Anna Wood's Blog

To Truly Pray

What makes prayer effective?

Is it beautiful words? Setting a mood?

Is it a detailed prayer list? Aloneness?

Perhaps it is gathering with like-minded brethren?

Is it fasting? Self-denial?

Those things are, in fact, side issues. Effective prayer comes when one knows God well, aligns his will with God’s and then puts himself at God’s disposal.

God delights in the heart that seeks Him, not only above all else, but, instead of all… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on September 26, 2009 at 6:50pm — No Comments

Seeking Your Prayers

Job 13: 15, ” Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him….”

I Peter 4: 12, 13, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

James 1: 2, 3, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on September 5, 2009 at 8:00am — 2 Comments

Total Depravity By Extent But Not Degree

Calvinism uses the acronym TULIP to represent it’s said “five points.” T: Total Depravity; U: Unconditional Election; L: Limited Atonement; I: Irresistible Grace; P: Perseverance of the Saints. It was not Calvin himself who so organized his teachings but, rather, his followers who, in answering five objections to Calvin’s teachings from Arminians (followers of Dutch Reformer Jacobus Arminius were originally called Remonstrants), arranged the TULIP acronym in order to make their answer… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on September 3, 2009 at 11:42am — No Comments

Lord, Is It I?

(If we are deeply concerned about the state of the church; if we shudder to see God’s holy Name abused and misused, not only by the world but also by His own people; if we are determined to obey God and be used by God no matter what it costs us–if we are not careful, we can become harsh and judgmental and so very, very blind to our own sins. We must always carefully examine ourselves and invite God to do so also. We must see our sins as He sees our sins: vile, disgusting and what caused Him… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on September 1, 2009 at 8:19am — 1 Comment

Pursuing The One True God

We pursue God because we are pursued by Him. We aren’t thrown to the wind by Him to see if we can find out way Home alone. He pursues us. He draws us. Even as we seek Him, He is the One in control.

Jesus says that no one comes to Him unless the Father draws him. Each step of the way, each time I wistfully looked farther down the road hungering for a Reality that I was so sure of and yet so unclear about, He was there guiding me, drawing me, pursuing me in my pursuit of… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 30, 2009 at 1:46pm — No Comments

Knowing The One True God

I grew up with a false view of God. I ended up drawing all over the page in my quest to understand Who God is and what He demands before I found my straight line. As a teenager, I pursued the “God” that I had grown up with. I was desperately afraid of this “God”. He was big and scary and seemed to be ready to “whap” me at the first misstep. I found it easier to hide myself away in music or books rather than learn about him. As a result, although I knew a lot of Scripture, I was spiritually a… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 29, 2009 at 11:22am — 2 Comments

Entertain Me

Corinthians 10: 31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

“If any occupation or association is found to hinder our communion with God or our enjoyment of spiritual things, then it must be abandoned. Beware of ‘leprosy’ in the garment. (Lev. 13:47) Anything in my habits or ways which mars happy fellowship with the brethren or robs me of power in service, is to be unsparingly judged and made an end of— ‘burned.’ (Lev.13:52) Whatever I… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 28, 2009 at 7:12am — No Comments

Holiness

HOLINESS is defined in the dictionary as being cut off, separate or set apart. Holiness is God’s standard for His people although few professing Christians aspire to live holy lives. It is God’s chief desire to create holiness or likeness of His Son in us.

I John 2: 6 “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”

God didn’t say that it would be nice if we would think about being like His holy Son and He didn’t say it was a nice standard to reach for. No, God said… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 26, 2009 at 5:04pm — No Comments

Following All The Way

“There are plenty to follow our Lord half-way but not the other half. They will give up possessions, friends and honors but it touches them too closely to disown themselves.”~~Meister Eckhart

Are you following God’s faintest whisper? Can He trust you to obey no matter how much He asks of you? Does He know that here is one, who, though others may falter and fall, will stand secure?

A person like that only comes along once in a while. Having looked at the world and all it… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 25, 2009 at 4:38pm — 1 Comment

Jesus: The Lion of Judah

Hosea 5: 4, “For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away and none shall rescue him.”

Jesus isn’t just the “meek and mild” Savior that many imagine Him to be.

He is the Lion of Judah, and, as such, He shares some of the lions traits:

He powerful and strong; unrelenting and uncontrollable. He is harsh and outspoken when it comes to God’s Truth. He is prone to righteous anger… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 21, 2009 at 9:21am — No Comments

Modesty: A Woman's Perspective

Dear Sisters In Christ,

My heart breaks for you as I write this. Most of you have been raised in the church or at least with Christian influences. Yet, most of you either don’t understand or haven’t been taught God’s heart on the issue of modest. In today’s society, it’s nothing to see women scantily dressed as they go to the mall or the grocery store. While it shows a disrespect for themselves and those about them, it’s to be expected from someone who is spiritually lost.… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 20, 2009 at 7:25pm — 2 Comments

I Can Do No Other

Matthew 7: 22, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast our devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

The typical church in America today has abandoned the Bible as the only measure of truth. We have prostituted ourselves by welcoming the world and its ways into our daily lives and into our churches. Where holiness… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 19, 2009 at 5:01pm — No Comments

One Of The Hated

I Chronicles 16: 9, “Give unto the Lord the glory due His name: bring an offering and come before Him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

Life isn’t about us, it’s about God. Although God created this world for us to inhabit and enjoy, it isn’t about us. The heavens declare His glory, not ours. This world shows forth His handiwork. The ultimate point of our life on earth isn’t to have fun but to know God. There is no other reason to exist. The sad thing is that most people… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 19, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Abandoning Jesus

We laugh at the people in the Bible who didn’t believe and obey God. If we had lived back then, we would have been so much different than they were, we say. They said the same thing. In Matthew 23: 29, 30, Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, And say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.” “We wouldn’t… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 17, 2009 at 1:39pm — No Comments

Warm Fuzzies For Jesus

Sometimes when we think of Jesus, we get all warm and fuzzy inside. He’s good and even those who don’t profess Christianity know it. We, His professing people, celebrate Jesus, sing songs to Him, sell Him on mugs, candies and t-shirts. We buy books based on His teaching, join small groups and internet groups to talk about Him and what He has done…for us. We go to church and worship Him while our minds are distracted and divided thinking about our lives. We profess Him…but most of us don’t… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 16, 2009 at 9:16am — No Comments

All In The Name Of Fun

“I do”….When these words join a couple in holy matrimony are a beautiful promise of commitment. When these same words are used to join Jesus’ church to the world they are ugly, filthy, vile and disgusting.

We, Jesus’ bride, have long believed that God has been withholding something from us (that belief goes all the way back to Eve, doesn‘t it?). Looking with longing at forbidden fruits always leads to being discontent with God‘s ways and commands. Discontentment leads us to outright… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 15, 2009 at 7:53pm — No Comments

Where Are The People Of God?

Where are the people of God today? Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? Who long for God more than they do for food and water? Who simply must have God–or they die? Where are the people who will cry out to God to make them holy–at any cost? Those for whom spending hours before the throne of God is normal? Where are the men and women of God who love God and His Word so very much that they will give their very lives to see it taught? Who will stand up for truth even when it is… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 15, 2009 at 10:01am — No Comments

All Of The Lies Of Satan

James 1: 21, 22, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and

receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye

doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Jesus doesn’t care about sin. He doesn’t about divorce or gambling or pornography; He doesn’t care about drunkenness or lying or homosexuality or abortion. He doesn’t care about the truth of His Holy Word. Jesus just wants to… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 14, 2009 at 8:55am — 3 Comments

Jesus: Savior But Not Lord?

Romans 12: 1, 2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We need to dust off our Bibles and read it (and not just books about it) to find out what God wants… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 13, 2009 at 11:00am — 1 Comment

Jesus Is Altogether Worthy

We’re awash in things wearing the name “Christian”…

We have “Christian” magazines, “Christian” books, “Christian” bookstores, “Christian” radio stations, “Christian” television stations, “Christian” mugs, “Christian“ candies, “Christian” t-shirts…

We have “Christian” speakers, “Christian” writers, “Christian” talk-show hosts, “Christian” singers…

We can buy “Christian” books on everything from cleaning your house to saving for retirement…

We can join together and support the… Continue

Added by Anna Wood on August 13, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

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