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.

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

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.

Over the past few weeks I have been missing in action somewhere south of the equator; a place known for its beaches, BBQ’s and funny looking animals that jump around a lot. It would have been nice if it was a holiday, but I was actually there for business, and as a result I had very little free time to blog, create comics, and stay up to date with all that I normally do online. I was missing in action for a few weeks, but I’m happy to say I’m now back – and back with some exciting news too.

Today my very first ‘Searching For Grace’ comic book is being released. Yes, that’s right, Pastor Moses and the gang are ready to baptize your coffee table in Christianese.

Searching For Grace: Joining The Church" Snapshots Of The Book

The book is titled: “Searching For Grace: Joining The Church.” I created a brand new, never before seen storyline that documents exactly how John came to join Pastor Moses’ church. I made heaps of new comics exclusively for the book, as well as some new, never before seen characters. I hope you get a belly full of laughs out of it, and the chance to use the book as an conversation starter with friends and family.

You can get the book online now on Amazon.com. If you do get a copy, drop me a line and let me know what you thought about it too!

OK, I’m off to get Monday’s comic ready. I’ll have it online soon.

Blue skies,
Mick

55744-Sydney © by xiquinhosilva

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

Sun Rise © by Hamedog

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.

1. The Comic Strip. For the past two years I have posted ‘Searching For Grace’ comic strips every Monday, Wednesday & Friday, then about two months ago I thought, “Gosh, there are so many new readers who haven’t see the earlier comics” so my idea was to increase the comics to every day, including all the older comics too. Well, the problem I have now realised, is that there will always be new readers, and I can’t just keep repeating comics! Also, maybe regular readers want to read new comics, not only repeats. So, the solution is… (drum roll please) I’m going to be releasing the first ‘Searching For Grace Comic Book’ in a few months. So, people who like the comic can just grab the book, and new readers can get the back editions if they like, or just read from where the comic currently is at. I’ll be writing another post about this sometime soon with more details.

2.  I actually don’t just want to draw comics. To be honest, I love making the comic, and enjoy the challenge of bringing across a serious thought while also creating a funny punch line. In saying that, I just have more ways I want to share the good news. As most of you know, I’m already a published author with two books currently published (see my amazon author page here), and I have another being released in November, and my first novel next April (Super, super excited about this book!) Basically, I’d like to write more too.

3. I actually really enjoy just writing random thoughts in small quotes. If you follow me on facebook, you’ve probably read these each day. I really love sharing God’s love in this way, and I’ve found a way to also share them on the website here that allow you to, if you want to, also share them easily on facebook and twitter.

4. I’d like to share more of my thoughts. By that I mean I’d like to write more posts that just share what I’m thinking about, that allows you to join the conversation and also share your opinions. So, I want to write more posts that open up more discussion.

5. Interview. Over the past few weeks I just haven’t had any time to organise interviews with other authors/artists. I know many of you really enjoy theses interview, so I need to re-organise my life to be able to still do at least one interview a week.

6. I create too much already. I’m doing so much, and I doubt anyone really keeps up with everything I’m doing, so I’m going to slow down a little. Less comic posts, but still sharing something unique, and worth reading each day.

7. I’ve got a day job. I do all of this stuff on the side. I don’t get any support or income for what I do with Searching For Grace, and actually I’m really at peace with that. What it does mean is that I have to really focus and do my day job as good as I can. That’s cool with me.

Conclusion: I love connecting with you all. I’ll keep sharing comics, but also spend more time with other blog posts, quotes, poetry, and other creative avenues. Basically, you can just ignore the stuff you don’t like and enjoy the stuff you do like. Hopefully you enjoy it all! But hey, even my best friends don’t read everything I write/create, so I won’t hold it against you if you also pick and choose.

OK, that’s my big update. Over and out.

Blue skies,
Mick

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

“The Gospel Cannot Be Chained: Searching for grace in Paul’s prison letters.”

Is being released on the 1st July (this Friday!) It is now available to be pre-ordered on amazon.com. If you are thinking of getting a copy, it would be great if you could order a copy before Friday, because it will encourage amazon then start promoting the book on more on more of their website’s pages.
(Click Here if you want to pre-order a copy on Amazon.com)

If you enjoy my blog posts and daily status updates on facebook about the love and grace of God, then you’ll really love this book. I hope it really helps you to see the message of God’s grace and love in Paul’s four prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon) Below is my forward to the book. If you do get a copy and read it, please drop me a line and let me know your thoughts.

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‘The Gospel Cannot Be Chained’ is a collection of Paul’s prison letters that he wrote during his imprisonment in Rome, paraphrased, with a great deal of respect, in a way that highlights what I believe to be the heart of his message. I find it amazing that even in prison Paul still knew he was free; he still knew of a far greater reality that was his in Christ. The beauty of his message of God’s love and grace in his prison letters touches my heart every time I read them. This book is an expression of my understanding of Paul’s letters. I hope it blesses your heart also.

Paul’s letters reveal so much of his heart of love, his joy in God’s grace, and his uncompromising faith in the redemptive work of Jesus. Paul has, in a spiritual way, become one of my dearest friends; a wonderful brother in my own faith walk who has always encouraged me through his letters that I can truly live by the Spirit of God. Although I haven’t yet met him personally, I certainly appreciate the letters he wrote to me, to you, and to all who are part of the body of Christ.

I didn’t approach paraphrasing Paul’s letters with the mindset that I was rewriting Scripture, but rather, respectfully attempting to clarify the heart of a dear friend who is no longer with us. The best way to read this book is in rest. Relax, and read it as if you are reading a few letters from a dear brother in Christ who is writing you a personal letter to remind you of the wonderful reality of God’s grace.

As this is not a Bible, but rather a modern expression of four letters from a friend, I have not formatted it in the way modern Bibles format Paul’s letters. There are no verses or chapters. The best way to read these letters is in one sitting, as you would with any letter you received from a friend today.

I hope that through reading my interpretation of Paul’s letters it helps highlight for you his message of love and grace in whatever Bible translation you normally read.

Blue skies,
Mick Mooney

(Click Here if you want to pre-order a copy on Amazon.com)