Words from a Branch

  You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.   But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:17-18 ESV              There is an ever-present danger that the true saints will be carried off in the errors of those who claim to be saints and are not. Here Peter calls such people lawless, indicating that they are marked by a lack of submission to the commands of Christ. This is further supported by the end of verse 16 which states that these same twist scriptures bending it to their foolish ends rather than yielding themselves to its ultimate authority. Now if one would dare even to tamper with God’s holy word, what manipulations would they reframe from?           ...

  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17 ESV             These words come from the high priestly prayer of our Lord the Christ, and express His desire and aspiration for the whole Church. Here He wishes the Church to be brought into perfection, by perfect alignment with the word of God that is the Bible. God’s word is absolute truth, unchanging (Psalm 119:89), and effective (Isaiah 55:11). It is therefore a firm foundation, steady and unmoving, consistent throughout the ages. At the same time, it is able without any adjustment to answer the challenges of humanity in all seasons. It is thus the perfect standard to which we must adhere.             The difficulty is that men like to form their own foundations, and to adjust the dimensions of the buildings to suit there own ideas, for as it is said throughout the book of Proverbs, “There is a way that...

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 5-7 ESV             As I write this it would be easy to lose heart. The outer self is greatly threatened by disease, and so the inner-self may also feel threatened. The looming presence has drawn quite near and people have reacted. The momentary affliction seems heavy and appears to stretch out beyond the moment. Even if we overcome the fear of death and of disease there are worries are other worries which assail us. We can be overwhelmed; our weakness can be exploited to drag us down to despair. Our hearts can become lost in the maze of concerns and uncertainties. What if we get sick? What we die? ...