Ed Christian's World

Bright As The Sun

In Song of Solomon 6:10, it says, “Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun?” Jesus says that God causes His sun to rise, and it shines on the just and the unjust, so we have to be like God who does that.

What does it mean, to be bright as the sun? It is speaking of the bride. We are to be a bit more like the sun. The sun is bright because it just shines. Its light is independent from the circumstance, sovereign in a sense from its circumstance.

Be as bright as the sun. You need to shine. You are the light of the world. You can’t shine because people love you, or you can’t stop shining because they don’t.

You have to shine on those who don’t, those who hate you, those who persecute you, in good times and in bad times, because that’s who you are. You are the light of the world, and if you stop shining, you cease to live. You must shine. Be as bright as the sun.

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; fhen your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:8

Shine brightly for God today. Let your light so shine that people will have no doubt the presence of the Lord is within you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love.always,

Ed

Away From The Lion…

There was a minister who was going through a really tough time in his life, who was dwelling on a problem. A woman from his congregation gave him a picture of Daniel in the lion’s den.

In the picture, Daniel was looking away from the lion; he was looking to God. He was trusting in God. The armies of Israel won the battles when they were more focused on God than on the enemy; more focused on who was for them than all those who were against them.

All the more in your battle, focus more on God. Remember, God is the answer. The bigger the problem, the more you have to look away from it and turn to the presence of God. You might be in a lion’s den, but the lion is not going to touch you.

Surely God is my salvatiion; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2

You just trust the Lord, look to Him, and you don’t have to worry about the lion. You will be filled with peace and the grace of God and His power. In that way, you will overcome the lion, you will overcome the enemy and you will win the war.

Remember, whatever problem you are experiencing today, do not dwell on it, but keep your eyes steadfast on the Lord. He is above your problem, and more important.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Love Against Feeling…

Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane. He was sweating and praying, “Not My will, but Thy will be done. If you can take this away from Me, please do, but Your will be done.” Some people wonder how this could be.

If He is the Redeemer, if He is God, how could He be struggling? He should be saying I cannot wait to die on the cross. No, that is the point. The cross was going to be terrible. He was going to feel pain.

Clearly, He was struggling and He still chose to go to the cross. He chose against feeling. It was not easy and it was not natural. It was excruciating. He is showing us something.

The greatest love we can give, is love when it is not easy, when it is not pleasurable. When we do not feel like it, when it hurts, when it is humiliating, love anyway.

Jesus loved you and it cost Him everything. Love today, against feeling, against the flesh. Love where there is no love, when there is no pleasure in it. That is Jesus’s love, the greatest love.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Push past the natural, giving love to those who hate you, who hurt you and mistreat you. Even love your loved ones with a new supernatural love!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love.always,

Ed

The Valley of Brakahah…

Some believers are always in a valley. You ask them, “how are you doing?” They are depressed, defeated, or sad. Maybe you are in one right now, but there is a scripture in 2 Chronicles 20. It says on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Barakhah, where they praised the Lord. Barakhah in Hebrew means “blessing” or “praise.”

The valley was not first called Barakhah, but when they blessed it, it became the Valley of Barakhah, the Valley of Blessing. They praised God there, so it became the Valley of Praise. Valleys are not to be feared.

You can be on a mountain of curses or a valley of blessings. You have the power to turn your valley into a Barakhah Valley by praising the Lord. You have the power to transform your valley into blessing.

Start praising God in it, start blessing God, start thanking Him. Start giving Him praise where you are, whatever it is. It does not matter if you are on the mountain, or in the valley. If you praise God, the valley you will be in will be the Valley of Barakhah, the Valley of Blessing.

Then young women will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. Jeremiah 31:13

Today, claim victory through the Lord your God. Declare His blessings on you. It does not matter your situation. Praise Him anyway.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love.always,

Ed

Our Eues Are On You…

Jehoshaphat had the armies of Moab, Ammon and others coming against him. He did not know what to do. He cried out to God and said, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on YOU!”

He did not say our eyes are on the army, or our eyes are on the house payment. He said, “Our eyes are on YOU!” The problem is never to be the focus of the prayer.

It is what got you praying, but it is not the point. Problems are used for good. They are never ends in themselves; they are just a launching pad of prayer. We are to lift them up, but the focus has to be God.

God uses these things so that we will come to Him. He does not want us to figure everything out, but trust Him. Salvation is not about your problems, it is about God’s answer.

You have problems. Jehoshaphat had more, but the answer from God is greater than the problems. Let go of the problem. Say, “Lord, I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on YOU!”

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Today, look away from your problem and to the Lord. Become less problem-oriented – and more answer-oriented.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Eastern Apathy…

In Eastern religion and philosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism and New Age teaching, the goal is detachment. The self is God, so the individual selfhood is an illusion. The key is to detach from this illusion, from care, passion and desire.

Behind the flowery talk in Eastern religion, is apathy and detachment. In India, you will find the fruit of all this, which is misery. Many believers in Jesus live as if they are believers in apathy instead of the gospel.

They live lives apathetic about serving the Lord detached from the poor, the hungry, and those needing salvation. God is the opposite of apathy, which means to be without passion. God got so involved in the world He became one of us.

He was passionate about loving you, saving you and dying for you. If you belong to Him, renounce this apathy. Get passion into your life, your walk, your faith, your service and into your heart.

Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, spread the gospel, touch, care, and love, because your God is passionate about you. And the only way to respond is to live a life of passion for Him.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Matthew 25:34-36

Renew your passion in your walk with God, focus on those who need to experience His love today. Reach out with a servant’s heart.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Shut That Mouth…

We think of possession as in the Exorcist, a movie about a girl whose head spins around, or of the guy who lives in tombs and scares people.

There’s another kind of possession that’s just as real. The kind that takes place even with believers when we give the enemy a place in our lives by acting with sinful motives, or speaking words of destruction; gossip.

Then the enemy can spread destruction, not only in us, but through us. We offer ourselves to be used for the enemy’s purposes when we allow ourselves to be controlled by bitterness, pride, and selfishness.

Peter loved God, but he allowed himself to be used by the enemy. He rebuked Jesus and told him not to go to Jerusalem. Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan.”

When we allow ourselves to be used by the enemy to tear down, hinder, discourage, or harm, we’re allowing ourselves to be possessed for his purposes.

It’s not just people whose head spins around, it’s when you let yourself be used. Reject the slightest hint of possession. Be moved only by the Spirit; you are God’s possession.

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. Psalm 131:3-4

Guard your mouth today, let it speak uplifting and of praise, allow the Holy Spirit to move through you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Anxiety Antodote…

God’s word tells us not to worry. You try to stop worrying, but you keep thinking about it. Someone will say worry is a sin; you don’t have any faith. Then you become more worried.

Before you just worried about paying the bills, now you’re worried about paying the bills and going to hell. How do you stop worrying? If the problem causes you to worry, what is the antidote?

The antidote is the answer. Don’t dwell on the problem, but dwell on the answer. You have to choose to stop thinking about those things that take away your peace and joy.

Start dwelling on the answer that gives you peace and joy; on the good news, the Word, the Good Shepherd who’s in charge of your life and who loves you, on the Gospel, on Jesus, on God.

Whenever you’re getting caught up in worry, let that be your cue to start getting caught up in God – the Gospel, His joy, His faithfulness, His love.

Philippians 4:8 reads, “Let your mind dwell on these things, and the peace of God will guard your heart and mind, and take away your worry.”

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Today, let God do the heavy lifting and let God take the burden from you, so you can dwell on His peace, He is the answer.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love.always,

Ed

The Lamb Home…

Passover began with the simple task of taking a lamb for the home. Salvation begins when you take the Lamb home to your real life, not once, but continuously. That’s the power of salvation.

What would happen if you brought the Lamb, Jesus, to your living room and He sees what you are watching. Is it godly? Is it pure? Is it good and excellent? Is it bringing you closer to the Lord or farther away?

In the past two to three years the good television programs we’ve been watching have become 60 to 80 percent sexual content. What would He think if He sat down next to you? Or when He hears you listen to a radio program; the words being said.

You may be used to it, but He is not. He is pure – the Lamb. If you could not bring the Lamb to that room, then get that thing out of your life. It’s time to bring the Lamb into your living room.

Give Him a permanent place there. Remove the unholy thing. For the power and the blessings of salvation begin when you bring the Lamb home.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

Imagine Jesus with you every moment of this day. What does it reveal? Make the changes you need to make.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Key of Entrance…

Thanksgiving is not just a holiday, it’s a key. The Psalms command ‘Enter His gates with thanksgiving … and His courts with praise.’

Most believers take this as a command. If you’re going to enter His courts, enter with thanksgiving. The truth of these words isn’t only a commandment, it’s a secret, a key.

To enter the gates of the Lord, you need the keys of the Lord. The key you need to unlock the gates of the Lord, in order to enter in, is the key of thanksgiving.

You could read the Scripture this way: ‘The only way you will ever truly enter the gates of the Lord is with thanksgiving.’ Thanksgiving is the key that unlocks the gates of the Lord.

It doesn’t matter what’s blocking you, if you give thanks to God, you can enter in. When you give thanks, it’s impossible to be gloomy, to worry, to dwell in condemnation, or be unhappy.

When you give thanks, you enter His joy, His peace. When you give thanks, it’s hard not to worship. Enter the gates of the Lord. Start now. You have the key. Enter His gates with thanksgiving.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

Enter into His presence with praise, pray His will be done today, thank Him for His promises and feel the peace that passes all understanding.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed