Ed Christian's World

Guide To Growing…

Paul says an amazing thing in Philippians 3. He says, “That I might gain Jesus.” It’s amazing because if anybody had Jesus, it was Paul. He had Him for years. He’s one of the chief teachers in the New Testament.

How can you gain what you already have? If you have Jesus, how can you gain Him? And if you’re gaining Him, how can you have had Him? What does it mean?

It’s the attitude of one who has much more to gain. We also need to have the attitude that says, “I press on so that I might know. There’s more in Him than I even know. There’s more to have than I have. Because if anybody had it, it was Paul, and he says, I don’t even have half of it. Jesus is infinite. There’s no end to Him.

There is so much more good news, more joy, more blessing, more revelation, more victory, more peace, more intimacy, and more wonders. If Paul could say it, you say it too; “That I might gain Jesus,” because there’s a whole lot more Jesus for you to gain.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Today, take up the attitude of seeking more intimacy with and more revelation of God. Get more of Jesus – the supply isn’t limited.

Walk daily with God at your side!

More Than Me…

In Mark 1:42, a leper was healed by Jesus, but it doesn’t say the man was healed of leprosy. It says, “the leprosy left” him as if the leprosy was something separate and other than the man.

It’s natural to associate the man with the disease. The man was a leper. But Jesus separates the disease and the man.

We, as Jesus’s people, need to do the same. We often look at people as what they’re afflicted with: this man’s a sinner, this one’s a selfish man, this woman’s a bitter person, this one is this and that one is that.

But instead of seeing a bitter person, see a person who’s under the affliction of bitterness, but doesn’t have to be. Don’t just see a selfish person, see a person who’s under selfishness, but can be set free.

God didn’t make them that way. Start seeing the person not as they appear to be, but as God made them to be and as Jesus can redeem them to become. Treat them as such, and you will stop seeing lepers, and you will start seeing the leprosy leave.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Make it your goal to see people the way God intends them to be. See through their sins and imperfections to the person God made them to be.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Stretch Your Faith…

As I was presenting my devotional, In His Time, the other day I was asked what I meant by stretch your faith. This got me to thinking just maybe we, as sinners, don’t really understand just how God uses our faith and us for His purpose. Also just how hard we try to keep ourselves inside our personal comfort zone.

We exercise our bodies and stretch our muscles to keep us in shape. In a similar way, we must also remember to stretch SPIRITUALLY as we grow in the Lord over time. And when we stretch spiritually, it always has to do with our faith. God wants us to stretch in our faith. He wants to trust that He is always there to protect us.

Paul lays out an amazing list of Bible personalities in Hebrews 11 who demonstrated their faith in powerful ways. This passage has come to be known as the “Faith Hall of Fame,” and we can find many examples of how to live by faith.

Hebrews 11:6 says, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Faith is absolutely central to the Christian experience. We enter into a relationship with God through faith (Romans 10:9-10), and Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is a big deal!

And faith is powerful! Jesus said that if we will have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, we can pray and see mountains cast into the ocean. I wonder how small my faith must look in that type of comparison!

As you read this, I’d like to suggest to you that it is likely that God wants to stretch your faith. And just like physical stretching, spiritual stretching is not easy. Stretching requires us to push beyond our normal level of comfort.

It is the same with our faith. God wants to stretch you beyond your normal comfort zone. And that is where you will begin to see growth and progress like never before.

It is likely that God wants to stretch your faith today.

Here are some of the ways God may want to stretch you:

God may want you to DO something.
God may want you to STOP DOING something.
God may want you to SHARE something to lighten your burden.
God may want you to GIVE something.
God may want you to SAY something.
God may want you to STOP SAYING something.
God may want you to take a few minutes to LISTEN or TALK to someone about something on their mind.
God may want you to START something.
God may want you to END something.
God may want you to LOVE someone.

The chances are great that God likely wants to stretch you today! Stretching your faith shows you trust Him to watch out for you. So go ahead and step out of that comfort zone, no one is going to treat you differently.

When it comes to your spiritual fitness, don’t forget to stretch, it is good for the soul.

Walk daily with God at your side!

References:

Roman’s 10: 9-10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

The Spirit Mind…

The high priest of Israel wore holy garments. What he wore on his head had to match the holiness of his garments. Thus, he was commanded to wear a gold crown that said: “Kadosh L’ Adonai – Holy unto the Lord.”

1 Peter 2:9 says that you’re now a royal priesthood. Your thought life is what crowns your mind. Thus your thought life needs to be consistent with the rest of your life; in harmony with your ministry and with your faith in God.

When you pray or worship the Lord, are you thinking about something else? When you take action, it needs to be consistent with what you’re thinking – what you mean in your heart.

Think what you mean, say what you think, mean what you say, do what you mean–it’s all together. Your actions and thoughts need to be pure. God wants you to be consistent in every way.

He wants your prayer life and your thought life to be holy. Let Him have His way. Let your thought life become Kadosh L’Adonai, holy unto the Lord, and as pure as a crown of gold.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Today, let your mind dwell on the Word and love of God – so that your thoughts might become Kadosh L’Adonai – Holy unto the Lord.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Lions Roar…

At the end of a mission trip, we saw around 70 people pray to dedicate their lives to the Lord. It was a tremendous spiritual victory. We decided to celebrate with a thanksgiving victory dinner.

Just as I was about to pray before the dinner, one of the men who accompanied me fell backward. He crashed into the table and went into convulsions. It was a scary scene. We immediately prayed for him and got medical help. He responded and was alright.

He had never experienced anything like this before. Upon our return home, he went to a doctor to find out why it happened. The doctor couldn’t find the slightest trace of anything wrong with him, and it’s never happened since.

The Bible reveals we have an enemy. Be aware that when you see great victories in God, the enemy isn’t happy. But don’t fear it. Take authority and keep moving forward in victory. For, in the end, his power is false and void. And greater, much greater, is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Keep moving forward in the victories that God has given you. Don’t fear the enemy. Instead, take authority over him in the name of Jesus.

Walk daily with God at your side!

A Guide To Victory…

In a critical moment in Jehoshaphat’s reign, God gives His people a prophetic Word. He says this: “You need not fight in this battle, station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf…”

In this is a secret of living a victorious life. The key is in the words “station yourselves.” God wants you to have victory in your life; victory over sin, over bondage, and over attacks from the enemy.

It’s His will to bring you victory. But just as it was with the people in Jehoshaphat’s time, there’s something you have to do. You need to station yourself in the proper position for that victory.

If you’re stationing yourself in front of the TV all day, you’re not in position for victory. If you’re stationing yourself in thoughts of fear, worry, anxiety, depression, you’re not in position for victory. If you’re stationing yourself to fall into sin, you’re not in position.

Station yourself in the will and Word of God. Do what He says, step out in faith, and believe His promises – and you will be in position – stationed for victory.

You have given to me the shield of your deliverance, and your right hand holds me up; your gentleness made me great. Psalm 18:35

In whatever situation you’re facing, station yourself for victory by standing on the Word that God has given you. Stand and see your victory!

Walk daily with God at your side!

The Eyes Of Jehoshaphat…

In the battle of Jehoshaphat, the people of God are in what appears to be a hopeless situation – outmanned and out-armed. They pray: “We are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us. And we don’t know what to do – but our eyes are on You.”

Notice that they don’t avoid dealing with the problem. They are fully aware of the situation. But the key is – they don’t keep their focus on it. They don’t know what to do, BUT! There’s the key.

They don’t have to know what to do or how to figure it out. They just have to get their eyes on the Lord, who does. That means they had to get their eyes off their problems, and they had a lot of problems to get their eyes off of.

If they could get their eyes off of the attacking army and onto God – then how much more can you get your eyes off of your problem and onto God. You don’t have to know what to do, BUT… do one thing – get your eyes on Him who does.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Today, if you’re faced with a situation that you don’t know how to handle – it’s okay – lift up your eyes and fix them on the Answer.

Walk daily with God at your side!

In His Time…

Hello God, Its me again. I hope you aren’t tired of me asking about the same thing again…

I’ve been asked many times why doesn’t God answer our prayers. My answer always is He does answer our prayers, but does so in His time. Many times He has answered our prayer, we just didn’t listen or hear Him. However that is not always accepted by the person and many times they take the problem back into their own hands and carry on only to turn it back to God again down the road.

So now you ask yourself why? Is it because of little faith or is it because we just can’t stretch our faith far enough to let Him handle it for us? Are we so impatient that we know better than God? I believe it is a little of each.

God does answer our prayers, however He answers them as He sees fit for our needs. So let’s look a little bit as to why.

Is God doing something within us as He gets us ready for the answer?

Does He have a deeper purpose in this process of praying towards the fulfillment of our prayers?

Do we try to take matters in our own hands because the stretch of our faith seems too large?

He has His way of getting us ready for the answer. He is stretching our faith. He is often revealing what is in our heart. We are often impatient and He has to crucify our flesh, purify us, and make us ready so that we handle the answer in the right way when it comes.

Many of us are like a wild animal and God has to tame us so that we learn to wait on His Word, and then move forward in His timing. We must learn to pray by faith consistently and long-term. God is not building His kingdom in the flesh or through the influence of man. He is building it with faith, and this involves praying, trusting, and then moving in His timing and in His way.

The key phrase for me is “Be patient!” God will act if I don’t give up. As I have perhaps told you many times, I have had to wait long and pray hard many times for answers I thought I needed right now. The Lord has said to me during this waiting time, “Be patient – It will happen in My timing – Obey Me – Be faithful in prayer” (Colossians 4:2). So I had to continue on in faith. I’ve found that to be a good thing.

At times we may feel we are in a crisis and need God’s answer now. We may try to take matters into our own hands and really mess things up. Look at King David. He was in a dilemma many times where he needed God’s answer in a difficult situation. He cried out in Psalm 83:1 “O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still.” But he learned to wait and pray. He let God test his faith and he hung on, not letting Satan get the upper hand through a quick-fix method. And God answered His prayers.

We are all waiting in prayer for something. Right now I know of people who are praying for God’s healing from cancer. I know others who just want to get back to the mission field and others who are praying for the fulfillment of their dreams. I know others who are praying for a wayward son, daughter or friend to come home and come to the Lord.

Isn’t God concerned about all these things? Yes, He is deeply concerned. He stretches our faith in the midst of the wait just as He did with His disciples when encountering a storm at sea. He has all wisdom.

God answers our prayers at just the right moment and is never a minute too late.

Lord, I thank You that You will answer my prayers in Your perfect timing. Reveal what is in my heart, and make me ready to handle the answer in the right way when it comes. Help me to pray by faith consistently and long-term, to believe, wait, and then move forward in Your timing. Help me to be patient in prayer and not give up. I want to trust You even during moments when I feel negative emotions. I don’t want to live by feelings but by faith. Help me to not take matters into my own hands. I choose to trust you, and I refuse to believe the lies of the enemy. I choose to be faithful in prayer. Deepen my understanding, and give me a greater knowledge of what You are doing in my life. I choose to hold unswervingly to the hope that I profess. Stretch my faith in the midst of the wait, just as You did with Your disciples when encountering a storm at sea. I thank You that You have all wisdom and will answer my prayers at just the right moment and in the perfect way. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Priestly Ears…

The priests of Israel were called to minister for God. In order to minister, something unique had to happen – to their ears. Their ears had to be anointed with blood. The blood of the sacrifice sanctified their ears.

The minister of God could only minister with holy, sanctified, anointed ears. So you too are called to be God’s minister. And if you’re going to fulfill your calling, you have to have anointed ears.

Your ears must be holy – they must only receive that which is good, pure, of life, and of God. It’s not enough that you keep what comes out of your mouth holy – what you allow into your ears must also be holy.

Sanctify your ears by listening to things that please God. It’s not enough to refrain from cursing, coarse jesting, lying, speaking gossip or lies – you must also refrain from listening to them – for that would defile your ears.

If you would serve the Lord, keep your ears far from what is not holy – so that you will be open to hear what is – even to the Voice of God.

Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

Make it your aim to refrain from listening to anything that would defile your ears and open your ears to what is good and godly.

Walk daily with God at your side!

The End Of Days…

In 1999, they made an apocalyptic action/horror movie called “End of Days.” This expression comes directly from the Hebrew Scriptures – from the Hebrew words, “Akhareet Ha Yameem.” We tend to think of the end times as a time of evil and calamity. And there’s truth to that. But there’s more to it.

The end of days, or latter days, first appears in Deuteronomy 4:30 – where it says this: “When you are in distress, and all these things have come upon you, in ‘the end of days,’ you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice.”

The end of days will be a time of distress and tribulation, but it will also be the time of return and redemption. It’s only in the end of days that the Jewish people as a whole will return to the Lord, and only in the end that redemption will come to the whole world.

So when you look at all the problems, challenges, and evils of the last days, don’t forget that there’s another side: The end of days is also days of return, redemption, and victory. Live like it!

Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:7

Today, don’t allow the evils of these end times to discourage you. But allow them to help you turn or return to the presence of God.

Walk daily with God at your side!