NCarolinian

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...