“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”1
“God grant that I may never live to be useless!”
“The strongest Christian is unsafe among occasions to sin.”
“As the most dangerous winds may enter at little openings, so the devil never enters more dangerously than by little unobserved incidents, which seem to be nothing, yet insensibly open the heart to great temptations.”
“My one aim in life is to secure personal holiness, for without being holy myself I cannot promote real holiness in others.”
“Humility and patience are the surest proofs of the increase of love.”
“Prayer is where the action is.”
“When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.”
“I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.”
“The neglect of prayer is a grand hindrance to holiness.”
“I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God’s creational intentions.”
“Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.”
“I look upon all the world as my parish.”
“Nothing short of God can satisfy your soul.”
“Always remember the essence of Christian holiness is simplicity and purity: one design, one desire: entire devotion to God.”
“Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.”
“If I had 300 men who feared nothing but God, hated nothing but sin, and were determined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, I would set the world on fire.”
“At all times it is of use to have a friend to whom you can pour your heart without any disguise or reserve.”
1 All of these quotes are from the websites below:
Inspirational Quotes by John Wesley
92 John Wesley Quotes | ChristianQuotes.info
100+ John Wesley Quotes | InspiringQuotes.us
John Wesley & The Serious Business of Doing Good
The Auditor’s Desk
When I read John Wesley’s sayings, I don’t hear a religious slogan factory. I hear a man who let the Holy Spirit audit his entire life.
Wesley (1703–1791) was an Anglican priest and the primary human force behind what became the Methodist movement. He rode thousands of miles on horseback, preached in fields and streets, organized small groups, and insisted that real Christianity shows up in disciplined lives, compassionate works, and holy hearts. His aphorisms carry weight because he didn’t just write them; he bled for them.
John Wesley III
One of his best-known lines begins, “Do all the good you can…” and then stretches that command across every means, place, time, and person in reach. Another summary of his theology of life is just as sharp: “Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.” That is not a cute refrigerator magnet. That is a three-line audit program for the Christian soul.
In a world that loves leadership quotes, think of Wesley and John Maxwell side by side. Maxwell helps us lead people well in organizations. Wesley presses us to live well before a holy God. Maxwell often asks how to lift your leadership “lid.” Wesley asks how your choices will read on the books of eternity: “I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.” That question belongs in every serious Christian’s internal controls.
Wesley’s short sayings expose whether our faith is merely emotional or actually obedient.
If prayer is “where the action is,” then neglecting prayer is spiritual negligence.
If “God grant that I may never live to be useless,” then passivity is not neutral; it is disobedience.
If “nothing short of God can satisfy your soul,” then our idols are not hobbies; they are threats.
So as you read these quotations, don’t treat them like Christian fortune cookies. Let them function as a gentle but firm review of your habits, your spending, your time, and your relationships. Ask: Where am I doing harm? Where am I withholding good? Where have I drifted from love for God?
Wesley doesn’t just invite us to feel inspired. He calls us, in Christ, to live a life that would still make sense when examined in the light of eternity’s final audit.
(thanks Curt)