Ed Christian's World

Provoking That Which Is Not…

Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us … provoke unto love.” The word provoke can also be translated; call forth. Jesus called forth Lazarus from the tomb when he was dead. In the same way, we’re to call forth that which isn’t as if it were.

Call forth love from others, even when they have no love and the situation seems as dead and hopeless as Lazarus’ tomb. Start with yourself; start provoking and calling forth love, joy and hope when you don’t feel it.

In Jesus, you have the power to call forth that which is dead and doesn’t even seem to exist. Then provoke others. Love the unlovable, bless the unblessed, do good to those who don’t deserve it. Love your enemies as if they weren’t your enemies.

Become a holy provoker. Call forth that which is not as if it were. Just as God said, “Let there be hope or blessing, call it forth. Provoke love where there’s no love and joy where there’s no joy. When you were dead, God called you forth to life. Go and do likewise.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:44

Call forth the love, peace and blessings of God in your life and others today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Thou Centered Blessing…

The Hebrew word for blessing is barucha. Hebrew has a lot of baruchot or blessings; over bread, wine, holy days, and every part of the day. For every part of life, there’s a blessing. Most begin, “Baruch Atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech ha’Olam,” “Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the universe.”

God calls us not only to bless but to be a living blessing. Here’s the secret: blessings are never “me” centered; they’re “thou” centered. If you want your life to become a blessed life and a life of blessings, then get rid of the “I” – let go of the “me” and start being filled with “thou.”

Blessings have no empty spaces. They’re not in lack or worried about their own needs because they’re so filled up with the “thou” of God that they have no space for need. Don’t be a self-centered person.

Lose yourself in Him, and you’ll be filled up. Love God with all yourself and your neighbor as yourself by living a “thou” centered life. You’ll be blessed by being a blessing. And if you want to be a blessing, then become “thou” centered.

I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1

Live a Thou-centered day today. Make it your aim to bless God in all things and all the other thous in your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

What Matters In The End…

I knew a rich, successful businessman who had problems; always fighting with his wife. Then she developed cancer and he started spending all his time at home. I asked if anyone was taking care of his business. He said, “No, and I don’t care anymore. It doesn’t mean anything to me.

I spent my whole life seeking after things that don’t matter a bit in the end, and the things that really matter I neglected. I now realize my wife is the most precious thing I have in this world.” He didn’t realize until it was too late. It can happen to any of us and often does.

We neglect those most important; wife, children, husband, parents, and beyond that, the One more important than anything else; our Savior and God. Putting things that won’t matter a bit in the end, above Him and above those who matter. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Put aside those things that aren’t going to matter in the end and come back to your first love. Life is too short, and eternity is too long to lose the greatest treasure of all.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Revelation 2:4

Today, make the focus of your heart on people and the things that matter.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Feast At The End…

Have you ever noticed that many parables include or end with a feast? When the kingdom comes, it’s about a feast, an event of joy, celebration and blessing.

What’s the significance? Jesus speaks of feasts to say that joy is waiting at the end for God’s people. It all leads to joy. If you’re in God, the end of the story, the end of the road is joy.

At the end of every act of righteousness, repentance, sacrifice, taking up your cross, serving God, ministering, going to the mission field, surrendering, loving your enemy and turning down temptation ends with joy.

There’s a feast waiting for you, a banquet, a wedding celebration. There’s singing and dancing, joy and heaven. Serve the Lord with confidence, with hope, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, because it’s not only right, it’s for your own joy, for your own blessing.

The feast of the parables tells something profound. That the end of every righteous path in God, every righteous act done for Him; God has prepared for His people, He has prepared for you a banquet, a feast, a celebration and joy.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:1-2

Sing, shout, or speak joyfully to the Lord today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

How Do You Measure Love…

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

No this isn’t goig to be about the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning but we are going to take a deeper look at love. We are characterized by love. The question is how do we measure love?

When I first considered the thought of measuring love, I asked several people how they measure it. Love is a feeling, an emotion, it can’t be measured was the most common answer. Yet, as I looked back over my life, I felt something was amiss there. There is more to love than meets the eye.

Then I remembered something Grandfather once told me when I was a toddler. The measure of love is to love without measure. God measures your life on how well you love.

Love is not just an emotion. It’s not simply some uncontrollable feeling you fall in and out of. It doesn’t have to be here today and gone tomorrow. Nor does it ever have to leave you, in any relational context, if you don’t want it to.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8

That’s because love is measured and maintained primarily by what you give, not what you receive. According to scripture, that’s the love metric: what you give to him, what you sacrifice for her, not what you feel.

That tells me love is not just an emotion, it’s also an action. It’s not simply an accidental concoction of feelings that you react to. No, instead, love is measured and maintained primarily by what you give, not what you receive.

Now what’s interesting is that’s not how we typically measure love. When we judge how “in love” we are with a significant other, or when we judge our disposition toward another human being, we don’t say, “Well let’s see… how much did I give or sacrifice for them this week?” No, instead, we measure love by how much we get in return.

Just think about this principle. It doesn’t take us long to come up with a list of “unlovable people.” Let’s just be honest, outside of you and me, there’s plenty of people out there giving us plenty of reasons not to love them.

However, despite the degree of being unlovable that many people in our lives have earned, that does not mean we can’t still love them.

Forgiveness is one of the strongest actions of love that exists in our life. It not only relieves you of carrying all the hurt and stress, it shows your love for others.

So, how do you measure love? It’s the helping hand you give a neighbor, the smile you share with others, the words of encouragement you give to someone. It’s that everyday simple act of kindness you do for someone in need.

Love is an action as well as an emotion, and as Grandfather reminded me of many years ago, your life will be measured by how well you love. You don’t measure love, love measures you.

This is my reflection on the true meaning of love, which is a powerful reminder that love is not just a feeling but an action. It’s a choice we make every day to put others before ourselves, to forgive, and to show kindness.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song, I praise him. Psalm 28:7

Additionally, the verses from 1 Corinthians 13 take on a new meaning when we apply them to God’s love for us. It’s a beautiful reminder of His patience, kindness, and selflessness towards us.

So maybe we should take a real close look at these verses through different eyes:  God is patient, he is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He does not dishonor others, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
God never fails.

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to understand the true meaning of love and to measure it not by how we feel but by what we give. May we love others with kindness, patience, and selflessness, just as You love us. May our actions be guided by Your love, and may we always remember that love is not just an emotion but an action. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, and penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.

Walk daily with God at your side guided by His love and kindness!

Love always,

Ed 🙏🏼

To Lead A Horse…

It’s said, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” Have you ever tried to lead a horse anywhere? Pushing doesn’t work. But you can guide this gigantic animal almost anywhere with its head and neck.

It works for horses and also for people. Do you want to avoid temptation? Think of the horse. Use your head and neck. When you’re being tempted, use your neck to turn your head away. Righteousness involves looking away.

When you’re at the beach, when you’re driving past that thing, when something comes in the mail, when you’re on the internet, if it’s something that’s not good, turn away. Whatever it is, turn away from it and turn to where you want to go, just like a horse.

Turn to the Word of God. Turn your head to prayer. Turn your eyes to the things of God. If you can move a horse, which is a lot heavier than you, just by turning its neck; how much more can you lead your life to God? Next time you’re in that situation, don’t forget you have a neck. Use it.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Plan your actions today on how to turn away or avoid that temptation. Follow your plan and have victory. Use your neck.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Receiving The Decender…

Jesus headquartered His ministry in Capernaum, north of the Sea of Galilee, where the Jordan River flows into the sea. Israel’s main river, the Jordan, “Yarden” in Hebrew means “to descend; the descender.”

It starts from the mountains and flows down. It’s a symbol of Jesus, the One who comes from the heights and descends to earth. It’s also the place where Jesus, the Descender, healed the sick and crippled and touched people’s lives.

Here’s the secret. The blessing of Jesus pouring out His life doesn’t mean anything if we don’t receive it. The Galilee has to receive the Jordan. Those who are healed, born again, redeemed have to receive it.

Jesus’s life is always flowing more blessings than you could ever contain. If your life isn’t being blessed, it’s not because He’s not blessing. He is who He is. It’s because we’re not being like the Sea of Galilee and receiving.

Receive the One who comes. You’ll be blessed with all the blessings He has, just as the Jordan River flows into the Galilee.

They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Savior. Psalm 24:5

Open up your heart, mind, soul, and strength today to let Jesus flow through every part of your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Casting…

There’s a Jewish ceremony called Tashlich. It takes place during the high holy days when observant Jews symbolically cast their sins into the water. Micah 7:19 says “You will cast away their sins into the sea.” Cast away is the word tashlich.

God wants to have mercy on us, to save and forgive us more than we want. He wants us to be free more than we want it. Salvation comes from God. So God’s the one who ultimately performs tashlich – He casts your sins into the sea of forgetfulness. It’s His work.

On the other hand, since God has cast away your sins, it doesn’t mean you don’t do anything. It means you do the same thing. He gives you the power and responsibility to cast your sins away from your life, their stain, their guilt, their habits, their presence, their remembrance and practice.

Cast away every trace as far as possible. God hasn’t only removed it. He’s cast it away as far as the east is from the west. You need to do the same. You have the charge, the call, and the power. So, start casting.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Make a list today of things you need to cast out. Then throw that list in the trash and declare that you will serve the Lord.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Zacchaeus Tree…

Zacchaeus was too short to see Jesus passing by, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree. Jesus commended him by going to his house and blessing it. Zacchaeus didn’t let his shortness stop him.

He was limited, but he’s remembered for not letting his shortcomings keep him from Jesus. He did whatever it took to get close to God.

You need to do the same. Don’t let anything stop you from drawing near to Him, whatever you have to do. Even if it means planning for the long term, ask yourself, “Will this action get me closer to God or lead me farther away?”

Then do whatever you have to do to get closer. You’ll be commended by God because it’s His will. He wants you to come closer, to overcome that obstacle, hindrance or that sin that separates you; ruling it out and other things in.

Closing the door on it and opening a new door to righteousness. Whatever you have to do, make the decision once and for all. God will honor it. Get running and climb that tree, because God is waiting to bless your house.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Today, base all your decisions on whether they will draw you closer to God. If the answer is no, go the other way.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Olah 2…

Proverbs 30:4 says, “Who has ascended into heaven and descended?” The word ascended in Hebrew is olah. The same root word is used in Genesis 22 when God tells Abraham to offer up his son as a burnt offering. The word for burnt offering here is olah. The olah is the whole offering because it ascends.

Jesus is the One who ascends or goes up. It says throughout the gospels that He’s going up to Jerusalem. Do you know where He’s going to? The Temple on Mount Moriah, the same mountain that Abraham offered up Isaac. He’s going up to become the offering that goes up.

That’s what it’s about. Jesus, the Son of God, went up by giving His whole life as an olah. By lowering Himself, He was exalted. If you want to go up in your life or ascend, then you need to offer your life, live sacrificially, give of yourself, die to your flesh.

The way to go up is to give yourself completely to God. That’s the olah offering. When you give yourself completely, everything you do will ascend as an olah to the heavenlies.

And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2

Seek today to live your life as an olah, a whole, total, complete sacrifice for God, ascending to the heavenlies.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed