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Thank you for your response Wiliamina. Yes, that fits with how I understand the Gospel and New Covenant now, and I find it very beautiful. The interesting thing is that the church I grew up in basically said all the same stuff about the Gospel, but in reality Jesus alone was not sufficient--there were other "salvational" doctrines and practices that were often focused on more than Christ himself. So this new understanding is much more simplified and very freeing.

Important questions. I have a few thoughts on the subject: 1) Jesus spent a great deal of time in prayer with the Father, therefore His example would indicate that prayer is valuable and even essential for the Christian, regardless of what the outcome (from our perspective) of that prayer might be. 2) I have often struggled with very specific prayers, especially prayers for healing, because we don't tend to see a lot of overt, supernatural miracles as were common in Jesus' time and with His disciples. Perhaps this is a result of our lack of faith, but I tend to believe that God is simply working in different ways now than He was when Jesus walked the earth. God's miracles and supernatural power were needed at that time to prove to humans that Jesus was the Messiah. Now we have scripture and the stories of Christ's life to base our faith on. Jesus even said in the parable in Luke 16:31, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." So it stands to reason that physical healing may not always be God's priority. He's more concerned with our spiritual condition. Doesn't mean I wouldn't pray wholeheartedly if someone I loved got sick...I just think I wouldn't expect or require healing as a proof of His love for us. 3) The reality is that there are many unseen spiritual battles and factors going on that we don't see and may never understand, but God does tell us to pray for one another. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:15-17. So even though we don't understand it all, I say let's just keep praying anyway and let God make the hard decisions of how to answer!

Hi. I'm a new member and I'm hoping to find fellow believers who are interested in encouraging and supporting one another in our spiritual journeys. The question I would like to pose is this: Is a belief in Jesus Christ as Messiah the only essential truth for a person to be saved? He said "I am the way, the truth and the life..." (John 14:6), yet when we talk about "truth" it often involves a wide range of doctrinal discussions and interpretations. Is it possible that the "truth" he asks us to believe in is much simpler than we usually make it? If so, where do theology and doctrine and denominational traditions fit into our spiritual process? A few relevant verses: "The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:29-31) "...Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." (John 11:25) Interested to hear people's thoughts...

Is there anyone else out there who has come out of a particular denomination or even a "christian" cult and is now seeing scripture in a whole new way? This is my experience, and my eyes have been opened to the the New Covenant in powerful ways that I never understood it before. The simplest way to describe this would be that Jesus has now become EVERYTHING to me, the only foundation I stand on because all my other foundations have been torn down and ripped apart. Jesus IS my truth, whereas he was just part of the equation before. Would love to dialogue with anyone else who has had a similar experience or just wants to talk about what the New Covenant means to them. Thanks for sharing.

Is there anyone else out there who has come out of a particular denomination or even a "christian" cult and is now seeing scripture in a whole new way? This is my experience, and my eyes have been opened to the the New Covenant in powerful ways that I never understood it before. The simplest way to describe this would be that Jesus has now become EVERYTHING to me, the only foundation I stand on because all my other foundations have been torn down and ripped apart. Jesus IS my truth, whereas he was just part of the equation before. Would love to dialogue with anyone else who has had a similar experience or just wants to talk about what the New Covenant means to them. Thanks for sharing.

Hi. I'm a new member and I'm hoping to find fellow believers who are interested in encouraging and supporting one another in our spiritual journeys. The question I would like to pose is this: Is a belief in Jesus Christ as Messiah the only essential truth for a person to be saved? He said "I am the way, the truth and the life..." (John 14:6), yet when we talk about "truth" it often involves a wide range of doctrinal discussions and interpretations. Is it possible that the "truth" he asks us to believe in is much simpler than we usually make it? If so, where do theology and doctrine and denominational traditions fit into our spiritual process? A few relevant verses: "The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:29-31) "...Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." (John 11:25) Interested to hear people's thoughts...