New Year..............

THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Looking at the above Scripture, it says, "Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow".

This is speaking in the future tense.........they shall be.............remember, this was written by Isaiah.  He was foretelling what God was going to do.  It was coming.  It was going to happen.

Well, the GOOD NEWS is that it HAS NOW HAPPENED.  When Jesus came he took our blood red sins and WASHED THEM WHITE AS SNOW!

Most believers understand this, accept this and are pleased to be called Christians because they have accepted this.  However, did you accept this with the condition that you had to keep asking for forgiveness after you became a Christian?  If so, WHY?  Jesus died for ALL our sins ONCE AND FOR ALL.  You cannot keep putting Him back onto the cross because you have sinned.  The learning curve is this:  Once you accepted Jesus as your Saviour, your old spirit died and you were born again of the Holy Spirit...........When God looks at you He looks at you through His Son Jesus...and that's who He sees.  He sees your BORN AGAIN SPIRIT  and nothing else.  Jesus did what He did 2000 years ago and this covered sins [past, sins present and sins future.  There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do  to make God love you less.  He can't do anything BUT LOVE YOU .........unconditionally.

For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Isaiah 30 v 15

We will come back to the highlighted part shortly.

So, the sermon is over.......and I'm not sorry I said what I said.

My prayer for you all, whoever you are, is that you will get a deeper revelation of the Word of God, and that it will renew your mind and give you a totally peaceful spiritual platform on which to stand and face the coming year.

I had a dream last night, which woke me up and gave me hope.  After a very turbulent year, I have been thinking about my future and always thought I was giving my problems to God to lighten my burden, and help me through my situation.  However, last night, I believe God gave me this dream:

I was walking along a road carrying a wooden slatted old fashioned fish box, very much like the one in the next picture:

There was a person, I think a man, walking beside me.  My box was really very heavy and full of stuff.....I don't know what.......just stuff.  As we were walking along the road the man asked if he could carry my box for me.........but I declined, saying, "It is all my stuff and I feel responsible for it so, thank you, but I can manage."  As we kept walking I realised I was being offered help, so I turned to the man and said he could help me.  I let him take one end of the box and I held on to the other end.  I felt better in allowing him to help me, and the load felt a bit lighter.  

A little bit further down the road, I I thought I heard a voice saying, "Give it all to me!"  I was sure it wasn't the person who was walking along the road with me.........it was definitely in my head.  

Suddenly I woke up.  It was about 4.00 a.m. and I laid there thinking about my dream.  I asked God to show me what it meant........so here goes:

It seems that I have been carrying some of my burden that I have not been willing to let go of.  I have not been aware of this, (this is why I can't tell you what was in the box........it's as thought whatever it was I couldn't see properly...or didn't recognise).  I have always thought I gave everything to God.  I am usually a very upbeat person but have been troubled this past year even though I thought I was doing everything I could in the right manner.

That is one of the biggest mistakes any of us can make..................THINKING YOU ARE DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN IN THE RIGHT MANNER!  WRONG!!!!!

The first part of the mistake is the 'DOING" bit.  We are told to rest in God, In Matthew 11:29  Jesus said: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 

Read about Mary and Martha in Luke 10, and see the difference between BEING and DOING.

What about the highlighted part?

For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Isaiah 30 v 15

Our Salvation actually is explained in this one verse...along with the reason we have many problems.

In returning AND REST shall ye be saved.......................coming back to God and resting is how our Salvation is  best received ...................

NOT by coming back and DOING. In quietness and confidence shall be your strength........NOT by shouting and wailing and doing stuff!  Finally the highlighted bit:

and ye would not.  Although this verse is written in Isaiah..we have to remember that Isaiah was a prophet and what he wrote was very much for the future as well as his present time.  You see I think this verse is a mirror of how we are NOW:

We come to God and give him our sins.......in exchange for getting saved (this is how it looks, not necessarily how it is). Once saved, a minister, vicar, pastor, church leader will then tell you now you have handed everything over to God, you have a clean sheet.....don't mess it up.  To help you not mess it up, they devise 'things' for you to DO........be a church usher, tithe your money, go round the doors evangelising, kneel, sit and stand during the service.  Don't let your children make a noise, and they HAVE to go out during certain parts of the service.......WHY???  They are all God's children as adults are.........don't let me get started on that one!  Go to bible college and read up on other peoples thoughts on the bible............not actually allowing you to have your own mind about it.....wave the incense, cross yourself, prostrate yourself .....the list is endless.............. One other really significant thing is that you are generally encouraged to LISTEN to the preacher and NOT encouraged to ask questions.

You renew your mind by meditating on the WOrd of God.

We come to God shouting, demanding, praying for the heaven's to open?  Why?  God has already done everything.............there is nothing else for Him to do! 

But, Isaiah, I believe enlightened by God said ........AND YE WOULD NOT!  And today, WE DO NOT!  We don not come to God and rest, we do not come back and rest ........are you getting this?  

Come to God......and GIVE HIM EVERYTHING............after that THANK HIM QUIETLY AND CONFIDENTLY every day for giving you HIS STRENGTH, LET GO AND LET GOD with everything.

When we bere born again this is what happened to us:

To go back to my dream.  When I got woken up, I heard that voice again saying, "Anne, You are still trying to help .  You are still carrying part of the box.  Will you give me the whole box, so that you can walk alongside me freely, not holding onto anything.  Will you trust me to carry it ALL for you.  All I want is your company.  I am bigger than you are in the flesh, and stronger than you 
are in the flesh.  Let me take your heavy load, including the box, so that you can move more easily and not be restrained by the things of the part, present or future."  


My God is gentle, and does not demand anything from me.  He is love, and wants to share His love with me.  He wants to walk beside me with me unhindered by worldly things that hold me back.  I don't even need to know what those things are.  I just need to give it all to Him. 

What then?  Are these 'things' how I define myself?  Are these things I have hung on to things that I see as who I am?  When all the time my God is walking with me and I should be defining myself in His strength, Love and wisdom......................

Whatever and whoever I have been or am...............

Jesus does not judge me....or you.......or anyone else.........because HE WAS JUDGED BY GOD TO BE THE PERFECT SACRIFICE FOR US ALL.

Today I will begin to hand over the rest of my 'fish box' to God.  It may take some time.  I may make some mistakes, but I will begin today...........I thank God for all my dreams, especially when He speaks to me in them and through them.

Do you have something you want to give to God..............or SHOULD give to God?  Do it now.  Let Him take the strain, carry the load....then you can walk beside Him freely.

God Bless you all.

Have a wonderful New Year and may it carry on throughout the whole of 2013.

See you again sometime.

Love and Blessings from your sister in Jesus, Anne xxxxx

WWJD or WHJAD.......read on to understand

WWJD  or  WHJAD

in other words

What Would Jesus Do  or What Has Jesus Already Done

Most Christians today will have heard about WWJD......there are bracelets, and ornaments with these letters on them, and it means

Nothing wrong with that you say?  Well, if you are in a situation and need guidance, I suppose there is nothing wrong with asking yourself, "what would Jesus do!" So I am not disagreeing completely with the question.  However, if we take the Word of God and learn from it, we are told in Mark chapter 16 verse 19: So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God."  So what else is there for Jesus to do.

I think it more appropriate to ask the question, "What has Jesus already done?"

One of the fellowships I have read about, and have understood to be on a path akin to my own is the Winlight Ministires in the USA, and they have really got a hold on thie question

An article I read on Facebook really made me sit up and take notice.  It came from

Here is a copy of the article:

Grace Covenant Christian Center 

This truth below is from Mick Mooney and since he is coming soon to Grace Covenant, I thought you would enjoy his insight on the topic of WWJD:

Once upon a time, a mother made her son a wristband. On it was written: WWJD. This, of course stood for: What Would Jesus Do?’ She instructed her son to look at the wristband before making decisions on how to live his Christian life.

A week later she was shocked to see that her son had become friends with prostitutes, was hanging out with ‘sinners’ – even buying people who were already drunk yet another round of beers!

Worse still, he had walked into their church the previous Sunday and tore down the book store, overturned the tables and threw the cash register through the window, he then made a whip and chased the pastor out of the building, declaring he was turning God’s house into a den of thieves.

Most shocking was what happened when his mother went to picket the local abortion clinic. To her embarrassment, her son was also there, but he was standing with the women who just had an abortion, and yelled at the protesters: “You who is without sin, throw the first stone!”

The mother was very distressed, but fortunately she found a solution to this terrible problem. She made another wristband, this time it read: WWAPD, this, she explained to her son, stood for: What Would A Pharisee Do? 

She took the old WWJD wristband and burned it.

Since her son has been wearing the new wristband, looking at it to help him make his decisions, he has become a dedicated tither, a public prayer warrior, an active condemner of ‘sinners’, a passionate defender of the Old Covenant law, and has a great reputation as a godly young man amongst other religious people.

Needless to say, the mother is very happy now. She only wishes Jesus would take notice and follow her son’s good example.

So, isn't it interesting that today, when you stand up for Jesus people will only want to allow you to be the kind of Christian that will not offend anyone.  It is okay to be religious...............it is okay to have a faith...............it is okay to go to church...........but please don't tell me about it!!!  This is the kind of thing I hear from people I know who seemingly have no faith.  The world is vrying out for a saviour but does not know it!  

We don't have to ask WWJD because he has already done everything for us.  All we have to do, if we are born again, is look to the Spirit within us to guide us.  Acknowledge to yourself that you have what it takes, you know what needs doing, because you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2 verse 16).  If you are still not sure about who you are in God.....then remember this:

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement:  BECAUSE AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.  
(1 John 4 verse 17)

Using the two questions makes me doubt that most Christians actually know what Jesus has already done for them.  It makes me doubt that they understand they have the mind of Christ within their spirit.  It makes me doubt whether they fully understand the power that has been given to them through the Holy Spirit.

I know I am saved.  I know I am 1/3 wall to wall filled with the Holy Spirit.  I am learning that I have the mind of Christ.  I understand that he has given me everything I need for all situations and circumstances.  That does not mean to say I enjoy difficult situations........or that I never have problems.....but it does mean I know where my help comes from, where my wisdom comes from, where my healing comes from.  Remember the scripture Isaiah 53 (even before Jesus came to earth) Isaiah spoke about the suffering of Jesus for us read the whole chapter............it was a prophecy about why Jesus was coming........imagine knowing this at that time.   

We don NOT need to ask what Jesus would do...................we need to acknowledge what Jesus has done.

Many blessings

Annie xx

I May Have Been Away............

BUT GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US

Today I want  to share with you about the wrong thinking some of us have had about the power of satan.  When you read the scriptures, do you take the time to meditate on them?  Do you really think about what is being said?  Or, do you, as many of us do skim over what you are reading and not give it the time to sink in and to work in your life?

Let's look at 1 Peter 5 verse 8 

8. Be ye sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Most people read this verse and think that their enemy is powerful, has a bite that will kill them and is stalking them.  Well, the latter may be true.....satan is always with or around you waiting for an opportunity to pounce, I agree with that.  However, look at the verse carefully........

AS A ROARING LION..................

This means that satan is giving the appearance of, or is acting like a roaring lion

BUT

he is NOT A ROARING LION ........ he is lying to you from the start.  He knows that our minds are easily swayed.......easily fooled and he uses every opportunity we give him to scramble our minds.........distracting them from the truth of God.  He uses our minds through our thoughts ......he tries to hinder us and he brings about destruction wherever he gets in.

A toddler can run about roaring as a lion.....but he or she is only a toddler and we would laugh with them .....wouldn't we?  

Take it one step further..........

I am coming after you roaring as a lion.........you would probably turn around and laugh at me......wouldn't you?

You see when it is put like that you can see the foolishness of it.  Well, satan has NO POWER of his own...........the only power he has is WHAT WE GIVE HIM!

Just like the images of the child and adult above...........they are both pretending to be a lion.......so satan is also pretending to be a lion.........

You may be asking how? 

Fair enough.....let me try and put this as plainly as I can: starting with Eve........when satan approached Eve, he knew he was in with a chance straight away.  You see, when Adam was told he could not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil......Eve had not yet been created!  Adam was told directly by God.............to not eat of that tree and he was warned that "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2 verse 17) 

In fact, if you read on from the following verses you will see that there was Adam, and then God made all the birds, animals etc which would have taken some time....and yet out of all of these was 'not found a help meet for him' verse 20.  So, eventually God made Adam sleep deeply and removed a rib to make him a help meet.....Eve.....called Woman because she was taken out of Man........and interestingly (on another subject completely) this is where part of the marriage ceremony that we know, comes from....read verse 24.  

I am trying to paint a simple picture of how satan works in our lives.  You see, when satan approached Eve, he knew that God had not spoken directly to her with instructions about the tree you could not eat from.......he knew that she would have heard it from Adam......................this means and points directly to what we believe.  Do we believe everything everyone tells us?  Do we believe our pastor, our minister.....have you checked against the Word if what they are saying can be verified?I am not accusing anyone of lying or trying to deceive anyone else....but the Word is there for us all to read, meditate on and learn from through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Right then, so satan comes up to Eve and says,, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"  Do you see how satan phrased this?  He kew that God didn't tell her personally so there could be room for manipulation ...........he was subtly reminding Eve that she only heard it from Adam and began to place doubt in her mind........

Eve did re-iterate to satan what God had told Adam, so she did know.....but perhaps she didn't know enough,  and satan comes again very subtly saying ,'Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." 

How sneaky was he? It is interesting to point out that satan know what the result of eating of that tree was............and he chose only to point out what he thought would please Eve........."you eyes shall be opened..........ye shall be like gods...........knowing good and evil."  How tempting was that?  He left out (which he undoubtedly knew) that the result would be suffering, pain and much, much more than just what he told her.  He deceived her.  He lied to her. He made her doubt.

Let's take a closer look at Adam and Eve......they met with God every day in the cool of the evening..........they did not know shame and yet were naked.  They had no political correctness to think about.........they had no paparazzi to hide from..........they did not have anyone else to sleep with so adultery was not an issue......they didn't have to steal to eat.........there was plenty of everything they would ever need.  So, none of these things could be used to cause either of them to sin.

Our minds are the playground of satan....................and we don't really know or understand that to the fullest.  

Eve looked at the tree in a different way after satan spoke to her.....it became attractive.....the thought of being wise and having all knowledge seemed very inviting.........the tree looked inviting, pleasant to the eye.....to be desired to make one wise..........and she gave in.................interestingly it doesn't state how long it took Eve to act after the thought.............think about it:

It was pleasing to the eye.............how long did she look at it and mull things over?.....how many times did she look at it with satan's words in her mind?  

Eve saw that there was plenty of food on the tree.....(the tree was good for food: verse 6) .......how many times did she go and look at it.......or look at it from a distance........or walk around it ........ or draw near to it.......just to check it out??  All the time she was talking herself into taking the fruit and eating it..........telling herself how great it would be to have this wisdom........all being acted out in the mind..............and then...............

eventually she succumbs to the temptation delivered so carefully by satan.  It is interesting that Adam took the fruit from her and ate it too.  Do you ever wonder why?  Why did he not just say.....no!

Anyway, the whole point of this today is, satan plays with our minds............everything starts with a thought.  How many of us think satan is powerful?  We should put him in his place.  He is only as powerful as we let him be in our lives.  If our thoughts are not edifying....are not uplifitng........are not loving thoughts........then they will not be Godly thoughts.

The questions remains........How do we fight this?  How do we NOT give in to temptation?  How do we ??????(you fill in the blanks here)!

We have to stay alert:

Our human fights, arguments and negative actions are NOT from God.........they ARE from satan.  So out battles are not with our kith and kin,....our battles are not with flesh and blood...........Our battles ARE agains principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (Ephesians 6 v 12).

There is really only one way to fight all of these battles.....no matter what they look like humanly speaking: We should PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMUR OF GOD, so that we may stand against the wiles of the devil.

Having our loins girt with TRUTH

wearing the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS

our feet shod with the preparation of the GOSPEL OF PEACE

using the SHIELD OF FAITH

wearing the HELMET OF SALAVATION

PRAYING ALWAYS WITH PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION IN THE SPIRIT!!

In other words:

 Always be truthful...no white lies............no non-communication, as silence is the same as lying.  AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE (John 8 v 32)  If you are always truthful you will be able to stand firm and not waver.  Know the TRUTH of the Gospel of Christ, and share it..................set other people free.  NEVER be ashamed of the truth....no matter what it may be.....always look at the truth of what and who you are in Christ........you are redeemed, forgiven, accepted, favoured, beloved.....a son of God.............ALWAYS BE TRUTHFUL and you will never fail.

Know that the breastplate of righteousness is understanding who you are in Christ.......YOU ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST.............not because of what you have done but because of what JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU!  You will know this for certain if you read the Word of God which provides you with your breastplate.......it provides you with the truth.

Be ready to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.  The GOSPEL OF PEACE is within you..........it is the peace that passes all understanding..........and when people see how you behave under pressure, in difficult situations and circumstances....they will SEE THE PEACE that you have, which is the peace of the Gospel.  It is your understanding of what the Gospel gives you that brings you your peace.  Take it and share it.

Your shield of faith.........well, this is also interesting and different to what most people think.  When you read the word of God you find that we have all been given THE measure of faith......as it says in Romans 12 verse 3........."For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt TO EVERY MAN THE MEASURE OF FAITH.  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD OF GOD (Romans 10 verse 17), and if we go to ROMANS 3 verse 3 it speaks there about "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief MAKE THE FAITH OF GOD without effect?  We have all been given the measure of faith.....and it is THE FAITH OF GOD!  Not our own faith, because we are flawed, as humans we are fallen.....in our born again spirit is the faith of God........we should be using that all the time.

The SWORD OF THE SPIRIT..........this is the Word of God.  KNOW THE WORD OF GOD.........satan cannot stand against it.......Remember when Jesus was tempted, the first words he said were, "It is written............."  We should take note of that.  There is nothing wrong with taking on board what is preached or taught at meetings.......but it is KNOWING WHAT IS WRITTEN that will stand you in good stead against satan's wiles.

Lastly...the HELMET OF SALVATION........... again this comes down to protecting our minds by the renewing of our minds through the word of God. Knowing the word of god, meditating on the word of God, learning to trust the Word of God above all other ideas, thoughts and perceived human wisdom............THAT IS THE HELMET OF SALVATION.  Salvation does not just mean being saved from hell, it means completeness, wholeness.........(this is actually a sermon on it's own so I won't go there today!)  Always be aware of the helmet of salvation, allowing it to remind you that you are a son of God and that you HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST WITHIN YOU: 1 Corinthians 2 verse 16 says: For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?  But we have the mind of Christ.  

So altogether if we use the full armour of God, satan cannot plant his thoughts and ideas in our minds.  

Or to put it very simply

THE ONLY POWER SATAN HAS IS THE POWER WE GIVE HIM

Just as a footnote:  Usually armour covers the front of a body...........and this is why we are encouraged to stand...........wearing the full armour of God......... facing the enemy....................always facing the enemy.........ready to do battle!  Think about it!!!!!

I think that's enough for today.

Many blessings to you all.

Word Art Wednesday 18th July

WORD ART WEDNESDAY

18th July

I'm not going to be late this week........ the scripture this week is:

Isn't that a lovely scripture?  All the time, even when we forget, He watches over us.  When we feel alone, abandoned, rejected, sad, lonely and all the other negative things that can happen to us.........ALL THE TIME.........He is watching over us.  We are NOT alone and there is nothing that we go through on our own.  It doesn't matter how we feel......human emotions should never be trusted ............ only God's peace from deep within is to be trusted.

We have sparrows nesting in the eaves, and when I watch them feed their young it always reminds me that God has His eye even on them....so how much more is He watching over me?   That is awesome.

Here is the card:

I hope you like it.


Love and blessings


Annie xxx

Word Art Wednesday

Word Art Wednesday

11th July Scripture

I may be late with this one, but I gave it a go anyway.

I hope you like the card and the scripture........................




I just popped over and found I was too late............never mind, have a great day everyone.

Love and blessings 

Annie xx

Word Art Wednesday

Word Art Wednesday

Visiting my Graceful Blog

Hello everyone

I thought for a change I would post my Word Art Wednesday challenge card in my Grace Blog.  It seems fitting, I think to use the Scripture:

And thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thine heart, and with all thine soul, and with all thy might.  from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 5

It is interesting to note that in the Old Testament we were encouraged to do the loving with all our heart, soul and might.....which in effect was impossible to do.  The Israelites couldn't do it no matter how hard they tried, which was why the 10 commandments were introduced..........to give them guidelines on how to do the above.  Can you see how hard it must have been for them?  No wonder the priests were forever offering sacrifices for the peoples sins, because they had to find a way to stay in favour with God.  We have all read about the wrath of God in the Old Testament and know how many people ided for their sins.....e.g. when Moses was up the mountain getting the 10 commandments, the people he left beneath him made a golden calf as an idol to worship.  Things were really bad.  People tried all sorts of ways to get right with God.

However, and I know some of you will know where I am going with this...we don't have that same fear.....or we shouldn't have that fear.  Do you?  

In Matthew chapter 22 verse 37, Jesus said unto him,

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy MIND!

Do you see the difference?  The difference is the last bit.......With all thy MIND, whereas in Deuteronomy it said, " With all thy MIGHT!"

You see Jesus came to earth to show us that no matter how we tried we could never love in the way God wanted us too, and if you are not born again, you still won't be able to love truly as God intended you too.

Okay, you say, I am born again, but I can't do this! It's too hard.  NO it's not too hard.  When Jesus said use your mind, He was saying you will never have enough MIGHT so use your mind.  Love with your HEART, SOUL and MIND.  Where do we learn about this kind of Love?  In the New Testament, by renewing our minds, by meditating on the Word and allowing God to work through us, to Love through us.  It's HIS love, not ours that we use, and His love is perfect.....and the scripture says  in 1 John chapter 4 verses 18(a)

There is no fear in love; but perfect love CASTETH OUT FEAR:

You see God's perfect love is inside each one of us.  Our spirit is not a spirit of fear which cannot love.........our spirit is joined with the Holy Spirit of God which gives us perfect love......and THAT is what casts out our fear.  

So that is why that scripture was changed by Jesus, because He took it from the old and made it new........it was He who changed it for us.

So, here is my card:

I printed the design onto a white base card, and added the scripture before printing it and highlighted the photo corners. The card when folded became A5 in size.  I trimmed off about 3/4 of an inch from the front and added a black scalloped border  I added the black butterfly and black and white flowers using brads as centres for the flowers.  I highlighted the bird and butterfly using stickles.  

I hope you like it.

Many blessings

Annie xxx

Prayer and Fasting

PRAYER AND FASTING

Hello everyone.  I know it has been a long time since my last Graceful post, but I have been busy and been listening to God through the many forms available, i.e. ipod, internet, but better than that from the Word itself.

I have also been listening to my pastor online as he has been teaching about praying and fasting.  I have not been to my fellowship for a while but I get everything online and meet up regularly with people from my Christian family.  There are many people praying for me from as far afield as India, the USA, England and here in lovely Scotland bringing me closer to the healing I seek and helping me see how to release the power that is within me through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Today I heard on the news that Scientists in Switzerland think they have found the "Higgs Boson Particle' which they think will explain the creation of the world and the universe.......giving the world a scientific explanation of the big bang theory......well God will have something to say about that when He stops laughing at mankind's puny efforts to find those answers.  It brings me to the scripture:

1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 17 - 25:

Paul was speaking and said:

1Co 1:17  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 

18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 

19  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 

20  Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 

21  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 

22  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 

23  But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 

24  But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 

25  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 

This is our commission too; we have not to have our heads turned by the so called wisdom of man but always line our thinking and speech up with the Word of God. In the end............at the end of each of our lives THAT IS ALL THAT'S GOING TO MATTER.

So, having listened to my pastor talking about praying and fasting, he reminded me of a time when I was part of a religious order and had studied about praying and fasting.  All those years ago I believed, as I still do that our very lives are an act of worship to God.  All that we do, all that we say ................everything about us is His creation, made to worship Him and to commune with Him all the time.  So I was very excited to here Vic teach on this subject because ha asked those present what they thought praying was.  The many answers that came to him perfectly described praying......worship, talking, asking, loving etc etc  So there are many ways of praying and just as many reason to pray in the different ways too.


I know that God is always talking to me......I just don't always listen.


When I talk to Him many times it's because I remember I should!  More and more frequently over these past few months I have talked to God, sang to God, wept and laughed to God because I want to............respond to HIM.  I', slowly learning how to be attentive and hear His voice.  It could be through nature, music, mulling over the word, other people........... prayer has always been being in communion with God, taking communion with God and loving Him and worshipping Him.


Fasting, is just what Vic said.  Not eating food!!! But why?  Fasting is not giving up watching TV or doing without chocolate for a period of time.


Fasting is what it says...........not eating food!!  WHY FAST??  David, in Psalm 35 verse 13 said ' I humbled my soul with fasting...."  but that's not the reason to do it either.  To me, fasting tells my body I am doing something that is going to be good for me...............spiritually.  We are usually tempted by the flesh and one way to combat this is to fast, but even then I am not advocating just fasting.


To pray and fast at the same time.....OH YES!!  Fasting for me takes my mind off the fleshly things of life, the carnal things and helps me focus on God and His word, usually to get revelation on something I need to hear, that will edify me and others.  Spiritual warfare to me is praying and fasting!  Not that God takes any more notice of me, but that I stand for what I believe and that scares  the devil much more than shouting at him.  Quietly persisting with an issue that needs guidance from the wisdom that has already been put inside me means I can get on with my life and let all the work that was accomplished on the cross show itself in power and might.


God says in His Word:


Romans chapter 8 verses 26 - 28


26) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know notwhat we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  27) And He that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  28) And we know  that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.


Remember that the italics were additions made my the translators when the King James bible was translated into English, for them to try and make sense of it.  It is interesting that in verse 27, if you remove the italic words, it still makes sense:  .....because he maketh intercession for the saints according to ......God!


When we don't know what to pray we should be allowing ourselves to be led in prayer by the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and knows all that you need to know.  Our words can sometimes get in the way of what we want to say, sometimes it's action that is needed, and fasting is a good action.  Combined with prayer it is your personal way of working out your love and worship, petitions and problems, your adoration of God and gratefulness for the great exchange that happened on the cross.  Jesus took all our infirmities, all our sins, all our ........fill in this space with what is is for you......most of all, Jesus took on separation from God on our behalf so that we would never again be separated from Him.  Our prayers tell God that we are loving Him, trusting Him, needing Him, accepting Him, that we are his children.................co-heirs with Christ.  Christ is our brother............if we are co-heirs!  Jesus only ever called His Heavenly Father 'God' once in the Bible.  did you know that?  He always spoke about His Father, Abba, but on the cross..........God turned His back on Jesus, and Jesus, dying our death for us shouted out, "My Go, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  God did this to show that He accepted Jesus's sacrifice on our behalf.  But you know, Jesus is God too, so what He did was experience the result of human sinfulness.......paying the price that we were meant to pay.  He died so that we can live, He suffered for our pain, He cried out to God and on  the third day He rose again.......mission accomplished and then He went home to sit at the right had of His Father.


God hears us, no matter how we pray, why we pray and when we pray.  He loves us so much more than we can ever imagine and not with a human kind of love that is flawed, but with a pure, unashamed love.  Fasting and prayer is not done to impress God, or get Him to move..............it is done to bring ourselves to a place where we know spiritual revelation for all circumstances.


Many blessing


Annie xx