Once again, from the beginning....

 

Branch theology for the serious Christian

Dr R G Eli, Martha’s Vineyard, 2025.

 

Dear friends,

1.Through the years I have worked on the need for Christians to be clear about whom they are called to be, and I have devoted myself to that in the Jacob’s Ladder text. As it takes shape, I see no need to wait until it is complete to share notions and ideas of who we are and what we may achieve in what we are called to be, in this life and the next.

We begin with a grouping of selected scriptures that in my understanding cover both the canonical, the formative and the testimonial elements that make up what it means to be Christian. Post World War II, we have consistently been good Samaritans to the world as best as we can. Our internal struggles are our business. But now we face the disconcerting contradiction that our leadership no longer wishes to help those in need but will somehow justify munitions aid to Israel. Christians are not ignorant of Israel’s history, or at least they should not be, if only because the New Testament is the fulfilment of the Old Testament. That is one of the challenges we will visit in the days to come. Walk with me and think for yourself. The Lord enables you.

2.How Christians move forward - strongly and with good witness - is always important, whichever place and situation we might be in.  The Bible has a neat verse in Jeremiah that says ‘seek the welfare of the city that I have sent you into (exile); and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will find your own welfare.’ So may it be for all of us. We are where we are, most of us, by choice.

 3.Lastly, whatever notions we have about injustice, there are always peaceful responses that can be upheld. We cannot run from the face of wickedness, and we must stand firm. Jesus did not pick fights with Pharisees and the like, but he called out evil when it manifested before him. He threw the moneychangers out of the temple. We must ask who our moneychangers are, and what temples we are talking about. Another challenge. We do not need to get into the actions of leadership in its myriad forms. If we are in accord with Jesus, we will be able to recognize evil for what it is, and we will know how we should respond. That freedom is a God given gift to all of us.

We start off this week with Jesus’ words in John Ch 15.

1.John Ch 15

 

I am the vine you are the branches; he who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

stay connected to Jesu, live in accord with the Lord, demonstrate the power. That is our witness.

 

And the cause and effect sequencing is awesome! Go through each one and check it out against your lifestyle!!Some of it we will come back to as we go forward, because it does not lend itself to you in an easy grab!

 

We are to                                                                And the Lord will

Abide/remain in/with me.......................I will abide/remain in/with you

No branch can bear fruit by itself............it must remain in the vine

you are the branches………………………….I am the vine

Remain in me........................................bear much fruit

Remain in me........................................my Words remain in you

Ask whatever you will.............................it will be given

Father’s glory…………………………………….that you bear much fruit

                                                                                      showing yourselves to be my disciples

Remain in my love..................................obey my commands

Bear fruit...............................................fruit that will last

 

REMAIN = continue to stay with......OK. But how? If you invite Christ into your life, where exactly is he? Answer – inside of you! Mind, body, spirit? This is a Spirit-on-spirit process, in every aspect of your life that you share! And this is the meaning of “I am always with you “. All the time, all the way, in and through everything. Now, ask yourself, how aware are you of this? To what degree are you actually working with the Christ in you? And that is why the vs in Ps 46 that says “Be still and know “is so critical! You see ‘be still’ = stop moving, stop thinking. (we will deal with this in detail down the line) If you don’t/can’t, your mind will create its own responses to your prayers and you will think that God is speaking to you! This is what happens to most people hence no one ever gets the same answer from God about the same issue! How come? Isn’t it the same God? Wouldn’t God say the same thing to everyone about the same issue? So how come each one hears something different? Because it was their own mind, not God.

 

REMAIN IN MY LOVE = obey my commands, and there are no 10 commandments here! Only 3! 1. Love God. 2. Love your fellow human beings. 3. Love each (Christian) other. And here the formula is 1 = 2+3!  Remember that 2 = people in general, no religious affiliation applies...just your witness of kindness, compassion, and justice, like the Good Samaritan; and 3 = all other Christian believers because we all share a common covenant! So, the in me/remain/love/obey is a continuation of the covenantal understanding of the Old Testament. The same stipulations apply. If you do not practice Christ i.e. behaving as Jesus would, you are not in covenant with him, and nothing applies. Not what you say, but what you do.

 

When you carry out 1 and 2 above, then God is glorified by the words and the deeds of your life! And your walk is close with God, your spiritual life is strong, your actions are consistently correct; and they constitute a godly witness!

In carrying out 1 and 2 above, do a kind deed for someone you don’t know when the opportunity presents itself.  

Further, ask, what glorifies God? Certainly not material prosperity. As Jesus said, do not lay treasures up for yourself in this life...prepare for that which is to come instead.

The good Christian life is not about power/control over others. As Jesus said, my Kingdom is not of this world. Stay connected, in order to reach that! What did Paul mean when he spoke of a 3^rd heaven? How was it that Elijah experienced temporal relocation? Where did Jesus go to each time he disappeared post-Resurrection? These are the real questions that lie behind Jesus’ statement in John 14 when he says ‘I go to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also’.

Salvation means deliverance, now. Fruitful lives. God in Jesus takes us beyond the initial identity of a forgiven sinner.  That consciousness of inherent sinfulness, if it dominates us, can create an imprint of inadequacy. We end up being just a bunch of forgiven sinners, sheep that have gone astray, constantly in need of a spiritual leader! But Jesus says you and I are called to lead, wherever we are, in some way, shape or form! His ‘go and sin no more’ says clearly that linear spiritual growth is doable. We have not gotten it right, that’s all; and the oversimplification of the Christian life and faith by the corporate body we call church does not help us move beyond a corporate notion of social holiness. Only the Christ who walks with us can take us into the real personal holiness that Christian social life depends on. May your walk be abundantly fruitful! Every blessing in Jesus’ name, G.