Closing up shop.

Dear readers,


First off, I would like to thank each and every one who has ever taken the time to read my little blog. It has been so great. :)


I have decided to close up shop on It's Only Life. I started the blog back about a year and a half ago (I think) and I've decided to end it here. 


If you kept up with my blog with any consistency, one of the main things you would notice is that I would often talk about my college woes and victories with you. One of the main issues I've dealt with during this season of my life, and having this blog, has been not quite knowing just what I'm doing at college and with my life. I've talked about creative writing, tech writing, and recently journalism. I keep flip-flopping between ideas because I truly have no idea what I'm doing with my life. I felt like that was such a big deal, being in college and having no solid plans. I was literally freaking out every other week because I got so overwhelmed with choices that I still have time to think and pray about. I was allowing myself to be crippled by fear and anxiety by something that I don't need to be afraid of. If you know me well, then you know I don't like talking about my problems with other people. But I was getting desperate so I talked to a couple people. Suffice it to say, they are much wiser than me. And they helped me to see a little more clearly about the whole situation. Over the past couple weeks I've uncovered some deeply-rooted fears in myself that I didn't even know existed. It's been upsetting but freeing at the same time, and I've decided to end this blog, because I am ending this season of my life. This season of worry and resolutions and generally driving myself mad with all the "what ifs?" and "how comes?" in my life. I'm just going to do the things I love to do and wait for God's direction.


I'm not sad at all to leave this little season of my life behind. In fact, I'm quite excited. And I will definitely keep blogging! I've decided to make a wordpress totally devoted to the things that I write. It'll have a lot of the stuff that I posted on here like song analyses and those little pieces that I wrote. I just don't want to write about myself anymore, it's pretty boring. ;)  I'm going to make the wordpress over this week (CAUSE IT'S SPRING BREAK!!) and I'll post the link so you can check it out, if you so desire. :) 




So here it goes.

My name is Molly O'Sullivan and I have no idea what I'm doing with my life, but that is okay because my God does. I will continue to seek out his will for my life, but right now I'm just going to be still. 

Once again, thank you SO much for keeping up with this blog. I won't delete it or anything, because I make a point of never deleting the things I write. :) But anywho, I'd just like to end this post with some of the verses that I have been thinking a LOT about. 

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14



For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:25

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33


M

Dear Christian brothers and sisters,

Last night I was watching The Shining for the first time when I found out that Osama bin Laden had been killed. When I was done with the movie, I logged onto my Facebook and was accosted by nearly two full screens of status updates celebrating or joking about the recent developments concerning bin Laden. Other than the recent presidential election (and maybe when the Rangers went to the World Series) I've never seen my small corner of Facebook blow up so fast. 


And so vehemently. 


I know that the rest of the world sees this as a major accomplishment for our country. Perhaps it is. Our leadership is to be commended for their intelligence and bravery in the execution of their mission. Those who mourn for the loss of their loved ones during the 2001 attacks should be comforted. We should never forget those dark days nor the heroes who died to protect our country - and we should support those men and women who continue to serve our country overseas to keep us safe. May God continue to keep our nation safe through the means He has given us. 


BUT 


What I want to talk about is the Christian response I have seen to the death of Osama Bin Laden. There is so much hatred and rejoicing. I watched the news last night as the details unfolded and there were hordes outside waving flags, setting off fireworks, and celebrating like it was the Fourth of July. People looked happy, but when the newscasters talked to specific people, I saw not joy but bitter hatred. I know some of you think you're being patriotic by celebrating the death of Bin Laden, but you need to consider who you have aligned yourself with when you claimed Christ. 


Your devotion to Jesus Christ is greater than your devotion to your family, to your friends, and your country. If you truly have a relationship with Jesus and have accepted Him as your Savior and recognize God as sovereign, then you need to consider this: 

Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? 

Ezekiel 18:23

We have no business rejoicing in the death of another human. God is holy and just and He punishes those who do evil in His sight. But God does not revel in the demise of the evil, He wants all to come to the saving knowledge of His son Jesus. Some people seem to be happy about the fact that bin Laden is 'rotting in hell.' As Christians, how can we say or think that? Did bin Laden do great evil against us? Most definitely. But "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Moreover, "The wages of sin is death." All humankind has a sin nature and sins every day of his/her life. We are all damned to death in the sight of God and it is only by the blood of Jesus that any are saved and spared God's wrath. Dear Christian brothers and sisters, what sets you apart from a sinner like bin Laden? The only thing that makes you different is the righteousness of Christ applied to you because of your faith in Him. I would beg us all not to be so prideful in our condemnations of bin Laden or anyone else. Rather than revel in his death, it is my prayer that we would take this time as an opportunity to realize how merciful our God is. That He would save any person from their sin is an act of supernatural love and power. 

As Christians, we are not called to judge sin haughtily or hatefully. We are called to preach the Gospel and make disciples of Christ and while that does involve telling those whom we talk to that they are sinful, we are to do it in love. We are in the world, but we are not to be of it. (John 15:19). We are set apart because we have Christ in us. We are supposed to look different from the world. I urge you to not disregard the suffering of those still hurting from the 9/11 attacks nor to de indifferent to your allegiance to your country, but to walk and talk and live in a way that pleases the Lord. Taking part in the bitter rejoicing in the death of a human (regardless of his sin and crime) is wrong and what good does it do? Will slandering the name of one man be beneficial to our calling of winning hearts for Jesus Christ?

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9

Now a living fountain, see!

Today is Good Friday and I just wanted to write a post about this time of year and what it means to me and to all Christians around the world...


Today is the day that we remember the day that Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of the one true God, was betrayed and tortured and murdered for the sins of the world who had turned against him. Whenever this time of year rolls around I always find myself subconsciously wishing we could skip the whole Good Friday thing and go straight to the rejoicing, joyful part: Easter Sunday. But for some reason this year, I've been embracing this short period of remembering what I used to be, where I was, and what my God did to rescue me. I want to share with you some of the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus and his plan to redeem his people.


The prophet Isaiah, through the revelation of God, prophesied of the birth of Jesus hundreds of years before it actually happened. 


     "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 (This prophecy was fulfilled and the account of this can be found in Matthew 1:18-25)
    
The work of Jesus Christ was also prophesied in Isaiah.


      “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
      Because the LORD has anointed Me
      To preach good tidings to the poor;
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
      To proclaim liberty to the captives,
      And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
        To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
      And the day of vengeance of our God;
      To comfort all who mourn,
       To console those who mourn in Zion,
      To give them beauty for ashes,
      The oil of joy for mourning,
      The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
      That they may be called trees of righteousness,
      The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3 (This prophecy was fulfilled and the account is found in the four Gospel books in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

The death of Jesus was prophesied in Isaiah.

      He is despised and rejected by men,
      A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
      And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
      He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
        Surely He has borne our griefs
      And carried our sorrows;
      Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
      Smitten by God, and afflicted.
        But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed.
       All we like sheep have gone astray;
      We have turned, every one, to his own way;
      And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:3-6 (This prophecy was also fulfilled and the account is found in all four Gospel. One reference is from the book of Matthew 26-27)

Jesus died the death the whole of mankind deserved but to prove to the world that he was more powerful  than Satan and death, he rose again from the dead three days after His crucifixion. Through Jesus' resurrection, he conquered death and made a way for sinful man to be reconciled to God. 

 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
  The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:1-10

If you believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted him as your savior, I would encourage you to spend today remembering what he did for you. Remember that there is nothing you can do to earn your salvation and that it took the hideous torturing and death of Jesus Christ to make your place in heaven available. Only his blood is sufficient to save. Remember that everyday not just on Good Friday.

If you don't believe in Jesus Christ or are unsure about the Gospel, I would ask you to consider the Scripture above. The bolded passages above come from the Bible, the holy, inerrant word of God that is powerful and living. God is powerful and the death of Jesus has made the way for sinners to restore their broken relationship with God. He is mighty to save and his grace is sufficient for you. 

In His power and strength alone...

M

      

Greater things

During spring break I heard a song called Clear The Stage by Ross King and ever since, it's been in the back of my mind. Basically, as I was listening the lyrics for the first time I thought, This song could be the framework for a book. The song basically talks about eliminating all idols from our lives and letting go of all obstacles that keep us from God. It talks about being genuine in our worship and being sure of what we're worshipping.

 So many times, I find myself singing in church or reading my Bible and my thoughts are nowhere on God. "This people honors me with their lips but their hearts are far from me." Jesus said this and I believe it is one of the biggest problems in the church, among Christians, and for me personally. One of the hardest things is to match our hearts up with our words. Jesus desires the most genuine part of his people which is the heart but most of the time, our hearts are so infested with idolatry and earthly goals and desires that we don't even realize that we have other gods before him. 

So I've been thinking about writing a book about this subject for a while now, and God seems to be placing all sorts of indicators in my life to encourage this idea. The Bible studies I'm in always seem to go back to idolatry. This past Sunday, the sermon was about making God the top priority in our lives, and that song always seems to pop up more often than it used to whenever I shuffle the iPod. :) So I'm taking these as signs and running with them. I don't know how long it will take to get this book started or finished because honestly, I'm terrified to write it. I'm scared because I know that during the research it will take to write it, I will uncover so many flaws in my faith and worship. I mean, I know this will be a good thing to learn where I'm faltering in my faith, but I don't want to be uncomfortable. But that is what is necessary. It's uncomfortable and unpleasant when you find sin in your life, but it's only when you get downwind of yourself when you realize how much you need God's forgiveness and faithfulness to help you make the necessary changes to your life. 

So this will be a good thing. A very hard, but very good thing. Please pray for me that God would show me where I'm putting things or people before him (He's already convicted me a lot lately about this, but I'm sure there's more to come). Pray that I would not become discouraged but encouraged to make changes to the way I live my life. :) 

Thanks for reading. :)

We, The Fallen

We, the fallen, have drawn attention to ourselves in order to make these, our best thought-out excuses: What's wrong with me is someone else's fault. I deserve this because I never had that. I am better than them. What I want is more important than what they need.

We, the fallen, walk with our mouths open and our ears closed. 

We, the fallen, are proud beyond all human comprehension. Even in our most secret and unknown subconscious, pride is what defines every word that come out of our mouths. Every movement we make. Every thought we think. 

We, the fallen, claim that we cannot know truth because we are afraid that when we find out truth, it will not conform to the way we want to live.

We, the fallen, are selfish. We preach conservation, and peace, and justice, but when push comes to shove, no one is more important than #1: ME 

We, the fallen, are entitled. Because we've done this, we ought to be given that. 

We, the fallen, are inconsistent. We say we want to change the world, when the truth is we want only to be comfortable.

We, the fallen, are thieves. We take what belongs to someone else and pretend that everything's alright. 

We, the fallen, are cheaters. We are dishonest with with our families, with our work, with ourselves; and we know it. 

We, the fallen, think we know what we need, but in the end this world leaves us empty and void of all joy. 

We, the fallen, are cursed. Cursed from the very beginning, to fail, to murder, to steal, to lie, to cheat, to hate, to disobey, to die. 

We, the fallen

We, the crippled

We, the damned

We, the dead

But God

God, the timeless, draws all attention to His perfect self to reveal to us His most perfect truth: "I AM that I AM." Exodus 3:14

God, the merciful, takes the dust out of our eyes and the clay out of our ears to tell us something: "God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1b

God, the just, sent His humble son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to be a servant to the proudest sinners who would reject Him: "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations." Isaiah 42:1

Jesus, the infallible, is the source of all truth, knowledge, and understanding. He is the creator of truth and all of creation must conform to it: I am the way, the truth, and the life..." John 14:6a

Jesus, the creator, is selfless: "...Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, rather he made himself nothing." Philippians 2:6-7a

God, the holy, is entitled to all glory, honor, and submission from His creation: "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods." 1 Chronicles 16:25

God, the unchangeable, is stable in everything he does. He has been, is, and will always be the same: "I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." Malachi 3: 6

Jesus, the caring, is gracious. He has offered salvation--which none deserve--to those who will call on  His name: "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:7-8

God, the judge, is truthful with His creation: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned." Romans 5:12 

God, the wise, knows exactly what we need to be filled. He knows that the only thing is this world that can bring true joy is a relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ: "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves." John 17:13

Jesus, the forgiving, opens the eyes of the ones he chooses to His unimaginable grace. He has offered sinners a way out of hell and spiritual death. None deserve this gift, but God--because of His great love for His creation--has offered it, nonetheless: "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9

God, the Creator

Jesus, the Sustainer

God, the Just

Jesus, the Savior 

  

Jesus is...

Jesus is more fulfilling than success

Jesus is more secure than money

Jesus is better than job stability and a steady income

Jesus is more powerful than a signature 

Jesus is sweeter than good friends

Jesus is more satisfying than finding an earthly true love

Jesus is better than family peace

Jesus is stronger than my biggest struggle

Jesus is calmer than a silent night

Jesus is more loving than anyone else you know

Jesus is more soothing than a sweet song

Jesus is more reliable than anyone you know

Jesus lived the life we couldn't

Jesus died the death we deserved

Jesus loves

Jesus lives

Jesus saves

"This is my position concerning my condition. This is my position, my life be definition: Jesus is life."

~Steven Curtis Chapman: Jesus is Life

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing; keeps me singing as I go!"

~Luther B. Bridgers: He Keeps Me Singing

"All the weak find their strength at the sound of Your great name. Hungry souls receive grace at the sound of Your great name. The fatherless find their rest at the sound of Your great name. The sick are healed. The dead are raised at the sound of Your great name."

~Natalie Grant: Your Great Name