It was about a year and a half ago I made the decision that if I was going to spend time on social media and other web base applications, I would commit a considerable amount of that time to ministry work by imparting the kingdom of God to all who happen upon the articles. I had the hope to interact with those who were willing to engage in discussions and debate on a wide cross-section of current topics. This led to me create a blog that is now called “The Branch Life”. The title Branch was one of the many names that were used in the Old Testament to describe the coming Messiah. “Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the Man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the Lord.'” Zech. 6:12
I have used my blog to broach numerous topics with wide ranges of categories including: sermons, personal reflections, Biblical facts and my opinions, societal issues as, moral decay, and the sins of humanity…of course, all from a Biblical perspective. To my surprise, I even dabbled in a little comedy and drama. However, the main reason for my blog remains true: to highlight the love of Christ and to present Him to humanity, and to provoke dialogue in regard to God’s Holy Word and explore ways to apply Scriptural principles to our lives today.
It is so ironic that God led me to start this blog. I am a person that hated any kind of subject matter resembling English, journalism, dramatic arts, or anything that required composition writing. This position has continued to be the case throughout most of my academic and professional life. I am a numbers man and a hands-on person; formulas rolls through my head, not sentences. In other words, I am a man of few words, well…written words. So, when I felt led to create this blog, I thought, this is going to an epic failure for sure. Or it will be the blog that breaks the record for the fewest articles since the veritable caveman started blogging on cave walls.
Knowing my shortcomings when it comes to being a writer, every time a topic, event or inspiration pops into my head, I first pray about it. I fervently pray about all that I have placed on the blog, including those that are of other author or writers. As a matter of fact, the name of the blog “The Branch Life”, alone took me about two weeks of prayer and research just to get started. My prayer is that the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be the inspiration behind every posting. “The Branch Life” (TBL) should be most and foremost Biblically sound; second, it should cause the reader to open his or her heart to the saving grace of Christ, or at least, lead each person to a discussion.
Well, the reason I wrote this article is to express my resounding appreciation to you, the reader, for showing interest in TBL. It is your inspiration that has encouraged me over the past eighteen months to continue with this ministry. The stats of http://www.TheBranchlife.com site have shown over 1300 hits. Surprisingly, these hits are from over twenty-five different countries throughout the world. There is at least one hit from every continent. TBL readers stretch from Iceland to Brazil, the United Kingdom through Turkey, on to South Africa, Russia through Thailand, and on to Australia. The bulk of hits are from North America and the Caribbean.
I am expressing my sincere thanks to all who have logged on to this ministry; this is a very humbling experience for me. My prayer is that whether you agree with my perspectives or not, you will be blessed by the piece because the true aim is not about what you or I think, but to expose to us all the mind of Christ. Though at times, I may come across as being critical, this is not my aim. Lord know that I have fallen many times in my convictions, even with some of the sins I have spoken out against on my blog. Often times, it feels like I am preaching to myself. I have failed God and man in many ways. My writings often come from my own life experiences. The good news is that God is faithful and unchanging. He is infallible and immutable. God loves each and every one of us equally and unconditionally. For this reason, when we sin, which we all do, we can come in confidence that His grace is sufficient to restore us to wholesomeness. For God loves the sinner, not the sin.
I Thank God for all of you because I know how special you are to Him…so invaluable that He send His one and only Son to die for you and me that we will have life everlasting.
Feel free to join and follow my blog. I do encourage feedback and comments. If you agree with anything I write, let me know; likewise, if you disagree, spout off and tell me your perspective.
God Bless,
J R Tracey+
The Branch Life 
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