Ed Christian's World

Your Heavenly Name…

In Hebrew, attachments to a name indicate identity and often someone’s nature. A name connected by the word Ben or Bar means Son of. Bat means Daughter of. Barabbas means son of Abba, Benjamin means son of my right hand and Bathsheba means daughter of an oath.

That means your identity is linked to what you’re a child of. Ephesians 5:8 says “For you were formerly darkness but now…walk as children of light.” It’s about being born of the good. You might have been Joe Bar Anger, but now you’re Joe Bar Compassion or Sally Bat Failure, now you’re Sally Bat Victory.

To become a beautiful person, you have to be born of what is beautiful. To become loving, you have to be born of love. The very thing you want to become in the Lord; you have to be born of it. It’s not something you’re just trying to do; it’s what you totally become.

Let yourself become who you are in God. Learn to become a child of goodness. Because in God you’re a Ben or Bat of heaven, a child of heaven.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1

As God’s dearly loved child, go through your day imitating Him and bless everyone around you today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Focus and balance…

Picture yourself walking on a balance beam and someone starts pushing you. You push back to keep your balance, but the more you push back, the more you risk falling off the other side.

That’s the principle of counterbalance. The problem is, instead of focusing on walking straight ahead, you focus or react to one extreme or another, pushing in the opposite direction and being as much out of balance.

For believers, if you spend your time focused on and reacting to false teachings, unbalanced doctrines and dogmas, you could end up falling into error by pushing back the other way instead of focusing on God.

If you spend your time judging others for their sins and focusing on what’s wrong, you will end up being imbalanced. As their eyes are off the Lord, so when you focus on them or that thing, your eyes are off the Lord, too.

Philippians 4:8 teaches us real balance; dwell on the good, focus on His truth; major on the majors and you will not turn to the right or to the left, but you will move straight ahead perfectly in balance.

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:25-27

Is there something negative that has been keeping your attention lately? Let go of it today and direct your focus back to the goodness of God.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Wisdom Of Lilies…

Imagine driving your car around so you can fill up with gas. It defeats the purpose. You don’t drive to get gas, you get gas to drive. If you’re living to survive, or living to make a living, it’s the same thing.

Matthew 6 teaches us, that worrying about all these things, makes us forget the purpose of life. Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field, they don’t toil or spin.” They just live and glorify God. If you’re living, worrying how to live, you’ve got it backwards.

If you really want to live for God, break out of focusing on how you’re living or trying to survive and seek first the kingdom of God. Get beyond survival and live for God. Stop worrying about ‘how’ – that’s God’s job. Do and seek His will.

Get beyond yourself and into the purposes of God and you’ll start fulfilling your purpose. Selfishness and living to make a living is like driving in order to fill up on gas.

Stop worrying about your life and start living your life. Because God didn’t call you to live your life at the gas station.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Put the cares of life in the Lord’s hands. Stop existing wrapped up in the issues of survival. And start living!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Challenges of the Drowning

What are the reasons we don’t share the Gospel? Fear of jeopardizing relationships, that it could get nasty, or they’ll reject us? Picture a lifeguard at their station, and someone is drowning. The lifeguard just sits there. The person screams, “Why aren’t you saving me?” The lifeguard answers, “If I try to save you, you might resist, hit me, or hurt me.”

What would you think of the lifeguard? That lifeguard is you. If we refuse to share the gospel with someone who’s perishing because it might rock the boat; cause an awkward moment or unpleasant situation, we have no excuse.

People who are drowning often resist, panic, or even hit the lifeguard. But no true lifeguard lets that stop them from saving the person. It didn’t stop Jesus from saving you. Don’t let it stop you from saving them.

It might not be an easy save, but you still do it. You jump in. Forget the relationship. Forget trying to avoid unpleasant reactions. Get off your lifeguard seat and jump in. Share the gospel and save them.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 29:19

See everyone outside of Jesus, as displaying an SOS (save our souls). Share the truth of Jesus with them today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

God Is Doing Fine…

A child praying said, “God, take care of my mother, take care of my father and take care of yourself. Because if anything happens to you, we’re all in big trouble.”

The good news is, nothing’s going to happen to God. He already died and the grave couldn’t hold Him. He’s all right. We, who are in God, have to be all right also. How you’re doing, is based on how God’s doing.

You’re standing on His righteousness, not your own. It has nothing to do with how much you have, but how much He has. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the hills they’re on. How blessed your life is, is about how blessed He is.

If He’s risen and seated in the heavenlies, you are too. If He’s successful and victorious, you are in Him. Learn the wisdom of this child’s prayer. If He’s doing well, you’ll be doing well if you dwell in Him.

If anything happened to Him, we would all be in trouble. But it’s not going to. So rejoice, be well, and be blessed because He is.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2

Believe that you are doing well today. Because all is well with God, and you are in Him.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always

Ed

Your Song…

When Miriam (Mary) is given the great news about bearing the Son of God, she starts singing. She had a song. She knew the Word of God and His Spirit was upon her. If she had been wrapped up in the world, her problems, running around, never having enough time, she wouldn’t have had a song.

Many of us live our lives wrapped up in the world, busy with our problems and too worried to have a song. But God’s people need to have a song. Moses, Anna, Isaiah, Mary and the saints of Revelation had a song.

You need to have a song. Your heart has to be able to sing, and overflow. God didn’t call you to live a desperate life but to live abundantly, overflowing like someone who has a song. Don’t live your life always wanting, always desperate, always needing more.

You need to have a flow and time to overflow with God. Sing to the Lord a new song, a praise from your heart. God has called you to glorify, praise, and worship Him with a song, your own song, the song of your life.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. Psalm 95:1-2

Use songs of praise to honor God today and gain victory. Sing His praises and watch Him show up and rain down His blessings.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Ants Obstacle…

Scripture tells us “go to the ant” meaning, learn from the ant. If an ant is bringing a piece of food to the colony and you put something in its path, it doesn’t drop the food and say, “What did I do to deserve this? I can’t take it anymore. Take me now Lord! Send a shoe to kill me!”

Sometimes, we get discouraged so easily. Something obstructs our path, and we get discouraged and give up. Temptation comes, and we give in, or we lose the zeal we had in the Lord because something hindered us. But the ant just keeps going without batting an eyelid.

Obstacles come up – they happen. Don’t throw up your hands and stop. If something’s of God, keep going. Fight for it. You keep going in righteousness and love. Persevere in what’s good. Ants persevere for a bread crumb.

You need to show the same righteous perseverance for God. Ants persevere for crumbs, but you persevere for something better–for loving, serving, doing, hoping, standing, and overcoming. Because you need to be at least as strong as an ant.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

This is the day to get past whatever obstacle the enemy has tried to put in your way. Break through and break forth.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Your First Vocation

1 Peter 2:9 says “You’re a royal priesthood.” The word of God doesn’t say things lightly. If He’s calling you royal, believe that you’re royal. That means it’s more real than being born the descendant of tribal leaders, chiefs or kings.

You’re born of God, the royal Seed. And you’re declared royal by God. It doesn’t matter if you’re a secretary, garbage man, doctor, cleaning lady, student, lawyer, homemaker, or shoe salesman, you’re a person of royalty. Start living like you’re a royal person.

If you take out the garbage, clean your house, unclog the drain, when you do your job, do it as an heir to the throne. No matter what your circumstances, behave royally. No matter what your finances, live prosperously. No matter what your station, live sovereign.

It means above your circumstance; live triumphant; live in the authority of Jesus. Live royally. Live a royal life. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world, you know who you are.

You’re a child of the King of the Universe, and there’s no way around that fact. You happen to be royalty.

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. Micah 4:5

Live today as if you were royal. Because you are. Think royal. Act royal. Live royal.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Pilates Question…

Esther is a unique book. There’s not one mention of God. Some secular books have more reference to God than this book of the Bible. It’s the book of the unmentioned God. When Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?”

There’s no record of His answer because He was the Truth. God is also known in silence. We have to cut through the things about God to get right to God. Sometimes, we have to find Him in the unmentioned.

We have theology, rituals, and religion, but often, we have to cut through that to find God Himself. To learn of God beyond the songs, the words, the teachings, the theology, and the fellowship. Beyond all these things into the silence of being in His presence.

He said, “Be still and know that I am God.” If you only know God in the noise, then you don’t fully know God. Learn about Him in the silence. Clear out your schedule. Get alone with God.

Be still, be silent, and behold Him, the Truth, because God is more than anything only spoken about Him. Be still and know that He is God.

Surely, you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence. Psalm 21:6

Get to know God more intimately today. Secure a quiet place, where you can enter into His presence without distractions.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

A Quarter On The Sidewalk…

Growing up, some of my friends played a practical joke by gluing a quarter to the sidewalk. When someone would bend down to pick it up, it wouldn’t move. It was fixed to the sidewalk.

A quarter barely weighs anything, but super glued to the sidewalk, it weighs as much as the pavement. A cruel practical joke, but a great spiritual lesson. If you try to be strong, holy, and righteous in your own strength; your own weight, you will fall short. It’s not going to weigh much.

But if you affix yourself to God; to His righteousness, then His strength, His righteousness, His weight, His power, His resources, His abilities, and even His authority becomes yours. You’re going to live not by your own weight; not by the lightness of a coin, but by the solidity of the Rock, strong, as you join yourself to God.

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It’s a cosmic truth that can change your life. Live by the weight and power of the Rock and not by the lightness of a coin.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Bind yourself to “The Rock of Jesus” today. Whatever comes against you comes against Him, and He is immovable.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed