Author: Chuck Griffin

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

Confident Hope

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Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

—Romans 12:12 (NLT)

By Chuck Griffin

If we are able to understand what our confident hope is, this becomes a simple verse to live by.

Paul wrote these words in a chapter of Romans where he also talked about making our bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Paul regularly spoke of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as the central message of Christianity, and it is clear he wants us completely “sold out” on the idea, committed to its meaning in good times and bad.

The cross, of course, means freedom for us. Think of your sins for a moment; briefly experience them as the crushing weight they should be. (I feel a slight shudder when I do this.) Now remember, that weight has been lifted by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross! Sin should lead to death, but both have been defeated by Christ.

Thus, the resurrection, the Easter event. It is our proof the cross is effective, and a promise of what is in store for us.

The cross also is the source of our confidence. We certainly will experience negative and even frightening moments in this life, but the fear they are somehow terminal, a full-stop end, is unjustified. We will pass through—life goes on, even after our bodily deaths.

This great truth of Christianity should shape every moment of our lives. Even in sorrow, joy lingers nearby because the truth of our salvation is constant.

Romans 12:12 is a simple Bible verse worth memorizing.

Lord, keep the cross before us in all circumstances. Amen.

Methodism 101

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Galatians 5:16-26 (NRSV)

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

By Chuck Griffin

When it comes to living by the Spirit or succumbing to the desires of the flesh, most of us find ourselves being pulled back and forth. Our hope is that over time, we get so close to the Spirit that the desires of the flesh lose their grip on us.

The fancy Methodist term for the process is “sanctification.” More and more each day, we should grow in our ability to love as Jesus loves. We show God love by seeking the divine will and following it. We show other people sacrificial love, in part hoping that they find God through what we offer them.

Welcome to Methodism 101. This emphasis on sanctification is what largely distinguishes us from other denominations, at least historically. If you’re in a United Methodist Church and are saying to yourself, “Haven’t heard that in awhile,” you’re not alone. Institutions have a tendency to slip from their moorings over time.

The coming new, traditional Methodist denomination likely will move us back toward an emphasis on sanctification, as well as other important related concepts like small-group accountability. That denomination may take a little time to develop, however, and there’s no reason we cannot get started living as true Methodists now.

Don’t be afraid to explore your Methodist roots, which simply are expressions of what God calls us to do in the Bible. Look for books that are helpful; explore websites designed to get you started.

In short, seek the fruit that only the Holy Spirit can place in our lives.

Lord, bless and empower our efforts to be more like what you created us to be. Amen.

Who Owns Whom?

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“Peter’s Conflict with Simon Magus,” Avanzino Nucci, 1620. Simon is on the right, in black.

Acts 8:18-25 (NRSV)

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.” Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”

Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.

By Chuck Griffin

Earlier in Acts, we learn that Simon was a magician, one so clever he astonished the people of Samaria to the point they thought he was tapping into the power of God.

But even this trickster was drawn to the message of Jesus Christ as Savior. Impressed by the signs and great miracles that truly flowed from God through Philip the Evangelist, Simon received baptism and began to follow the preacher about.

Pretty soon, two apostles, Peter and John, arrived on the scene, laying hands on those who had claimed Christ as Savior so the Holy Spirit would go to work in their lives. In other words, new spiritual gifts became available to this fledgling church in Samaria, expressed visibly in new signs and miracles now flowing through these recent converts.

As we see, Simon had heard the message in only a kind-of-sort-of way. It had not moved his heart to a new place. He saw the world as transactional, all about gain and loss. He thought money could somehow let him control this Spirit power.

Here’s what Simon was missing: We do not control God, and God’s work is never intended to glorify us. Instead, we let God control and guide us, giving the glory to him. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross removes the offense of sin from the relationship, and we are able to resume the role of created beings serving the loving Creator.

It’s a struggle that continues today. Even church leaders can become obsessed with the idea that they need to benefit personally from this kingdom work. Certainly, the “laborer deserves to be paid,” but beware of those whose only motive seems to be personal glory and a paycheck, preferably a big one.

Thanks be to God for all who serve the kingdom humbly and without thoughts of entitlement or reward, other than the joy to be found in eternal life with God.

Lord, may your Holy Spirit flow freely among your church, going to and fro to all who call upon your name. Amen.

Silver Lining

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Acts 8:1-8 (NLT)

Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.

A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.

But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

By Chuck Griffin

No one would ever look forward to persecution, but it’s amazing how resilient Christians can be in the face of such abuse. This particular outbreak of systematic oppression seems to have been led at least in part by Saul, more often called Paul after his later skull-rattling conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus.

Let’s focus, however, on the response of these Christians in the midst of this storm of hate. They prudently scattered, but as a group they did not abandon their mission. In fact, scattering them may have been the worst mistake their enemies could make.

They scattered not like frightened rabbits, but like seeds, blooming wherever they landed. Rather than being destroyed, the church grew, spreading beyond its Jewish base further into the world beyond.

When we think of miracle-workers in Acts, we tend to think of Peter and Paul. But here we learn about Philip the Evangelist’s work. The Spirit clearly was upon him, manifested in both miraculous signs and powerful teaching and preaching.

Those of you attending Weber City, Va.’s Holston View UMC or viewing worship online this Sunday will hear more about Philip and his work, God willing. To me, Philip seems like a quiet servant of God, humble but having a great effect on the world.

I realize some of you read these devotions in places where you perhaps face hostility and danger because of your faith. We who are in the United States face nothing like real persecution—our challenges rise only to the level of extreme nuisances, and those often are inflicted on us by other members of our denomination.

If you are in one of those dangerous places, know we are praying for you. We are conscious that martyrs are being made every day.

Thank you for standing strong and sowing seeds for the kingdom.

Lord, bless all who find their freedom and their lives jeopardized for believing in you. Please continue to astonish us with the ways you work in the midst of vicious non-belief. Amen.

In the Thicket

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Micah 7:14 (NLT)

O Lord, protect your people with your shepherd’s staff;

    lead your flock, your special possession.

Though they live alone in a thicket

    on the heights of Mount Carmel,

let them graze in the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead

    as they did long ago.

By Chuck Griffin

This particular verse in Micah arises as part of a lament over sin and a longing for better days.

We can process this desire to be led back to the good life on so many levels. As a people, we can always look to aspects of a national past we believe to be better, the good old days, although we do have to be careful. People have a tendency to remember the good and forget the bad.

My wife and I like movies from the 1950s and early 1960s, the ones that fill the screen with images just a little too early for us to have seen with our own eyes. Think of the New York City street scenes in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” or Doris Day at the Automat, or Cary Grant in a finely tailored suit. How nice it would be to go back in time and experience all that—without polio, the Korean and Vietnam wars, racism, sexism bordering on misogyny, and those ever-present clouds of cigarette smoke, of course.

We can have similar longings on an individual level, too, desiring that “better time,” whenever that might have been—maybe when we were in high school, or first married, or when the kids were little. If we get stuck in that longing, the here-and-now can seem very much like a briar-filled thicket.

We cannot go back in time, and we probably would not want to do so, were we to think it through. What we can do is take the best of our past experiences, as a people or as a person, and find a way to carry what we learn from them forward. That’s where this verse from Micah becomes useful.

Followers of God know that the best of times always happen in conjunction with a deep relationship with God. When we are with God, we are tapping into promises of eternal joy, timeless truths that color any present moment for the better.

Whatever thicket we find ourselves in, God can lead us out, usually through fellowship with others who follow God. The Great Shepherd has even gone to the cross so we can forever escape the deadly consequences of sin.

Lord, as we walk with you, give us great optimism for the future, knowing you are leading us toward fertile pastures. Amen.

Wrist Holds and Grace

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1 Peter 5:1-5 (NLT)

And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

By Chuck Griffin

Today’s Bible passage from the daily lectionary was written by a church leader to leaders, encouraging care of the flock through suspension of self-interest and a focus on humility. The timing is most excellent.

More than anything today, I wanted to be sure readers of this LifeTalk blog have had an opportunity to read an April 23 article by the Rev. Carolyn Moore, a Georgia pastor and one of the leaders of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Entitled “There Is a Simple Solution,” Rev. Moore makes a gentle, grace-filled appeal to United Methodist bishops, saying they have the power to end the painful struggle we find ourselves in, allowing churches wanting to leave the denomination to do so with their property and without punitive costs.

I’ll let her article make her appeal. I can add to it only by way of analogy.

I have practiced martial arts for four decades as of this year. As part of that practice, we spend time learning various ways to escape all sorts of grabs and holds.

One of the most basic holds we learn to deal with is the wrist hold, where someone grabs your wrist to prevent you from escaping whatever attack might follow. There are lots of ways, some simple, some elaborate, to free yourself from a wrist hold.

For example, if you raise your grasped wrist high, turning your palm in, it’s easy to use your other hand to take hold of the back of the attacker’s hand, free yourself, and then use both your hands to apply painful pressure to the attacker’s wrist. If you’re standing, you can use your own body weight to drive your opponent backward into the ground.

If the attack proves to be ongoing and powerful, the defensive responses inflict higher levels of pain and violence. For example, if the attacker locks down really hard, making it difficult to get loose, a swift kick or stomp will allow the release to work, a technique known as “loosening.”

Here’s what we don’t bother practicing in a martial arts class: Always presuming we prepare for violence, we don’t waste time looking at the opponent and saying, “Would you please let go of my wrist?”

Reading Rev. Moore’s article, I had a realization. Progressives, institutionalists and traditionalists in the United Methodist Church have been circling each other as if we are presuming violent intent. We strategize, we project ideal outcomes, and we take defensive or offensive postures over the issue of church property. 

Church is not a martial arts class, however. As peaceful, grace-filled Christians, we should be able to look at each other and say, “Please, let go of my wrist,” and receive a graceful response.

That’s what Rev. Moore asks in her article. The trust clause, which the bishops control, has become the wrist hold binding traditional Methodists to a system they want to escape.

It’s a simple request. Please, let go of our wrists.

Lord, in times of strife, let grace and mercy among brothers and sisters in Christ reign. Amen.

Grace Under Fire

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Acts 4:1-4 (NLT)

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

Yesterday, we considered how Peter continued to offer forgiving grace from Jesus Christ even to the people involved in the crucifixion. Thousands listened, but we also see how pointedly describing sin and the need for repentance can get a person into trouble.

The leaders who thought a crucifixion had brought an end to the Jesus movement were unhappy to hear all this talk of resurrection. Peter and John found themselves under arrest.

They seem to have approached the situation not as a problem, but as an opportunity. Read on a little, and you’ll see how they continued to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and that ongoing healing still was to be credited to the one who had risen from the dead.

Later, such arrests would lead to beatings for the apostles. Fearing the people who had seen the lame man healed, the Jewish leaders this day opted for authoritarian threats and intimidation, telling Peter and John to speak of Jesus no more.

The two were unimpressed.

“Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

The lesson is straightforward. If they were so bold under their circumstances, we certainly should be bold in ours. Let’s always be seeking new opportunities to tell people Jesus Christ is Lord.

Lord, we know any success we have at declaring the Good News is because of your strength, not our own. May we rely on your guidance and power more each day. Amen.

Grace in the Portico

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Acts 3:17-26 (NLT)

“Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’

“Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”

By Chuck Griffin

Just as Jesus had done during his earthly ministry, the Apostle Peter was able to teach and preach in conjunction with powerful signs that drew in the people. In this case, Peter and John had brought healing to a man lame from birth, a man who had sat in one of the temple gates for decades to beg.

The miraculous healing was enough for a crowd of Jews to gather and hear what Peter had to say, similar to the way thousands had gathered earlier at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell on the first disciples of Jesus Christ. On this day, the crowd gathered in an eastern wing of the temple called “Solomon’s Portico.” (You’ll also see the space called a “porch” or “collonade.”)

What’s remarkable about Peter’s sermon is the degree to which grace was once again offered. The people’s participation in Christ’s death, either directly with cries of “Crucify him!” or through association with their leaders, was not a sin so great that it could not be expunged. Redemption through Christ was available even for those who initiated the crucifixion.

Repentance was still required, of course, just as it is necessary today. But the gift of salvation truly is available to all.

Peter did not require these people to reject their Jewish heritage. In fact, his sermon was designed to help them embrace fully the work of their ancestors, accepting that what their prophets had declared for centuries was actually fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Despite the magnitude of the grace offered, many struggled with the message, as many struggle today. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the resilience of these preachers when faced with brutal threats.

Lord, thank you for the torrent of forgiving grace poured upon us from the earliest days of the church until today. Help us to accept your forgiving grace and the grace that continues to shape us into the images of God you made us to be. Amen.

Good Fish, Bad Fish

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By Chuck Griffin

A lot of people, particularly younger adults, don’t like the idea of “going to church.” This is true even if they consider themselves spiritual.

That’s not just a personal observation; studies and polls are proving this fact repeatedly. Most recently, Gallup research showed that for the first time in U.S. history, less than 50 percent of American adults belong to a church. (Gallup included membership in synagogues and mosques, too, and still got to just 47 percent participation.)

Particularly instructive for us are the studies that explore why some people have strong negative reactions to the idea of being involved in a church. Yes, people sometimes complain that church is boring. Yes, people say there are now many other attractions on Sunday, and involvement in church simply cannot compete.

There is one criticism that stands out above all others, however, and it is the primary problem we “churched” people face when telling others about Jesus Christ. Churches, these church-averse people say, are full of hypocrites.

The solution is not to call these critics wrong, but to acknowledge they are right, using that humbling truth to move toward a deeper conversation about why Jesus Christ died on the cross.

Jesus told us from the start that the global church would be considerably less than pure until he returns and restores all of creation to a holy state. One place he illustrates this truth is in a parable found in Matthew 13:47-50.

The church is the primary way we now see the presence of the “kingdom of heaven” on earth. But Jesus described the kingdom of heaven as being a net full of fish, good fish and bad fish mixed together.

In the story, the good fish are put in baskets, while the bad fish are thrown out. “That is the way it will be at the end of the world,” Jesus said. “The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This parable sometimes is misinterpreted, with people assuming it’s a simple tale of God’s desire to separate the righteous and unrighteous in the world. But in this parable, the world is represented by the ocean, while the net is the initial gathering of people who say they want to follow Christ.

A similar parable is found in Matthew 13:24-30, where an “enemy” sows weeds in a field of wheat representing the kingdom of heaven. The two are allowed to grow together until the final harvest, when the weeds are separated and burned.

When we hear the “hypocrite” charge leveled at us, it’s important that we learn to say in all humility, “Yes, things are not as they should be in the church. Brokenness and sin remain among us even though we call ourselves Christians. Jesus told us this would happen.”

We can hope such simple honesty will open the door to a conversation about deeper truths. For example, Christ remains our perfect savior regardless of Christians’ imperfections. And Christ wants his followers in fellowship together, even though he knows evil will sometimes wriggle into the net.

As fishy as it sometimes smells, church remains the place to be in relationship with God.

Lord, help us to project desirable images of righteousness to a hurting world needing to know you better. Amen.

Love and Truth

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2 John (NLT)

This letter is from John, the elder.

I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth—because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.

Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.

I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.

I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete.

Greetings from the children of your sister, chosen by God.

By Chuck Griffin

While we call them “books of the Bible,” some of those books really are just short letters. Second John is printed in its entirety above.

The “chosen lady” likely is a personification of the recipient church, with her “children” being the members of that church. The last line of the letter seems to confirm this, showing the letter’s author wrote from a “sister” church.

I have a particular fondness for this letter because it emphasizes the nature of Christian love. Yes, we are to be very open and giving with our love. This agape love for each other does not mean, however, that we forget to first love God. We love God by obeying what he commands of us in Scripture and telling the truth about those commands to others.

Even in Christianity’s earliest days, the church struggled with deceivers, with “antichrists,” people who pose as bringers of a holy message but who actually are looking out for their own unholy interests. They will deny the reality of the resurrection; they will deny other teachings clearly communicated in the New Testament about God’s expectations of us.

No doubt, such deceivers will be with us until Christ returns in full. John the Elder could have written this letter to any of our churches today.

Love and truth walk hand in hand. In fact, it is a very unloving thing to deceive people about God’s expectations for his followers, or to allow these deceptive teachings to happen in the midst of Christian fellowship. Too much is at stake.

Lord, help us to discern clearly what is being spoken in the midst of our congregations, testing what we hear against the revelation found in your Holy Bible. Amen.