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Why Should the devil have all the good tunes, part 2

October 4, 2023

It is recorded that Charles Wesley wrote so many poem and hymns (6000 plus in his lifetime) that he often wrote while he was traveling from place to place on his horse. He wrote poems to commemorate important days in his life (his wedding, etc.). In fact. "And Can It Be" was written to commemorate his evangelical conversion.

Charle's contribution of hymns and poems that even though Charles and John Wesley were excluded from preaching in Anglican parish churches Charle's songs could not be kept from being sung by people all over the United Kingdom. Even to this day his great hymn "Love Divine All Love's Excelling has been a favorite hymn for many of the royal weddings of the House of Windsor.

Charles Wesley's vast corpus of hymn texts is the most defining cultural artifact of eighteenth-century Methodism. Perhaps the greatest contribution of Charles' sons was that he was able to "set" in song the theology and experience of Methodists.*

Reflection:

1--Are the songs you sing in church or other places a clear reflection of your experience of God's work in your life?

2--How can you include hymns in your practices of spiritual formation?

*Richard Heitzenrater, Wesley and The People Called Methodist

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Path To Pentecost (13)--May 11

May 14, 2025

A Condition for being filled on a continual basis The blog yesterday showed that Ephesians 5:18 exhorts us to be filled with the Holy Spirit on a continual basis. The present verb "filled" makes this clear. I also stated that a way to experience this continual work of The Holy Spirit (being under the influence of The Spirit) is based on humility. Humility is the experience of realizing that I do not have the internal power to be the person that I see in God's Word. Humility is the acknowledgement that I need God's Spirit to live the life of following Jesus. It is the humble person who can experience this continual influence of the Holy Spirit. That is because the truly humble person has a right assessment of their own need and a right assessment of God' provision. The proud person cannot receive much from God because the proud person does not assess that they need anything or at least not much from God. This is not a failure of God's power it is a failure of one not recognizing one's need. In this notion of being humble enough to experience God's continual presence of The Holy Spirit I remember a verse from Jesus' brother, James. James 4:5-6 reveals God's contrast in response to the proud and to the humble. Note in vs 5 about God's yearning "over the Spirit that he has made to dwell in us." Then James gives a contrast between the humble and the proud we see that God gives "more grace" (vs. 6). How can God give more grace.....well I want to suggest that God can give more grace to the humble because the humble have more capacity for grace. Think of it, a humble person is open to receive from God because they do not assume that they are capable in their own strength. Note also that the continual influence of The Holy Spirit would be impossible for the proud. God opposes the proud (vs. 6) because they do not recognize their need of God's Holy Spirit. REFLECT: So, instead of denying your inability and need for more grace, embrace it. God has "more grace" for you. This is life in the the continual influence of The Holy Spirit

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