Ed Christian's World

Better Than Demons…

In the Gospels, Jesus commanded the unclean spirits to depart and they obeyed Him. On many occasions the disciples saw the Lord cast these spirits out and yet at the same time, He often had to correct the disciples’ doubting and unbelief.

As believers we’re always hearing the Word of God and yet when we hear we often do nothing about it. Yet, in the Gospels the demons heard His voice and immediately departed. We are the friends of God and yet many times we argue with Him, and struggle to obey His word.

God is calling you to do something great according to his purpose. Don’t ignore Him. There’s a blessing in obedience to the Word of God. The songwriter illustrates obedience in this song “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”

Obey God without delay. Don’t ignore Him. Don’t rationalize His word away. Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and a blessing will await you.

When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. Luke 8:27-39

What is God telling you to do? Don’t ignore it any longer. Just do it. And you will be blessed.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Priestly Bath…

The priests of God in the Old Testament. In order to enter the priesthood, they had to take off their old garments and take a holy bath. After being cleansed in the ritual bath, they were then given the garments of the priest to minister unto the Lord.

You are called by God for a great purpose. So you too must take off the old garments; put away your old ways, old ideas and old habits and be willing to put on the new in God, for we were created in His image.

You can’t do what God wants you to do unless you are willing to go through the process of renewing yourself in the things of God. Your ministry is waiting, your priesthood is waiting; it’s calling you.

In order to serve as a priest in the service of God, your garments are important. Take off the old, put on the new. Dare to let the past go and get on with fulfilling your calling. Ring out the old and ring in the new.

 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Matthew 9:16-17

Live in a spirit of renewal. Prepare yourself to be used for great and mighty things. Put off the old clothes that hinder your calling and step into the new.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Disciple’s Continual Response…

The Gospel of Matthew says the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee; he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their fishing nets into the sea. He said to them “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

The men immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. Have you wondered why they immediately left their nets to follow Jesus? In John’s gospel, Jesus appeared to Andrew first. He was told to follow Him; then Andrew went to tell Simon his brother about Jesus.

So this wasn’t the first calling for Andrew, but the second – and it would be the second that would change their lives. A true disciple does not say “yes” to God once but again and again.

So don’t live your life on yesterday’s yes but give him your yes daily; your hineni, your “Here I am Lord, send me.” Make a choice to follow Him daily.

The continual and progressive yes will change your life as if it was the first call because a disciple of God, when called of God, must always be as if it is for the first time.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20

Open your day with your Hineni prayer. Say yes to His will and say yes to His calling, to a new calling, and to rise to new and higher ground.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Secret of The Zeroah…

In the first verse of Isaiah 53 is an amazing thing. It says, “Who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” The Hebrew word for arm of the Lord is zeroah. It is talking about Jesus.

It says, to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? The Hebrew word means revealed, particularly in a disgraceful way. It also means to be stripped naked, to be treated like a captive. His love for us is simply amazing.

This word speaks of Jesus being stripped naked, being disgraced, being taken captive. All this is in just one word. God didn’t just reveal Himself, He stripped himself, He allowed Himself to be humiliated, degraded to save us.

The blessings of God are free to you, but none of them came without a cost. They came with a great cost. God loves you, He would go through hell to save you. Live for Him in the same way, even if it costs you everything. Follow Him, love Him, serve Him in a manner worthy of that cost.

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2

As He gave all for you, do likewise. Go all out for God today. Serve Him joyfully. Love Him mightily. Live for Him completely.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Mary Strategy…

In the Gospels it says of Martha and Mary, Mary chose the better part. Now it doesn’t say that Martha chose the worst part, just that Mary chose the better part.

The thing is, you don’t have to choose the worst part; that will just happen. You don’t have to choose a life of distractions, problems, busyness, or losing sight of God; that will just happen.

It will happen because you didn’t choose anything. You have to choose the better part like Mary chose the better part. If you don’t, then many other things will pull you, divide you, distract you, and will squeeze out time with God. Martha was all over the place, but Mary chose the better part.

So, if you don’t choose, you will be all over the place, too. You will be dragged all over. Do you want the better part? Stop being dragged. You are going to have to choose time with God and make it stick, commit to it, make it something that cannot be shaken. The good things of God don’t just come, they are chosen.

Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11

Make it your number one joy and aim today to dwell in God’s presence. The world is here but choose the better way, your time with Messiah.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Fear of The Legions…

In Mark 1:24 the demons say to Jesus, “Have you come to destroy us?” Sometimes you think that demons are scary things, but they are not scary to Yeshua at all. In fact they are scared of Him.

A whole legion and they are all scared of Jesus. That’s the truth. We act as if the enemy were in charge, or is something to be afraid of. But, this reveals that the enemy is actually on the defense, certainly in the face of Jesus.

If you are in Jesus, then the enemy is on the defense with regard to you. Of course, he doesn’t let on. Few enemies will let on that they are really scared of you. He wants you to believe that you are defeated, finished, that you are going to lose.

You have to stand and take the authority of the Word to overcome. Jesus didn’t believe the lies of the enemy. You need to have that same attitude. We are not only conquerors, we are more than conquerors. The enemy is more than defeated and you are more than blessed. Be on the offense.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

Take authority from God’s holy Word and push back against demonic forces, against the voices of defeat and intimidation. Overcome and take the victory that has been won in Jesus.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The God Oath…

In Luke, at the beginning, Zechariah and Mary say there are references to God’s promises for the oath that God made. In fact, Zechariah means God has remembered.

If you put it together, God has remembered His oath. What oath did God make? It’s in Genesis 22, when Abraham offered up Isaac, it says that He swore by Himself. When you swear by something you are offering it up. God is offering up Himself.

It says in that mountain it shall be seen. What mountain is that? Mount Moriah. What is on Mount Moriah? Calvary. The place where Jesus died, the same place where God swore the oath.

God swore by Himself to Abraham and 2,000 years later on that mountain He fulfilled His oath. He offered up Himself on Calvary. All the promises of God rest on His oath, and that oath rests on Calvary.

Whatever He promises He will do it. He swore it by His own life. He offered it up for you in the land of Moriah on a hill called Calvary.

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4

As God remembers His oath to you, so you too remember and remain faithful unto them. Be as a living sacrifice and give Him all of you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The More Of Him…

Philippians 3 has an amazing thing that Paul says. He says, “That I might gain Jesus.” Now, if anybody had Jesus, it was Paul. He is the chief teacher of the New Testament, yet he says, “that I might gain Jesus.”

If you have Jesus, how can you gain Him? And, if you are gaining Him, how could you have had Him? What does it mean? We have to have that attitude.

The attitude goes on with, I press on so that I might know. It’s the attitude of one who has much more to go. There is so much more no matter how much you have.

If anybody had it, it was Paul, but he says I don’t even have the half of it. There is so much more, there is no end, Jesus is infinite. There is so much more Good News, more joy, more blessing, more revelation, more victory, more peace, more intimacy, more wonders.

So, if Paul could say it, you could too, that I might gain Jesus. There is a whole more of Jesus for you to gain.

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

Keep pressing on with all your heart to know God and be constantly filled by Him. The more you seek, the more there is to discover, unending joy.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Separating The Leper…

In Mark 1:42 it says, that “the leprosy left.” A strange thing, it would be more natural to say the man was healed of leprosy. It doesn’t say that, it says the leprosy left him.

Now it would be the natural thing to associate the man with the disease. The man was a leper, because he had leprosy. But, here it separates it because ultimately Jesus is going to separate the disease and the man.

We often look at people by their afflictions. This man is a sinner, that one is selfish. But this one is a leper. God doesn’t see this one as a leper, He separates it. We should do the same thing.

This is not a selfish person, this is a person who is under selfishness, but can be free of that selfishness. See the person not as they appear to be, but as God made them to be, and as Jesus redeemed them to become.

Treat them as such and you will stop seeing lepers and you will start seeing the leprosy leave.

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. Mark 1:40-42

Put on the eyes of God today. Separate the person from their sins and their sinful identity. And see them as God made them to be – Just as God sees you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The One Who Blesses…

The word for Jew in Hebrew is Yehudi. Yehudi comes from Yahudah which means to thank, to praise. So, if you are born again, the Bible says you are a fellow citizen of Israel, you are Jewish in spirit, a Yahudah in spirit.

That means your identity is to give thanks. So are you a thanker? Are you someone who praises and blesses, no matter what? That is what you are to be known for.

What is the key thing that comes out of your mouth? It is to be giving thanks and being the blessing. Look at your blessings, count your blessings, number them. All you have to do is be thankful.

It’s amazing how all of a sudden you are going to feel so happy, so blessed, so content, so rich, so joyful, so peaceful. Thank God every day for your salvation.

Thank God for everything, because the one who is always giving thanks for all things, that’s the one who is blessed, and there is nothing more Jewish than that.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Find your identity in Jesus as a blesser. Fill your day with thanksgiving and praise.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed