To hope is to acknowledge that "Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1) and "... all the works that are done under the sun ... all is vanity and grasping for the wind" (Ecclesiastes 1:14). We sense, intuitively, that there can, and ought, to be a better human existence somewhere and sometime else.

Generally, "faith" (Greek PISTEO) is belief, i.e. agreement or trust in a thought which becomes the reason for certain "hopes" (Greek ELPIS) which, in turn, conditions our character and conduct. For the Christian, even when push comes to shove, matters of faith (affecting our "HEAD" or intellect) influence our hope (touching our "HEART" or desire) to move our "HANDS" (moving us to act in certain ways that exhibit LOVE (Greek AGAPE, self-sacrificial regard for others).

Since faith is based on substantial evidence (Hebrews 11:1) provided by God's creation (Romans 1:19-20) interpreted by His word (Acts 17:11), the growth of the faith of Christians can only come about by their continous keen observation of God's creation (including man's thought and actions) interpreted by a proper handling of God's word, the holy scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15).

The cultivation of personal faith is too important a matter for anyone to ignore for ìts ultimate end or purpose is "the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:9). At its core is belief in the person, work and words of Jesus Christ as the only-begotten Son of God so that we can receive the gift of life in Christ's name (John 20:31)

It should have been easier during the First Century A.D. to persuade the unconvinced of the Gospel plan of salvation. This was the Age of Miracles when works of signs and wonders accompanied the preaching and teaching of Jesus' apostles (Acts 5:12) and other disciples who had the apostles' hands laid upon them (Acts 8:14-19).

God's word does encourage every Bible-believer, Christian or otherwise, to "Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?- unless indeed you are disqualified."

God is spirit (John 4:24) and without physical form, being invisible,- to humankind, at least,- (Deuteronomy 4:12; John 5:37; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; 1 John 4:12). If any human "saw" God, he or she would expect to die (Exodus 24:10-11; 33:18-23).

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of court proceedings, criminal convictions and consequential executions carried out in colonial Massachusetts, America, from February 1692 to May 1693.

If you scour the internet for articles on the American artist Thomas Kinkade (1958-2012), you will find more harsh criticism than praise for his works. If you search deeper for his artwork, you will find very many realistic depictions of a variety of unidentifiable landscapes.

Upon reflection, the death rituals of the Torajan testify to the fact that humans have the God-given intuitive awareness of eternity in our hearts even though we are unsure of how our Maker and Sustainer will work it out for us (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

To recapitulate, although the 66 books of the Bible are the product of some 40 authors writing under Divine inspiration across almost 1500 years, their contents contain very many cross-references among them. Numerous references in the form of prophecies, antitypes, quotations and allusions to Old Testament (OT) content are contained in New Testament (NT) books.

To demonstrate fulfilled prophecies, and foreshadows, about Jesus Christ, the books of the New Testament cite about 300 QUOTATIONS from the Old Testament with reference mainly to His life and death. In writing and speech, a "quotation" or "quote" is the exact repetition of a sentence, phrase or passage from a speech or text that someone else has said or written. Often, the original speaker or writer of the quotation is identified (or "cited") by name by way of attribution.

Each year, on May 1, a Labour Day public holiday in Malaysia if it falls during work days, the Subang Jaya church of Christ brings together evangelists and missionaries toiling in God's kingdom as far away from our shores as the African continent to remind us of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)

A CHRISTOPHANY recorded in Old Testament scripture is an actual, but momentary, appearence to humans of Him who would much later become Jesus Chrìst at His incarnation in Mary' womb.

To identify references to Christ in all of the scriptures of the Old Testament as Jesus Himself instructs us (Luke 24:25-27, 44-47), as did His apostles (Acts 3:18-24), we have to know what to look out for in the Old Testament. To begin with, we must consider inspired records of the actual appearence of Christ to people BEFORE He took human form by being born of a woman, Mary (Galatians 4:4-5).

Three books in the originally-Hebrew Old Testament identify themselves as having been primarily compiled and written by Solomon, the son of King David and the ruler of Israel after his father (Proverbs 1:1; Ecclesiastes 1, 12; Song of Solomon (Song of Sol.1:1).

Even among many non-Christians Jesus Christ has been, and continues to be, regarded as a great teacher,- an educator. Like His disciples, Jesus' mainly-Jewish audience called Jesus "Teacher" (eg. Mark 4:38, or "Rabbi" or "Rabboni" in their native language, John 20:16).

The critical and basic error of A.D.70 proponents is their presumption that almost every mention of Jesus Christ's "coming" after His incarnation through the virgin Mary refers to His "second coming" as they define it. The fact of the matter is that the scriptures mean many things when Jesus' "coming" is referenced. Brother W. Terry Varner has listed 11 separate "comings" of our Lord in the New Testament ("THE GREAT JUDGMENT - Discussion Forum No.II" in Studies In The Revelation; The Third Annual Denton Lectures, November 11-15, 1984; Dub McClish, Editor; (Valid Publications, Inc., Denton, Texas, USA; p.514).

John the Baptist preached the urgent need for all men to repent because they prophesied that the "kingdom of heaven (as Matthew's account of the gospel has it, Matthew 3:1-2) is at hand."