Ed Christian's World

Mystery of the Ma’arav…

Micah prophesied that, “one will go forth from you Bethlehem, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” The Hebrew word for ancient times is kadem, which also means the east or the sunrise.

Jesus’s origins are from the sunrise. He is the Light of the world. If He is from the sunrise, then His destination would be the place of the sunset or the west, which in Hebrew is the ma ‘arav, the sunset place, the going down.

Jesus’s destination was the cross. Where was the crucifixion? It was to the west, the ma’arav of the city. When did He die on the cross? He died as the sun was setting, the ma’arav of the day. In fact, there was a temple sacrifice called the ma’arav, or the sunset sacrifice that was offered up at three o’clock in the afternoon.

Jesus died at three o’clock. Thank God that Jesus is the ma’arav, the sunset sacrifice. This means that the sun has gone down on your sins, your old life, your past, even today’s sins. So be finished with your old life because Jesus, your ma’arav, has come.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; Ephesians 4:22-23

Live by the power of the Ma’arav, Jesus’s sunset – the ending. Break away from your old life, today. You are a new creation in Jesus. Your old life is under His blood.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Master of the Magi…

The Magi were from Persia, considered wise men, priests, astrologers. Astrology is condemned in Scripture. God could use anything to speak to them, but why could they connect a star to a Jewish child born as Savior?

When Nebuchadnezzar began taking Jewish people captive to Babylon, among the first captives was Daniel. Daniel correctly interpreted the king’s dream and was made chief over all the wise men. When Persia took over Babylon, Daniel retained that position.

The wise men of Persia were the MAGI, and Daniel was the Hebrew prophet given the exact timetable to the coming of Jesus. He wrote this prophecy down in Babylon, Persia.

While master of the magi, it’s not unlikely that the magi would be aware of this and be waiting for the prophecy to come true.

The Magi were pagans, yet because they searched for Him they found Him. We could learn a lot from them. God wants you to seek Him.

He promises if you do, you will find Him. For those who seek and keep seeking shall find. Their footsteps shall be led to the exact and perfect place.

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29

Today, seek first the Lord and spend time in His presence, let Him lead you to His perfect plan for you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Two Origins Of Micah 5:2…

MICAH 5:2 says, “But you Bethlehem Ephrathah …of the clans of Judah, from you, one shall go forth to Me, who shall be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from ancient times… days of eternity.”

First, Jesus can only be born in Bethlehem; “whose goings forth are from ancient times and in Hebrew, “m’may olam” means “from the days of forever,” “from eternity past”, “from everlasting.”

Who can be from everlasting? No one created being with a beginning, that rules out everyone but One: GOD. In the natural, His goings forth begins in a particular place and time but in the supernatural,

He has no beginning, but is from forever. God calls you to love, to give, to live righteously. Each of these in the natural begins in a specific place and time, so also with you just like Jesus came from Bethlehem.

The love you are to give doesn’t begin with you or at that moment, but comes from ETERNITY- the VERY LOVE OF GOD. Receive Him and He will come to you… from the days of forever.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13

Let God’s love flow from you that comes from the Eternal Fountain. Let Jesus go forth from you today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Waterfalls // Psalm 42…

Have you ever noticed how calming a waterfall can be? Grandfather used to tell me that the beauty of a waterfall is you can throw your troubles and fears into it and they will be washed away.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Psalm 42:1-3

All your sins, worries and problems you can lay down before God and He will wash them away. No questions asked, just a total deep love for you.

These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Psalm 42:4

In essence, this is the Spirit of God reaching deep into the spirit of His children, bypassing all that which would attempt to impede that sweet communion and fellowship God so passionately desires to have with us.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. Psalm 42:5-7

And my prayer unto the God of my life – To God, who has given me life, and who preserves my life. The meaning is, that in the dark night of sorrow and trouble he would not cease to call on God. Feeling that he had given life, and that he was able to sustain and to defend life, he would go to him and supplicate his mercy. He would not allow affliction to drive him from God, but it should lead him the more earnestly and fervently to implore his aid. Afflictions, God’s apparently severe dealings, which it might be supposed would have a tendency to turn people from God, are the very means of leading them to him.

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:8-9

He is always there, He will not forget you or abandon you. Let us never think that the God of our life, and the Rock of our salvation, has forgotten us, if we have made his mercy, truth, and power, our refuge.

I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Psalm 42:10

Thus the psalmist strove against his despondency: at last his faith and hope obtained the victory. Let us learn to check all unbelieving doubts and fears. Apply the promise first to ourselves, and then plead it to God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11

I do not ask for youth, nor for delay
in the rising of time’s irreversible river
that takes the jewelled arc of the waterfall
in which I glimpse, minute by glinting minute,
all that I have and all I am always losing
as sunlight lights each drop fast, fast falling.

I do not dream that you, young again,
might come to me darkly in love’s green darkness
where the dust of the bracken spices the air
moss, crushed, gives out an astringent sweetness
and water holds our reflections
motionless, as if for ever.

It is enough now to come into a room
and find the kindness we have for each other
— calling it love — in eyes that are shrewd
but trustful still, face chastened by years
of careful judgement; to sit in the afternoons
in mild conversation, without nostalgia.

But when you leave me, with your jauntiness
sinewed by resolution more than strength
— suddenly then I love you with a quick
intensity, remembering that water,
however luminous and grand, falls fast
and only once to the dark pool below.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Mystery Of The Sandhedrin…

For 2000 years rabbis have argued against the resurrection of Jesus, saying it never happened. But in the writings of the Talmud, they often use a code name to refer to Yeshua, Jesus.

One code name is Balaam, since they viewed Him as a false prophet who led Israel astray. In Sanhedrin 106:b, it says that this man was put to death and that his age at execution was between 33 and 34 years…just like Jesus.

Now concerning this same man they say, “Whoa! Woe unto him who makes himself alive again by the name of God.” The rabbis are saying that this man, who they thought was a false prophet, made Himself alive again by the name of God. Whoa! What’s going on?

The rabbis are admitting that Yeshua, Jesus was executed, and though He was dead, He became alive again by the name of God. So if the rabbis believe and testify He rose again, how much more must you believe and testify.

How? By living a life that makes even skeptics say, “This is a life that is risen from the dead by the name of God.”

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

Today, live in the power of Jesus, as one who has truly risen from death to life, alive from the dead, to live for the glory of God.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Action Test…

If you ask some believers how they are doing, they will say, well, I am going through a test. It’s a testing time now in my life. But in school we took tests and we didn’t like them much then either.

The point of tests were that you could show what you learned. It was time to apply the knowledge of the skills you acquired since you took the last test. Or, to put into action what you learned.

It’s just like Jesus, who had to leave for His disciples to really learn how to walk themselves. It’s one thing to walk or to hear how to walk, but it is another thing to actually do the walking.

So the next time you find yourself going through a test, don’t despise it. Don’t say, “I am going through a test.” Say, “I am taking a test! It’s my chance to apply what I have from God.” Praise God! I am going to pass it.

Apply what you have learned. Apply the love and the faith. Take the test with joy and zeal and you will pass it, and you will graduate.

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exodus 20:20

Take every problem, challenge, obstacle, and attack that comes your way as a test by which to demonstrate who you are in the Lord. Apply His teachings and praise God all the way through.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Detour Leader…

Have you ever been driving on a trip and had to take a detour? You are not really sure where to go, but you follow the detour. Then other people start following you because they think you know where you are going. Now you are under pressure, because it’s bad enough being lost, but now you have followers while being lost.

So in the spiritual realm, what are you really following? Are you really following the Lord first in all things – or your pleasures; or the pursuit of status, or entertainment; or experiences; or happiness; or power; or selfish ambition; or money?

If you are following any one of these things, if it is not the Lord, then you are following something that can’t lead, like following a blind leader; a leader who is lost. Stop following those impulses, they will only lead you into the pit.

Follow the only one who really knows where he is going and knows how to lead your life for blessing, Jesus your true leader and Teacher, and you will never be lost.

He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” Matthew 15:13-14

Ask yourself today, are you pursuing things for yourself or God? Stop striving for works of the flesh. Instead concentrate on holy things that never fade and He will bless you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Pagan Temple of Jerusalem…

Chanukah is the story of a pagan temple dedicated to the Greek god Zeus, full of ungodliness, idolatry. There were many pagan temples in ancient times but this pagan temple was different.

It was made to be the Temple of God. Its walls and courts were made for pure worship, its holy place for the flame of God, its holy of holies for His presence. It was as a Temple with amnesia, as if it had been made for sin with the Temple of God underneath it.

We’ve lived much of our lives as pagan temples, giving ourselves to ungodliness as if it were natural to be a vessel of sin. You were created to be the very Temple of God, for holiness.

Your mind was created to know the pure thoughts of God, your heart to worship Him, your life to serve and glorify His name. Give yourself no more to that which has no place in the chambers of the Holy Temple of God.

You are the Temple of the Living God. Remove darkness from your midst and be filled with the presence of the Living God, for whose glory you were created.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 1 Corinthians 6:19

Today, sanctify your mind and heart, set it apart and let no sin dwell within you that separates you from His Holy presence.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Stay Awake… Keep Serving Faithfully

Stay awake!” These are Jesus’ words to us today. He tells us that we do not know the day or the time when the Lord will come to us. Thus, each and every moment we must be awake and watchful.

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:42-44

Jesus now arrives at His main point about His return as judge and king. It will come unexpectedly, as the flood did in Noah’s day. Before being swept away, the people then were just going about their daily lives as if nothing would ever change. Then they were gone. In that same way, Christ’s return will be unexpected. The signs will be clear, but only when they occur, at which point it will be too late to react.

Pointedly, Christ made it clear that no person can claim to know the time of His return. Absolutely every prediction that gives a date of the second coming is based on false premises.

That leaves only one option for those who want to be ready: His followers must “stay awake” all the time. Of course, Jesus is not speaking literally, suggesting one should avoid actual sleep. Instead, He is telling them to live in a state of awareness.

Believers should never lapse into the false notion that what happens in this life, from day to day, is all that will ever happen. Wakeful believers remember that this life is temporary, and the next life is eternal. The next life can begin without warning.

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14

Far too many people live only for today or for the days before this life ends. They put off dealing with the reality of God’s judgment and eternity as if they are sleeping through the alarm. The opportunity to trust in Christ for salvation is limited to the length of one’s life before death as in Hebrews 9:27, or the return of Christ in Revelation 19. In either case, the time is short. By the time a person knows their moment has come, their choice has already been made.

This may sound impossible to do. However, I think of parents who have young children; I assume their radar is always attuned to where their children are and what they are doing. It becomes second nature. I assume that each one us of us also have our radar attuned to the individuals in our lives who are significant to us.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. Matthew 24:45-47

Today Jesus desires that we also have our radar scanning for His coming and His presence. The reality is we do not know when, how or through whom Jesus may come to us or be present to us.

However, staying awake and alert every moment is not easy. Perhaps though, we can enhance our radar system to be more closely attuned to Jesus’ vibes, to His presence with us.

But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:48-51

Jesus concludes this parable by describing what the abruptly returning master will do to the wicked servant who betrayed his trust and abused his household. Having been away some time, the master will return and find that the servant has been beating the other servants instead of caring for them and has been carousing with local troublemakers.

The consequences for that servant will be severe: the master will cut him to pieces. This seems like a graphic choice, which is very much the point of Jesus’ parable. This is possibly the harshest punishment any master could execute on a slave under his control. Jesus describes no second chances or demotions at this point, only painful retribution and horror as found in Mark 9:47–48.

The parable ends with Jesus blending the story with the reality it is meant to represent. The Master—God—will both cut the abusive servant into pieces and put him with the hypocrites in a place of misery and suffering. This uses the common description for the place of eternal torment, also referred to as hell.

The disciples would have clearly understood who Jesus meant when He mentioned hypocrites. This English term comes from the Greek word hypocrites, literally referring to “an actor.” On stage, these are people who pretend to be what they are not. In life, they are those whose words and public actions cover their inner, private spiritual bankruptcy. In blistering terms, Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites repeatedly and directly in Matthew 23.

The servant of this parable has revealed that his faith was not in that master, at all. His actions prove as much. He represents all those who claim to belong to Jesus but in truth serve themselves. Their faith in Christ is play-acting “hypocrisy” at best, and they will be sent away from Christ into torment at the time of judgment.

If we truly desire to be attentive to Jesus’ presence throughout our day, we can train ourselves to do so just as first-time parents attune themselves to the presence of a new baby. Today, attune the ear of your heart to Jesus’ presence with you! Jesus will not disappoint you!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Jesus the Shamash…

There’s a mystery concerning the ninth candle on the Chanukah menorah. The Chanukah menorah has eight candles, each candle representing one of the eight days of Chanukah.

Then there’s a ninth candle called the ‘shamash.’ ‘Shamash’ in Hebrew means ‘the servant.’ The shamash candle is the light that lights up all the other candles. Jesus is called the servant of the Lord. Yeshua,

Jesus, said ‘I am the Light of the world.’ He’s the shamash, the servant of the Lord, and the light that gives light to our lives. If you follow Jesus, then you must be like Him – a servant of the Lord.

Live seeking to do His will above your own and rejoicing in the joy of doing it. Those who serve the Lord will be filled with light, just as the servant candle is filled with light, just as Jesus is the light – called not only to shine, but to light up the lives of others, to set aflame those who dwell in darkness.

Serve the Lord with all your heart and you will shine with the light that lights up the darkness. For you, in Jesus, are the shamash.

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

Seek out God’s will for you today. Find the joy in serving others and be the source of Light in your part of the world.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love.always,

Ed