Triumphant Fragrances (2 Corinthians 2:14-17)

To start today's devotional, consider this passage from 2 Corinthians chapter 2.  Meditate on the meaning of the sensory words like "aroma" and "fragrance".  Ask God to open your hearts and eyes and ears to what He may have for you in the scriptures (which might be completely different than what I needed to hear from Jesus today).

2 CORINTHIANS 2:14-17
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."

So I wanna talk about 3 cool chunks of this passage:
1. Triumphal procession
2. The fragrance and aroma business
3. Believers as commissioned spokesman of Christ

First, I just want to quickly celebrate how gloriously humbling the that parade image is to me.  The Savior of weak and awful sinners, through His power, transforms us into a new creation that He is proud to display for all the world!  HOW AWESOME IS THIS??? Also, the word TRIUMPHAL is huge because our God is not eventually going to win, HE'S ALREADY WON IT ALL.  We are part of God revealing the glory of Jesus through the Holy Spirit and the VICTORY that is one from the Resurrection and the power of Christ in our lives. It's a celebration with no fear of defeat!

Through this parade of the Lord's power, we spread the "fragrance" of the knowledge of God. 

The word "aroma", found in the next phrase of the passage, reminds me of a passage from the old testiment.  Check this chunk of Numbers out:

Numbers 29:8

"but you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: see that they are without blemish."

I think it significant that the verse from Numbers deals with sacrifice as an aroma to the Lord. In a final and more perfect sense, Christ and His sacrifice on the cross give us the ability to be pleasing to the Lord. The defeat of sin through Jesus and the ritual sacrifice of animals (which God established before Christ paid our debt in full to make a new covenant) are both means that God's people had to come in contact with Him in righteous and clean communion. Through death in Jesus, we find life, much like the sacrifice of animals showed us the severity of sin and God's promise to forgive the repentant.

It's interesting to me how death and life, on either side of Jesus' offer of salvation, both react INCREDIBLY different to the aroma of Christ. Read this part of the Corinthians passage again:  "to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life."

 Perhaps one of the reasons that the enemy, the world, and our flesh react so violently towards Jesus is the fact that death (the state we live in because of sin and before gracious atonement) is so completely defeated by another kind of death (the crucifixion of our old life with Christ). This reaction is the antithesis of the one we, as believers, experience when another person(s) that loves the Lord enters our space. In that moment, both parties are encouraged and grown through fellowship and common devotion and worship of Jesus.  The connection of the Holy Spirit within the believers is a powerfully binding force, the very Spirit of God affirming Himself in another of His Children.  The fragrance and essence of Christ is the most powerful thing in creation (since He created it), so it will always cause a reaction.

This is why we can say we are not "peddlers of God's word" as Paul writes, but we are ambassadors with authority speaking on behalf of a King. The last point of interest in this beautifully dense passage reminds me that we do not carry a light or fruitless burden in the gospel. I'm also saddened and little angered by the reminder that there are in fact those that would use the gospel cheaply, for personal gain, or without truly knowing the power they speak of. I pray that we seek to be genuine in carrying the truth of Jesus, that we would not be like the pharisees in Jesus' day (who profited off God's teachings without having His love in them). In Jesus, we are speaking the Truth of life and life everlasting.  As Paul says, we speak as the Body of Christ Himself, we are called to be the light of the world in that triumphal procession we talked about earlier.

I've rambled too long, so thank anyone for reading, but I hope that you and I would seek this day, this week, and this season to be the sweet aroma of Christ to God and to the world that He loves enough to die for.

Be bold and courageous, YOU'RE NOT A PEDDLER OF USELESS GOODS, you carry the light and word of Jesus' Gospel!

Much Love

- Grady

The Gift Of Undeserved Everything

I think the best gifts are the ones that we don't earn.  There aren't many things that feel as good as the joy and surprise of an unexpected treasure. 

Recently, my father-in-law bought my wife a really fancy gaming laptop completely out of nowhere.  Brandy was totally blown away, since a computer of that caliber felt like an unattainable dream.

Now I'm NOT AT ALL saying that expensive gifts and earthly  belongings are the best way to show love (it all fades away to dust).  But seeing how happy Brandy was at receiving something out of a father's generosity reminded me of our Heavenly Father pouring out HUGE and UNDESERVED gifts on His children.

And when you get right down to it, EVERYTHING the Lord gives us totally and completely undeserved. From the breath we take each moment to the freedom from sin in Jesus, all of the things we should be thankful for are given to us out of GRACE ALONE.

Think about it, nothing you work for is really a gift.  In the same way, our blessings are not a payment for our wages.  Jesus AND ONLY JESUS completed the work of salvation, so He's the only one who should receive anything.  BUT HERE'S THE KICKER:  Christ shares His inheritance and life that He bought on the cross with us!  Praise the Lord.  You probably know all of that, but man do we need to stop and thank Him constantly for such a blessing!

SIDE NOTE:
Another part of what defines a gift, at least in my understanding and interpretation, is the choice to receive it. I know that the very word "choice" is a theological debate hot-button (which I will typically avoid in these devotionals), but I really think that the choice to thankfully receive a gift given is part of what makes a gift fundamentally different than a mandate.

But I don't think our human nature likes being told it's unworthy.  In our flesh we don't want anyone or anything (God included) to question our well-deserved earnings.  When we work or do ministry, it is easy for us to desire the praise and affirmation we believe we are owed by the world.  WE HAVE TO FIGHT THIS. In every success we must thank Jesus and turn our praise, and hopefully those around us, towards the true giver of every good gift.

Now I don't think we are being sinful when we are happy after receiving a compliment or if we get excited when somebody enjoys a piece of art we create, God delights in our accomplishments too.  It's just a matter of perspective and understanding that we couldn't do what we do without the gifts and skills the Lord has blessed us with. Jesus really, REALLY loves us.  He loves and desires us enough to give Himself WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.  So don't think for a second you are not valued or beautiful.  In Jesus we are made a wonderful fragrance and a blessing to His heart.  We just HAVE TO REMEMBER that all of those realities are only made possible by His love for us before we ever loved Him. The second we believe He is our Lord and forsake the world's offer, we are made children of the King and inheritors in His family!

I want to finish with a thought that filled me with a great amount of joy this morning.  If I deserve nothing of what I have been given or will be given in the future, then HOW MUCH MUST GOD LOVE ME that He constantly pours out the gifts anyway???  Seriously, I think I'm MORE confident in my worth knowing that God doesn't have to give me anything, but He CHOOSES to give me more than I could EVER ask for or earn.  Not having the capacity to repay God means that we should receive His gifts humbly and thankfully BUT WITHOUT ANY GUILT, HE WANTS TO BLESS YOU

HE LOVES YOU ALL SO FREAKIN' MUCH.  Jesus deserves everything and Jesus lives in you, so you get to share in the greatest treasures in all of reality.  God's love is awesome and we didn't even have to work for it.  Pretty cool stuff.

Here are some scriptures for the day.  I hope something blessed you.  I'm not a great theologian, but I hope some nuggets of truth and encouragement find you in today's devotional.


Romans 5:8
 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

James 1:7
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Romans 8:28
 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

1 Peter 4:10
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

1 Corinthians 12:7
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

1 Corinthians 10:30-31
 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.





Ephesians 3:7
Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

Build Unity Through Forgiveness: 2 Corinthians Chapter 2 stuff

I want to write a little bit about appropriate church discipline and forgiveness, as demonstrated in the second chapter of 2 Corinthians.   So read these verses to start:

2 Corinthians 2:5-11 (ESV)

"Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."

First off, in a strange way, there's a strange sense of connection when I read this passage for one big reason: THE EARLY CHURCH WAS NOT PERFECT OR DRAMA-FREE!

I don't mention that to condone sinful actions or make light of problems within a church, but sometimes I think we need to remember that (though our technology and culture changes) humans aren't that different from age to age. We're not any worse or any better than the people that made up the early church in Corinth. We have victories, struggles, healing, and hurting alike, and we must surrender to Jesus' leadership.

In light of those observations, Paul speaks to the church about how to appropriately deal with a(n) individual(s) within the congregation that causes harm. And in the interest of not typing a overly long devotional, I think this passage of scripture boils down to one word: FORGIVENESS.

How do we punish the one that hurts us?  WE FORGIVE THEM! Even if you're new to this Jesus business, the old "turn the other cheek" idea is probably burned in your brain. GOOD! I am convinced, based on many of the toughest struggles I've been through with brothers in Christ hurting me, there is nothing that speeds healing and mending like FORGIVENESS.  Seriously, it opens floodgates of healing into a broken moment.

Now, forgiving an offender in our family does not mean we act stupid and don't learn from the experience and put measures in place to prevent repeat offenses, but it does mean we grant him or her the SAME STANDING OF GRACE as God gives us when He forgives us.  As a matter of fact, God tells us that He demands forgiveness when asking for forgiveness.  So holding sinful grudges while wanting God's forgiveness for our own many mistakes doesn't cut it.

I've already typed too much (I really am trying to make short devotionals, dang it), so just remember that forgiveness, especially within the Body of Christ, is not just so we all get along, FORGIVENESS TEARS DOWN THE PLOTS OF THE DEVIL.  The enemy hates the Church like he hates Christ, so let's not give satan any help when it comes to tearing a church apart.

If the Spirit is alive and active in the hearts of your church brothers, then the conviction from God will do most of the disciplining. After taking the appropriate measures to rectify whatever wrong was done, FORGIVE, FORGIVE, FORGIVE, and move on as a family moving towards Jesus Christ.

Reaffirm your love for your brother after his moment of attack and don't treat the person like he's any less of a believer (you'll want the same forgiveness and mercy when it's you screwing up later).

Love and peace guys,
-Grady

For the "YOU" you!

God's timing is always perfect.  He speaks and gives us what we need when we need it most.  For example, I had the privilege of working as a staff on a wonderful youth and college retreat this past weekend, and during a moment of prayer with a good friend, I was reminded of a reassuring truth...

GOD LOVES ME!   And even more incredible, HE LOVES "ME" ME (not just the different hats of me that I wear).

What am I talking about, you might ask (or maybe you don't, I'm gonna type along anyways)?
I am simply praising God and reminding myself and any of you reading that Jesus Christ saves/loves/protects/enjoys YOU at your deepest and simplest level.  I'm not talking about your ministry, your family life, your work, or your dreams (though all of those are beautifully made).  I'm talking about YOU.

Before the very foundation of the world was formed, YOU were DESIGNED by the Creator to be a unique and never-seen-before-or-after work of art.  And you've heard this all before, especially if you're a church kid, and possibly to the point of nausea, BUT YOU NEED TO HEAR AND BELIEVE IT TODAY!

I'm definitely an example of someone that "knows" this truth of God's acceptance and love, but often acts in a way that would reveal a "saved by works" mentality.

If somehow, by now, you don't know that I'm a musician (now you do), you might not know my struggle with motivation and purpose.  I am a Christian that is a musician, so most of my music and poetry draws its strength from my faith journey. But, I battle almost daily to keep proper prioritization of my work.  Do I write and play just for the Lord's enjoyment, do I play for ministry to others, or do I play simply to honor my commitment to put food on the table?

No matter what doubts assail me each day, I know that the Lord has called me to use music as a big part of my ministry.  BUT HERE'S THE THING/THE KICKER/THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS DEVOTIONAL:

MY BIGGEST CALLING FROM GOD (and yours too) IS TO LOVE HIM WITH MY EVERYTHING AND BE THE ME HE LOVES!

When I break down life to it's core purpose, my highest purpose is the pleasure and glory of GOD!

And the amazing thing is that this truth, that Jesus wants me for me and not for what I do, should take TONS of pressure off.  I'm not giving an excuse to not work, because we are all created for good works for His Kingdom, but I'm saying His love and joy around us is not dependent on what we do as much as WHO WE ARE.

You can turn off your theology alarms.  Yes, I believe that if someone is truly saved than good fruit must come from them.  Yes, I believe that Jesus demands obedience.  All that is true and a joy!

I just want to remind anyone reading today that you are EXACTLY who God loves, enough that He died for YOU!

Let Him shape you, let Him improve and grow your faith and ministry, BUT DO NOT ACT LIKE YOU HAVE TO EARN HIS LOVE OR BELIEVE THAT YOUR MINISTRY IDENTITIES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING!

Jesus is delighted by you, His child and beloved, adopted beauty.

Here are some scriptures to think about today.  Much love to you all  ----------Grady Milligan

Psalm 139:14
"I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well."

Romans 8:15
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”"

Romans 5:8
"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Ephesians 2:10
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Ephesians 1:4
"even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love"