Tag Archives: Christian devotional

Garlic and the Gospel: Becoming the Fragrance of Christ

Photo of a loaf of bread, garlic cloves, and a Bible on a wooden table illustrating the devotional theme “Garlic and the Gospel: Becoming the Fragrance of Christ.”

Garlic is one of my favorite ingredients in food. I absolutely enjoy garlic! The thing about garlic is that when you eat a lot of it, it begins to seep out of your pores. You quite literally carry its fragrance with you. The more you eat, the more you smell like garlic.

This reminds me of what our lives should look like as Christians. We should be partaking of the Bread of Life so often that we carry the fragrance of Christ. That’s the only way to truly bear His aroma. Sermons, devotionals, podcast and commentaries all have their place, but they are kind of like processed food. 

If you want the purity of the Bread you must sit still in the presence of God, you must ingest His Word for yourself.  When you do, you’ll carry His fragrance wherever you go. Just remember, just as not everyone enjoys the smell of garlic (and it even repels insects), the fragrance of Christ can also repel some. Yet to those who are being saved, it is the sweetest aroma of all.

So may you ingest and digest the Word of God today, and bring the fragrant aroma of Christ into every space you enter.

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” John 6:35

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?” 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Prayer: May I ingest your Word daily sitting at Your presence ready to be Your fragrance wherever I go so that I might make you known. 


Deadlifting Burdens

Deadlifting is a weight exercise that trains multiple muscle groups at once. It’s the kind of workout where you’re encouraged to train to failure because that’s where growth happens. In pushing through the resistance, strength is built.

Lately, I’ve felt like I’ve been deadlifting burdens. I’ve done it to the point of failure. I know I’m called to the place I’m serving, but that doesn’t make it easy.

I hear confessions, witness pain, and sit with sin, both the kind done to others and the kind they’ve committed. Yes, Jesus bore the weight of the sin of the world. But we still live with the consequences. Broken hearts. Shattered dreams. Lingering wounds. We pick up and gather the broken pieces which feel heavy, even while yoked to Christ. 

Jesus said His burden is light, but that word “light” is relative. After all, what’s light to the One who bore it all, can still feel crushing to me.

So, I ask myself, am I carrying it the right way while yoked to Jesus?

Maybe what Jesus meant by His “light burden” is what Paul called the momentary light affliction, because it’s producing in us something eternal. A weight of glory.

When I reflect on the weeks, I’ve spent feeling as though I am deadlifting emotional and spiritual burdens, I realize God is using it to strengthen me for what’s next. That doesn’t make it easy. But it reminds me, it’s worth it.

If you know someone in ministry, reach out. They may be lifting more than you know. Your encouragement could help them carry it to Jesus.

As for me? I’m holding on to the promise that glory outweighs grief, and that rest is found in Christ alone. I am not to be deadlifting burdens but remaining yoked to the One who died for them, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2