Ed Christian's World

The Days Of Return….

The first miracle Jesus is ever recorded as having done was to turn the water into wine. How does water become wine? Wine, by definition is aged. Wine takes years to age.

So God made the wine complete with age, complete with a past that didn’t exist before. God is able to even touch the past.

So it is written, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” How do you make sins as white as snow? God can even change the past. How?

How can the living God die? It’s all a miracle. If God can die, on a cross, for our sins, then the past can be changed, and your sins become as white as snow. In the world, the future is bound to the past.

But for you in Jesus, that’s all changed. Be no longer bound to anything of the past, to no sin, no shame, no sorrow, no abuse, no rejection, no failure, and no darkness – because in Jesus, your past is as white as snow – just as the water has turned to wine.

As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Romans 4:17

Is there anything in your past that still haunts you or defines you? Lift it up to the Lord – and then believe, receive, and rejoice in your freedom.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Preparing For The Glory…

It was called the “Mishkan.” We know it as the Tabernacle. It was the very first house of God. It was the dwelling place of God’s glory… an awesome thing… the place of Heaven’s dwelling.

Yet it wasn’t built of heavenly materials. It was built of very earthly things. It was built from what the Hebrews gave. And they gave from what they had, their jewelry, their cloth, their adornments, their mirrors, whatever they had.

They gave of their lives. It wasn’t the material that was holy – it was the fact that they gave it, they sacrificed it, they surrendered it for God’s holy purposes. And the glory of God indwelt it. So too, with your life.

When you give to the purposes of God, that which you give, becomes holy, your time, your money, your heart, your talents, your resources. The Lord doesn’t ask you for much… just all we have and all to give.

Just give all of it, whatever you have, no matter what it is, the materials of your life – give them all to God and His purposes, and they will become holy, and the glory of God will come down.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. Luke 12:33

What is it that you need to sacrifice today to build a true Tabernacle of meeting with God, for a daily time of prayer and intimacy? Make the sacrifice.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Poem Of God…

In Ephesians it says in the original Greek, “For we are His poema.” From “poema” we get our English word “poem.”

If you’re born again your life is now a work of God – a poem of heaven. One of the things that defines a poem is flow. If your life is to be a poem of God, it’s got to flow. It’s got to have a harmony, a rhyme and a reason — a flow.

The nature of the Spirit is to make your life flow. The nature of sin is to take away the flow of your life. The more sin in your life, the less your life will be the poem it’s supposed to be. It’s easy to lose the flow through sin.

If you want your life to be beautiful, then you have to get the flow back into it. And if you want the flow back, then you have to get back into the flow of the Spirit. Repent of sin or else it just won’t flow.

When you commit your life to living and walking by the Spirit, your life will be as beautiful as a poem from heaven.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

Seek to flow today in God’s flowing. Let the Spirit lead everything you do and go with the flow.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Automatic Menorah…

When Israel was reborn as a nation, her symbol became the Menorah, the seven-branched lampstand of God described in Exodus that stood in the Holy Place.

This Menorah was kept continuously filled with oil and burning. Israel was called to be a light to the nations, a holy vessel, filled with God’s oil, and shining with His light, the light of His presence and salvation.

Whether you’re Jewish or not, Israel is your nation. God’s Word says that you’re a citizen of Israel and your symbol is the Menorah. Every citizen of this Israel of Spirit is to be an individual light.

Are you living your life worthy of the symbol of the holy lampstand? As the lamp couldn’t be a light on its own but needed to be filled with oil and fire, you as His holy lamp need to be filled and refilled with the oil of His Spirit, joy of His Presence, bread of His Word, and fire of His will. Be the light you’re called to be. In all things, shine.

To all people, shine. It’s your heritage, and your national calling.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Make your aim today to be a light for God in every situation – in every circumstance, be a light and shine!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Waters Of Zion…

Israel contains land that could be continents away from each other: Mediterranean seashores; Mount Hermon’s snow-capped peaks; the Jordan Valley; the Judean hill country; the Negev; Samaria’s rocky heights; plain of Sharon; the mountains surrounding Jerusalem; fertile valley of Jezreel and Armageddon; the barren moonscape of the wilderness; the Sea of Galilee; and much more – all in a land no larger than the state of New Jersey.

Small countries usually don’t have all this. They might be all desert like Yemen, or mountains like Tibet. But Israel is the “Every-Land Land.” Back then, people worshiped gods of the mountains, desert, sea, and farmland.

But the God of Israel was, and is, different. He’s God of all land. He’s the God of the good times when you’re high in spirit. But God’s love is just as present in the valleys of the low times.

He’s the God of the abundant and the poor, the fertile and the dry. God is unconditional. He’ll walk with you in every landscape of your life.

So be comforted and glad. He’s faithful to you. Be faithful to Him. He’s the “Every-Land” God. You be His “Every Land” follower.

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, Romans 10:12

No matter what situation you find yourself in today, rejoice in the Lord and in the fact that His presence is all around you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Heavenly Return…

Shamayim is Hebrew for heaven. The disciples are standing on the Mt. of Olives . Jesus blesses them and then begins ascending into the heavenlies.

Jesus’s real Hebrew name Yeshua, means salvation. Yeshua came from heaven because salvation can only come from heaven. Yeshua ascended to heaven, because salvation must always return to heaven.

Jesus came to earth to bring God to man. Then He had to return to heaven to bring man to God. Salvation was only complete when Yeshua returned to heaven.

So it is with our lives. All good things come from God. However, the blessings of God are only complete when you give them back to heaven. We tend to covet our blessings.

If you want your blessing and your life to be complete, then you have to give it back to God. Whatever you own is not yours until you let it go. Only that which you give can you receive.

All good things come from heaven and all good things must return there. So give your blessings and your life back to heaven. Then your blessing will be full and overflowing, and your life complete.

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21

God has blessed you with so much – take inventory of your blessings and then take those blessings, the joy, the love, the power, and bless others.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Beyond Christmas…

In Hebrew, Almah Miryam is the Virgin Mary. There are so many songs about her. It’s been the theme of art and music for two thousand years.

However it rarely goes deeper to the truth. It wasn’t just Virgin and Child. It was Virgin and Responsibility. We tend to downplay that part.

If you’ve received the Lord’s new life, then you have the newborn presence of God in your life. If you think that it’s going to be all Christmas Carols, you’re in for a rude awakening.

That seems to be the problem with many of our walks. We want the Christmas experiences, but we don’t want the responsibility. We want the new life but we don’t want anything to take care of. We don’t want the sacrifice involved with having a treasure.

If you want the life and presence of God, then you have to take the responsibility. You’ve got a newborn. That means you have to take care of this life, cherish, protect, sacrifice for it, and treasure it.

You’ve been blessed with the greatest of blessings, but remember, life isn’t neat and blessings must be treasured.

But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48

What responsibility has God entrusted you with? Seek to fulfill your charge with more passion and excellence today – For with the blessing comes the responsibility.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Eternal Thank You…

Todah is Hebrew for “thanks.” To give thanks takes a few seconds if you say it, a few minutes if you write it, or a few hours if you express it with some gesture.

In Ephesians, it’s written that we’re never to stop giving thanks. In life we tend to give “thanks” in the end. In marriage, there’s a lot of appreciation and thanks at the beginning. After the honeymoon, the appreciation and thanks tend to get less.

We tend to stop giving thanks to those we should thank the most. How about just thanking them for being there? What about God? Have you thanked Him today for salvation, for loving you, for just being there?

The greatest sign of having received a gift is your thank you. So if you want the power of the greatest Gift in your life every day, then your life itself must be one big ‘thank you’ to God.

Express your thanks today to those in your life you take for granted. And don’t forget to thank God for all He’s done for you. For the Gift He gave you has no end. Let your thank you be the same.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Stop and take the time to see the blessings that your friends, spouse, co-workers have been and thank them.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Radical Love…

The greatest command after loving God is to love your neighbor as yourself. It’s definitely no easy thing. This command is the Gospel in a sentence.

There’s only two things in existence, God and creation. We, being part of creation, are God’s neighbor. God loved His neighbor. He looked down and loved you.

He didn’t just love His neighbor – He loved His neighbor as Himself. There’s no greater proof of that than Him giving up His life for you. That’s the greatest demonstration of loving one’s neighbor as yourself.

So when God asks you to love your neighbor as yourself, He’s not asking you to do anything He hasn’t done already. He’s only asking you to do for another, what He has done for you.

Now if God could value your life as much as His own, how much more can you love your fellow human being. Just remember, when you think it’s so hard to do what the Lord said, He’s already done it for you.

You are more loved than you’ll ever realize. It’s already been done, because God is your neighbor. Now do the same.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Today seek to love your neighbor as God has loved you – do something to bless them.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Some Assembly Required…

Remember when you were growing up and you were given a do-it-yourself-kit… a paint-by-number kit, a model airplane kit, a sewing kit?

When you put something together yourself, you felt good about it. Did you know that God gives you a Scripture Kit…, a do-it-yourself Scripture kit? You come up with the Scripture, with His help of course.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Messiah says, “Do for others what you would have them do to you.” This is called the “Golden Law,” the “Greatest Commandment”… And yet, it doesn’t tell you what to do. It doesn’t give you any details.

That’s because it’s the Commandment Kit…. the Do-It-Yourself Commandment. The Lord doesn’t tell you what to do…. He just gives you the principle. You have to come up with the particular commandment and put it together.

You have to ask yourself… “What would I like others to do for me?” And then you have your commandment. Go do it for others. Do-it- yourself-kits are fun and rewarding…

God has given you a most holy one. So go to it – for you’ve been given your very own “Do It Yourself With Him Scripture Commandment Kit.”

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12

Put together a commandment – what would you want another to do for you today? Do it to others.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed