What is it like for a sinner to stand in the presence of God?

To answer this question, I think it helps us to look at how sinners stood in the presence of Jesus, for he was the full representation of God on earth.

If we could ask the adulteress who was caught in the very act of sin, the prostitutes who were actively ‘working‘, the tax collectors who were knowingly extorting and stealing from their fellow Israelites, and all the other ‘sinners’ who Jesus ate and drank with, I’m sure they would say it was the most liberating feeling in the world.

Religious teachers seem to always preach in a way that evokes sinners to be afraid of God’s presence, as if God is an angry God, and a sinner has no right to stand in the holy God’s presence; but the reality is God’s presence is the place that he longs sinners to be. God is not so ‘holy‘ a sinner can not stand in his presence; God understands the only way a ‘sinner‘ can ever be free is by having the right to stand in his presence!

Jesus is our picture of God. He is the image if the invisible God, the exact representation of his being. Jesus loved. Jesus allowed ‘sinners’ to walk with him and drink with him; he even publicly invited himself over to have dinner with them, to the disgust of the religious leaders.

It’s sad that many preachers and religious teachers, those who want to speak on God’s behalf in this world, so often present God as one who is angry at sinners and judgemental towards them. Jesus however, presented God in a much different light; he presented God as a God of love and grace; a God who above all, loved, and loved passionately.  Jesus knew that it was only through a person first encountering the true love of God that they can ever be free from sin. Love is powerful. Love can transform. Love trusts. Love never fails.

God loves.

Well, here it is. 2012 has finally arrived. And on the first day of this new year I have to say, I’m feeling pretty optimistic, and I am believing for an amazing year for everyone. God’s grace is our home; it’s like the spiritual air we breathe.  So, in 2012, as we breathe it in and breathe it out, let’s be excited at the positive effects such a grace-filled life is sure to experience in this new year.

A few things that will be going on here on my blog in 2012

This year I have decided to bring back the ‘Searching For Grace’ comic. Yes, that’s right, Pastor Moses and the gang will be back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Also, I will be getting back into the swing of interviewing different authors and thinkers from around the globe. Last year I interviewed a whole bunch of great people (you can view the list in the sidebar) and I hope to be able to continue this year, as it is a lot of fun, and I’ve received a lot of great feedback from listeners encouraging me to continue.

This year, I’ll also be releasing my debut novel. It is called ‘God’s Grammar’ and I’m super excited about it. It is set to be released on May 2nd. I’ll be sharing more details about this book in the coming weeks.

So, this year I’ll be doing my very best to have new content each day on the website. Some comics, some blog posts, some of my little quotes on God’s grace and love, a few interviews too… oh, and lately I’ve been a real book worm, and loving all the reading I’m doing, so I think I’ll also start sharing some book reviews this year too.

OK, let’s jump into 2012! Happy days.

If you haven’t signed up for my email list, then make a great start to the year and do so now! Click here to sign up for my email list

Blue skies,
Mick

There is something beautiful about Jesus that none of us can fully put into words. Something about his nature, his ways, that captivate us. He was nothing like any rabbi, pastor, preacher or prophet that came before him, or after him. He was unique; a one of a kind. Who else but Jesus could love like he did?  Who else could love so consistently? Who else could publicly embrace all the people the religious condemned; who else could love knowing the religious would kill him for it?

Who else could stand before a half naked woman surrounded by the most honored scholars and teachers of the Bible, all with stones in their hands, and defend her case? Not only defend her case, but succeed in justifying her. Who else could touch the untouchable, accept the unacceptable, love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable and befriend the outcast?

Who else could be completely convinced of his oneness with the Almighty, and yet create 600 liters of the best wine humanity had ever known of for a bunch of people, so drunk at a wedding that they had already drunk the bar dry, to the disgust of the religious? Who else could care so little for his reputation amongst the religious? Who else but Jesus?

Who else could embrace the worst of sinners with such genuineness? Who else could stand in the courts of the temple and expose the hypocrisy of those yoking such heavy religious loads upon the people, while not lifting a finger to help them? Who else but Jesus could walk into God’s temple and be so distraught with the corruption and hypocrisy that he took it upon himself to turn the place upside down? Who else could overturn tables; who else could chase those peddling God’s word for profit out of the temple area?

Who else could stand up against all the injustice the religious leaders selfishly lorded over people, and yet, all along, being prepared to die for them? Who else can love the lost with such an embrace, and love those who counted themselves as his enemies with the cross? Who has such a love like Jesus? Who can compare to his courage, his honesty, and his selflessness? Who else but Jesus?

Who else could declare: “I am the light of the world” and have us believe it? Who is his equal? Even Pharaoh’s magicians could copy miracles; but tell me, who could love like Jesus? Who has ever loved like Jesus? Does he have an equal? Who else but Jesus could love enough to be the savior of the world?

What a heavenly blessing it truly is to be made one with Jesus; to be given the gift to participate in his love. To know his love on a personal level. To be embraced by his love. To know him; to know the One and only. To be made one with the Love of God. What a blessing to know Jesus continues to live and love in us. What a gift God gives us; that we can partake in the interaction of his love in this world.

Life has many wonderful moments, but none so wonderful as when we feel the love of Jesus in us reaching out to others around us. Oh, to love! To let Jesus love through us – what a grace to be given! For to feel the love of Jesus, living and active; to be part of his love in motion, is to experience heaven on earth.

 

 

Hi Everyone, I thought it would be a good idea to write a short post to let you know where I am. As you may or may not know I am an Aussie currently living in Germany, but last week I made the journey back down under and I am currently back in Sunny Sydney. While here I am doing quite a lot of traveling and don’t have very much internet access, so I have not been able to do much writing/facebook updates. When I get back home in two weeks and will be back into full swing then, up till then I will add new comics and posts when I am able.

I also have some super exciting news about my first comic book that will be coming out very soon (19th Sept) I will let you know more about it in my next blog post.

So, I need to get back to the sunshine. I must admit, it is nice to be back

Blue skies,
Mick

Hi all,
So, just for those who have not noticed, I’ve made a few changes to my blog. I’ve made a few design changes, and also added a new ‘about me’ page (you can check it out here.) I just want to share with you how I see this website moving forward.
Continue Reading…

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.

Although 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.

Finally, 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

Blue skies,
Mick

Sometimes, on our journey of growing together in God’s grace and understanding of our new covenant reality, some questions can come up that we are either unsure how to answer, or over zealous to answer for others. It can be a little tricky, because we all need one another. We all want to journey and grow together, but what we don’t want is to be belittled or dictated to. We want a conversation.

I guess when we boil it down, we simply want our hearts to be heard.

Fasting is a topic that I get asked about from time to time, I was recently asked about it again lately, so I decided to share my thoughts on the topic. Like I said above, I’m sharing as an equal, I don’t claim to have the answers, but I can share my heart and belief on the subject, and perhaps it will be a help to you also.

So, fasting under grace, is it right or wrong for Christians to do? I think as soon as we start asking questions of “Is it right or wrong” we fall back into the old covenant ‘check list’ mentality. But the new covenant is not defined by a checklist, it is defined by the Spirit of God living in us, to guide us and lead us into all truth. When trying to understand anything in our faith, I think it helps us all to remember that our covenant is a covenant of the Spirit. We all have the Holy Spirit living in us, and he is our leader.

I wouldn’t ever recommend fasting to someone, because I’m not the Holy Spirit. Sure, I could look at their situation, and make some suggestions, but that would just be me thinking of ways to get God’s attention. If we think we can ‘do something’ to get God’s attention, we are in danger of wandering back into a law based idea of God, and that is never a good sign.

But does that mean Christians shouldn’t fast? Well, here is my take on it.

• If you want to fast because you heard an amazing testimony about fasting. Don’t do it.
• If you want to get God’s attention. Don’t do it.
• If you think you are required to do it. Don’t do it.
• If you genuinely feel the Spirit encouraging you to do it. Do it.

There are no rules to follow in the new covenant. There are no principles to get closer to God. The new covenant is about rest. It is about trust. God is with us always. We are holy and blameless in his eyes. He is pleased with us.

In the place of rest, allow the Spirit to lead you. Maybe he’ll lead you to fast, or maybe he’ll lead you to eat a juicy steak. Maybe, like my testimony about fasting below, you’ll get it all a little mixed up and try to fast because it feels religiously right to do so, but actually the Spirit really just wants you to enjoy a nice meal and praise God that you are his beloved.
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Hi everyone,

I wanted to share with you how I see the future of what I do here with ‘searching for grace’ and ask for your input as to the direction I take. I find myself at a crossroads in how I can continue all I’m doing. To be honest, I work more than 40 hours a week drawing, writing, interviewing, corresponding and administrating all that I do with searching for grace, and although I love it so much, I don’t see how I can continue at this capacity without having a way to support what I’m doing financially. I don’t want donations, but I do want to create a way that offers you the opportunity to support what I do by receiving a significant piece of my work on a monthly basis.

So, I’m considering offering a subscription to Searching For Grace of $10 per month. For this you will receive a digital copy of a completed book from me each month. Yes, one new book every month! These will be a combination of comic books, non-fiction books, paraphrase and commentaries, and also fiction (finishing off my first novel at the moment!) Subscribing means you will always get an advanced copy of everything I write and create. You’ll also be helping me plan my life, pay the rent and be able to switch off my computer after 8-10 hours.

For this to be possible, I need a minimum of 150 readers to subscribe (you can see how many have currently said yes in the comments section). So, I have not set this up yet, but rather would like to ask if you are interested in being part of this to let me know by filling out the form below. I will send you an email back letting you know, if 150 readers do say they would like to subscribe, when I will send the first book and how to subscribe (most likely Paypal).

So for now I’m just asking, would you like to be part of this? It’s $10 per month. I currently don’t receive any kind of support from any organization or persons, and self-fund all that I am doing. But have come to realise I do need support in order to continue at this capacity. If you find my work of value, and are in the position to be able to subscribe, I ask that you would do so and help me continue to do what I do.

Some of the books planned include:

1. The Gospel Cannot Be Chained: Searching for grace in Paul’s prision letters. (Paraphrase)

2. Searching For Grace, The Comic #1: A halarious look at a 21st Century Church Pushed To Its Extremes. (Comic Book)

3. God’s Grace, Apart From Law: Understanding the most important truth in the New Testament. (Non-Fiction/Commentary)

4. The Kingdom Of Love Is Within You (A collection of quotes, poems and thoughts posted on Facebook over the past 2 years)

5. Pastorman: The Greatest Superpastor Of All Time, An Autobiography. (Humour)

5. God’s Grammar (Novel)

6. Jesus In Genesis. Seeing The Gospel Message In The Creation Account. (Commentary)

Below is just a survey to help me see if people are interested in this offer or not. Thanks in advance, Mick.