THE SOCIAL WITNESS OF CHARLES WESLEY’S HYMNS – Part 2 of 3

Here is the marvel of it: John and Charles Wesley did social action. They didn’t seem to pay a great deal of lip service to social reform, but they made it happen. Most church historians feel that the Wesleys were instinctively conservative politically, yet they brought about a social and economic reformation, the results of which continue in England and America to this day.   

Perhaps the text for their experience is Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” I am not by any means suggesting that we abandon or mute our call for social and economic justice, but I believe that call must be derivative. My reasons are both theological and pragmatic. If we believe, as the gospel declares, that human beings are eternal creatures, then we who are the unique advocates of the eternal dare not let that fact become obscure or secondary. And as we emphasize the eternal, and keep Christ as our focus, I am altogether sure that we will make a more effective social, economic, and political witness than we are now doing. So much of what we currently say seems to lack authority, or to be only an echo of the secular voices around us. We will regain our uniqueness and our power to the degree that we remember who our Lord is – Jesus, the Christ – and what manner of creatures we human beings are – eternal. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015) in “Our First Song: Evangelism in the Hymns of Charles Wesley” 

#6355

FAITH ON THE BIGGEST STAGE

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”  (1 Corinthians 9:25)

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched events in the world. Millions tune in. Players train for years. Coaches strategize. Fans cheer. And for one team, the night ends with confetti, a trophy, and a moment they’ll remember forever.

But even the greatest victory on the field eventually fades. The trophy gathers dust. The cheers die down. The spotlight moves on.

Paul understood this when he wrote to the Corinthians. He pointed to athletes who discipline themselves for a prize that doesn’t last -- then reminded believers that our prize is eternal.

The world celebrates temporary victories. Heaven celebrates transformed lives.

The Super Bowl is a reminder that preparation matters, discipline matters, teamwork matters  -- but it also reminds us that earthly glory is fleeting. The real victory is living a life secured in Christ, running the race with perseverance, and keeping our eyes fixed on the One who never fades from view.

Faith doesn’t promise an easy game. But it promises a faithful Coach, a powerful Spirit, a supportive Church, and a Victory in Jesus that cannot be taken away.

The Super Bowl may crown a champion for a night, but faith crowns a victor for a lifetime. The field fades, the cheers quiet, but the life centered in Christ plays for a glory that never ends. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6302

KINGDOM PROMISES: STUFF THAT LASTS

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matthew 6:33 NIV)

If God were teaching us in a classroom setting, He might draw a line down the center of the chalkboard and put these headings at the top of each column -- "Stuff that doesn't last" and "Stuff that does last." And He says to not get too attached to earth-stuff because it "passes away." Our great love, our great passion, and our great pursuit should be for the "will of God" things that we cannot lose. The rest is "just stuff." It's all part of Jesus' command to "seek first the kingdom of God," even though we're surrounded by people who are totally consumed with getting possessions, getting promotions, getting prosperity, or getting prominence.

-- Ron Hutchcraft 

#5983

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV)

The Church is in the world to save the world. It is a tool of God for that purpose; not a comfortable religious club established in fine historical premises. Every one of its members is required, in one way or another, to co-operate with the Spirit in working for that great end; and much of this work will be done in secret and invisible ways. We are transmitters as well as receivers. Our contemplation and our action, our humble self-opening to God, keeping ourselves sensitive to His music and light, and our generous self-opening to our fellow creatures, keeping ourselves sensitive to their needs, ought to form one life: mediating between God and His world, and bringing the saving power of the Eternal into time. We are far from realizing all that the human spirits can do for one another on spiritual levels if they pay the price; how truly and really our souls interpenetrate, and how impossible and un-Christian it is to “keep ourselves to ourselves.”

-- Evelyn Underwood in “The Spiritual Life”

#5451

LONGING FOR HEAVEN

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV)

Deep within our inner being, the human spirit groans to rid itself of this mortal flesh and enter into the very presence of God to enjoy Him forever. That one holy passion -- placed within us by God Himself -- cries out from the depths of our being for eternity. 

Unfortunately, despite this God-given longing for Heaven, we have become too attached to this world. Instead of laying up treasure in Heaven, we treasure the riches of this earth. Resisting the inner voice of conscience, we tell ourselves, “Heaven can wait.”

But Heaven can’t wait! No way!

We must live for eternity today! 

-- Steven J. Lawson in “Heaven Help Us: Truths About Eternity That Will Help You Live Today”

#5340

A VAIN PURSUIT

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world -- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions -- is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”  (1 John 2:15-17 ESV)

Finding meaning in life apart from God is a vain pursuit. Security and contentment are found only in a personal relationship with God. The contentment we find in the opportunities and successes of this life is temporary. The more we expect our successes to be permanent, the more quickly they are gone.

-- Life Application Bible

#5288

LOVE - THE GREATEST INVESTMENT

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13 NIV)

We never know how far our life will extend.  Do you believe this remarkable truth?

Heaven will hold breathtaking surprises for many who think what they do is unimportant.  Amid the hallelujahs and hugs many will be honored for simple, yet life-changing acts of redemption.  And the greatest thrill will be when our Lord Jesus looks into seemingly insignificant individuals' eyes and says, "Well done.  I appreciate the redeeming love you've shown to __________ and __________ and __________."

...The greatest investments ever made are investments in people, because people go to heaven. And our experience has been that we cannot begin to grasp the way our loving redemptive actions will affect people for eternity. 

-- Dr. Norm Wakefield & Jody Brolsma in “Men Are from Israel, Women Are from Moab”

#5112

THE GIFT OF CHOICE

In every age of history, on every page of Scripture, the truth is revealed: God allows us to make our own choices.

And no one delineates that more clearly than Jesus. According to Him, we can choose “a narrow gate or a wide gate… a narrow road or a wide road… the big crowd or the small crowd” (Matthew 7:13-14). We can choose to “build on rock or sand” (Matthew 7:24-27), “serve God or riches” (Matthew 6:24), “be numbered among the sheep or goats” (Matthew 25:32-33).

God gives eternal choices, and these choices have eternal consequences. “Then they [who rejected God] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46 NIV).

Isn’t this the reminder of Calvary’s trio? Ever wonder why there were two crosses next to Christ? Why not six or ten? Ever wonder why Jesus was in the center? Why not on the far right or far left? Could it be that the two other crosses on the hill symbolize one of God’s greatest gifts? The gift of choice. 

-- Adapted from Max Lucado in “He Chose the Nails”

#5060

THE FABRIC OF LIFE

Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  (Revelation 22:13 NIV)

History is like a giant piece of fabric with very intricate and complex patterns. During the limited span of our lifetimes we see only a tiny fraction of the pattern. Furthermore, as has been observed by others, we see the pattern from the underside. The underside of a weaving usually makes no sense. Even the upper side makes little sense if we view just a tiny piece. Only God sees the upper side, and only He sees the entire fabric with its complete pattern. Therefore, we must trust Him to work out all the details of history to His glory, knowing that His glory and our good are bound together. 

--  Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

#4887

THE ONLY CONSTANT

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

Let all Israel repeat:

“His faithful love endures forever.”

Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:

“His faithful love endures forever.”

Let all who fear the Lord repeat:

“His faithful love endures forever.”  (Psalm 118:1-4 NLT)

It would benefit Christians not to dwell on the uncertainty that seems to plague the current world landscape but turn our eyes instead toward Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

When there is uncertainty, uneasiness and fear often follow. We all long for certainty, but what do we mean by that?

There must be something beyond ourselves that we can lean upon that has the certainty that we crave. All that rests upon us, all that weight that desires to crush us, is far too much for us to handle. We must look outside of ourselves and every vice that we hold onto or use to cope, and recognize that they are merely the illusion of certainty. We must look to the One who holds all things in His hand and never lets go. The One who is the only constant in a universe marked by change.  The One whose “faithful love endures forever.”

-- Adapted from Ray Peters in an article entitled “Certainty in the Midst of Uncertainty”

#4840

HEAVENLY MINDED

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1–4 ESV)

All too often we live shallow, earthbound lives that are preoccupied with the temporal. We're caught up in the trivial pursuit of the here and now. In the midst of our hectic schedules, we give too little thought to eternal things above... We must be more heavenly minded if we are to be any earthly good.

-- Steven J. Lawson in “Heaven Help Us!”


#4709

THINKING ABOUT ETERNITY

God has a purpose for your life on earth, but it doesn’t end here. His plan involves far more than the few decades you will spend on this planet. It’s more than “the opportunity of a lifetime”; God offers you an opportunity beyond your lifetime. The Bible says, “[God’s] plans endure forever, His purposes last eternally.” (Psalm 33:11 TEV)

The only time most people think about eternity is at funerals, and then it’s often shallow, sentimental thinking, based on [a lack of information.] You may think it’s morbid to think about death, but actually it’s unhealthy to live in denial of death and not consider what is inevitable. “Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2b NIV) Only a fool would go through life unprepared for what we all know will eventually happen. You need to think more about eternity, not less.

-- Rick Warren in “What on Earth Am I Here for?”


#4352

Heavenly Light

TRUSTING IN THE LORD

“God, I look to You for help.  I trust in You, Lord.”  (Psalm 141:8)

Don't put your hope into things that can change -- relationships, money, talents, beauty, even health.  Set your sights on the one thing that can never change: trust in your heavenly Father.

-- Max Lucado

#4134

HEAVEN'S PERSPECTIVE

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard Him thus no longer."  (2 Corinthians 5:16)

Part of the joy and challenge of being a Christian is looking past the temporal and seeing the eternal; trying to see things from heaven's perspective.

-- Danny Wuerffel, retired NFL quarterback, in Sports Spectrum


#3537

INVESTING YOUR LIFE

Baseball is temporary. All this stuff, putting up numbers and such is temporary. If you invest your life into worldly things, you’re going to be left unhappy. As good as yesterday’s game was -- two home runs and you’re on top of the world -- three days later you might strike out three times and the game’s over. It’s a roller coaster. But God’s love is everlasting. That’s what... I try to tell kids. That can never be taken away from you.

You better invest your life into those kind of things if you truly want happiness, because you’re not going to find happiness in baseball or your job or anything else. God is the only One who will never let you down.

-- Jeff Francoeur, MLB player, in Sports Spectrum


#3039

A LASTING RELATIONSHIP

If God wanted us to just have religion, He would have stayed up in heaven and not come here to sacrifice His very life for you and me. He wanted us to have more than religion. He wanted us to have a relationship with Him which will last forever. He is extremely serious about it. What about you? How determined are you about living for Him? 

-- Dan Delzell


#3013

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is "hurry". And yet, eventually, the hour comes when the rushing ends and the race against the calendar mercifully comes to a close. It is only now perhaps that we truly recognize the spirit of Christmas. It is not a matter of days or weeks, but of centuries -- twenty of them now since that holy night in Bethlehem. Regarded in this manner, the pre-Christmas rush may do us greater service than we realize. With all its temporal confusion, it may just help us to see that by contrast, Christmas itself is eternal.

-- Burton Hills

 
#2902

THE ETERNAL ARTIST

In the created world around us we see the Eternal Artist, Eternal Love at work.

– Evelyn Underwood (1875-1941), as quoted in The Green Bible


 
#2848

ETERNAL VALUES

The prominent thrust of the Christian faith is to lead us to build our lives around eternal values, and to teach us not to attach ourselves to things that are perishable.

-- The Rev. Thomas L. Butts

 
#2835

ETERNAL THINGS

People in the New Testament church came to Paul and asked him what things they could depend on if they changed their way of living and adopted the Christian faith that he espoused. He replied, "We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). The things we cannot see are paramount, and do not change -- those about which Jesus taught. Can we see truth, justice, forgiveness, or love? I try to remember this verse during some of the more trying times of my own life, and I use it frequently in my classes and in counseling people who are distressed about crises in their lives.

-- President Jimmy Carter in Living Faith


#2302