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?           ...

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:31-35 ESV             The term “Faith Family” is not one to be used lightly because it refers to a reality of the body of Christ. By his blood we are joined with a powerful bond, one which Jesus Himself says is greater than the bond of familial blood. The blood of Christ runs thicker than any strain of earthly blood. In part this is a reflection of the commitment each Christian has made to Christ which is above and before all others. This is made clear in Luke 14:26-27 with explicit refere...

Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9 ESV             The overt meaning and intention of this verse has behind it a few important implications which setup the overt command. Sadly we can no longer take these implications of verses like this for granted. No, not even the mention of father and mother which implies a man and a woman joined in covenant marriage each with a respective role to play in the household and in the upbringing of the children. The family was the first social structure God introduced, and He built it on the union of one man and one woman in covenant. The implication of this verse is that the one man one woman marriage structure is beneficial for the children. As much as non-believers would like to dismiss this truth even their research continues to bear it out; as does real wo...