Author: Chuck Griffin

An ordained elder in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The Red Meat of Lent

~ Chuck Griffin ~ 1 Comment

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

What does advanced, mature Christianity look like? Well, sort of like advanced eating.

That is Paul’s metaphor, not mine. In his first known letter to the church at Corinth, Paul drew a clear distinction between those who have advanced in their relationship with God via the Holy Spirit and those who have not. His critique of the church was harsh; despite having had plenty of time to grow in their Christian faith, they remained mewling babies, unable to handle anything except the most basic spiritual food.

The evidence underlying Paul’s accusation was straightforward. The church in Corinth suffered from disunity, breaking into factions and rallying around human leaders rather than Christ and the world-changing message of the cross.

It’s a brilliant metaphor, one that can be stretched far without breaking. Most of us have seen how children grow from milk to mashed food to an eventual desire for nourishment as complicated as red meat.

I’ll just go ahead and apologize to the vegetarians now; feel free to visualize raw kale and radicchio instead.

Many children even exhibit a strong desire to move from one type of food to the next, demanding what they’ve never had when they first see it. Mine certainly did.

We’re made to hunger in the same way spiritually, moving from the basic, comforting message of the cross to more challenging concepts. Just as it would be sad to see an adult unable to stomach anything except milk, it should sadden us to see people 10 or 20 years into their Christian lives who have not moved beyond a beginning Christian’s understanding of the cross.

C’mon, Try a Bite

With all that in mind, I want to put a spiritual sampler platter before you. It is, after all, the season of Lent, that time when we take on new spiritual disciplines. If you haven’t tried some of this, you should.

Advanced Bible Study. I’m not just talking about being able to distinguish Noah from Moses. Can you dive into God’s word and tease out the big, overarching messages of Scripture? For example, there are recurring themes like creation and holiness, the brokenness sin brings, God’s overwhelming love for us, and the tremendous gifts of grace granted us. Can you then use those concepts to keep the more complicated or troubling points of Scripture in context?

Do you know what it means to study the Bible inductively, to let the Holy Spirit work through Scripture to shape you and change you? It’s a much better approach than letting your human thoughts and emotions blind you to God’s revealed truths.

You do not have to go to seminary to learn all of this. Every good church offers you the opportunity to learn such things.

Advanced Prayer. It’s good to pray the Lord’s Prayer and to take time to pray for your family and others around you. But we can go so much further in prayer.

Ever heard of contemplative prayer? Everyone talks about meditation these days, usually from the perspective of yoga practice or Buddhist teachings. Christianity has its own form of meditative prayer, designed to help us better understand God’s will in our lives.

If you followed last September’s prayer series, or Advent’s prayer series, you’ve been exposed to some of these ideas already.

Ever tried praying Scripture? Using the Psalms as a basis for prayer is particularly helpful and enlightening.

Our goal should be to turn our lives into a walking prayer, to “pray without ceasing,” living in constant union with God. Are we there yet? I’m not, but I know I want more!

Living and Using Our Spiritual Gifts. God continues to pour out gifts on us, even after salvation. Do you know what your gifts are? I continue to be astonished by Christians who don’t know how they are gifted.

The gifts we are given tell us specifically how God is wanting to use us in this world now. Knowing these gifts lets us be more effective as we help God build his kingdom. There also is great satisfaction in developing these gifts.

Portrait of a Healthy Eater

If you’re not trying all the possibilities God has placed before you, maybe it will help if I give you a picture of what a mature spiritual eater looks like. We can become spiritually svelte, holy and attractive to God.

In particular, I look to another of Paul’s writings, the letter to the Galatians. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul listed what he called the “fruits of the Spirit,” the result of deep engagement with God.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Paul said.

Who would not want to be described by others as such a person? And as Paul knew, such people have little trouble understanding God’s will and how to live in unity.

As I say sometimes during communion, the table is set. Come, partake.

Contemplation

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American culture does not seem to place much value on self-analysis. I’ve noticed that even Christian Americans tend to deride such activity as “navel gazing,” implicitly preferring action to introspection.

I intend, however, to defend the contemplation of the navel today. The Bible tells me to do as much.

We are now in what is supposed to be an extended period of reflection for Christians, leading up to the celebration of Easter April 9. As has been mentioned already, some denominations, including various kinds of Methodists, call this church season “Lent,” which should not be confused with the fuzzy threads you may notice while gazing at your navel.

In Romans 10:8-13, we see the actions necessary to accept salvation. The Apostle Paul writes that “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.”

For most of us, however, it’s not possible to confess and believe, and keep on doing so, without a little self-analysis. We need such ongoing reflection to deepen our understanding of who we are as broken people and who God is as the pure and holy creator.

To accept and appreciate what has been done for us, we have to meditate on the chasm between humanity and God. Sin, our inability to obey God’s will, causes this separation, of course.

If you want a big-picture view of the break in the relationship, read the story of what we call “the fall” in Genesis 3. And if you want to see yourself in the story, meditate a while on the last time you did what you instinctively knew was wrong, behaving like a modern Adam or Eve.

Most of us who call ourselves Christians have been through this meditative process at least once. Understanding our separation from God is what brought us to our knees in the first place. But some post-conversion navel gazing is healthy, too.

None of us is made perfect by that first moment of confession and belief, and with God’s help we want to become more loving as time passes. That’s why Lent is so useful. Once a year, we are reminded of our need to reflect, and in that reflection we draw even closer to God, growing in our faith and our ability to do God’s work.

Yes, it can be a somber effort. But remember who lies at the end of it all. In our brokenness, we are met by Jesus Christ, the one who took ultimate action.

In dying on the cross for our sins and then overcoming death, he closed the chasm, and reunion with our creator is possible. Easter joy is just around the corner!

Defining What’s Important

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What is the Holy Bible, anyway? On the surface, it almost sounds like a kindergarten question, but I think it’s critical that traditional Christians ask it of each other, particularly in this season of Lent.

I am convinced that a lot of the problems we have been experiencing in Methodism and in American Christianity in general stem from a breakdown in the traditional understanding of what the Bible is and how it should be used by the faithful. If we are to participate in any Christian awakening that may be developing, I believe we have to get this definition of Scripture right.

After all, the Holy Bible is the primary record of how God has spoken to humanity for nearly 4,000 years. If we as believers stop a moment and let that sink in, we should feel at least a slight shiver of astonishment, followed by a deep sense of reverence. God guides us today through writings set down by prophets, apostles and other Holy Spirit-inspired writers going back as far as the Bronze Age.

Problems arise now because people think the Bible needs to somehow be “modernized,” that is, reinterpreted or even pared to fit competing worldviews. There is nothing new about these worldviews, however; they simply are ideas that get recycled every so many years, sometimes lying dormant for decades or even centuries.

They seem new because a generation has become unfamiliar with them. As the author of Ecclesiastes wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” For example, what are considered innovations in human sexuality today are really nothing more than a return to the sexual mores that were prevalent in the Greek-Roman culture, where Judaism managed to survive and Christianity flourished while opposing what God called unholy.

Bowing to accommodate these competing worldviews amounts to idolatry. When we do so, we place worldly ideas on a pedestal above God’s revelations.

Christians, we were warned such trying moments would happen: “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3.)

So, back to the original question. What is the Holy Bible if you believe Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior? Here’s my attempt at an extended answer:

It is timeless. With its authors guided by the Holy Spirit, grand truths that apply to any moment in human history are revealed, and all that is within the Bible must be interpreted in light of those universal revelations.

Its core, critical truth is that God has redeemed sinful humanity through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. As Paul was prone to say, “We preach Christ crucified.” The Old Testament points to this event; the New Testament details and explains its importance.

The Holy Bible is God’s library, filled with a rich variety of literary devices. There is narration, of course, storytelling at its finest. We also find within it poetry, allegory, discourse, basic record keeping, apocalyptic visions, and other genres. We have to understand how each genre works if we are to interpret what we find there. It is not all to be read literally, but again, it all does reveal truth.

God’s word reveals these truths so that they may change us. We are fools if we try to change them.

The Holy Bible is the birthright of the born-again Christian. It belongs to us, not the world, even as it calls us to invite the world to faith in Jesus Christ.

I also will add what the Bible is not. It is not, as some people say, a document that can be made to say whatever we want it to say. People who make that remark lack a basic understanding of how to read the Bible as a whole. In particular, they do not know how to interpret the details in light of the great themes.

As we continue into Lent, I encourage us as believers to throw ourselves into this gift from God wholeheartedly. Find a guide if you need one. And if you seek truth but don’t yet believe—well, beware. Genuine, prayerful, open-minded study of what’s in there may change your life.

Ashes and Onward

~ Chuck Griffin ~ 1 Comment

Today is Ash Wednesday. For some of you that means a lot, and for some of you that means very little. Regardless, I want to invite you to a season of spiritual growth as we begin Lent.

Lent, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, is a season in the church’s liturgical calendar. Preceding Easter, which is April 9 this year, Lent has long been a time of reflection as Christians ready themselves for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Many of the ancient Christian churches saw this as a time of preparation for adult converts seeking to be baptized in the faith.

Ash Wednesday services typically launch Lent by focusing on a renewed connection to God through confession, repentance and that word some find icky, discipline. For those of you who have read Methodist Life regularly, this should already make sense, as confession and repentance have been embedded in disciplined prayer patterns we covered in September of last year and during the season of Advent.

I first want to encourage you to continue or resume the pattern of praying three times a day. You can review the suggested parts of such a pattern by going back to the “Expect Christ” series from Advent.

Second, I hope you will seriously consider finding an Ash Wednesday service at a church near you to begin the season of Lent. If you’re near the church I serve, Holston View Methodist in Weber City, Va., feel free to join us at 7 p.m. this evening. If you’ve never been to such a service before, don’t let the mystery of it all, or the ashes, scare you. Ash Wednesday services are usually quite simple, and the optional “black cross on the forehead” merely is an outward sign of repentance.

I also am going to be writing about Lent on a weekly basis here on Methodist Life, publishing on Wednesdays. As I write these weekly articles, I also hope some of us can develop a more personal connection throughout the season. If any of you would like to form an online discussion group during Lent, just email me at cwgriffiniii@gmail.com.

Such a group would make use of Christian videos found on RightNow Media. In fact, the kind folks at RightNow Media have said I can extend my church’s subscription to any of you viewing Methodist Life. Simply click here to gain free access. (If you have trouble getting access, let me know.)

I pray we can all be blessed by this season and develop some new relationships in the process.

Joy to You!

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Luke 2:1-21 (KJV)

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Methodist Life will return soon with new features.

A Christmas Eve Prayer

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Dear Lord, as the sun sets on this day, may we once again be astonished by a tale that has become almost too familiar. It can become something we take for granted, a story neatly tucked away among the trees and tinsel, the presents and the food. Help us to remember today why we celebrate this evening:

JESUS CHRIST HAS COME!

Our promised Savior came humbly, as an infant, to the poorest and least important of families. He arrived with no obvious path to power, yet angels declared his glory. He grew up in a place barely worth noting on a map, yet the most learned people of his day traveled from afar to see him, the skies declaring the arrival of a king.

He grew. He loved us. He died for our sins. He has taken his proper place in heaven, and we rejoice that we will be in his presence for all eternity.

May the Holy Spirit guide us through this day, keeping us in a state of worship.

We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Expect Christ: Day 27

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Today is Friday, Dec. 23, our last day praying together in the Advent season. Tomorrow, we will celebrate Christmas Eve, entering a celebration of the incarnation!

Morning

Praise and Thanksgiving.

Our final psalm of anticipation as we pray, Psalm 110, is warlike and brutal, a sharp contrast to the baby in the manger we will celebrate tomorrow night. This is a psalm of power and conquest, a declaration of God’s sure triumph over evil. God comes among us in love to save us, but let’s never forget that the divine power and plan are absolute. Jesus will return with full authority one day.

Let’s also pray this together:

“Lord, your glory is eternal, existing before creation and beyond creation. As the created, we once again praise you and look forward to the day when we live in your eternal light. May our celebrations of the incarnation appropriately honor you and open us to a deeper understanding of your magnificence. Amen.”

What other words of thanks and praise might we lift up?

Confession. As we anticipate meeting the Christ child, let’s quietly search our hearts once again for what is opposed to God, recognizing our propensity to sin and trusting in God’s grace.

Petitions. As we move toward celebrating the great truth that changes the world, let’s once again pray from global concerns down to personal concerns, seeking how we might be the answer to some of the problems around us.

Scripture: Hebrews 1

Silence.

Noon

Let’s pray this prayer together one more time:

“Lord, we have passed through a season of expectation. We remember the Israelites’ past desire for a savior to arrive, and we mirror what they felt as we long now for the return of Jesus Christ. Come Lord Jesus, come! We pray this with some trepidation, knowing we never feel completely ready for such a day, and that loved ones around us may not be ready. And yet we continue to pray, Come Lord Jesus, come! We trust that your grace at your return will so overwhelm sin and death that all will be set right. As we pray for your full arrival, teach us how to make ourselves ready, living as watchful people. Amen.”

Night

At a minimum, let’s spend some significant time in a quiet, reflective state before retiring for the night. Embrace the day’s spiritual victories and release the failures.

Sleep well. Having lived and prayed in anticipation, may Christmas fill your hearts.

Expect Christ: Day 26

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Today is Thursday, Dec. 22, the twenty-sixth day in the Advent season.

Morning

Praise and Thanksgiving.

As we draw closer to Christmas, let’s pray with Mary, lifting up Luke 1:46-55 and expressing our belief that mercy is truly shown from one generation to the next, so long as we honor God.

Let’s also pray this together:

“Lord, your grace and mercy are evident in the story we move toward celebrating, the birth of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your overwhelming, powerful love. Continue to sustain us with the Holy Spirit until such time as we we see the fiery, wooly-haired Christ before us, injecting truth into a false world in need of remaking. Amen.”

What other words of thanks and praise might we lift up?

Confession. Let’s quietly search our hearts once again for what is within us that is not of God.

Petitions. As we move toward celebrating the great truth that changes the world, let’s once again pray from global concerns down to personal concerns, seeking how we might be the answer to some of the problems around us.

Scripture: Revelation 22:6-20.

Silence.

Noon

Let’s continue to pray this prayer together daily:

“Lord, we are in a season of expectation. We remember the Israelites’ past desire for a savior to arrive, and we mirror what they felt as we long now for the return of Jesus Christ. Come Lord Jesus, come! We pray this with some trepidation, knowing we never feel completely ready for such a day, and that loved ones around us may not be ready. And yet we continue to pray, Come Lord Jesus, come! We trust that your grace at your return will so overwhelm sin and death that all will be set right. As we pray for your full arrival, teach us how to make ourselves ready, living as watchful people. Amen.”

Night

At a minimum, let’s spend some significant time in a quiet, reflective state before retiring for the night. Embrace the day’s spiritual victories and release the failures.

Sleep well. May visions of Christ in the manger and Christ to come pervade your dreams.

Expect Christ: Day 25

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Today is Wednesday, Dec. 21, the twenty-fifth day in the Advent season.

Morning

Praise and Thanksgiving.

Let’s begin our prayers today with Psalm 109. It is another psalm closely associated with the Messiah, and along with other truths it predicts Jesus Christ’s betrayer.

Let’s also pray this together:

“Savior God, your presence among us was no easy task for you. You experienced the worst humanity has to offer, yet you demonstrated the best possibilities in your sacrificial life and death. Praise be to the one who gave so much so that we might gain eternal life! May we learn to live in similarly sacrificial ways. Amen.”

What other words of thanks and praise might we lift up?

Confession. When we pray regularly, we have little difficulty identifying sin. Let’s dig to the roots of sin in our lives, uprooting it and freeing ourselves for the joyous Christmas celebration to come.

Petitions. Again, as we move close to the Christmas season, let’s pray in particular for those needing to know the truth that God has intervened in this world through Jesus Christ. There also are so many who are sick right now. A hospital visit yesterday astonished me. I witnessed full rooms in the emergency department, with additional beds lined up in the halls outside those rooms, each holding a suffering soul. Pray for the sick; pray for the medical professionals who tend to them.

Scripture: Matthew 1:1-17. At first glance, this looks like a boring old genealogy, but there’s much going on here. Do you recognize the brokenness in Jesus’ lineage? Look for deception, prostitution, adultery and murder in the stories behind some of these people. Trust me, there’s a whole sermon here. Christ arrived in the midst of a mess to make salvation possible, and we pray he returns in the midst of our mess to set creation fully and completely right.

Silence.

Noon

Let’s continue to pray this prayer together daily:

“Lord, we are in a season of expectation. We remember the Israelites’ past desire for a savior to arrive, and we mirror what they felt as we long now for the return of Jesus Christ. Come Lord Jesus, come! We pray this with some trepidation, knowing we never feel completely ready for such a day, and that loved ones around us may not be ready. And yet we continue to pray, Come Lord Jesus, come! We trust that your grace at your return will so overwhelm sin and death that all will be set right. As we pray for your full arrival, teach us how to make ourselves ready, living as watchful people. Amen.”

Night

At a minimum, let’s spend some significant time in a quiet, reflective state before retiring for the night. Embrace the day’s spiritual victories and release the failures.

Sleep well, knowing the story of the Christ child to come begins the story of our salvation.

Expect Christ: Day 24

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Today is Tuesday, Dec. 20, the twenty-fourth day in the Advent season.

Morning

Praise and Thanksgiving.

Let’s return to Psalm 22 as we begin our prayers today. It is a psalm closely associated with the Messiah; also, pay attention to the birth imagery. And of course, Jesus quoted it while on the cross. Try praying these words while reflecting on the “mind of Christ,” understanding that we are called to exhibit similar humility.

Let’s also pray this way:

“Dear Lord, you are unimaginably powerful and glorious, and yet you were willing to set aside obvious evidence of your magnificence so as to live among us, diapered and dependent on mere humans for your care. In this truth, we see that love is at the core of divine glory. As we move toward the story of the baby in the manger, help us to remember the full story of salvation. Amen.”

What other words of thanks and praise might we lift up?

Confession. Release all that is not of God to God for divine destruction, knowing the Holy Spirit will fill any void we may experience.

Petitions. Again, as we move close to the Christmas season, let’s pray in particular for those needing to know the truth that God has intervened in this world through Jesus Christ.

Scripture: Galatians 4:21-5:1.

Silence.

Noon

Let’s continue to pray this prayer together daily:

“Lord, we are in a season of expectation. We remember the Israelites’ past desire for a savior to arrive, and we mirror what they felt as we long now for the return of Jesus Christ. Come Lord Jesus, come! We pray this with some trepidation, knowing we never feel completely ready for such a day, and that loved ones around us may not be ready. And yet we continue to pray, Come Lord Jesus, come! We trust that your grace at your return will so overwhelm sin and death that all will be set right. As we pray for your full arrival, teach us how to make ourselves ready, living as watchful people. Amen.”

Night

At a minimum, let’s spend some significant time in a quiet, reflective state before retiring for the night. Embrace the day’s spiritual victories and release the failures.

Perhaps tonight we can dream of holy Christmases past and celebrations to come.