Ashley Wesleyan Church

06/02/2026

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2)

What does "justified" mean?

We use it all the time, don't we? "I just couldn't justify the expense." "Oh, I can always justify eating chocolate!!" It's as if we think it's a synonym for rationalize - but it isn't.

When you see "justified" in the New Testament, it means "declared guiltless" or "acquitted."

Imagine your favorite courtroom drama where an innocent person is standing trial, accused of a crime. The lawyer does some awesome detective work, convinces the jury that he or she is innocent, and the defendant is declared not guilty as the true guilty party is arrested. Hooray!! Justice has been done!

Except that, again, that's not how it goes before God. For one thing, we ARE guilty - there are no innocent defendants in this courtroom. For another, there's no detective work that needs to be done. Instead, we must be found to have faith in God. If we do, Christ's death and resurrection justify us - acquit us of our guilt and permit us to have that peace with God.

That's what justification gives us. Not chocolate, not a new tech gadget, but PEACE. With God.

All of this happens when you trust in Christ as your Savior and make Him Lord of your life. Have you done that, yet?

Peace awaits.

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05/26/2026

Have you ever dealt with pine sap? Maybe gotten it on your hands while trimming a tree or on your clothes from climbing one as a kid? It doesn't come off with water. It doesn't even come off with soap and water. In my experience, the only thing that works is to dissolve it with oil, then wash that off with soap and water.

Sin is like that. It doesn't go away with a resolution to do better. It doesn't even go away if you do a lot of good stuff to make up for it and make a resolution to do better. The only thing that works is God's grace and forgiveness:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8)

The pursuit of holiness begins with seeking God's forgiveness and getting that sap - I mean, that sin - dealt with.

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05/19/2026

It's good to take a moment now and then to stop and think:

"What has God been doing in my community?"

"What has God been doing in my family?"

"What has God been doing in me?"

Then, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever." (Psalm 136:1)

"Lord, we thank You that You are good. We thank You that You are love. We thank You that You are always at work in us and in the world around us. Please, use us as You desire to do Your will that we might have the privilege of experiencing part of that work!"

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05/11/2026

There's a difference between doing your own thing and asking God to bless it and doing God's thing. I think Isaiah 40:30-31 describes it pretty well:

"Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Everyone gets tired - especially in ministry! But there's a difference if we put our hope in the Lord. Now, I'm not saying that doing God's thing (instead of our own) is easy, straight-forward, or simple. In my experience, it tends to be scary, complicated, and unpredictable! But if we're really hoping in the Lord ("God, we have no idea how to deal with this situation - please show us what to do!") instead of taking the stress on ourselves of figuring out the answer, our hearts are so much lighter! Joy comes with the presence of God and peace comes with faith that however messed up and painful things are, God will walk us through them.

If we're doing our own thing instead of His thing, we don't have assurance of that; it makes sense that our stress levels would be so much higher!

So. Where in my life and ministry do I need to surrender to God's will instead of my own? Where do you?

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05/05/2026

Quick question for believers:

How do you know if God is behind something?

Take a look at this example in Haggai 1:13-15:

"Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.

(Okay, don't worry about all those complicated names and read it again, remembering that this is all in the context of rebuilding the temple.)

Do you see it? God told someone to let His people know that He was with them. Then, He "stirred up the spirit" of, well . . . everyone! There was no politicking, no convincing, no "horse-trading" at all; God made everyone see the importance of the work and they all began on it - right then! And their work was blessed.

When you see something like this happen around you - everyone heeding the word of God, united and working willingly - it's God at work. Join in and see where He takes you!

(Photo courtesy of Jorge Urosa and Pexels.com)

04/27/2026

Worship. What is it? There are many answers to that question, but today I want to focus on one that comes from Deuteronomy 6:5: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

We Christians tend to think of worship in terms of a church service, music, and emotions. In actual fact, we worship whatever we put first in our lives. What is it? Money? Family? Self? Stability? Job?

This verse in Deuteronomy reminds us to worship God - with everything in us. That means we put God first in how we deal with everything else in our lives - money, family, self, stability, and job, as well as everything else.

We remember that our money belongs to God and give/use it accordingly.

We remember that our family members are made in His image, loved by Him, and sought after by Him - and love them accordingly.

We remember that we ourselves are also made in God's image, loved by Him, and sought after by Him - and are choosing to obey Him because we love Him in return.

And so on. When we love the Lord our God with everything in us, we worship Him with/in everything. He spills over into every compartment of our lives and changes it all.

So. How's your Worship today?

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04/20/2026

In John 4: 23-24, Jesus says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

I love these verses! Do y'all know the story behind them? Jesus is talking to a woman from a different cultural background - an outsider from the point of view of his compatriots. Her ethnicity is different, her religion is different, and her lifestyle choices are distinctly different. But Jesus doesn't lecture at her about these things - He gets down to the basics fast: "The Father is looking for people who will worship Him in the Spirit and in truth." And that offer extends to this "different" woman.

How often do we let ourselves be stymied in loving others by differences in skin color, culture, or lifestyle choices? How often do we not let people know that God loves them and desires their worship because they're different?

Background doesn't matter to God - authentic, Spirit-filled worship matters to Him - and it's life-changing to everyone who worships Him.

So, come on - let's reach beyond those differences and let everyone know how hard God is seeking and loving them!

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04/14/2026

Here's a verse that's often taken out of context:

In John 15:7, Jesus said, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

"Wow - whatever I wish? It'll be done for me? Really?!?"

Well . . . let's look at the rest of that verse. Do you see Jesus' words about remaining? Right. So, what does it mean to remain in Him and allow His words to remain in you? Is that like memorizing Bible verses?

Memorizing Scripture is always a good idea - but it's what we do with that Scripture that really matters!

Remaining in Jesus means keeping our attention fixed on Him. Always. Allowing His words to remain in us means letting them permeate our minds and hearts until we look at others like He does and we love them like He does. By then, we'll be wishing for just what He wishes for - of course our wishes will be fulfilled!

So, here's my challenge: This week, remain in Jesus. Let His Word remain in you. See how your wishes change . . .

(Photo courtesy of Linda Ohde, Lillyfee Photography, and Pexels.com)

04/06/2026

Hey, y'all - Christ is risen! Praise the Lord!!

I want to share with you one of my favorite Easter songs. I love it not so much because of its statement of Christ's resurrection as because of its reminder that we, as His church, need to come awake and rise up from the dead as well!

Have a listen:

Track:Christ Is Risen by Matt Maher

03/30/2026

We invite you to come and celebrate Resurrection Sunday with us next week, April 5th, at 11:00 AM. Come and be reminded about what this season of Easter is all about; enjoy the hymns and contemporary songs of worship and pause for a few moments to be refreshed by the Word of God!

Join us!

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