Winter 2017 Article for The Broadcaster

The following article was originally written for publication in The Broadcaster, the church newsletter for First Baptist Church in Houlton, Maine, in the Winter 2017 issue. It is copied here in full.

The Shepherd’s Scrawl

Winter 2017

Here we are, firmly in the grip of yet another frigid northern Maine winter. The busy-ness and excitement of the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, which kept us on the edge of our seats (and calendars) for the early weeks of winter have given way to the grim endurance of January and February. The daily routine of sub-freezing temperatures, gray, overcast skies, dirty snowbanks and pitted ice in our driveways and sidewalks can leave us discouraged.

On top of all of that, our country has been rattled by a devilishly contentious presidential campaign, a shocking outcome to the election, and weeks of angry protests culminating in the inauguration of our 45^th President, to the accompaniment of discordant celebrating and rioting.

All of this may leave us (many of us!) discouraged, disillusioned, doubting whether our country, or we ourselves, will make it through any and all of this. This past week in one of our Bible studies, a question was asked, not in these exact words, but in so many words: “Is there a word from the Lord for us today?”

Is there a word from the Lord for us? Is God aware? Has God turned away? Has He given up on us? Has He written America off? Has He thrown up His hands in disgust? Could God really say “Well, if you don’t want Me in your schools, and you don’t want Me in your halls of government, and you barely acknowledge Me even in My own houses of worship, then I’ll just leave you to it.” Would it really be that easy to get rid of God? Could we simply wish Him away? If we ignore Him long enough, will He go away? If we don’t believe in Him any longer, will He cease to exist?

Someone once said (maybe you’ve heard this before!): “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” It’s a good statement, but there’s a clause in it that is unnecessary. Let’s clean it up a little: “God said it. That settles it.” In other words, God IS, and whether all of us believe, or none of us believe, it does not change that fact.

The day after the Presidential Inauguration, I wrote this and posted it on Facebook: “Yesterday my President was named Barack Obama. Today, my President is named Donald Trump. That has changed. But I am the same person today as I was yesterday, and the One I follow, the One I trust, has not changed. My hope is in the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, and He does not change. Promises He has made are not broken, but kept.”

Along with that thought, I shared a link to a song, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow”, written by Ira Stanphill and performed by the Isaacs. It’s not a new song, but I love the Isaacs’ performance of the song, and I especially like the lyrics:

I don't know about tomorrow
I just live for day to day
I don't borrow from the sunshine
For its skies may turn to gray

I don't worry o'er the future
For I know what Jesus said
And today I'll walk beside Him
For He knows what lies ahead

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

Ev'ry step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter
Ev'ry cloud is silver lined

There the sun is always shining
There no tear will dim the eye
At the ending of the rainbow
Where the mountains touch the sky

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

If the weather has you down, or if the unrest in our country has you anxious, remember this: God holds your today and your tomorrow in His strong and loving Hand.

Jesus said in John 10:27-29:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

I am very, very thankful for the sense of safety that statement brings to me.

In His Grip,

Dennis Ashley

The Scrawling Shepherd

Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and a Word from the Lord

This weekend Kelly and I drove to Bar Harbor, Maine to visit Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park with Kelly's mother Marjorie and Marjorie's husband Bud. We had a great time walking downtown Bar Harbor, eating dinner at the Fish House Grill, and then seeing the highlights of Acadia National Park again: the Visitors Center with the video about the Park, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Cadillac Mountain, and the Jordan Pond House for Popovers with butter and strawberry jam.

Sounds nice, right? Two years ago this week we visited Acadia National Park, and the state of Maine, for the first time. We were with my brother Don and his wife Grayce. They were celebrating milestone birthdays and wanted to visit Maine; they invited us to join them. This has become something we've done together a few times recently: a shared vacation to celebrate one of our birthdays. Previously we've visited Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, PA.

On that trip to Acadia National Park, Kelly and I agreed that there was much more to see than a single day permitted, and that someday we'd like to return. Remember that for a minute, please.

One year ago this week, we DID return to Maine, though not to Acadia National Park. On this weekend last year, Kelly and I visited Houlton, Maine for the first time to meet with the Pastoral Search Committee at the First Baptist Church of Houlton. We were invited to preach at the nearby New Limerick Free Will Baptist Church to allow the Search Committee to "see me in action" without introducing me to the whole congregation prematurely.

As most who might read this article (if anyone DOES read this article!) already know, the Search Committee recommended us to the congregation, and we returned in October last year (Columbus Day Weekend) to officially candidate. I moved here permanently on January 1, and Kelly arrived permanently in early April.

Let me now circle back to Acadia National Park this weekend. This was now our THIRD visit to Acadia National Park. We still feel the same way as we did two years ago. We've shown the park now to Kelly's brother Mike and his wife Kym, besides Marjorie and Bud. We're eager to explore more of this wonderful Park, and share it with other of our family and friends who come to visit.

Here's the reason for this article, though. As I was looking around yesterday and describing these wonderful places to my in-laws, I suddenly had a thought I had not previously considered. I imagined my conversation with Kelly from the point of view of God our Heavenly Father, listening in on our thoughts. As we talked excitedly about how much we liked this place and how we looked forward to returning "some day" to see it again and see more of it, I thought of God, looking over us lovingly and saying, 

"Oh, I KNEW you would love this place! It's one of My favorites too! And just wait until I show you what I am getting ready to do in your lives! If you think THIS place is awesome, just wait until I show you what's coming next!" 

Of course, I don't know for sure if that's what God said. He didn't say it out loud where you might have overheard it. It's just something quiet He put into my thoughts, the way He most often does when He has something to say to me. But oh, man, when I hear from Him...! How great it is to know that God loves me, personally, and how He does enjoy a good surprise!

Forty Days in the White Winter Wilderness of Northern Maine

Today, February 9, 2015, marks the 40th day of my new life in northern Maine. The thought has been running through my mind all day today that 40 days is meaningful. Especially for somebody who reads their Bible and remembers some of the stories from both the Old and New Testaments.

There was the 40 years that Moses spent in Egypt before leaving in one big hurry to live for...40 years...in the Sinai wilderness, taking care of sheep before God appeared to him in the burning bush to send him back to Egypt to lead Israel out of slavery there. Once they left and safely crossed the Red Sea (with a little bit of help from God, who handled the obstacle and the opponent with a certain flair. After that, Moses went up on Mount Sinai to meet with God for...40 days...and then brought back down from the Mountain the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Levitical code.

From their, Israel traveled to the edge of Canaan, only to turn back in fear and despair. Because of that, they had to wander in the wilderness for another...40 years.

PHEW.

Saul, the first king of Israel, reigned for ...40 years.

David, the second king of Israel, reigned for...40 years.

Solomon, David's son and the third king of Israel, reigned for...40 years.

Oh. There's the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying before His temptation and the beginning of His public ministry.

There's more, but to write about it, I'd have to look it up. And you'd accuse me of showing off.

The point is...40 somethings, be it hours, days, years, is meaningful. There is a significance to the recurring number throughout the Bible. A generation, or more likely, two generations.

I've been in Maine for exactly 40 days. And it has been a fasting experience, of sorts. I'm fasting, refraining from warm (ish) weather. It has been cold here. I mean, really cold. Many, no, MOST nights, the temperature has dropped well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Many days, the temperature has remained below, or only slightly above, that benchmark. Wind chills have dropped into the 20s and 30s BELOW zero several times.

Don't worry about me, though. I am not living in a refrigerator box under a highway overpass. They've discovered heat here in Maine--whether generated by burning heating oil, firewood, wood pellets, kerosene, propane or electricity. I am not complaining about the cold--just reporting the facts.

What is really important about these 40 days in Maine is not related to the weather. It is about the people. In 40 days, I've met well over a hundred new (to me) people and am well on my way to making these new acquaintances into friends. I have worshiped with my new church family on six consecutive Sundays, and celebrated the Lord's Table twice. I've attended and participated in a dozen different meetings of various groups, boards, committees. I've enjoyed many meals as the guest of generous hosts. I've learned nearly everyone's names and can successfully associate those names with the appropriate faces about 80% of the time, and that number is going up daily. I've partipated in more than 20 Bible study sessions with men and women who are really serious about studying God's Word, growing in faith, in knowledge, and in fruitful ministry.

And in those 40 days, there has been no discouraging words heard, no second thoughts or regrets about making this move, no unpleasant encounters. Nobody has made fun of my ugly orange New York State license plates still clinging resolutely to the front and rear bumpers of my car. And, oh, yeah--no car wash.

Looking forward to the next 40 days--and beyond. It will eventually warm up here, I'm told. I'm guaranteed that summer will last at least...40 minutes.

In closing, I'd like to corrupt those well known words from Job 13:15 (Dennis Ashley paraphrase):
"Though He freeze me, yet I will trust in Him."