My wife and I have recently become frequent fliers at the Vineyard church in Maryville, TN.
I can say without a doubt that this has been the most spiritually refreshing couple of months we've enjoyed in several years.
Aaron, the preaching pastor at our church, was speaking about repentance this past Sunday as a part of a larger sermon series on prayer. God has been preparing my heart for over a year to hear what I needed to hear in that lesson.
Pastor Aaron spoke about a huge misunderstanding and dangerous perspective regarding the subject of REPENTANCE. For so many Christians, even the word "repent" sounds like a punishment. We know we fall short and because of our failings God is going to make us go through a tiring and painful process of earning our way back into his favor... WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!
The act of repentance is a BEAUTIFUL GIFT OF GRACE! We are called, nay, invited to embrace our Savior and get right back on the horse, riding in the direction of His will. We don't have to go through a painful punishment period or retrace steps, we just "fall forward into grace"- as my friend Andrew Soreano (wonderful dude and awesome missionary) would say. God brings us in an instant to the place we were right before we stumble. But I had, for a good long time, been living in the lie that I was doing a terrible job and it wasn't worth trying to get back to a place of obedient walking and ministry.
As any of you who have spoken to me recently would know, I've been in a season of doubt. Not doubting God (His self, love, or provision), but doubting myself. Without being aware of what I've been doing, I've spent far too long in a rut of self-induced-guilt-trip-earn-my-way-back-to-Spirit-led-holiness-and-all-without-joy religion.
I haven't had a bad year, in fact it's been both financially and relationally blessed, but I've been giving myself a hard time. My daily times of devotion, prayer, and scriptural study have been negligent at best. This is a GENUINE PROBLEM that needs to be corrected. There is a great deal of holy conviction at work in that area of my life.
BUT, instead of running towards God's open arms in repentance and skipping along our merry way, I've been constantly hesitant to push forward for the fear that I have lost the right to walk alongside Him.
THAT IS RIDICULOUS! I know now that I need to constantly battle the enemy's lies about my current spiritual state. Though I am definitely responsible to live in obedience (and deal with discipline and consequences should I stray), there is still NOTHING that makes God love me less or want me less!
The creator of the universe didn't come to earth as a man, suffer ultimate punishment, rise in death's defeat, and pour out salvation and His Spirit on me to take it all back after a dry season! He adopted me and walks in and with me FOR LIFE!
I needed the reminder of that sermon to redirect my focus. I am looking forward to a revamp of disciplined devotion and study and prayer, hopefully leading to a season of new spiritual heights and discoveries. I am EXCITED TO REPENT. What a glorious gift, to turn away from my weakness and TURN TOWARDS THE ARMS OF FORGIVENESS, SONSHIP, AND GROWTH IN JESUS!
I'll be blogging more (almost daily) to keep myself accountable and log any revelations from study time.
Much love and Grace and Peace to you through the Spirit of Jesus Christ!
Showing posts with label reflection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reflection. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2014
Friday, September 6, 2013
It's not chaos to Jesus
Crazy!
That's pretty much the summation of how my life feels on a daily basis right now. And no, it's not crazy in the impending doom kind of way either. My lovely wife, Brandy, is beautiful and blesses me ceaselessly, our house is fun and provides a great man-cave, and most of all: God is showing up in my life consistently!
But,
In all of the blessings, I still struggle with direction pretty constantly.
It's actually funny that I'm typing this a few days after an incredible youth retreat called Chrysalis, where I was blessed to lead music, because the Lord brought me a lot of peace and even some father-to-son reconciliation that was long coming. But maybe that's what sets the framework for this post more than anything. After seeing God take my weakness, along with the weakness of the rest of the retreat staff, and make a beautiful, life-changing weekend spring from it, I know He's in control.
Even something as scary as healing my relationship with my earthly father, God took it in beautiful stride last weekend. Praise Him!!!
So, as to not just keep typing indefinitely, I really want to jump to my main point.
IN ALL THE CRAZINESS OF LIFE, NOTHING IS OUT OF GOD'S PLAN AND CONTROL!
That thought floors me, literally while we prayed this weekend. The King of the universe has a plan for me and works all things together for the GOOD of those that love Him and call Him Abba, which essentially means 'daddy'.
As some of you know, I am a "starving artist" currently, touring and playing shows in TN and around the country (PA this weekend in fact). And even though that's my dream job, thank Jesus, I've still been terrified in many moments about how I'm going to provide for my family. BUT, that's the beauty of it: GOD IS THE PROVIDER FOR MY FAMILY, NOT ME!
Sure, I need to lead and stand firm in God's calling, but on the bigger, more eternal scale, it's all God and His outpouring of love and provision that sustains my family at just the right moment.
My good friend Andrew Soreano, a missionary with his wife Dira in Mozambique, reminded me of how truly in control my King and Lord is over this life. I should have nothing to fear, because God is that much more powerful than ANYTHING THE WORLD THROWS AT ME
Another buddy of mine, Vincent Charlow, prayed an encouraging word over me the other day regarding this Truth. Vincent said that all the seemingly chaotic, unconnected things in my life were actually working to God's plan (whether or not I can see it daily).
What a blessing it is to have great brothers around me. So, I plan to pray hard, walk humbly, and daily look for Christ's little guidance tidbits so that I can step in time with His heart for my life.
Hope to see you on the road or at a church show. Let's all seek the Lord in the TRUST that He's actually big enough to take us through to the end. He's got a plan to prosper and not harm us.
Praise be to God,
---Grady Milligan
www.gradymilligan.bandcamp.com
That's pretty much the summation of how my life feels on a daily basis right now. And no, it's not crazy in the impending doom kind of way either. My lovely wife, Brandy, is beautiful and blesses me ceaselessly, our house is fun and provides a great man-cave, and most of all: God is showing up in my life consistently!
But,
In all of the blessings, I still struggle with direction pretty constantly.
It's actually funny that I'm typing this a few days after an incredible youth retreat called Chrysalis, where I was blessed to lead music, because the Lord brought me a lot of peace and even some father-to-son reconciliation that was long coming. But maybe that's what sets the framework for this post more than anything. After seeing God take my weakness, along with the weakness of the rest of the retreat staff, and make a beautiful, life-changing weekend spring from it, I know He's in control.
Even something as scary as healing my relationship with my earthly father, God took it in beautiful stride last weekend. Praise Him!!!
So, as to not just keep typing indefinitely, I really want to jump to my main point.
IN ALL THE CRAZINESS OF LIFE, NOTHING IS OUT OF GOD'S PLAN AND CONTROL!
That thought floors me, literally while we prayed this weekend. The King of the universe has a plan for me and works all things together for the GOOD of those that love Him and call Him Abba, which essentially means 'daddy'.
As some of you know, I am a "starving artist" currently, touring and playing shows in TN and around the country (PA this weekend in fact). And even though that's my dream job, thank Jesus, I've still been terrified in many moments about how I'm going to provide for my family. BUT, that's the beauty of it: GOD IS THE PROVIDER FOR MY FAMILY, NOT ME!
Sure, I need to lead and stand firm in God's calling, but on the bigger, more eternal scale, it's all God and His outpouring of love and provision that sustains my family at just the right moment.
My good friend Andrew Soreano, a missionary with his wife Dira in Mozambique, reminded me of how truly in control my King and Lord is over this life. I should have nothing to fear, because God is that much more powerful than ANYTHING THE WORLD THROWS AT ME
Another buddy of mine, Vincent Charlow, prayed an encouraging word over me the other day regarding this Truth. Vincent said that all the seemingly chaotic, unconnected things in my life were actually working to God's plan (whether or not I can see it daily).
What a blessing it is to have great brothers around me. So, I plan to pray hard, walk humbly, and daily look for Christ's little guidance tidbits so that I can step in time with His heart for my life.
Hope to see you on the road or at a church show. Let's all seek the Lord in the TRUST that He's actually big enough to take us through to the end. He's got a plan to prosper and not harm us.
Praise be to God,
---Grady Milligan
www.gradymilligan.bandcamp.com
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