Hi.

My name is Mandy Buchanan and I am a born-again Christian and active member of my church, NCF Church in Bisley, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Lately I have been getting really excited about the principles and promises that I am finding in the Bible, the Word of God, and I want to share these promises and principles with others so that they can also enjoy the wonderful blessings that God wants to give you.

I trust that you enjoy this page and that God will reveal to you His amazing promises and principles.

"The power of life and death is in the tongue", this verse comes from Proverbs 18:20 and has really been speaking to me lately. How often do we say things that destroy, negative things that crush our spirit and steal our faith? We may not even mean to say them but we do and the words have power whether we like it or not.

The Bible also tells us that "Faith comes by hearing" so when we speak we start to believe what we say, whether it is positive or negative, the truth or not. Say things that are positive, uplifting and that build up faith in God's Word, His blessings and what is right.

After this we also see verses that "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." What are you believing? Do you believe the negative or do you believe the positive? If you believe in God's blessings then you will receive them. Likewise, if you believe the negative you will most likely receive more negative circumstances.

Use your tongue today, and every day, to confess the positive.

This verse is repeated many times through the Bible but with slight subtle differences. In Isaiah 53:5 we read, "by His bruises we are healed" and in 1 Peter 2:24 we read, "By His wounds you have been healed". Note that in Isaiah this is in the present tense, whereas in Peter it's in the past tense.

Healing has already been accomplished. It was accomplished at the cross - physical healing, spiritual healing, emotional healing, etc. Jesus did not die for nothing and so when we ask God if it is His will to heal we are minimizing the power of the cross and what Jesus did. It is God's will to heal because it has already been done and Jesus didn't die for nothing.

We can confidently claim healing in Jesus' name. Now this healing may come as a process or it may come as an instant miracle, but the point is that you are healed - whether you feel it immediately or not. Right now I am in a process of healing - for some reason God has chosen not to instantaneously display the results of healing in my body but I do know that I was healed approximately 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross and my body just needs to come into line to display the results of that healing.

If you are sick today then I encourage you to believe that God healed you 2000 years ago at the cross. It doesn't matter what your outward body is telling you - believe that you are healed despite the symptoms.

In Romans 12:2 we read "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect." and in Phil 4:8, "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to take our thoughts captive and keep them focussed on the good but recently I have come to discover more of why this is so important.

Our thoughts either build or destroy our faith. What we think about we will begin to believe and this means that if we think negatively then we will build fear instead of faith. If we think positively, however, then we can build our faith in the positive and the blessings that God wants to give us.

Taking our thoughts captive is something we actively need to practice. It is easy to slip into negative patterns of thought, especially when things do go wrong, but when we take every thought captive and focus it on the good, pure, honorable, etc. then we will start to see amazing results in our lives.

We also need to actively discourage negative thoughts and this means considering what we watch on TV, DVD's and movies; the music we listen to and what we read. This doesn't mean that you only need to listen to, watch or read Christian materials but it does mean that you should avoid those books, music, DVD's, etc. that bring thoughts of fear or negativity into your mind. What you feed your mind you will think about and this will produce results in you, whether for the positive or the negative.

I encourage you today to take control of your thoughts and learn to think as we are commanded in Phil 4.

The Bible tells us a number of times that "If you believe, you will receive, whatever you ask for in prayer." Can I emphasize that "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer".

Jesus wants to give us the desires of our heart and to bless us but we need to ask and believe. We also read that "you do not have because you do not ask" in James 4:2.

I think often we tend to ask in disbelief, questioning whether what we are asking for is really God's will or not. The problem with this often is that we do not know the Word of God and what it has to say to us. For example, we question whether God really wants to heal someone when the Bible says that He has already healed them at the cross. We question whether God will really meet the need we bring to Him for financial provision when He has already said that He will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Phil 4).

If you are questioning whether God is going to answer your prayers then go to the Bible again and see what God has to say about it and also what He has to say about praying in faith. God wants to answer all your prayers that you pray in faith. He wants to see you healed, prospering and blessed.

"The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for His names sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and your staff - they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life."

Psalm 23 for me is a verse of so much promise and blessing. It promises us that we will never be in want, that we will have peace, protection and so much more.

I encourage you to prayerfully meditate on Psalm 23 and see what amazing promises God is making to you through this passage.

On Sunday we had a sermon about Jesus being the Light of the World and what this meant but what it brought home to me is the fact that Jesus also told us that we are the light of the world and some of what this should mean for us.

The first point they mentioned was that light is essential for giving life. Light allows plants to photosynthesize which then provides food for all animals and man to live. We, too, are supposed to bring life to our world. We are not only to bring spiritual life by telling others about Jesus but also bring physical life because "these signs shall follow those that believe, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover". Are you bringing life to your world?

Another property of light is that it helps to highlight problems so that they can be solved. This is in no means promoting a judgmental attitude for christians but instead our lives should be so full of the light of God that people notice the difference and where they are lacking and want to take action to sort out the problems in their own lives. We, as christians, need to depend on Jesus to show us the problems in our lives and then work on sorting those out as well.

Light in the Bible times was associated with fire and fire with the presence of God with the children of Israel in the wilderness. Our lives too should reflect the presence of God as we make time for Him.

Are you the light of the world? Does your life reflect these properties of light? Let us make every effort to be the light of the world as Jesus has said we are to be.