Ed Christian's World

God’s Invisible Hand…

In the Book of Esther, even though the name of God isn’t mentioned even once the presence of God is evident in every event; though seeming at times to be out of control, exactly on track, guided by the hand of God.

There are times when we don’t feel assured of His presence in the events of our lives. The fact is, even when you can’t see or feel Him, He’s there.When it seems as if He’s abandoned you, He’s always faithful.

Even when Jesus cried out, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me, God wasn’t absent; it was God crying out. When you cry out, -Where are you God?- God cries out with you.

We know the God of Exodus, of Judgments, Miracles, Passovers, Red Seas, and thundering Mountains, but we also need to know the God of the Book of Esther.

He’s the One who may seem absent in our moments of crisis but is there in every event, speaking in the invisible burning bushes; moving in the quiet Passovers and bringing His people the Promised Land through hidden Red Seas.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

When you don’t feel His presence, speak the Word over yourself – my God will never leave me or forsake me.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Hadassah The Evergreen…

Esther’s real name was Hadassah. Hadassah comes from the Hebrew word “Hadas” which means myrtle; a thick green bush which grows on the high places of Israel, with fragrant leaves and flowers used for perfume. No matter what the season or circumstance, it’s always green.

What a beautiful name for the woman we know as Esther. She was also planted on a high place – the throne of Persia. She entered the king’s presence perfumed. In the end, she didn’t let circumstances determine her life but proved faithful to who she was in Israel and in God.

You too are to be a myrtle in the Lord; bear sweet fragrance all the days of your life, not determined by circumstances, but by who you are in God and who He is in you. Bear God’s fruits in season and out of season.

Dwell in the high places of God, filled with His presence, and you’ll overcome the world and every problem and circumstance. Don’t let a day go by without dwelling in His presence, and your life will be like the myrtle and your walk evergreen.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

Take time today to be in His presence – be evergreen.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

There’s Nobody Home…

Some people have answering machines that say, -I’m sorry, I’m not home right now,- when in truth, they’re sitting next to the machine listening and screening the callers, deciding whether or not to answer.

The problem is that we do the same thing with God. God’s calling us and we don’t answer, pretending that we’re not home. What does -I have a calling’ mean? You can’t have a calling unless someone is calling you.

If God is calling you, then you need to answer Him and step out. Repent; do whatever you must do to obey. Take the first step of your journey- He’s calling you. You’ve heard His voice in your heart, in the tugging of your spirit. It’s His Spirit on your spirit.

Don’t just sit there, letting it pass you by- answer the call of God and say, -I’m sorry, I’m home, I’m here, I do hear you, and the answer is yes. I repent.- The call of God is too important to let it pass you by and end up on a spiritual answering machine.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20

Listen today for His voice, His whispers, and His calling and answer it right away.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

He Makes You Kosher…

Rabbis oversee the certifying of kosher food and making sure that it’s clean. Yeshua, Jesus was a rabbi. But He is not just a rabbi, He’s the greatest Rabbi – He’s the Rabbi of the universe, the cosmic Rabbi. He’s so great, He takes what’s not kosher and makes it kosher.

We’re all un-kosher, even the best of us are unclean and unholy, but the amazing thing is that Jesus takes us and declares us kosher. He takes the depressed and he declares them joyful.

He takes the failures and declares them victorious, the guilty He declares innocent, the messed up He declares perfect. Jesus declares you kosher. Believe it even before you see it, because you may not look like it.

Your life may still look messed up, but believe Him. You may not look holy, but through Jesus’s blood, you are made holy. It’s about Him, the Rabbi of rabbis. Before you see it, it will be.

He has declared you kosher. Live like it, think like it, act like it, live a kosher life because you have now become rabbinically approved.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. 1 Peter 1:15

Look at yourself in the mirror today and tell yourself who you are in Jesus.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Leaving The World Behind Me…

Newton’s Law of Motion states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion. A falling rock will keep falling until it’s stopped by something else; an object sent into outer space will keep going until it’s stopped by another object.

This law can be applied to the spiritual realm. If you’ve been doing something for years – gossiping, lusting, losing your temper, and trying to stop – you tend to keep doing it. To stop the sins of this world, there must be something or someone from outside this world – God, Jesus, the cross.

You can’t change your life by your life; you change your life by His life. The more you get into the life of Jesus, the more you get into His love, His holiness, His presence, the more you’ll change your life.

The life of Jesus, the motion of Jesus, is the only One who can really change your life, and He will when you let Him become everything to you – for an object in motion will stay in motion unless it encounters Him.

For in Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Colossians 2:9

Invite Jesus into everything you do today and let His presence, His Spirit, and His motion move you and change your path.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

We His Body…

There’s a lot of focus spent on ‘body life’ in the Lord- seminars, support ministries, Christian services, music, books, and culture that are all aimed to nourish and meet the needs of the body. That can be good and some of its necessary.

But if we’re His body on earth, then how did the body of Jesus dwell on earth? Despite what some people believe, He wasn’t rich. He didn’t have a place to lay His head. He existed on earth to meet the needs of others.

If we ‘as His body’ are existing to bless ourselves, if our Christian culture is only to bless Christians and not to bless those outside the body, judging smugly the rest of the world while retreating into our own little body-life world, then we’re becoming a self-indulgent body; arrogant and focused on our own needs.

That’s not the body of Jesus. If we’re His body, we must reach out beyond ourselves – heal the sick, preach to the poor, help the needy, and set the captives free. Yes, we’re the body, but the body of Jesus came in bodily form to bless the world.

To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:16

Be His hands and feet today – touch those around you with Jesus.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Scripture On Scripture…

Hebrews 2:1 says, “For this reason, we must pay much closer attention.” It’s scripture telling us to pay closer attention to scripture. In other words, it doesn’t matter how much attention you’re paying to scripture – you need to pay more close attention.

No matter how great you think salvation is, there’s always more. No matter how great you think God is, He’s greater. No matter how amazing you think He is, He’s even more amazing. No matter how much attention you’re paying to God, you need to pay more, to seek Him more.

You need to spend more time with Him, to be growing more in Him. You need to love Him more, praise Him more, know Him more, believe Him more, trust Him more, thank Him more, rejoice in Him more and serve Him more. Obey, worship and glorify Him more.

Are you paying close attention? Pay closer attention. Because even the scripture that tells you to pay attention is telling you to pay even closer attention. God is more, salvation is greater, and Messiah is more awesome. Also, ‘more’ is what God has in store for you.

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. Psalm 71:14

Pay close attention as you read the word today, and then pay closer attention.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Lessons From The Lemon Tree…

If you put a lemon tree on a hill, in a valley, city, countryside, or next to an apple tree, it still produces lemons. It’s our nature to focus on our circumstances, personal life, work life, or financial life, but Jesus doesn’t focus on those things.

Your circumstance has little to do with the walk God called you to. Salvation is unconditional. Jesus won’t ask you about your circumstances on the Day of Judgment. He came that you might bear fruit. If you abide in Him, you’ll bear fruit, and that’s God’s will for your life.

It doesn’t matter if you’re on the mountain or in the valley, if people love you or hate you. You bear fruit not because of what’s around you, but because of what’s inside of you. This world, with all its circumstances – good and bad – can’t stop you from bearing fruit.

Learn from the lemon tree: bear your fruit no matter what, because He loves you. His love is unconditional, so your fruit should be unconditional. Fruit doesn’t come because of circumstance. It comes because of the tree.

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Matthew 3:8

Today, practice bearing the fruit of the Spirit in every place, time, situation, and circumstance unconditionally.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

A Prince Of Another Kind…

Most of us grew up with fairy tales. Many people are disappointed with life, living in heartbreak, sorrow, mourning, and bitterness, because their life didn’t turn out “happily ever after.”

But life isn’t a fairy tale and Jesus isn’t prince charming. He’s the Sar Hayim, the Prince of Life. You aren’t saved by this life; you’re saved by Him, the true Prince. He turned out to save you.

He overcame death, sin, evil, and the grave, and if you’ll stop living according to how life turns out and start living like He turned out, you’ll be blessed. His loving kindness is better than life, and that is the victory.

I have good news for you. Your life isn’t a fairy tale. You don’t have to be miserable; you can be blessed. Scripture doesn’t speak about living happily ever after. It speaks about rejoicing always.

That’s unconditional. So stop looking for prince charming, he doesn’t exist. Start learning to be a disciple of the Prince of Life, and you won’t live happily ever after, but you can live rejoicing always, and that’s even better – a life of unstoppable joy.

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. Psalm 31:7

Gain the victory today by rejoicing in your Prince of Life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always

Ed

Heaven Down Here…

As many of you know, I am constantly telling you to stay focused on Jesus and let the world go by. I also push 1 Corinthians 13 a lot because it is the love chapter of the Bible and, to me, one of the most important passages in the Bible, along with Psalm 23.

I often hear people ponder about what heaven must be like and complain about how hard life is here on Earth. So today, I am going to talk about my life a bit, tell you about Heaven here on Earth, and explain how these chapters help us as Christians to live our life as we are in Heaven.

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. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

So maybe we should take a real close look at the 1 Corinthians 13 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, and always perseveres. God never fails.

The 23rd chapter of Psalm is one of the most quoted in the bible. But, have you really looked closely at it to see how it fits our everyday life?

The Lord is my shepherd and makes sure I have everything I need. Without Him, I would be lost.
He gives me a green pasture for which to graze and sleep. He provides still water for me to drink. In case you didn’t know, lambs won’t drink from moving water. He restores my soul: He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. He provides guidance in all circumstances, if we ask. He offers me comfort and protection so that I have nothing to fear. He is always there to watch over me. He stands with me in the presence of my enemies. He covers me with His love and blessings and my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy follow me everywhere, and He has prepared a place for me in His house for me to live forever.

As Christians, we are to love all as we love ourselves so as we live our lives with love and have faith that the Lord is watching our every step, we the realize the joy of our Lord is our strength. Dwell in His holy presence, and center yourself in His will. His blessings will flow. Serve Him with a joyful heart and again; rejoice.

Many times, I am asked how I stay so positive when it seems like the world is crushing in on me. I have always responded that life is a choice, and I can choose to be negative or positive for all the challenges. I always choose the positive, knowing that He is right here beside me and knows what is waiting around the corner.

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

A life of love.. It is here, the very essence of life, where life itself takes on a whole new meaning. Harmony, love, trust, and faith in, with and around your fellow man step up and take a leading role in the meaning of everyday life. It takes a unique balance of all of these to maintain human relations in our complex world. The pressures put on us by our social peers, for lack of a better word, tend to drive us all in opposing directions from the center of life’s true meaning.

Eternal life does not begin with death; it begins with faith.

In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
Proverbs 3:6,

Let us live our lives full of love for all and share our blessing along the way. Then we will see that the world is not collapsing on us and the Lord is always at least one step ahead of us.

This is my life of peace and grace. Join me and learn how to live free of the world.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always

Ed