Ed Christian's World

The Jewish Superman…

Is it possible that somehow Superman is linked to the Bible and Jewish history? Superman was created in the late 1930s by two Jewish high school kids in New York City.

It was during this time that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were threatening to destroy the Jewish people. In the comics Superman actually fought the Nazis and defended the Jews.

It seems like Superman’s creators had come up with a substitute for Jesus, a savior. Superman is a testimony of our need for Jesus. It was Jesus who was to defend Israel; to be the Shepherd of Israel, not Superman.

Without Him, Israel has been like sheep without a shepherd, to be devoured by the wolves of this world. The Jewish people still need only Jesus.

The same with us. Whenever we turn away from our Shepherd, we’re in trouble. No matter what we have, we’re still empty. Draw near to Him, He’s the only true Shepherd. Jesus, the Shepherd of your soul and of the need of your heart. That’s better than any superman.

I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. Isaiah 43:11

Today trust Him to keep His Word and defend you. Call on Him in your time of trouble, in your time of need and allow Him to rescue you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Master of Perfections…

Jesus said, “Be ye perfect.” The word for Perfect in Hebrew is Shalom. It not only means perfect, but complete. To become perfect you have to become complete. When you’re complete, you’re not looking out for yourself anymore.

Completeness is a matter of drawing near to God. The more He is with you and you with Him, the more you will become complete. When you get past yourself, you can be overflowing, and even more, you can overflow. The more complete you are, the more you don’t live in need.

You are free to give, to be generous and not selfish. Jesus was completely perfect and offered up His whole life. Follow the example He gave us. He wasn’t looking out for Himself. He offered Himself up.

In the same way, the less you live in need, the less selfish you are. The more you live to give and to love, the more perfect you are. Give and live a life of loving and giving, and you’ll become in Jesus, perfect, and complete.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38

Let the Lord make you more complete today. Ask Him to show you an area in your heart that needs to be more generous. Invite Him to fill that place to overflowing with His perfection.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Sacred Ceasing…

When we think of the Sabbath, a day of peace comes to mind. In Hebrew, Sabbath comes from the word Shabbat. It is a verb; a doing word. It means to cease.

As with other verbs, it is something you choose to do. You choose to pray, to eat, and to read. The same goes for choosing to cease. Jesus is the Lord of the Shabbat and gives you the power in Him to choose to cease from the old life; old sin. In ceasing from the old, we have peace.

That’s when we find Shabbat. You can have peace at all times when you choose to cease striving, cease from your ego, cease from your flesh, from your worries, from your fears – and rest in God.

When you die to self, there’s peace. That’s when the Sabbath comes. For the peace of the Sabbath, like the joy of the Lord, and the blessings of God aren’t dependent on any of your circumstances, but on the Lord of the Sabbath and on the choice of your heart.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Today, no matter what’s happening around you, choose to relax and cease from striving. Surrender all to Jesus and allow Him to show Himself to be God. Rest in His peace and love for you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Script and The Heart…

A man who wants to be a good husband can learn how to act like one by knowing all the right things to say. “I love you. That dress looks good on you. Did you lose weight?” Problem is he’s doing it all by role, he’s acting; it’s not authentic.

This is how many believers appear to God when it comes to saying and doing the right thing. They’re living this way because they have to, they’re supposed to.

Let us now consider a man who has true love in his heart for his wife. Doing and saying the right things will come easily. He’ll be a good husband naturally. So it is when you have the love of God in your heart.

Follow God’s commandments with pleasure. There is no greater joy than the joy that comes from pleasing God because you love Him.

In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:3-4

Your words and actions will not be dictated by rules and laws. Your Christian walk won’t be an act because you’ll be living from a heart that holds genuine love for God. Your motivation and your life will be true. You’re God’s child for real. Fulfill the will of God by living from the heart of God.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Bereans

The Apostle Paul, went to Berea and preached. The Bible says the Bereans were noble. They received the word. The Greek word here for noble is eugenees. We get the word Eugene and eugenics from it. “Eu” means well and “genees” means genes or genetics – good genes or well – born.

It’s translated into noble, of good birth. Most of the people in Berea weren’t nobility. They weren’t rich or powerful. In fact, there were probably a lot of very poor people. So how are they of good birth or good genes?

When we become born again, we become someone who is born of a good birth. The Bereans received the word, which made them noble. When you receive the word you become born again.

You become a true noble man or woman. You’re to live a noble life, a life of integrity and dignity, because you’re born of God. You’re of good stock, as well-born as it gets, so live that way. Live a life of nobility, because you’re a noble person in the Lord.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

Since you’re a child of God, act like your Father, walk in His ways of love. Show dignity and respect for yourself and others today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Overshadower…

The Hebrew scriptures speak of Jesus coming at the sunrise. Isaiah 60:1 says, “Arise, shine; for your light has come.” In Malachi, “The Son of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.”

What happens when the sun rises? When the sun rises, everything else, every other light fades away. The moon becomes like a faded ghost. The stars disappear. That’s who Jesus is – He’s the One who overshadows everything else.

If we turn to Jesus and see Him in His glory, if you see God face to face, everything else fades away because it’s so brilliant. That means your problems will fade away. Your worries will fade away. Your sins will fade away.

Let Him overshadow everything else. Let His love overshadow your fears; His beauty overshadow the world around you; His joy oveshadow your temptations; His righteousness overshadow your sin, and His presence overshadow even your very life.

Get so caught up in seeing Him who is the sunrise that the rest fades away. And when the rest fades away, then you are really seeing Him.

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Malachi 4:2

Today turn your heart, mind and focus to the sunrise of the Lord and let His light and love overshadow every thing else.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always

Ed

The Holy Lawbreaker…

Jonah had an amazing ministry even though he didn’t even want it. He gave the worst message you can give and what happened? Revival broke out. The whole city got saved. Jonah, the man who rejected his calling, wanted nothing to do with God’s call on his life, became the most successful missionary in history.

This teaches us something very important. It’s not about us, it’s about God. If Jonah, who hated his calling, did everything he could to get out of it, became the most successful minister in history, then how much more can you do? You haven’t run away or been swallowed by a fish.

The point is, it’s not your power or abilities that’s going to fulfill your ministry. It’s the power and ability of God. It’s just your yes. Get God into every part of your life and go for it. Because if God can fulfill the calling of Jonah who did everything he could to prevent it, how much more will He do for you.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Surrender to God’s will for your life today. Trust that God is able to fulfill His purpose for you by His power that is at work in you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Inbred Christianity…

Royal families of Europe only associated with and married each other. This led them to becoming inbred. It’s not healthy to intermarry. Families become weaker and vulnerable to diseases.

Likewise, a congregation can become inbred. What is meant by this? It happens when it has no relation any more to the outside world. It has its own Christian churchy culture.

In the same way, if you get so into Christian culture, you can lose the Lord and actually become weaker. You will actually segregate yourself from the very world that needs your influence the most.

If you’re not stepping out, not taking new ground for the Lord, advancing the Gospel or sharing with unbelievers, you are at risk of becoming inbred. You can forget where you came from and what the whole point was.

It’s the fallow ground that bears the most fruit. The power of the Gospel is to go forth. Get out of your comfort zone and begin transforming the areas that haven’t been touched yet. Let’s face it–becoming inbred isn’t good for the royal children of Europe and it’s certainly not good for the royal children of God.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16

Step out in God today. Ask Him to put people in your path that need to hear about salvation and the love of Jesus. Ask Him for the right words to say. He will help you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Minding Your Mind…

We treat our thought life as if it’s something that just happens. The Bible says, “Take every thought captive.” This tells us that God has given us the ability to have charge over our thought life. You have the ability to bind and loose them, cut them off and lead them in the right direction.

But what if it’s just something you feel? “I can’t control my feelings,” you might say. In Hebrew, one of the words for feelings is “lev,” which also means “mind, thoughts.” So don’t confuse your emotions and your thoughts. They are the same thing.

God has given you the power to lead your thoughts, emotions and feelings – take all of it captive. It’s not the end of the story, it’s the beginning of the story. When you despair and say, “I can’t help it. It’s just the way I feel.” counteract this and say “But I’m not going to be stuck with it,”

David asked, “Why are you so downcast?” He told his heart what to do. Start leading your thoughts. As Jesus leads you, you’ll have the power to lead them. It starts when you take every thought captive.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Cast down negative thoughts and invite Jesus to be exalted over your mind today. Feelings can deceive us, but God’s Word never will.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Removing Training Wheels…

When I was little, I had a bike with training wheels and wanted to learn how to ride. My sister tried to teach me, but the bike kept falling. One day I decided it was about time I learned to ride a bike. I took out the two-wheel bike, pedaled once, then two times, three pedals, and then I was riding all over the neighborhood. It was time.

God wants you to grab that bike and ride – to go to a new level. You might be afraid. You might have fallen down in the past, crashed, messed up in the Lord. You might have always had failure in one area of your life and you’re scared that you’re going to continue with a walk of failure.

The Lord says it’s time to put away the training wheels, put aside the old stuff that you shouldn’t be into anymore. You need to grow up in the Lord. It’s time to say enough is enough. It’s been too long. It’s time to break through, rise to new things, step out, take God seriously and rise to the call. It’s time to ride.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15

Do you have that burning desire to accomplish more for God? Then be active in your goal to grow and mature spiritually.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed