Ed Christian's World

The Sword of Jehoshaphat…

God tells King Jehoshaphat that his army is to go into battle led by singers, praising and worshiping Him. The enemy comes with weapons, shields, and chariots, but the army of Israel comes out singing, praising and worshiping God.

Imagine going into battle against heavily armed people ready to kill you and you have nothing but songs and your faith. So what happened? The armies that came against them became confused and ended up destroying themselves.

God’s people did nothing but worship Him. Praise and worship isn’t just a nice thing, it’s a powerful weapon. Do you want to win your battle, beat the enemy in triumph, and come out of that problem stronger than ever?

Praise and worship the King! It’s more powerful than all the strategies in the world. Get out your voice and instruments and praise Him even in the battle – especially in the battle!

Then the enemy won’t know what to do and you will end up being victorious – as victorious as the army, or worship band, of Jehoshaphat.

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15

Face your battles today with the praise and worship of God on your lips and let Him confuse your enemies.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Prime Identity…

Traditionally, married women take the name of their husband. Even in cultures where they had no last names, the woman was still known by her husband’s identity.

As believers, we’re Jesus’s bride, and the bride must take the name of her husband. In a sense, we already have it. The word Messianic, or Christian, is basically the bride or the church, wearing the name of her husband.

Deeper than that, it means that as a bride, you bear the identity of your husband. It doesn’t matter who you once were. You now have the new identity of Jesus. That’s the sign you’re married.

You don’t live as you used to live, defeated. You live as someone who’s blessed, victorious, innocent, righteous, pure, and beautiful in God. That’s who He is, and that’s what you received in Him. It’s not a prideful thing. It’s a simple married thing.

Take the name of Jesus. Wear it – it is your privilege, your blessing, your calling as a bride. Be beautiful, holy, and blessed in Him. It’s the blessing of the bride to wear the bridegroom’s name.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  Galatians 2:20

Immerse yourself in Jesus’s identity today so that everyone around you will see you as His beautiful bride.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Poem Of God…

Behind Eastern religion and the new age belief system is a foundation that says everything is god and this universe is just a dream of a sleeping god who forgot that he was god.

The Bible declares that all creation is God’s work. In Greek, the word is poema, from which we get the word poem. God’s not asleep.

In a sense, He’s the Poet of existence. Scripture says that, “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”. We aren’t God and that’s a good thing. If we were God, or if God were asleep, how could we ever hope to be saved or find anything better?

God is awake! He’s filled with thoughts of love for you, right now. Because He’s awake, He’s able to awaken us out of our sleep. This universe is no dream or accident. This universe is the poem of God, created with every intention for your life to be a work of beauty.

You can only find it by knowing the poet of existence in whose love your life can become – not the dream, but the poem of a living God.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!  Psalm 145:10

Instead of trying to produce the works of God, focus on living and becoming His work.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always

Ed

The Other Germs…

Germ warfare has been around for centuries. We’re in a war against an enemy that sows a different type of germ or seed – seeds of thoughts, words, bitterness, envy, slander, fault finding, and accusations – to spread through the camp of God’s army, which then produces more seeds.

The seeds of gossip start in the heart and mind, then come on the tongue and spreads to others like a spiritual virus to make sick the soldiers of God. You wouldn’t want to hang around someone with a deadly disease.

In the same way, if you hang around someone who is negative all the time, you could be struck with spiritual diseases. Satan wants you spiritually incapacitated, and ultimately, spiritually dead. He’s the first gossiper. When he was in the garden, he gossiped about God. All gossip and slander comes from the dragon’s mouth.

So fight those negative thoughts, words of slander, and gossip. Take a strong stand against it, as much as you would fight off the germs of a deadly disease that would seek to kill you. In the end, it’s all germ warfare.

All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.  Isaiah 41:12-13

Fight those negative thoughts and words by meditating on and speaking God’s word.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Ending The Vaccuum…

How do you remove air from a cup? The simple way is to fill it with water. You could get a vacuum machine and try to suck all the air out, but you could end up destroying the cup.

How do you get sin out of your life? We try to stop doing it – and that’s good – but it’s not enough. It’s a vacuum – something else will come in. You try to stop thinking, angry or bitter thoughts, or try not to worry, and then it comes back again.

The key is that the focus isn’t the sin. It’s like trying to remove air from a cup with a vacuum and crushing the whole thing. How did God remove sin from this world? He did it by coming in by putting in His presence.

How do you take away sin from your life? By filling it up with the presence of God. Like a cup, fill your life up with His peace, joy, blessings, and Spirit. Get God into everything, and sin will get out of everything. It’s as simple as pouring water into a cup.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Allow God’s Spirit to fill your life with His presence today and wash away all that is not of Him.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Every.God.Has It’s Alter…

At the time of Israel’s apostasy, the land was filled with altars for sacrifices to false gods. Even when the people were in rebellion to God and living in sin, they still offered sacrifices, because a god is that which you sacrifice for.

In your life, what is your God? You might say, “My God is God”. Ask yourself, what are the things that you are sacrificing for? Are you sacrificing for success, money, comfort, pleasure, sin, lust, yourself, your reputation, or your glory? What are you spending your time, energy, joy, dreams, and thoughts on?

Those are your offerings. What are you really sacrificing for? If it’s not God, there are other gods in your life and all those other gods in the end will take from you, drain you, and bring you destruction. They’re focused on receiving your sacrifice, but there’s only One God who sacrificed Himself and died for you.

Stop sacrificing to those false gods in your life. Offer your best to the only God who deserves it because He gave you His best. Go and do likewise.

“You shall have no other gods before me.” It is the first commandment and is considered the foundation for all other commandments.  Exodus  10:3

Are you in any way serving and sacrificing to something that’s not God? Stop and present your body as a living sacrifice to your Lord.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always

Ed

The Great Physician…

Did you ever wonder why so many doctors are Jewish? The Jewish people were called to bring redemption to the world. That means healing. There’s a concept in Judaism called tikun olam, meaning bringing healing or redemption to the world. That’s the Jewish mission.

It’s no accident that they became people of healing. In fact, some of the greatest advances in medicine and the healing of many diseases have come through them. That’s good news for you. Jesus is the greatest Jewish doctor in the universe.

It’s no accident that one of His central missions is healing. You have a Jewish doctor, the greatest One who ever lived. He will deal with every single thing in your life as a specialist. You’ll never get a bill, and He makes house calls.

Whatever you need for healing, wholeness, your completion, your well-being – spiritual, emotional, and physical – bring it to Him.

Whatever your wounds or your pain, bring it to Him, let Him see it, let Him touch it, and let Him bring you your healing because you have the best Jewish doctor ever.

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.  Proverbs 4:20-22

Bring your wounds to Jesus today and let Him touch them and bring you your healing.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

His Secret Agents…

We think of the word Christian as a religious term. The word comes from Christianos, which was given to believers in Antioch. It wasn’t a religious term, but used to refer to Jesus’s people, party, or partisans in the same way that they would speak of Ceasar or Herod’s partisans.

Political parties try to affect the world and change things. We are Jesus’s party. More than anything, we’re to be affecting and changing the world. Unlike the political parties of the world, we have the true power to change it.

We’re the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and if you’re not affecting the world, you’re not doing your job. Are you leaving circumstances better, worse, or just the same as when you entered?

We’re Jesus’s partisans, His party, His people, His agents on earth. We have the potential and power to make a difference. You have the power to change your circumstances, your homes, your neighborhoods, your family, your relationships, and your world.

The Lord made you different so you could make a difference. You are Jesus’s partisan, an agent of change.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  1 Peter 2:10

Be Jesus’s agent of change. Make a difference in your world and the lives of those around you today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Huppah Children…

In the Gospels, we’re called friends of the bridegroom. That Greek term means children of the bridal chamber, which is a translation of the Hebrew idiom Bnei HaChuppah, meaning children of the huppah. Huppah is the wedding canopy over the bride and groom.

The children of the huppah are those who are closest to the bridegroom. If you’re born again, you’re a child of the huppah, one who is close to the bridegroom.

Most bridegrooms are joyfully looking forward to the wedding. The closer you get to them, the more joy, excitement, and blessing you have.

There are many believers who claim to be close to Jesus, but they don’t have joy or excitement. The true children of the huppah are those believers who are filled with joy, love, and excitement.

If you find that lately you don’t have a lot of joy, get your eyes off yourself and get close to the Bridegroom. When you get really close to the Bridegroom, you won’t be able to hold back the joy, love, and excitement of the Bridegroom. It will fill your heart and life as a child of the huppah.

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. John 3:29

Draw closer to your Heavenly Bridegroom today, spend quiet time in His Huppah, the Marriage Chamber.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The End-time Olive Harvest…

When the autumn harvest of Israel draws to a close and reaches its final month of Elul, the harvest of the olive begins. The olive tree is a symbol of Israel.

Romans 11 speaks of Israel as an olive tree of the day when it’s going to blossom together when the Jewish people come back to Jesus.

That’s happening now. It’s the time of the olive tree, beginning to blossom. The harvest is nearing its end. When that happens, it’s the ending of the age. Olive oil is also a symbol of God’s Spirit.

The end-times are marked by the Jewish people coming back to Jesus and the outpouring of God’s Spirit. It’s no accident that in the same age in which Israel is coming back, God’s Spirit is being poured out all throughout the nations.

It means that the last days aren’t just times of trouble but of the olive, redemption, and God’s Spirit. Pray for the redemption of Israel and live, move, walk, and shine in His Spirit. It’s a great combination, for the end days are the days of the olive.

The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  Matthew 25:4

Invite God to pour His Spirit over you like oil today and pray for the redemption of Israel.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed