I had the glorious gift of spending almost a year away in study. I lived sixteen miles northwest of Oxford, in the Cotswolds, in a small hamlet called Field Assarts. Tucked along a bend in the road, my rural crossroads had a beautiful parish church and a clutch of lovely, honey-colored stone houses, surrounded by verdant green fields,...  Read More

What if Paul were to hold a conference at your church and ask you about its “organic growth?” Let me explain. There has been a proliferation of “how to” sources throughout my four decades of ministry commenting on everything from growing in numbers in one location to transitioning a church from one size and place to mega-status across multiple sites. The Ashlock question is blunt: Are we expecting...  Read More

The court of public opinion is quite fickle! We will take a bird’s eye view today of one particular segment of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion where moral flip-flopping is evident (See 27:24-25). We will see how swiftly down a slippery slope a people may slide when the moral hillside is blanketed with injustice (26:4, 59, 65; 27:12-14, & 18, “out of envy that they had delivered him up”). All involved...  Read More

We all could use a miracle about now! People have begun counting the number of days that they have been under stay-at-home orders, recounting former care-free days by posting numerous pictures on social media from high school graduations to family vacations, and wondering openly whether this current plague will ever end! Have you ever wished for some bright ray of sunlight in an otherwise cloudy p...  Read More