Ed Christian's World

When It Is Written…

Once when I was over at my sister’s house, I picked up one of my nieces to play with her. At this point, the other niece cried, “Pick me up! You picked her up, you have to pick me up!” I replied with a smile, “Where is it written that just because I picked up your sister, I have to pick you up too?”

Two minutes later, she handed me a piece of paper on which was written, “When you pick up one of us, you have to pick up the other.” It was a clever move. For what is written often has the ability to give one authority, power, and freedom.

And what is written in the Word of God is the ultimate authority. It’s written that you have the power to live a life of victory. In fact, you have all sorts of rights and freedoms and authorities that you may not be using at all. All the more reason to get into the Scriptures, for in them you’ll find your authority to live, to overcome, and to be blessed. Where is it written? In the Word of God, that’s where.

For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

Take the Word of God and stand on it, obey it, and apply it.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

When life serves you lemons…

One afternoon Grandfather told me a story about an artist who had a strong desire to travel the world, but was unable to go anywhere because he had to stay home and support his parents.

Instead of seeing the wonders of the world, he could only look out from his basement studio at three stone steps leading up to the house next door. So he painted a picture of what he saw: a stone wall, three rough stone steps, a dandelion, and three flowers which appeared to be growing out of the stone. He called the painting, “Finding The Best In Life”. It ended up being reproduced and giving inspiration to many.

Maybe there are things you’ve wanted to do, places you wanted to go, dreams you wanted to fulfill, or goals you wanted to achieve which, for one reason or another, never came about. Your faith is not about where you are in life, but whom you’re with. That’s all that really matters. So stop looking at what is not and rejoice in what is. Make the best of it because with Him, the best is exactly what you have.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Make the best of your situation, look for the good, give thanks for the good, and move in the good! As Grandfather always said: When life serves you lemons, make lemonade.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Priestly Garments…

In Exodus 28, the Lord gives instructions concerning the priest’s garments. These instructions covered not only the outer clothes, but the undergarments as well. The undergarments were the most private and secret part of the priestly garments, which no one saw. Thus the Lord required that even their undergarments had to be holy.

1 Peter 2:9 says that you who are born again are now members of God’s holy priesthood. This Scripture teaches us that God is not just concerned about how we live in front of others, but how we live in private. As a priest of God, the Lord’s holiness, sanctification, and anointing must be the same in your private life as in your public life.

You must live as holy in secret as your are in public. Either in the sanctuary or alone with no one seeing you, there are no secrets before the Lord. The holiness of God must permeate every facet of your life, and so much so that you have nothing to hide. Make that your aim. For just as holy as the priest’s breastplate and crown was his holy underwear.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. Psalm 90:8

Make it your aim to be as holy in your private life as in public.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Divine Loves…
One afternoon, while we were hiking the canyon, we stopped and sat in a ledge overlooking a small waterfall. Then Grandfather said In the Song of Solomon, the bride compares the love of her beloved to wine. Wine was a symbol of earthly pleasure. Yet when the bride speaks of her beloved, she says this “Your love is better than wine.”
And the Song of Solomon is ultimately about God and us; the bride represents us, and the beloved represents God. I replied.
Grandfather responded Correct, so what is it saying?
It is saying that the love of God is better than any earthly pleasure. Yes, and something more than that. Behind the translation is a revelation one can only find in the original language.
The Hebrew reads this way: Kee tovim dodekha me yayin. It translates as your love is better than wine. But, in the original language, the bride says your dodekha is better than wine. What does dodekha mean?
Not “Your love” dodekha means “Your loves.” Your love is better than wine. What does that reveal? It reveals that the love of God is not just the love of God but the loves of God.
Dodekha means that God loves you so much that it can’t even be described or contained without breaking the language. It means the word love cannot adequately express it. It means that God doesn’t just have love for you, but many loves. When you need His mercy, He loves you with a merciful love.
When you’ve been wounded, He loves you with a tender love. When you need His strength, He loves you with an encouraging love. When you need the love of a friend, He loves you as a friend.
When you need to be lifted up in His arms, He loves you with the compassion of a loving father. His love for you is many. He loves you today, not with yesterday’s love, but the love of today, a love that is new every morning.
Therefore, you must seek not only to know the love of God but also the love of God. You can never rest knowing yesterday’s love or the love you have known before.
You must seek each day to know the loves He has for you, the new love, the fresh love, the surprising love, and the never-ending love. It is that love, His love, that is better, much better than any earthly joy. For His loves are better than wine.
As you seek, this day, the loves of God, the always new, never-ending loves your Beloved has for you remember that He said we are to love our neighbors as He has loved us.

This gives it way more meaning. If this doesn’t open some eyes about how we are to love, one must ask how blind we are? That is something to think about.
Walk daily with God at your side!
Love always,
Ed

Law Of The Trees…

Leviticus offers some insight of things to come. Grandfather used to tell me to follow it closely and to remember not to eat the fruit of the trees in the first three years. However, it appears there is another lesson within these chapters.
When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. Leviticus 19:23,

Here Israel is given what could be called “The Law of Trees”. The Scripture, in a fascinating use of words in the original Hebrew, tells the Israelites to consider the fruit of the tree “uncircumcised and untouched” for three years. But in the fourth year, the fruit shall be “Kodesh,” holy to the Lord.

Israel is spoken of again and again as a tree. Could the ancient law of trees reveal a prophetic mystery concerning Israel? The fruits of the trees are considered “unripe” or “uncircumcised” for 3 years, but in the fourth year they’re considered holy, the first fruits.

In the fifth year, all its fruits are partaken of. In the same way, Israel and the Jewish people, have existed for about four thousand years. Now as we end the fourth millennium of Jewish existence, more and more Jewish people are turning to their Messiah to praise Him, the first fruits of a holy harvest.

Could it be that the “fifth” millennium of Jewish existence will be the millennium when all its fruits will be holy and all of Israel will be saved?
Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Ezekiel 37:12

Lift up the nation of Israel and pray for her salvation.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The End Of Tollerance?…

Those who can recall the sixties and seventies can remember a cultural mantra along the lines of “be tolerant”, “live and let live”, “to each his own”, and “do your own thing”. All these slogans were linked to the introduction of a new morality embracing everything from a sexual revolution to eastern religion.

Much of what was advocated in those decades, and which at the time was considered “countercultural”, has now become the prevailing ethos of American culture. And a change has taken place.

The slogans and mantras of tolerance have been replaced by a new ethos of political correctness and zero tolerance for any other competing or alternate morality— namely Judeo-Christian faith, morality, and world view.

“Tolerance” was not a value, but rather a strategy to open the door for the changing of morality and faith.

We are now entering the second stage where that which is anti-Biblical is becoming increasingly brazen, intolerant, and endeavoring to stamp out all that is Biblical. Three stories from recent days will illustrate and reveal the new stage we have entered.

• Recently, the state of California decided to enact a law that would force life pregnancy centers, organizations, and ministries dedicated to giving support to mothers in the birth of their children to refer all who sought help from them to abortion clinics. This would have, in effect, forced the closing down of all such ministries and organizations throughout the state.

• Recently, the city of Austin, Texas passed a law that would force churches and ministries to hire people to serve in their ministries who practice lifestyles that go against the Word of God. Lifestyles that, according to the Word of God, bear witness that the person is not even a believer. The effect of such a law would ultimately mean the end of churches and ministries.

• Recently, the state of California sought to pass a law that would ban sales of any material that advocated that one could be free of sexual sin including that of homosexuality. One of those materials is the Bible. Thus California was poised to become the first state in the history of America to, in effect, ban the sale of the Bible.

Concerning the first law, the Supreme Court overturned it. With the second, it has not been overturned, but the believers and churches of Austin have vowed to fight it. As far as the third, at the last minute it was shelved. But the very fact that these laws have come up at all is a sign.

Such laws would never have been dreamed of in years past. But it reveals we are now in a new phase. Is it something we should fear? No. But if the opposition is more brazen in darkness, then we must be all the more strong and bold and uncompromising in the light.

Make that our goal this month. Walk stronger, more single-minded, and uncompromising than ever before.

At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:1-3

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed