NCarolinian

     The King James Version of the Bible speaks about Faith by saying, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)      The New International Version translates that same verse - "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."      One can break this topic of faith down by having a question and answer session with this verse.      What do we "hope for" ? God's promises for our lives to be fulfilled.      How are God's promises connected to our faith? The tangible, track record of God or God's faithfulness is the "substance" of faith. Having these two in tandem - God's track record of faithfulness in our lives and His future promises is the first half of Faith.      The second half of Faith is very similar to the first - "the evidence of things not seen" . What are the "things not seen" ? Now-a-days,...

  One of the problems this world has and Christianity has that can be remedied immediately is the lack of Confidentiality. Anybody can observe this issue in relationships of friends, family, the government, but dare I say - The Church. I would like to strongly recommend to Christians who regularly pray that you NOT mention another person in prayer concerning a Confidential matter.  Some churches and Christians use prayer groups and "Prayer Requests" as a Gossip Line within the community. This has potential for emotional and relational damage, especially if someone uses private information as a personal advantage.  Many times the stigma of just having a "Major Concern" can return to the person with the problem because a believer shared an "unspoken need" of another. Again, I would strongly encourage you NOT to do this because this is just as bad, at least in my book, as violating an agreed upon Keep of Confidentiality.  Stop the potential damage to relation...