Loving The Other Side (part 2)

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:19-20, 26-27 ESV)

If you read the last blog-post from Nick Hillard, you'll know we're talking about how we live, love, and minister in relationship with the people around us, particularly those that think or believe differently than we do. Nick did a great job so check out the last post and look for more guests soon.

As for me, I just wanted to meditate on one specific part of this broad and important topic, that part being LISTENING.

If you know me at all, you know that I struggle with using my mouth and ears in proportion.  And though I've got miles to go, I've been learning a great deal these last few years about how to TRULY LISTEN to those around me.  And I will say, firstly, that real and compassionate listening is more than just not talking.  Many of us are far too good at politely refraining in conversation, but in truth we are usually just waiting our turn to say the next thing we have on our mind instead of hearing, evaluating, and even praying about what to respond with in our conversations.

I don't want this post to sound, simply, like an old mother teaching manners to unruly children.  I believe listening with the ears of Christ is HUGELY IMPORTANT for any effective friendships and ministry. If REAL, LIFE-CHANGING, DISCIPLE-MAKING, FRIENDSHIP-BUILDING ministry comes from a place of true, genuine care for the other person(s), then hearing the person's heart is CRITICAL.

Don't pretend to know their pain, LEARN their pain by listening to their troubled stories.  NEVER put a person or the situation of that person into a general category or template if you hope to see real fruit or change. The people in my life that inspire me, with their outrageously successful love, are the people that let the hurting soul cry on their shoulder and weep with them, NOT the person that sifts through his stock answers and callously whips out the first answer he can find.

And this is super important, WE CAN NOT BE AFRAID OF LISTENING, ESPECIALLY FOR FEAR OF LOSING FAITH.  What I mean by that is this: if your faith is real and deeply rooted, you should never fear the differing opinions of other people groups and belief systems.  It is not Christ-like to, when a friend of another faith begins testifying about their religious journey, get up and leave a conversation with someone you supposedly love because you fear they'll destroy your personal faith.  How strong is a faith if it can be completely deconstructed in the face of one different opinion.  Jesus and the gospel seek out people of uncountable numbers of understandings. Believe in Jesus and ignore fear. Fear keeps us from love and the ones that need love. And DO NOT be impatient or have agendas in your listening and relationships. You may spend YEARS walking in life with a person before (or if) he or she ever gives a serious consideration to YOUR faith or belief. The goal is to show real love, not to mark salvations on your sanctification scoreboard. If you really love someone (and you're a Christian) you'll want them to know Jesus, but that's REALLY UNLIKELY if you're just a fake with an agenda and no interest in that person's heart.

We must go to the broken, the widowed, the lost, and the wicked for the purpose of loving them with Christ's love that He has freely given us. BUT WE MUST GO WITH TWO EARS AND ONE MOUTH, using them in the proverbial proportions. Don't guess at their pain, LEARN IT. Love by listening so that you might see where their joy and pain comes from. Who knows, maybe the Lord will speak to them in the silence you're afraid of. That awkward pause in conversation might be the moment where Jesus speaks to an intimate wound that neither you nor that person were aware of... BECAUSE YOU WERE LISTENING!

Listen to the Word, Listen to the beliefs and stories around you, and THEN speak as the Truth gives you instruction. The religion God desires is effective and genuine love to the lost and hurting, not our practiced speeches, foolish fury, or careless words.

Blessings to any that read this

---Grady Milligan 

Loving The Other Side (part 1)

WHAT'S UP FRIENDS! As I've announced recently, I will be sharing the load of this blog with several friends and believers to provide added perspective on topics and allow more frequent posting. Below is the first of those posts! We hope you're blessed and enjoy this meditation from Nick Hillard. Nick is great friend of mine who has recently moved away from our hometown of Knoxville, TN. He's a huge dork, a killer skateboarder (and my coach in that sport), and a drummer of legendary skill. Sorry for rambling, here's Nick's post and as always feel free to chat with Nick, myself, or anyone that posts on social media if you need conversation or prayer.

---Grady Milligan

One of the most relevant topics among christian conversation is, how do we share the gospel and interact with nonbelievers? 

The first thing I would delve into is how weird what we believe really is. The next time you talk about drinking the blood of your savior or the afterlife called heaven, take a step back. That's some creepy stuff. Moreover, how weird does this sound to someone who doesn't have a Christian faith or background? I guess the transition here is, don't go straight for the 'eating the flesh of our savior' part of discipleship quite yet. Bad foot to start on.

When I first moved to Louisville Kentucky I worked at a pizza place called Spinelli's for some extra money to get situated. There are 5 locations in Louisville and not one of those pizzerias had a Christian employee, which isn't that out of the ordinary. Spinelli's had its own culture of not only being non-Christian, but they also hated the ficticious Jesus. Misfit, Punk rock, Jesus haters. The jokes rolled in everyday when they knew I was an actual Jesus freak. The main thing I heard from them was simple misunderstanding of what we (Christians) actually live by. These people called me crazy and insane to believe those things. It was a true mission field. I made friends with these guys really quickly considering our music and craft beer tastes. Not because of our faith. So I was able to reflect Jesus, eat pizza, and drink beer with my non-believer bros. But as a christian that's not quite enough. if you care for your brothers you will yearn for a transformation.

So, to simply put it. Sometimes the only way to witness is being a light and reflecting Jesus as best we can. The root of being a christian is simply loving God and loving people. Non-believers don't want to sit down and be told they're wrong. Don't be thick. It will push them so far away in most cases. Instead, Pray that God would soften their hearts because you can't. You can't give them that grace and understanding. Just love 'em, be a bro, and pray for them.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

Stay posi, guys

-Nick Hillard

The Light of the Gospel

I hope this pre-Thanksgiving week finds you blessed and safe in Jesus Christ.  Remember that I'm always interested in any reader's life and if you need prayer don't hesitate to message me (Grady Milligan) on facebook or at grady.milligan@gmail.com.  Without further ado, let's jump into what the Word has to say.

"Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."       2 Corinthians 4:1-6

As cliche as it may seem to the jaded reader, the reoccurring theme of dark vs. light is so evident in the scriptures.  I suppose you could say the Bible is the realest version of that theme, if you believe it to be the true account of God's story with man.  The passage from 2 Corinthians 4 is such an example of those two forces in opposition.  

First I want to remind myself and anyone reading that we are far from hopeless.  In the Light of Jesus, and the turning away from our old ways, we are given strength to take the Gospel to the world.  I'll say it enough times in this post to sicken you probably, but we must believe that we're in a winning battle.  More accurately, WE ARE IN A BATTLE ALREADY ONE!  Jesus has defeated darkness in the past, present, and future and (being the Eternal God, not even bound by time) He has given us victory over sin and death.  But, as we experience daily, this knowledge does not whisk us away from all troubles in the day-to-day walk of Christian life.

Each new morning, we are presented with the opportunity to live, as Paul hopes in his letter, in such a way that the open-handed nature of our honest and sincere love for others would show them the sincerity of the Gospel.  Not only that, but by relying on Christ as the source of life and wisdom, we have the power to be in relationship with the saved and lost alike and do so in such a way that we are above reproach and even our enemies struggle to bring negative accounts of us to mind.  However, it is never so simple a thing to see quick or immediate freedom blooming in those we encounter and minister to, and that is largely due to hold that sin and the enemy have on an individual's life. I don't mean to sound overly dramatic or cliche, but it is critical to understand that we are LITERALLY in a battle with powerful forces when we do ministry.

The enemy, as Paul observes, actively blinds the eyes and minds of those that have not been reborn through Jesus Christ.  It's critically important to remember that the struggle for our souls is not passive and not just due to our sin (though that is ultimately the biggest part in my opinion), but the spiritual death we live in prior to Christ is encouraged by the plots and temptations of the enemy.  And maybe the most important thing of all to remember is this:  the darkness has absolutely no chance in the face of the Light.  Though we exist in a broken world of our making, and our old lives fight to make us disobey, the Lord is not threatened by the power of the evil one in the slightest.  As we can easily observe, humans are not proficient in the art of living in righteous obedience and are quickly blinded by darkness.  But with Christ, the sight and life we receive is eternal, complete, and saving.  Though we must grow into that identity each day and repent (turn away) of the old life, it has no eternal or lasting power of the Lord in us.  And we MUST believe that that is God's hope for the other lost ones around us.  We must live and love with the purpose of seeing the trapped enemies of God become God's friends through the blood and resurrection of Jesus!  I DON'T CARE IF IT'S CLICHE, it is, as I understand it, the very point of my continued life.

And just like in the creation of the world (whether you subscribe to the 6 day understanding or slow and evolutionary understanding of God's meticulous and beautiful creation), the Lord has all the power required to bring Light our of the darkest souls. We have a responsibility, not for our own name's sake and whether we believe in a select number of invitations or an open-ended one (in regards to who can be saved) to speak and act out the Gospel for the glory of God and the resurrection of the dead that He calls to Himself.

Exciting Changes

Just wanted to post to anyone that reads DTD real quick.

Starting very soon, I (Grady) will be bringing in some friends to write content for the blog.  My hope with this idea is that, by using the brains and ministry of others, I can make sure that this blog gets much more frequent postings and that more perspectives are shared for the purpose of a more complete look at scriptures.

Can't wait to explore God's word further with any of you wonderful readers and with a team of Jesus peeps as well.

Transformed With Unveiled Faces

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:12-18 ESV)

First off, I'm gonna start with huge celebration at the last two lines of the passage. I don't see the "glory to glory" transformation reflected in my actions most days, BUT MAN DO I WANT TO! 

And don't get me started thinking about the unveiled faces bit, I #canteven (I went there) begin to comprehend the joy of seeing our Lord face to face. What really gets me about that particular part of this passage is the marriage symbolism, which is where my romantic brain goes first at any given chance. We, as the beloved bride of Christ, are welcome to grow in closeness and righteousness daily with the Savior..........BOOYAH!

But I need to calm down and meditate on the harder part of the scripture as well. 

Paul's letter encourages the believers that the veil over our spiritual understanding will be lifted when we turn to Christ, amen, but it's heartbreaking to read his report that "to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts."

As is the unfortunate tendency of man, many of the Israelites did not understand the gravity and truth of Jesus as the Way and their Hope.  Paul's letter tells us that, even as the church grew and people were seeing Christ for what He was, there were still many people reading the Old Covenant without the understanding that Jesus was the fulfillment of God's promises and the sacrifice that sealed God's new covenant with all that would believe in His Son.

I want to note that I am not in any way saying that the teachings and stories of the Old Testament are less relevant or less a part of holy scripture (they are still God's word), I'm just examining that, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, we are made free and unveiled through faith in Jesus and that His Holy Spirit gives us the ability to understand God's will and Truth for the purpose of ministry and transformation. 

So I pray that our minds would not be hardened like those before us, but that we would seek the glory of the Lord in ludicrous amounts and desire to be made more and more like our Maker. Walk with joy as the unveiled bride of Christ and look to the lost around you that they might know God's love and power through the light of the Holy Spirit transforming you!

Gospel Until Death

I was flipping through my bible app and my old bookmarked passages this afternoon and stumbled upon a statement from the apostle Peter that just rocked me. So, in my recent fashion, I decided to post a little something and pray that someone gets stoked on this stuff with me.

LET'S DO THIS

Read 2 Peter 1:5-15 paying special attention to the passage copied below.

"I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. (2 Peter 1:13-14 ESV)"

This is so impressive to me! I don't know about you, but I don't know how I would react if I was informed that my hour of death was approaching. The boldness of Peter to encourage and keep focused on teaching and instructing his disciples is inspiring.  It's just like a good father or pastor to think of his flock before his own limited time. Matthew Henry, in his popular bible commentary, observes a truth about any concerned pastor (including Peter) in the quote below: 

"If ministers be negligent in their work, it can hardly be expected that the people will be diligent in theirs; therefore Peter will not be negligent" 

If the followers are expected to stand through adversity, the teacher must be a diligent example.

Jesus Christ did such a work in Peter (remember that this is the guy that denied Him three times) that Peter has a powerful desire to see the Church stand firm in Christ's teachings.

My prayer today for myself and all of you is that we, even in the face of trial or death, would stand firm in the ministry of the Gospel. That, like Peter, our present circumstance of stage of life would always be second to the need of the lost and broken around us so that the love of God pours incessant from us.

"The nearness of death makes the apostle diligent in the business of life."  -Matthew Henry 

Greater Glory in The Spirit

"Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory."(2 Corinthians 3:7-11 ESV)

 WE SHOULD BE SO STOKED ABOUT THIS PASSAGE!  It's probably unprofessional to use the word "stoked" in generally serious blog about scripture, BUT SO WHAT?!
(all caps is a problem too...)

If the glory that made Moses' face so overflowing with God's presence that the Israelites couldn't look at him was incredible (and of course it was), then what kind of awesome holiness are we dealing with here?  What do we do with the knowledge that Jesus, in His resurrection and new covenant, is doing a work of even greater glory than the giving of the Commandments or splitting the Red Sea?????

WE CELEBRATE WITH CHRIST!  Jesus Christ poured out His Holy Spirit and the magnitude of that ministry is too big for man to comprehend, and it's too big for the darkness to overcome!

The one comparison that REALLY BLOWS MY MIND is when Paul says that the glory of righteousness and the Spirit is so overwhelming that it not only SURPASSES the ministry of death and condemnation but it makes the former glory look like NOTHING!

A believer's heart should fill with joy, knowing that God has invited us (and even used us) to show the universe how great and glorious He is.  He never weakens or shrinks in magnitude. You could say that God only ever seems BIGGER AND BETTER as He continually reveals His plan and love for His children.   AWESOME!

One last thing that I think is worth mentioning:  this passage reminds that there WAS in fact glory in the older ministries of the Law.  The wording of "ministry of death" can be a bit off-putting, but we need to remember that the Law did reveal how bad we are at following God's commands (and that essentially equals a death sentence, and rightly so).  Humanity had no right to forgiveness and death and condemnation were wholly within God's righteous judgment of a wicked people.

BUT EVEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT God showed His unparalleled Grace and constantly forgave the Israelites.

So if God was doing a mighty and wondrous thing then, how much more so must the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus rock the very core of reality?

GOD IS MIGHTY, GOD IS JUST, GOD IS LOVING, AND HE IS THE MOST GLORIOUS THING IN, AROUND, AND ABOVE ALL REALITIES!

Give Him the Glory and praise Him today people!  HE'S DOING MASSIVE STUFF AND YOU'RE A PART OF THAT MINISTRY!

Commended by Christ

Blessings in the name of Jesus Christ! I pray this post finds you well and joyful. And if you find yourself in a time of struggle, I pray that the Spirit of God empowers you with all you need for the battle.

For today's meditation, please read and examine the following passage from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians:

"Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God," (2 Corinthians 3:1-5 ESV) 

If you're like me you may have found yourself exposed and convicted by this chapter's opening question.  Are we commending ourselves as believers?  I would hope not.  I believe God wants His children to delight not in pride or praise of self, but in the Christ-centered testimonies of God's miraculous fruit that He is growing and displaying in the lives of those around us. I do not mean to put too much emphasis on the works of others either, since glory given to anyone other than Christ is misplaced. But I do think we should be confident in Jesus acting through His body, and that DOES include all of us and our imperfections.

So it's about celebrating the beautiful grace that trades our insufficiency for the ULTIMATE SUFFICIENCY that the Spirit of God empowers us with to spread His Truth.  Even more, we are a letter written BY the Spirit to transform hearts as ours have been made new through  His love.

He is our advocate and all the recommendation we need, and in turn, He makes us a living decree of His goodness for the world.