Ed Christian's World

The Lions Roar…

Every believer is part of a fight against some kind of evil, temptation, habit, or situation. Scripture records that on the day of battle, God’s Spirit came upon His people. His Spirit came on Gideon, Samson, and Joshua and they fought their battle, overcame the enemy, and won.

The key is that they didn’t just fight their battles, they were filled with God’s presence in that battle, and so they won. You can’t fight evil by just fighting evil. You can only fight evil with the good, in the good, through the good, by the good, and for good.

Fight the darkness by being filled up with the light of God’s presence. Fight the flesh by being filled up with God’s Spirit. Remember, the great biblical warriors never just fought their enemies, they fought in, by, and through the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit.

Stop dwelling on your conflict, what’s against you, and what you’re against. Start getting filled up with the good. In that, you will overcome, and you will emerge from your battle victoriously.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

Before you fight your battles or deal with your problems today, receive from God the anointing for victory.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always

Ed

The Active Kind Of Holy…

The Pharisees had a problem with Jesus going to the house of Matthew. The word Pharisee comes from the Hebrew word kedoshim, which means separated ones. Their holiness was about staying separate from the unholy.

There are two kinds of holiness. One that stays away from the unholy, and the other kind that cleanses the unclean and makes it clean. Jesus’s holiness touches the unholy and makes it holy. He came to earth to touch the sick- the lepers, the untouchables- and heal them.

Many religious people are scared of touching the unholy because they’re afraid they will become unholy as well. Jesus’s holiness is so great that It’s not content to leave evil alone, or let the dark stay, but to shine the light in the dark and make the darkness light. It’s so holy that It makes everything around become holy.

That’s what It’s about. So have nothing to do with sin, keeping your heart free of the slightest trace of sin, but have everything to do with the unholy people, the lost and unsaved, because the truly holy do not fear the dark- they light it up.

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.  Luke 19:10

Don’t fear the dark today. Instead, illuminate it, touch it, overwhelm it, share the Gospel with it, and transform it with the presence of God.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Dawn, The Moon, and The Sun…

The Song of Solomon speaks of the bride as the moon but finishes by speaking of her as the sun. The final picture and mystery of the bride goes from moonlight to sunshine.

The moon and the sun are two different kinds of light. The moon is a light that shines conditionally. There has to be nothing blocking its face, nothing hiding it from the sun. The sun shines regardless of where it’s facing, or anything blocking it, because its nature is to shine.

We are the bride and we are still in the moon phase. We’re rejoicing, but our joy is conditional. The real victory comes when you move from the moon stage to the sun stage. It’s when your joy moves from being conditional to becoming unconditional.

You praise not just when things are good, but when things look terrible – at all times. You shine not just because things are shining around you, you shine because you are a light.

That’s what a light does – it shines. You’re the bride, and the bride begins as fair as the moon but ends as bright as the sun.

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.  Daniel 12:3

Commit to being the light of Jesus today and shine like the sun!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

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