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...

  "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley. Performed on Twitch Sings platform by me and Joliet4. Enjoy.

The following is a video I want to share of the song "Hero" by Mariah Carey. This was done on the Twitch Sings platform where one person (usually on the left) records their half of the song and the other person comes to that person's presence on Twitch Sings and completes the other half (usually on the right). This is me and BatSam. Hope you enjoy.

In the movie "Shawshank Redemption" Red says to Andy - "Hope is a dangerous thing my friend, it can kill a man." Andy replies, "Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things. And good things never die." God gave the world Hope thousands of years before Christ arrived. Many Christians who study the Scripture know of Old Testament passages that reveal the prophetic word of Jesus' miraculous birth, His life, suffering and death for the redemption of all.  However, how many of us know or research the Old Testament passages that foretell Christ's resurrection? Paul mentions this prophetic support  of Christ's resurrection in the O.T. in his letter to the believers in Corinth. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, . . . that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in ...

Jesus was different. He taught peacefully, most of the time, about many good things. However, all His words and miracles depended on having some kind of relationship with Him.  Sometimes the relationships were established before He spoke or performed His miracles. Sometimes the relationships were established after and due to His words and/or miracles.  The Savior had come to save and that was a shock that sent ripples throughout the world, but the way He saved was different. How can a Savior King save while hanging from a cross instead of ruling from a throne in Jerusalem over the Romans and all the Earth?  He was received at first, criticized, shunned and eventually rejected or crucified.  The Holy Spirit is God, but He too was received at first, criticized later and found so different to many that He has been shunned or ignored.  The creation has the audacity to say to The Creator, the Holy Spirit is weird, if anybody is weird - we are weird.  I heard it ...

There are two mountaintops that people, Christians in particular, have their feet on the summit of and cannot make a decision which peak to live on - Mt. Fear or Mt. Hope. Hebrews 12:18-24 states it like this -  "You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: 'If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.' The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, 'I am trembling with fear.'" But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the media...