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?           ...

  Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:3 NASV             Confronted with a man born blind the disciples jump to exactly the sort of conclusion we might, that a bad result came out of a bad action. Sin directly leads to blindness. This a human logic, this is karma; and it is hopeless. Indeed, it is hopeless, and must remain hopeless until God enters the equation setting fire to logic to empower it to good. Now we must understand that our Lord’s reply is logical, it makes just as much sense as what the disciples have concluded; but no, it must make more sense if we believe the words of Proverbs 1:7.             Whether you will concede the rationality or not, the redemption cannot be denied. Before the one born blind was dammed to remain blind, and more to remain in ...