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Receiving A Covenant Relationship Of Grace – By Grace

July 7, 2011 in Gospel Book 3 Comments

Below is a excerpt from my paraphrase of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Dear friend, I want you to know how Christ has filled me with joy through the news of your new found faith in him and the love you now have for one other. Indeed, since I heard of your faith, I have not stopped thanking God. I’m telling you the truth. I am so blessed to know that you too have believed upon Christ and I joyfully welcome you into his family.

I can testify, with great certainty, that you have been drawn wonderfully close to him. Indeed, in Christ not one of us is kept distant. Oh, may the eyes of your heart see this beautiful reality, for it is your born-again birthright in Christ Jesus. And, just as I thank God for you all, I also pray that God would bless you beyond measure with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, in order that you may know him more intimately, for that is his desire. Yes, I pray that you may truly understand the depths of his love; for the foundation of our faith is firmly established in his unending love.

In love, God has given us his Holy Spirit, and that certainly is good news. His Spirit does not produce fear, hatred and bondage; on the contrary, it produces life, love and liberty. His Spirit created the universe. His Spirit raised Christ from the dead. His Spirit is powerful – wonderfully powerful! Gloriously powerful! It is this very same Spirit that is now living in you, and, through his grace, it is now at work in you.

My brothers and sisters in the Lord, stop and think about it: the very same power that was strong enough to raise Jesus from the dead, placing him at the Father’s right hand in the heavens, is now dwelling in you. It is by this power that Jesus now reigns in glory. Nothing can compare to the power, authority, and dominion that Jesus now has. He is above every title that can be given; from eternity to eternity he reigns supreme – and we are in him. We have been united together as his body. And now, through our faith in him, God, in his wisdom, is bringing to fulfillment his glorious plan of mankind’s redemption.

Tell me, how does it feel to know the truth? To know that you are a brand new person, cleansed and made pure in every way in the eyes of your heavenly Father? It feels glorious, I know, for I experience this same wonderful reality. How different a life we now have. For in the past we walked in the ways of darkness, lost in the foolish things this world offers, and spending all we had to buy what only broke our hearts or burdened us with guilt and shame.

All of us lived in this way at one time, and, to our thinking, it was all we could hope for; gratifying the cravings of our self-absorbed ego while following its desires and thoughts. We were no different from anyone, and, based on our own merits and deeds, deserved nothing good from God. But praise God that he does not give to us based on what we deserve, but rather, he gives to us based on the reality of his graceful and loving nature, expressed through what his Son has done on our behalf. It is because of his great love for us, despite our past misdeeds, that he has given us a new life; for the riches of his mercy are truly endless. Yes, it is by his grace, and only by his grace, that we could ever receive such a blessing.

I praise God that our ‘bad works’ didn’t disqualify us, and our ‘good works’ didn’t qualify us. His love towards us is not at all based on our past performance, whether good or bad, but rather, his divine acceptance of us is based on the finished work of his Son upon the cross. And now, having put our faith in Jesus, we have received a covenant relationship of grace: an intimate relationship with him based on his perfect love and faithfulness to us. We can rest and rejoice in the knowledge that it is not by our works we are saved, but rather, it is because God has a nature of grace.

The Gospel Cannot Be Chained - By Mick MooneyThe above excerpt is from my paraphrase of Paul’s 4 prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon) called: The Gospel Cannot Be Chained: Searching for grace in Paul’s prison letters. I shared the intros to each letter on my previous blog post, you can read it here, or you can take a look at it on amazon.com here.

#29. The Apostolic Trainee

July 7, 2011 in webcomic 6 Comments


The Apostolic Trainee

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The Apostolic Trainee

Eric is very proud to be a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week armor-bearer for Pastor Moses (see comic here). Back in the old days of the Bible, armor-bearers were warriors, but in the 21st Century it seems they are all, well, paper pushers, pastoral car washers and toilet cleaners. But Eric has a vision! Yes, he is sure one day he will finally have a good enough character to become a real Apostle, and then, with his Apostolic powers he will be able to do what every great Apostle does – get someone else to clean the toilets!

The Gospel Cannot Be Chained - By Mick MooneyNews From Mick: Hi all, last Friday was the day of my new book’s release. It is a paraphrase of Paul’s 4 prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon) called: The Gospel Cannot Be Chained: Searching for grace in Paul’s prison letters. I shared the intros to each letter on my previous blog post, you can read it here, or you can take a look at it on amazon.com here.

The Future Of Searching For Grace – The Decision!

July 6, 2011 in Mick's thoughts 17 Comments

A few weeks ago I wrote a post titled: The Future Of Searching For Grace, where I shared about the possibility of starting a subscription to help support what I am doing with the comics, writing, interviews and everything else. Well, I just wanted to share the conclusion I have come to:

I have decided not to start a subscription.

Mick MooneyAlthough I would love to have the freedom and financial support to work exclusively (meaning that I wouldn’t have to also work a paid, full-time secular job) on my books, comics and other gospel activities, I don’t think that receiving support from my readers and friends is the way I would like that to come to pass, and I’m coming to be at peace with this. I don’t receive any support from any church/religious institutions or private people. I work & struggle like everyone else. I invest my life into sharing the gospel because that is what I love. I want to rest in that place of love and awe of God, work at whatever capacity I have to in order to provide for my family, and be free to journey with God in the adventure of faith we are all on.

So what happens from here? Well, I’ll keep sharing the good news of God’s grace and love, because that is how God has made me. I can’t help it, and I enjoy it so much. What I do hope happens is that over time my books can become wide-spread enough to create an income through books sales to give me that freedom to focus on writing and sharing even more. This too is in God’s hands, and he has the ability to do what he wants with the books I write. In any case, I hope you enjoy reading them :-)

To be honest, an incredible amount of time, energy, money and heart gets put into each book. It really is only by the grace of God I can manage to write and organise the publications of all that I’m doing, and you are my motivation to do so. The body of Christ. I write them for you. I hope you enjoy them, and please feel free to pass them on if you think others in your world would benefit from reading my books and blog.

I have two books available. My latest book just came out on Friday. It is called ‘The Gospel Cannot Be Chained’ it is a paraphrase of Paul’s 4 prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon) and you can read the introductions to each letter on one of my recent blog posts here.

So, I guess I’m writing this post to share how I’m coming to peace with being a ‘tent maker’ like Paul while also exited to continue working with all the energy and grace God gives me to share the good news through my website and books. I actually have another book that will be released at the end of the year called: God’s Grace, Apart From Law and also my first novel next year. So I feel it is all very exciting and feel motivated and refreshed to keep sharing the good news with you all.

The Gospel Cannot Be Chained - By Mick MooneyFinally, below is a link to my amazon authors page. It would be great if you could take a quick visit and click the ‘like’ button on the top right hand side, and also, if you want a few good books to read, well, there are also a few good books recommended on my author’s page too :-)

Mick Mooney's Amazon Author PageBlue skies,
Mick

#28. First Time Visitors

July 6, 2011 in webcomic 2 Comments

First Time Visitors

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First Time Visitors

The first time you visit Pastor Moses’ church, you’re guaranteed an amazing experience…Mick Mooney's Amazon Author PageThe second time you visit… you’re added to the volunteer database.

John doesn’t seem convinced of this strategy.

Alison Defreitas Interview

July 5, 2011 in Interviews 2 Comments

My latest interview is with Alison Defreitas. Alison shared with me the story of her own walk of faith and what she has come to learn through the whole journey. One thing I really like about Alison is her focus on the grace and love of God. We ended up having a great conversation about God’s love in the interview too. I hope you enjoy listening in on our conversation :-) The link is below.



Alison Defreitas Interview ()

Interviews, July 5, 2011
Part of the Interviews series, preached at a Web message service

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#27. Erasing Memories

July 5, 2011 in webcomic 6 Comments


Erasing Memories

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Erasing Memories
(And The Shock Of Becoming Non-Existent)

After Luke’s agonizing decision to finally leave Pastor Moses’ church, and his initial shock that his pastor, in fact, didn’t even know what his name was! (see comic here) Luke hoped that he could leave the program that Pastor Moses was building, but still maintain relationship with those he spent years in those very programs. But it seems that the connecting factor to their relationships was the program, so if you leave the program you become, well, sorry, but, ummm… non-existent. At least that is the culture Pastor Moses subtly creates within this leadership team (see comic here)

Luke is shocked, but he knows he isn’t non-existent! He just wants to experience his faith in a more natural expression, without all the machinery and programs encasing it. Is that so wrong?

Latest written post: Not by our works, but by the working of His grace.

#26. Defining Church

July 4, 2011 in webcomic 0 Comments


Defining Church

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Defining Church

Pastor Moses and John both believe in the power of the church to bring transformation in the world, it just seems that they don’t have the same definition as to what church is.

John can’t help but ask the honest question. “Will more religious services on a Sunday morning really be what brings hope to the world?”

The Gospel Cannot Be Chained - By Mick MooneyNews From Mick: Hi all, last Friday was the day of my new book’s release. It is a paraphrase of Paul’s 4 prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon) called: The Gospel Cannot Be Chained: Searching for grace in Paul’s prison letters. I shared the intros to each letter on my previous blog post, you can read it here, or you can take a look at it on amazon.com here.

Paul’s Prison Letters: A Look Inside His Freedom

July 1, 2011 in Gospel Book 13 Comments

The Gospel Cannot Be ChainedToday is the release of my latest book, a paraphrase of Paul’s four prison letters, called: “The Gospel Cannot Be Chained.”

Below is the introduction to each letter. If you would like to order a copy you can do so at amazon.com here.

Ephesians

Paul, a man transformed by grace, born again in love and set apart, according to God’s plan, to proclaim the divine message of new life for all. To my faith-filled brothers and sisters in Ephesus: grace and peace to you, given freely to us all by our beloved Father in heaven.

How wonderful our God is; how amazing his grace! Indeed, our hearts can’t help but praise him. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, has truly blessed us beyond measure. For a man can earn money in order to buy things of luxury, but he cannot earn the peace of God; and what no man can earn, God has freely given us. What man could ever earn the joy of God? What man could ever earn the rest of God? No man can earn these heavenly blessings, and yet, through our faith in Jesus, God has freely given us all of them as a gift.

Oh, how he loves us. Just as the cross was planned by God before the creation of the world, so was his decision to reveal the depths of his love to all who would accept his Son. It does our hearts good to remember that God’s plan has its foundations in eternity and the good news of his grace was a message stirring in his heart before time was even created. Oh, how amazing our God is! Before he began creating the universe he had already finished planning our eternal salvation; a way that all of us could be made holy, dearly loved and without blame in his sight – a gift that lasts forever. Brothers and sisters, we have good reason to rejoice, for through Jesus we have been made ‘new’ in God’s eyes. We will never again be seen in our faults, but rather, forever seen in his grace. For, according to natural law, we were all born once through the body of our earthly mothers, but now, through divine grace, we have been born again through the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, not as children of men, but as children of God. Hallelujah.

Philippians

From Paul and Timothy, servants of the greatest message ever proclaimed: the good news that God is not holding our sins against us, but rather, is graceful and mighty to save.

To all the believers in Jesus at Philippi, together with your fellow brothers and sisters among you who have been graced to oversee your communal life together: grace and peace to you all from God our Father who pours out his grace upon you without restraint through our Lord Jesus Christ.

My siblings in Christ, before I say another word, I just have to tell you how much I love you all. Oh, I’m telling you the truth, I find myself filled with joy and spontaneously thanking our God every time I simply remember you. I’m full of hope and happiness whenever I pray about you all, because I know how you have always stood with me in our mutual faith and commitment in God’s gospel. The gospel that declares God is love, God is gracious, and God has made a way to freely reconcile all of mankind to himself by faith in his Son apart from any other requirements. Your partnership in the gospel is so comforting, for, although there are those who reject the reality of God’s radical good news, you have embraced it from the first day you heard it until now.

Colossians

Paul, singled out by God to proclaim the truth of his divine love for mankind that is now understood through the grace of his Son Jesus. Together with Timothy our brother. To my faith-filled brothers and sisters in Colossae, set apart and made alive in the endless love of Christ; grace and peace to you in abundance from our heavenly Father.

We are always thanking God, our eternal Father, for you all. Indeed, ever since we received news of your faith, and the love you have for each other, we have been filled with joy and continue to thank God over and over that you have received the light of life. What a blessing it is for all of us to finally understand the truth: that God considers us so valuable he allowed his Son to die for us, in order that we can now live eternally with him. We have such significance in the eyes of the Almighty.

I must say, it truly is a joy to hear of your faith, and how God is working powerfully within your community. A faith that has arisen through your understanding of God’s love for you and the acceptance of your glorious inheritance, stored up for you in heaven. Oh, how ‘good’ the ‘news’ truly is. God has established a covenant for us based on his nature, his love, and his divine grace.

We no longer need to live distant from him, scared of him, or ashamed before him. We no longer strive to relate with him based on our limited strength and faithfulness; rather, through a glorious act of his grace, our new covenant is based on his divine strength and his perfect ability to be faithful to us. We have entered into a covenant with God that isn’t sealed with our imperfect sacrifices, but rather, with the perfect sacrifice of Christ. How incredible to know that the covenant we have now received was not sealed with the blood of men, nor the blood of animals, but with the blood of Christ. He did everything on our behalf, so that God could now freely give to us as a gift all the benefits of Christ’s perfect finished work.

That gift, my friends, is the gospel: the good news that God has now established his very own nature in you. That is what his grace is my friends. It is the very nature of God. It’s not just a nice word, or a theoretical doctrine – it’s real. It’s alive in you! Grace is God’s divine, empowering nature of love.

Philemon

Paul, chained temporarily by man, but set free eternally by Christ Jesus; together with Timothy, our mutual brother.

To Philemon my beloved friend and fellow proclaimer of God’s abounding love; greetings also to Apphia our sister, Archippus our fellow freedom fighter and to all the believers who meet together in your home. Grace, love, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ.

My beloved brother, I must express once more how truly blessed I am by our friendship; indeed, I thank God every time I am reminded of you. It is a delight to hear of the love you have for our mutual brothers and sisters in Christ, and the encouragement you impart to them, as they continue to grow in their own faith walk, just as your own faith continues to abound in the revelation of God’s love and grace. My heart is full of joy when I think of you, and I want to encourage you to continue, just as you already are, to be active in sharing your faith in the good news that God truly is graceful and abounding in love, in order that the Lord can continue to reveal the fullness of his unfailing, unending and incomparable love to your heart and mind; together with the full measure of every good thing we have been given in Christ. Enjoy the blessing of sharing the good news of God’s grace. For I can testify that it is not only a joy to proclaim, but it also reminds our own hearts of all we have been given in Christ. It is so wonderful to remember you and your example of divine acceptance; you are a blessing to the whole Church, for you don’t sit in judgment of others for their lack and weaknesses, but allow God’s nature of love to truly shine.

I will be sharing more from the book on my blog throughout the month. If you would like to order a copy you can do so at amazon.com here. I’m really excited about this book’s release, and believe it will help a lot of people be refreshed with the reality of God’s message of grace that Paul so passionately preached.

Blue skies,
Mick

#25. Christian Leadership Obsession

July 1, 2011 in webcomic 0 Comments


Christian Leadership Obsession

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Christian Leadership Obsession

John is excited to hear his pastor also wants to write a book. He naturally thought the book would be about Jesus, his grace and the power of his finished work upon the cross, but Pastor Moses seems obsessed, in his mind anyway, with an even more important topic…leadership! Err…. leadership? really?

The Gospel Cannot Be Chained - By Mick MooneyNews From Mick: Hi all, hey today is the day of my new book’s release. It is a paraphrase of Paul’s 4 prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon) called: The Gospel Cannot Be Chained: Searching for grace in Paul’s prison letters. I shared the intros to each letter on today’s blog post, you can read it here, or you can take a look at it on amazon.com here.

Lucas Miles Interview

June 30, 2011 in Interviews 0 Comments

This week I interviewed Lucas Miles. Lucas is a passionate communicator of God’s grace and the president of ‘The Oasis Network.’ We had a great chat about the gospel and how it causes the nature of God, his love and goodness, to shine in the lives of those who accept it. We also had an interesting discussion about leadership and Lucas shared his opinion on how leadership in the body of Christ can work in a grace established community.

I really enjoyed chatting with Lucas, he has a huge heart for people and for God, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy listening in on our conversation. The interview is just below.

If you want to get to know more about Lucas you can check out his network’s website: www.oasnet.org. You can also visit his blog and connect with him on twitter.



Lucas Miles Interview ()

Interviews, June 30, 2011
Part of the Interviews series, preached at a Web message service

Tags: Lucas Miles

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You can also take a look at my newest book: “The Gospel Cannot be Chained” on Amazon.com

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