Ed Christian's World

Ministering To Others…

When I was a new believer, I was asked to minister to a young woman who was a Satan worshiper. I asked her, “Why would you worship Satan?” She said that she figured if she worshiped him, then hell wouldn’t be a bad place to go, but a blessing. She saw Satan as a kind of noble rebel and wanted to side with the underdog. She was confused, but beneath it all, her longing was for God.

There’s no greater underdog than Jesus, who was put on trial as a rebel, killed by the rulers of this world, crucified and laid in a tomb. There has never been a greater underdog than that. She ended up receiving Jesus as her Lord.

When Paul was in Athens, he found the altar to the unknown God. Even in such a pagan place, there was a longing, an opening for God. Even in the darkest place, in the most ungodly soul, there’s always an opening for God. So never give up! Search for it, and you’ll find it, for there’s always an altar to the unknown God – even for those Satan worshipers.
Declare his glory among the nations,his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Psalm 96:3

Today, ask for wisdom and then search for an opening to share the love of God with someone who needs it.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Reverence And Respect…

Hello Grandfather, how are them bones? This was what we said as a sign of reverence and respect for our elders when I was growing up.

The Bible clearly stated that we are to show reverence to God and the things that represent Him. We apparently live in a society that is becoming more and more disrespectful. Our culture teaches that no one is above another. Children are not honoring their parents or anyone else in authority. Are believers treating God as “common” today?

Reverence and respect go hand and hand and are often used interchangeably. Reverence carries an idea of worship and therefore is more appropriately used in our relationship with God and everything associated with Him. His ministers are often referred to as reverend. We don’t worship human beings, of course, but we should respect our spiritual leaders because they are God’s representatives to us.

Children should be taught to honor and obey their parents and authority figures and by doing so, it shows respect for them. Showing honor and respect is more than just verbal expressions, it is a daily process of acting and displaying appreciation, worth, honor and following their suggestions or wishes because they hold a position very dear to that person.

While many of our older adults display reverence and respect for church sanctuaries and facilities, one should teach their children the same qualities. We show respect, reverence and freedom to worship God whenever we enter and participate in the sanctuary. Children need to learn the importance of understanding why we show reverence and respect inside the church because we honor God. A time to play or talk should be conducted outside the church.

The church membership should be concerned about the appearance and maintenance of the building as well as with treatment inside “God’s House”. Whenever a church does not show concern for their building, they usually don’t have much concern for God.

Reverence and respect for the things of God can be easily taught and lived out in our daily Christian lives. The Bible instructs us to be witnesses or examples to the whole world, including those inside and outside of our church. Jesus showed respect and reverence towards God as well as the temple. Behavior in the sanctuary should always be respectful and show reverence towards God. He is the reason why we are there and He is the reason why we have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Cause And Effect…

It was a cool desert night. The sky above us was stunning in its clarity. It’s deep black background made visible a vast multitude of stars, which in some places were so small and many that they fused into a white mist.

Grandfather was gazing upward as he spoke: In the beginning, he said, was the Word… and the Word was with God… and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. Imagine that. All things came into existence through the Word… The earth, the oceans, the moon, the sun, the stars, the galaxies, and the universe itself, all came into being through the Word. And what is the Word? he asked.

The Word of God, I responded.

Yes, said Grandfather, but in the original language, the word for word is logos. Logos also means the cause.

All things came into being through Him…the Cause of all things. The Logos caused the universe to come into existence. Therefore, the existence of the universe rests on the existence of the Logos.

Grandfather gazed at the ground, then up again at the sky.

But the cosmos is fallen, he said. The world is darkened by evil and this life by sin. And the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us… The Logos became flesh and blood. Why? Because only that which is flesh can die for our sins. Who died on the cross?

Jesus died on the cross, I replied.

Jesus is the Logos. It was the Logos that died on the cross. The Logos was crucified. That means the Word was crucified. The Cause of everything was crucified. If the Cause is crucified, nullified, then too is the effect. The effect is nullified. It disappears. If Logos dies, the cosmos is nullified…the old world dies…the old life dies, the fallen past dies and the old you dies.

If the Cause of existence is removed, then all the sins of your life are brought out of existence, as if they never existed in the first place. So for all who are in Jesus, the old is gone. They become new as it is written: If anyone is in Jesus, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come! For the Cause has been crucified.

The Cause has died, and with it, your old life. So stop letting the past effect you. Live free today in the newness of having no past.

Walk daily with God at your side!!

Love always,

Ed

The Jewish Sabbath Mystery…

Here is a mystery concerning the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the appointed Holy day that the Jewish people gather on to honor God. It doesn’t come at the beginning of the week – or in the middle of the week. The Sabbath comes at the end of the week on the seventh day.

In just this alone is a profound mystery. The Jewish people will come to the Lord, they will return to Him. But it will not happen at the beginning of the age, nor in the middle of the age. It will happen at the end of the age.

The Jewish people will return to God as a whole, and to their Messiah, Yeshua, at the end of the age. When they come to the Lord, then the world will know the Sabbath.

Their coming to the Messiah ushers in the Age of the Sabbath, the Millennium. So don’t be discouraged if your Jewish friends are not yet coming to Jesus. They will. And the fact that the fight is so great is because the stakes are so high. Keep witnessing. Keep praying. For when they come, the Sabbath comes.

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Hebrews 4:9-10

Today, keep witnessing and keep praying for the Jewish people to come to Jesus.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

And The Two Shall Be One…

I’m sure Grandfather had a different lesson planned for that day, but I was the one who initiated the lesson. I have a question, I said, How does one live up to the standards of God? How does one attain such high standards?

One doesn’t, he said.

What do you mean?

One doesn’t do it…as you think. How could you?, Grandfather responded.

I don’t understand, I said.

Who could live up to the standards of God?, he said

I responded, the godly?

No, said Grandfather, The only one who can live up to the standards of God… Is God. And the only one who can live the life of Jesus is Jesus. So how do you live up to His standards? How do you live a Godly life?

I didn’t answer.

There’s only one way — you let Him live it. You let God meet the standards of God. You let Jesus live the life of Jesus through you.

So, I said, Its Him not me.

It’s Him through you. It’s Him living His life …through your living your life in Him. In the Book of First Corinthians 3:9 it is written, ‘We are God’s fellow workers. You are Gods field, God’s building.’ But in the original language the words “fellow workers” are just one word – sunergos.

And what does it mean?, I asked.

Argos, replied Grandfather, means to act, to work, or to do. And sun means with or together. So sunergos means to act together, to work with, to move together or to do as one. That’s the key. It’s impossible for you to live the life of God. But it’s impossible for God not to live the life of God. So the key is not to live up to the standards of God, but to let God live out His life through you. It means to let God live in your living… as in His living, you live. It means to let God live in your loving… as, in His loving, you love.

It is through sunergos we get the word synergy. That’s the energy of salvation, the energy of God, and the energy of you flowing together as one…one energy, one motion, one life. As it is written, ‘Be strong…in the power of His might’ …sunergos. (Ephesians 6:10)

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9

Start living today in the synergy of God. Live in His moving, act in His acting and love in His loving…as one.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

An Omen…

For anyone who isn’t aware, Chick-fil-A is a chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in chicken and is owned by Christians who believe what the Bible says about creation, human nature, and marriage, namely that it involves a man and a woman.

This is hardly a controversial stand; it’s the basic, universal stand of human civilization for most of history. In an interview, Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy simply stated the obvious, that he believed marriage was between a man and a woman, but it caused a massive uproar. Chick-fil-A was spoken against, attacked, and boycotted around the country.

When ancient Israel fell away from God and embraced the ways of Baal, it undoubtedly began with a call for open-mindedness, tolerance of other ideas and practices, and an “everyone do your own thing” morality. But once the practices and powers associated with Baal worship ascended to power, it was a different story. It was no longer about tolerance. Tolerance was only a strategy to allow the “new morality” to enter in.

Once in, tolerance was done away with. Those in power now sought to force everyone to bow their knees to Baal while punishing anyone who still upheld the ways of God.

The Chick-fil-A controversy is a sign. When the fast food chain began exploring the possibility of opening up a restaurant in New York, politicians in the state spoke of stopping it. It couldn’t be allowed since the president had said that he believed marriage was between a man and a woman.

In recent days, the controversy has revived. As Chick-fil-A sought to open up a restaurant in the San Antonio airport, the city council of San Antonio voted to stop it from happening. Soon after, a similar event took place in the airport of Buffalo, New York, to block Chick-fil-A from opening there. Beyond the fact that the phenomenon of a governmental body blocking an enterprise from opening because it doesn’t agree with its views has been called unconstitutional, what was the Chick-fil-A’s crime?

Its crime was that it had in the past given donations to the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and a Christian home for troubled youth – and that these organizations did not embrace same sex relations or same sex marriage.

In other words, we have now reached the stage where governmental organizations are punishing Christian organizations and businesses for simply giving to Christian ministries that have Christian views – since the view that sexuality and marriage involve man and woman is a fundamental Christian view held by any true Christian believer or organizations.

Think about that. Every Christian Church in America is such an organization. So does that mean that soon you will be punished for tithing and giving to God in His house? It may. And if that time comes, we must obey God rather than man – and know that He will honor and uphold and bless all who do.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. Col 2:8

Do not cower. Do not be intimidated. These are biblical days. Live strongly, boldly, and powerfully as a biblical person. And may God greatly bless you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Titanic Fact?…

Some years back, the director of “The Titanic” called a press conference announcing a discovery that was supposed to shake the world and disprove the Gospel. What was it? The discovery of the “real tomb” of Jesus, full of the bones of Jesus and his family.

The media swarmed around it. It turned out that it was all based on the fact that there seemed to be an inscription reading, “Yeshua bar Yosef,” or “Jesus, son of Joseph.” Israeli archaeologists scoffed at the “revelation.” The fact is “Yeshua,” and “Yosef” were among the most common names in first-century Judea. It’d be as ludicrous as going through the records of everyone born in an American city named “Joe” with a son named “John” and concluding that they all had to be the same person.

The claims were dismissed and this “titanic theory,” promoted by the director of “The Titanic,’ hit its iceberg and promptly sank. It was just one of many attacks against the resurrection. The attack failed, the resurrection stands, and nothing will overcome it, or the one who walks in it.

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 1 Cor 15:21

Be confident and strong in the power of the resurrection, walk in it, and overcome!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Without Hesitation…

The Emancipation Proclamation officially abolished slavery in the South. It was brought to Abraham Lincoln’s desk on January 1, 1863. Lincoln picked up a pen, dipped it in ink, and unrolled the document. He was about to sign it when he hesitated.

He laid down his pen and did nothing for several minutes. His hand was tired, and he was afraid it might tremble as he signed the document and that his trembling would cause people to think that he hesitated in signing what would be the greatest act of his life. After resting his hand a few minutes, Lincoln again picked up his pen and wrote with a firm hand, “Abraham Lincoln.”

One of the secrets of living a life of greatness is not only doing what’s right, but doing what’s right with all your heart, without hesitation, or wavering.

The Bible tells us to do all things wholeheartedly. Therefore, whatever you can’t do with your whole heart – stop doing it. But, on the other hand, if something is right, then do it with all your heart, without hesitation or wavering and like Abraham Lincoln, with a very firm hand.

But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; considerwhat great things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24

Today, do what’s right in the sight of God with all your heart, all out, with full assurance, and without any hesitation.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Apocalypse of Palms…

Did you know, asked Grandfather, it took centuries for the land of Israel to be given back to the Jewish people? As the story goes, he continued, the land of Israel had been under the rule of the Islamic Ottoman Empire for four centuries. But being Muslim, the empire was hardly sympathetic with the idea of the Jewish people returning to the land of Israel. And yet the Bible said it would happen.

All Things…

We were out hiking in a large valley headed toward a mountain on the other side. Imagine, Grandfather said, you had to make your way across this valley to get to the mountains as fast as you could. But the valley is filled with soldiers, half dressed in white and half in black.

As you try to make your way across the valley, you discover the soldiers in white are there to help you across and get you to the mountain as quickly as possible. But you soon discover that soldiers in black are there for the opposite purpose. They battle the soldiers in white, resisting every step of advance. Finally, after a long and ardious battle, you make it across to the base of the mountain on the other side. The battle is over. It is then that you notice a strange thing, the soldiers in black begin removing their outer garments to reveal of white underneath.

The soldiers in black were really soldiers in white. The soldiers were all on the same side. And the ultimate goal wasn’t to bring you to the other side as fast as possible but to get you there at the exact time. And for that to happen, both the soldiers in white and the soldiers in black had to fulfill their mission. And though it looked like war, both sides were actually working together for your good. So then which side was against you?

Neither, I said, both were battling for my benefit.

Exactly, Grandfather replied, and so it is written in the Book of Romans that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” So, if you love God and belong to Him, He will work all things in your life together for good, the good and the evil, the beautiful and the ugly, the joyous and the sorrowful, the problems and the triumphs, all for your blessing and good. Now, if both the good and the bad are working for your good, then in the end, was there any bad?

No, if even the bad is working for my good, then it’s ultimately good.

So, for the child of God, for you, there are only two realities… blessings.. and blessings in disquise. Sometimes the blessings are very well disguised, but they remain blessings nevertheless. Hold on to this. And learn to see and believe through the disguises. Remember, it only looks like a battlefield. But in the end, you will see it is and always was, a field of blessings where even your darkest enemies, your greatest adversities were in the end, your blessings in disguise.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Give thanks today for all your blessings and for all your blessings in disquise, those of the past and the still-disguised blessings of the present.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed