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

THE PERSON OF JESUS

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:1-4, 14 NIV)

So what is the main thing?

Jesus.

But it’s not Jesus as an idea or an ideal or a set of teachings or miracles or sayings or doctrine or theology or paradigm or practices or habits or disciplines or T-shirts. Just Jesus. The beautiful person of Jesus. I’m not talking about Jesus without the Father and the Spirit, but without Jesus, we have no idea of the Father or the Spirit. Yes, I'm talking about New Testament Jesus; Jesus of Nazareth -- the Word from before the beginning of the Bible, who is its inspiration and author, its fire and fulfillment, and to whom every page points -- the Word made flesh. Jesus, our God.

Courage is not the absence of fear, discouragement, or despair. Courage is the presence of Jesus. Jesus is all the courage of God in a human person. The main thing, my friends, is the right here, right now presence of the person of Jesus. It is not so much about practicing the presence. It is about presencing the person of Jesus.

Father, thank You for sending us Jesus, without whom we would have no idea of You. And thank You for sending us the Spirit, who makes Jesus known to us and brings Him closer than our breath. How thankful we are to know you. Come, Holy Spirit, and help us to lift our hearts to Jesus, to set our minds on Jesus, to fix our eyes on Jesus, to focus our gaze on Jesus. He is our courage, and to be with Him is to be encouraged. Orient all the things into the thing of knowing Jesus, of presencing the person of Jesus -- for our good, for others’ gain, for Your glory. In Jesus’s name, amen. 

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with J. D. Walt

#6312

RETURNING MY EYES TO THE SAVIOR

“Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for Him, He thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and He is now seated at the right side of God's throne.”  (Hebrews 12:2 GNT)

With the arrival of Advent, Christians everywhere turn again towards the Savior. Advent marks the beginning of the celebration of His birth and His long-foretold ministry, atonement, death, resurrection and second coming. If Advent is an occasion when I return my eyes to the Savior, then it is also an invitation to consider where my eyes -- and my heart -- have been in the meantime. Advent is the gentle nudge that invites me to remember that the truth most worth knowing is that Jesus Christ is the only way Home. It is also a gentle reminder that I ought to keep my eyes upon Him all year long.  

-- Jean-Michel Hansen

#6257

ARE YOU IN NEED OF A FAITH REFILL? - Part 2 of 2

Jesus gave John’s messengers a specific answer that holds the key to refilling any person’s faith. He said: “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” (Luke 7:22)

I love the fact that Jesus didn’t respond to John’s question by dragging out His sermon file. Just think of all the ancient messianic prophesies He could have quoted and expounded upon. But no, He understood that John needed a lifeline, not a lecture. So He threw him one. He urged John to look again at what He, Jesus, was accomplishing.

You’re probably thinking, “But wait! It can’t be that simple. There has to be more to replenishing a person’s faith than that.” No, there isn’t. If there were, Jesus would have said so. He would have laid out a detailed plan or itemized a list of requirements. There’s no way He would have given a dear friend a flawed, incomplete answer, knowing it would doom him to further anxiety.

The good news is that nothing has changed. After all these years, faith refills are still free and can still be accomplished by focusing on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.” 

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refill: Coming Back for More of Jesus” 

#6249

HEART, MIND, AND IDENTITY RECALIBRATION

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now 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 NIV)

Paul’s words are a gentle but firm recalibration. He reminds us that resurrection isn’t just a future hope -- it’s a present reality. We’ve been raised with Christ. That means our spiritual GPS has been reset. Our affections, ambitions, and attention are no longer tethered to the dust of this world but drawn upward to the throne where Christ reigns.

But this isn’t escapism. It’s engagement with eternity in the now. To “set your hearts on things above” is to let heaven’s values shape earthly choices. It’s choosing grace over grudges, compassion over judgment, truth over convenience, and service over self.

Paul doesn’t say “glance” at things above. He says “set” -- as in fix, anchor, dwell. Our minds and hearts are to be intentionally directed toward the reality of Christ’s rule and our identity in Him. Why? Because our true life is hidden in Him. Not lost. Not forgotten. Hidden -- secure, protected, and waiting to be revealed in glory.

HEART CHECK: What has captured your heart lately? Is it something eternal or something fleeting?

MIND SHIFT: What thoughts dominate your day? Are they rooted in fear, comparison, or control -- or in the peace and promise of Christ?

IDENTITY REMINDER: You are not defined by your past, your performance, your politics, or your possessions. You are hidden in Christ. Let that truth shape how you walk through each day. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources 

#6206

 

FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)

The entire ministry of our Savior was plagued with difficulty and opposition. During Jesus’ forty-day wilderness fast, Satan tried to derail Him with temptations disguised as painless shortcuts to His goal. Throughout His ministry He endured opposition, exhaustion, and misunderstanding. Near the end He vividly foresaw the horrors looming ahead and prayed in abject agony with sweat pouring from Him like great drops of blood. Finally, He was falsely accused in a mock trial, brutally scourged from the thorns lacerating His scalp, from the wounds in His hands and His back, and finally from the wound of a spear impaling His side.

And yet He persevered through it all.

The result? Forgiveness for us. The shattering of the gates of hell. And glorious resurrection from the dead. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, He gives us the spiritual stamina to run with perseverance, to endure, and to never grow weary and lose heart.

When you feel like quitting, just look at the cross. Look at the empty tomb! Look at His ascension into heaven. Look at Him there on the throne. Look at His victory. Look at His love for you. Look at His grace. Consider Him. Meditate on Him. Talk to Him. Draw from His Word.

And never give up. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down”

#6153

HOW TO FINISH WELL – Part 2 of 6

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...”  (Hebrews 12:2 BSB)

How do we finish well?... First, those who finish well have a Christ-centered life…

Second, those who finish well have a focused life. They are focused first on Christ, but second on the task that He has given to us. Call this the “focus factor”! They not only know the purpose of life (to know, love, serve, and glorify the Lord), but they also know the purpose of their lives. They have an accurate understanding of the gifts He has given them, the call He has given them, and often even the specific assignments He has for them.

They have a focused life and not a scattered life. Most people live scattered lives. They do not know the purpose of life, or the purpose of their lives. By contrast, those who finish well have a clarity of purpose and a constancy of purpose…

The phrase from Paul “this one thing I do” (Philippians 3:13 KJV) is very important in my life. It became my motto. Paul said, ‘this one thing I do,” not “these fifty tings I dabble in.” That’s because he had a focused life rather than a scattered one. It’s characteristic of those who finish well.

-- Adapted from Donald W. Sweeting and George Sweeting in “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half”

#5619

KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”  (Jude 20-21 NIV)

The [disciples] all had a good beginning with Jesus. Their signs of loyalty, fidelity, and faithfulness came often in their brief time with Jesus. And yet in many of the crucial times for Jesus and for them, the truth is that they drifted astray. They lost sight of Jesus and His way and focused on themselves and their way….

The bad news [today] is that individuals, congregations, and denominations can drift away. It happens so easily. It happens the moment we take our eyes off Jesus Christ. The moment we lose our center we begin to lose our way. We know it does not have to be that way because every day we can keep our eyes upon Jesus Christ and ask for guidance and grace to remain faithful. The good news Christians share is that Jesus Christ is able and willing to guide and enable us on our journey toward our true home with God. 

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#5521

KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS

“Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.”  (Hebrews 12:1,2)

The problem with most of us is that we want to overcomplicate this process. We assume that something as valuable as a faith refill ought to cost us something, so we try to acquire it through physical effort. We squeeze even more religious activities into our already overcrowded schedules. We restart our daily devotional (for the ten thousandth time). We run out and buy the latest Christian best seller and start highlighting it with a yellow marker… And, of course, we recommit (again, for the ten thousandth time) to taming that nasty little habit we’ve managed to keep a secret for years.

But it never works. It NEVER works.

Because frenzied activity, even if well-intentioned, saps our strength and dulls our senses. It fills our lives, not with faith but with noise that drowns out His still, small voice. Worst of all, it makes us numb to His often feather-like touch. 

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refill: Coming Back for More of Jesus”

#5478

DYING TO OURSELVES – Part 2

“We don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at Him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges!”  (2 Corinthians 5:16-17 The Message)

[Jesus] turns the world’s views inside out and upside down. He simply cuts against the grain of how we naturally think, and we realize that to follow Jesus, we need to retrain our minds to focus through spectacles we’ve never worn before. The key to thinking His way is an utter surrender, a giving up of the old ways, which never would have worked anyway. 

-- Kyle Idleman in “The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins” 

#5456

FORGIVING OUR GRIEF-GIVERS -- Part 3 of 3

Based on 1 Samuel 24.

David faced Saul the way he faced Goliath – by facing God more so.  When the soldiers in the cave urged David to kill Saul, look who occupied David’s thoughts:  “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord” (I Samuel 24:6).

When David called out to Saul from the mouth of the cave, “David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down” (24:8).  Then he reiterated his conviction:  “I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed” (24:10).

In the second scene, during the nighttime campsite attack, David maintained his belief:  “Who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” (26:9).

In these two scenes I count six times when David called Saul “the Lord’s anointed.”  Can you think of another term David might have used?  Buzzkill and epoxy brain come to my mind.  But not to David’s.  He saw, not Saul the enemy, but Saul the anointed.  He refused to see his grief-giver as anything less than a child of God.  David didn’t applaud Saul’s behavior; he just acknowledged Saul’s proprietor – God.  David filtered his view of Saul through the grid of heaven.  The king still belonged to God, and that gave David hope.

-- Max Lucado in “Facing Your Giants”

#5393

FORGIVING OUR GRIEF-GIVERS -- Part 2 of 3

 Based on 1 Samuel 24.

Vengeance fixes your attention at life’s ugliest moments.  Score-settling freezes your stare at cruel events in your past.  Is this where you want to look?  Will rehearsing and reliving your hurts make you a better person?  By no means.  It will destroy you.

I’m thinking of an old comedy routine.  Joe complains to Jerry about the irritating habit of a mutual friend.  The guy pokes his finger in Joe’s chest as he talks.  It drives Joe crazy.  So he resolves to get even.  He shows Jerry a small bottle of highly explosive nitroglycerine tied to a string.  He explains, “I’m going to wear this around my neck, letting the bottle hang over the exact spot where I keep getting poked.  Next time he sticks his finger in my chest, he’ll pay for it.”

Not nearly as much as Joe will, right?  Enemy destroyers need two graves.  “It is foolish to harbor a grudge” (Ecclesiastes 7:9 TEV).  An eye for an eye becomes a neck for a neck and a job for a job and a reputation for a reputation.  When does it stop?  It stops when one person imitates David’s God-dominated mind.

-- Max Lucado in “Facing Your Giants”

#5392

A DEADLY MYTH DEFUSED - Part 2

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1-2 NIV)

Only by setting our sights on Heaven can we find our way through the confusing maze of this world. Without fixing our gaze on God’s throne above, we are certain to lose our way and self-destruct.

Sailors who navigate the open sea know there is only one sure way to chart their course and set their direction. Under the dark cloak of night, navigators know that there is only one unchanging reference point by which they may establish their way. That fixed point? The North Star. In the uncertainty of night, mariners know that the North Star above is the only reliable compass by which they may navigate the open seas.

That’s exactly what God calls us to do. As we sail the uncharted seas of life under the veil of night, we must establish our direction and set our course by the unchanging heavens above. If we fail to fix our eyes on Heaven, we will become lost, disoriented, and ultimately, shipwreck our souls.

Many lives have been lost in the vast, open sea of this world and have been unexpectedly sunk by unseen, jagged reefs lurking beneath the surface. All because people failed to navigate their lives by the bright light of Heaven above.

Don’t let this happen to you. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of this earth. Establish your direction and set your course by Heaven.  

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

#5359

THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”  (Colossians 1:15-20 NKJV)

The Cross of Christ is the heart of the Gospel. It takes the entire Bible to explain it. All our teaching must relate to that, like all the spokes and rim and tires of a wheel relate to the axis. Jesus is the center, the pivot. Everything else will fit into place around Jesus. Indeed the entire Word of God revolves around Him. If Christ is not the hub the wheel will wobble and break. 

-- Reinhard Bonnke in “Christ for All Nations”

#5336

OVERFLOWING WITH HOPE

SPECIAL NOTE: Today, March 29, marks the 23^rd anniversary of this SOUND BITES Ministry in memory of our son, Dustin, who had died on this date the previous year (1998). Over 5300 quotes have been sent out since SOUND BITES began. This past year the Covid-19 pandemic has continued to impact our world, affecting us all in so many varying ways. Over six million have died from it globally. And now the war in Ukraine is taking more lives, and displacing millions. These are tough times, but because Jesus lives, we can have hope -- not just a trickle of hope, but “OVERFLOWING HOPE”; not just for this life, but for our life to come. As we continue through Lent, let today’s SOUND BITES quote speak to you, and then share it with others.  -- DW

 

OVERFLOWING WITH HOPE

A friend recently sent me a card that read, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  (Romans 15:3)

When I think about that single statement, I am reminded that:

          -- God is the source of all hope;

          -- He is even now seeking to fill my body with not just joy and peace, but all joy and peace;

          -- Joy and peace go hand in hand with trusting in God;

          -- His desire is that I should not just contain hope, but overflow with hope to others;

          -- This process is dependent not on my power, but the power of the Holy Spirit at work in me.

There are a lot of distracting thoughts that can occupy my mind these days. Meditating on Scripture is an important part of keeping my mind focused on Christ.  

-- Adapted from John Ortberg in “If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat”

#5317

LIVING FULLY IN THE KINGDOM

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”  (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV)

To live strongly and creatively in the kingdom of heaven, we need to have firmly fixed in our minds what our future is to be like. We want to live fully in the kingdom now, and for that purpose our future must make sense to us. It must be something we can now plan or make decisions in terms of, with clarity and joyful anticipation. In this way our future can be incorporated into our life now and our life now can be incorporated into our future. 

-- Dallas Willard in “The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God”

#5267

REMEMBERING WHAT GOD HAS DONE

“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.”  (Ephesians 1:5)

Remembering what God has done is encouraging. Do you need to be encouraged today? I get down when I focus on myself and fail to look up at Jesus. When I look down, I forget all the blessings I have and all the blessings that await me in the future. When I begin to focus on all that God has done for me it lifts me up out of muck and mire…

I have learned it is beneficial to take time to record what the Lord has done in my life. This colorful roadmap of my journey helps me remember God’s faithfulness. When I get focused on the fact that I’m not where I want to be, I forget how far the Lord has brought me. My journal helps me refocus on God as I remember what He has done.

Remembering is important because we easily forget. Remember where He found you and how He adopted you into His family. 

-- Adapted from Tom Graves, The Light of Christ Journey Blog

#5243

REDISCOVERING THE REAL CHRIST

We need to forget the imagery of the Christ who has been ours too long and to rediscover the real Christ, the Christ of the prophets and the martyrs and the confessors, the Christ who is not only the lover of souls but also master, a monarch with demands to make in industry, in finance, in education, in the arts, in marriage, in the home; the Christ who is teacher of a social ideology which has eternal validity; the Christ who cries aloud with convincing force, "For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it" (Mark 8:35). 

-- Bernard Iddings Bell (1886-1958) in “Still Shine the Stars” 

#5240

A LIFETIME OF TRAINING

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2a NIV)

Christian discipleship is a lifetime of training in how to pay attention to the right things, to notice God's work in our lives and in the world.  Through long practice we unfix our gaze from distractions and fears in order to attend to that which God attends. 

-- Tish Warren in “Prayer in the Night”

#5188

SUFFERING ON THE CROSS

"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed."  (1Peter 2:24 ESV)

During my senior year in high school, I took an art history survey course taught by a dynamic and passionate art lover. Ms. Giles, with her colorful, stylish clothes and contagious enthusiasm, trained us to analyze and appreciate art in all its diverse genres and media, from the art of the ancient Greeks to the art of surrealist, abstract, and post-modern painters and sculptors. Some time periods and artists I appreciated more than others.

One day Ms. Giles pulled me aside after class for a gentle conversation. "I noticed you weren't looking at some of the slides today, Sharon," she said. "Is anything wrong?"

The slides that day were primarily paintings of the crucifixion, and I couldn't bear to look. I made some excuse about feeling squeamish with some of the gory depictions. But more than that, I found the paintings disturbing because they were too close and confrontational. At that point in my life, I was far more comfortable with an empty cross, a sanitized cross, the kind I could wear around my neck on a gold or silver chain on Sundays. I didn't want to look at Jesus suffering upon it. 

-- Sharon Garlough Brown, excerpted from her newsletter

#5065