Category: <span>thoughts by Ashlea Massie</span>


“ . . . for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5b

Abandonment is a common issue in this world. Maybe you have experienced it yourself.

Your spouse may have decided to leave you when life became tough, but God says he will stick with you no matter how hard it gets. Your family members may have been pushed to the limit and have had enough of you, but God doesn’t feel that way about his children.

Regardless of whether you feel abandoned or not, take time to develop your relationship with the Lord. When you take baby steps toward relying on him as your source of comfort, you will find that the comfort provided by people pales in comparison.

Even for those who have ever experienced abandonment, developing your relationship with God will help you be well equipped if the time comes. You won’t act as disappointed and hurt as one who has not known the unending love of God.

His love is unconditional and the deepest love you will ever experience. You can’t compare it to the love that your family members, spouse, or anyone else has given you. In fact, it exceeds any human love you’ve ever experienced.

God reminds us that he will always be with us both in good times and bad times. We may try his patience with our sinful selves on a daily basis, but he is patient and faithful, continuing to care for us anyway.

Why not take comfort in this promise of God to never leave you or forsake you? Love others and let them love you, but love God first and embrace his eternal love as your joy.

Dear Lord, please give me the ability to rely on you as my sole source of joy and comfort. Thank you for not abandoning me. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
Used by Permission

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thoughts by Ashlea Massie Thoughts by Women


“And they said to her, No, we will return with you to your people.’Ruth 1:10

Imagine never leaving your hometown. The only people you know are the ones who live there. It’s your whole life and contains all of your memories. You can’t imagine ever moving.

Now imagine unforeseeable circumstances render you unable to stay. You’re now moving to a completely foreign city filled with new people. Technology isn’t available to communicate with anyone you know. That’s exactly what Ruth did, not because she was forced to, but because she loved her mother-in-law and God more than her home.

The Christian life is full of dying to self for our God. Ruth is a prime example of that. Instead of doing her own thing, Ruth decided to care for her mother-in-law and bear the burden of loneliness and of widowhood, even if it lasted until her own demise. She chose to step out of her comfort zone, trusting that God would provide.

The happy ending to this sacrifice is that God honored her for her ability to let go and give him control. God gave her a spouse who would ease her financial woes, as well as a child, and he allowed Ruth to be an ancestor to the great king David.

Has there been a time in your life where you didn’t want to do what God commanded you to do? What if the best is yet to come, just like Ruth’s journey? Don’t settle for the familiar. Take up your cross and follow God’s leading. No matter what comes, you won’t regret it.

Dear Lord, please give me the ability to make sacrifices for your glory knowing that you will always do what’s best for me and guide me through all obstacles. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”  Hebrews 11:4

In Hebrew, Abel, or Habal, means vapour or vanity, in the sense that it is of little substance and brief. Therefore, based upon the context of the passage in Genesis, scholars assume Abel died young, before he and his brother, Cain, both married and had children.

We tend to think of the death of someone young more mournfully than others. And in reading the story of Cain and Abel, we see Abel’s death at Cain’s jealous hands as a life unfairly cut off. Abel seemed to have so much potential!

Even though Abel apparently died young, we are reminded in Hebrews that outward appearances don’t always dictate the circumstances. His righteous lifestyle echoed throughout the ages and is still discussed today. His humble and reverent attitude serves as a reminder to us that no life, no matter how short, is vapour in God’s eyes when we are walking with him.

God has the ability to take the tragedy of a short-lived life like Abel’s and turn it into a household story, an eternal way to glorify God. Abel is our reminder that what others see on the outside isn’t necessarily what God sees. Serving God all of our days, no matter how short or long they are, is eternally impactful, and to God, such a life is never wasted.

Think about your life, no matter how short or long it’s been so far. Have your actions glorified God? If not, now is the time to walk closer to his ways so, like Abel, you can glorify him.

Dear Lord, please give me the ability to glorify you to the best of my ability. Show me the ways I can serve you better and guide me in spreading your name to the nations. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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“And they say, ‘The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive….’ He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? … For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage.” Psalm 94:7, 9, 14

Are you praying for the salvation of a loved one? That new job you so desperately want?
A spouse? Children? Do you feel as if your prayers go unanswered, seemingly to fall on deaf ears — possibly for years on end?

The psalmist noticed this was a common feeling among his people. Many of those around him truly believed God paid no attention to their oppressive situation. They were obviously in distress, but God wasn’t intervening to fix their circumstances. It seemed like He was oblivious to their pain and suffering.

The psalmist reminded them of a basic truth: how could the Creator forget what He created? God wasn’t blind to their pain or their situation. God did hear. He would save them, in time. Further in Psalm 94 he pointed out to the Israelites all the times God had personally delivered him out of dire situations. The psalmist’s testimony revealed that since God was able to save him from painful circumstances, the Lord would surely deliver His people from unjust situations.

This is a reminder for us too.

God may not deliver you from your situation in the way that you want, but He certainly hears your pleas. He will give you the strength to either endure your current situation, find joy in an unexpectedly different outcome, or eventually grant your desired outcome. Rest in God’s promise that He hears and saves!

Lord God, help me to believe that you truly do hear and care. Give me the hope that you will act in the best timing possible, and faith in knowing that, in the meantime, you will walk with me through this pain. Amen.

Thought — Is there perhaps an alternative to your desired outcome that could surprise you into realizing it’s better than your wildest dreams? Go to God to ask for guidance, pleading for contentment in the waiting.

By Ashlea Massie
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And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 1:6

When I first began track in high school, I remember how daunting running seemed. I hoped to compete in sprints. I felt that was much easier than running longer distances, because I ran out of breath each time I attempted it.

To my shock, the coach told me she wanted me to compete in the longer distances, hoping I’d say yes to running the 2400-meter. She’d observed me long enough to recognize that I had endurance, something many others on my team did not. I couldn’t believe her though because I was sure I wouldn’t be able to run a mile. Although I initially disbelieved my coach’s faith in my abilities, I found out that I was able to run a mile without quitting. She was right!

The Christian life is a lot like that as well. We worry that the journey to where we need to be will become long and difficult. It feels like we won’t make it. It’s easier just to give in and not push ourselves. But God has given us all the gift of endurance through His Spirit that indwells us — something we often forget we have so we end up not using it.

Since God has graciously granted us endurance, we do have the ability to complete our race on earth. We may struggle to get there, but we shouldn’t ever quit. As Paul states later in his letter to the church in Philippi, we have the strength to continue on in Christ: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

Dear Father in Heaven, we have everything we need in Christ. It’s up to us to use it! Help us to believe that what you are calling us to do is achievable, and that you will give us the endurance to accomplish it as long as we trust in you. Train us up Lord in your ways. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.Hebrews 11:9

Do you ever stop to think about your sin? Maybe you feel overwhelmed, tired of the daily struggle against sin. Perhaps you wonder why God continues to guide you, to love you, to keep you in the faith. If anyone had reason to wonder that, it would have been Jacob.

Jacob wasn’t the most righteous man on earth. He definitely wasn’t mentioned as righteous like Job was. He wasn’t taken up to heaven like Enoch. Jacob deceived his father to get what he wanted. He had children with four women. His family was a mess as well. In fact, Jacob didn’t have a spiritual awakening until later in his life.

Jacob was a train wreck, and yet what do we see in Hebrews? He’s in the hall of faith. He received the same promise Abraham and Isaac received: part temporal and part eternal. Jacob received the promise his descendants would be a great nation and the eternal gift they would be children of God.

God doesn’t give up on His children, even when they fall short. Just look at Jacob. God continued to guide him, bless him, and even allowed Jacob to die with all of his children near him, including his long lost son, Joseph. We need not constantly worry about all of our shortcomings and how we miss the mark. Instead, we should focus on becoming righteous, with the help of the Holy Spirit, by having faith that God will continue to carry us, come what may.

Dear Lord, thank you for saving us despite our inadequacy and failures. Please give me the grace to fight sin in light of your love. Amen.

Read Hebrews 11

By Ashlea Massie
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Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.”  John 4:35-36

How would you feel if a loved one was dying, and the only person on earth who could save them was the doctor in the emergency room — but this specific doctor chose to not do it? Instead, he let your loved one die. You would be furious, wouldn’t you?

Jesus’s words are a constant reminder to us, as believers, that there are many struggling people in the world who are literally dying to hear the Gospel — but there’s no one willing to tell them. They are lost and on their way to hell. We have the ability to give them the good news that could save their lives, but do we chose to tell them? Or do we go about our own agenda instead?

We can choose to be the people at the end of the passage who obey Christ’s command and share the good news, impacting others for Christ and leading them into the kingdom.

Both you and I can share the joy of salvation with someone else, but only when we remember God’s call is for us to die to our fears and selfish ambitions and witness to those around us. Their eternal end doesn’t have to be miserable if we muster up the courage to share the Gospel. It can be rewarding for us, and for them, so that both are rejoicing, just as the passage states.

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and share! There are people who need saving and are dying to hear it.

Dear Lord, please grant me the courage to fulfill your calling for me, pushing aside fear to help the lost. Provide people my way who are ripe and ready to receive your Word, and let me not neglect them. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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