Ed Christian's World

The Son Who Prospered…

Jeremiah 22 speaks of the last kings of Israel, their exile, and deaths, and that none of their seed should prosper sitting on the throne. Israel had no more kings after that. Joseph, a poor carpenter in Nazareth, was from the royal line. He would’ve been the king; but he couldn’t sit on the throne.

Notice it says, “Won’t prosper sitting on the throne.” Joseph wasn’t on the throne. He lived a righteous life of humility as Gods’ servant. And yet, he did prosper, and he was blessed. When you live a self-centered life, wanting everything your own way, you won’t prosper. When you get off the throne and forget about yourself, in the Lord, you will prosper.

Get off the throne. There are only two ways of life: centered around yourself, or centered around Him who’s the center; sitting on the throne, or in the blessings of Him who truly sits on the throne.

Don’t try to be king of your life. The position has been filled. Get into the joy of getting off the throne, and you too, like Joseph, will prosper in the glory of the King.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Today, get into the joy of living off the throne, putting your will second to His, serving the will and pleasure of your King – and the King will bless you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Only Super Hero…

Growing up surrounded by the super hero culture, I wanted to be like them. Fighting crime, standing for truth, justice and the American way. The most powerful force against crime in America isn’t Superman, Batman, or Captain America.

It’s Messiah Yeshua, Jesus. Studies have shown that the effect of Jesus on people’s lives, the lives of men, actually lowers crime. The most powerful force against drugs, alcoholism and addiction is Jesus, not Spiderman.

We’re to be little versions of Him, of our Super hero; to be little super heroes. Faster than a speeding bullet in His Spirit, more powerful to move mountains; to walk through walls; to dwell in the heavenlies; to do all things through Him. I’m not saying put on a cape, but when it comes to your life, people should say “Thank God you’re here. You’ve come to save the day.”

Yeshua, Jesus means God saves. In Him, we have the power to save the day. So get on your way little super hero, you have the power of salvation, because you walk in the footsteps of Jesus, the Super hero of all super heroes.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:18-19

Be a super hero to someone today by walking in the power and sharing the love of Jesus with them.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The No Baggage Life…

When claiming your baggage at the airport, you position yourself next to the baggage belt and watch for it to come out. When you finally get your baggage, it feels like winning the lottery.

There are a lot of journeys in life, and usually, the bigger the journey, the greater the baggage to bring. But in heaven, there’s no baggage claim. We’re on a journey to heaven. You can’t bring any baggage from earth. That’s also the way it is with the heavenly life; there’s no place for baggage.

When you journey to the new life, when you come to salvation, there’s no baggage claim for your old life. It’s time for you to unload from the past; the baggage of sin, the baggage of old wounds, of your failures, of your regrets, the baggage of your idols, your old identity.

Put it aside, because everything is new. There’s no way to bring that old stuff into heaven. So let it go. Put away the baggage and get on with your life. Lighten your load. Drop it and move forward. Because in heaven and the heavenly life, there’s no baggage claim.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

If you have something from your past that has been weighing you down, today make the decision to let it go.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Face Of Saul…

When Stephen was being stoned to death, did he see a face in the crowd… the zealous face of Saul, his enemy? If he’d only known that person filled with so much anger and hatred against Jesus who wanted him dead, would be touched; changed and become the greatest apostle the faith would ever know; bringing the gospel to the nations; and writing the majority of the New Testament. He’d have rejoiced for that face in the crowd.

But it was almost impossible for Stephen to see or know it. When everything is coming at you, stones are being hurled at you, and it seems like everything is going wrong in your life, remember though you might not see it; there’s always a higher reason, a greater purpose of blessing and glory.

It might even, like Saul, be part of the problem at the moment, but be turned for God and solve that problem. Rejoice in your problems in your crisis because in that situation, there’s a Saul that’s going to turn into the greatest blessing for the glory of God. Just look for that face in the crowd.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Give thanks today for every situation in your life, even the problems, and believe God for His victorious outcome.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

To Deal With Giants…

Moses didn’t sit complaining about Pharaoh. He led his people out of Egypt. David didn’t sit with his brothers complaining about the Philistines and the state of Israel. He fought Goliath and reigned as king. The apostles didn’t spend time dwelling on persecution, the Sanhedrin or how bad the Romans were. They served the Lord and spread the Word.

Some believers have a defeated attitude; a persecution complex, a paranoid attitude, a defensive attitude, overly conscious of and dwelling on evil. We’re to be aware of evil; the world, temptations, and dangers. But we’re not to be focused on it; dwelling on it, getting an attitude of defensiveness.

God didn’t call us for such a time as this to be defensive. Be on the offense; moving forward. You’re not a victim of the earth; you’re the salt of the earth. You’re the light of the world, not defeated by darkness. Stop complaining and start doing something.

Get out your slingshot and run to that giant! Take that problem and the world head-on because God called you not to be overcome, but to overcome evil and the world with good.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Stop being overcome or defined by your problems, your giant – and overcome your giant with God’s power – the evil with good.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Provoking That Which Is Not…

Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us … provoke unto love.” The word provoke can also be translated; call forth. Jesus called forth Lazarus from the tomb when he was dead. In the same way, we’re to call forth that which isn’t as if it were.

Call forth love from others, even when they have no love and the situation seems as dead and hopeless as Lazarus’ tomb. Start with yourself; start provoking and calling forth love, joy and hope when you don’t feel it.

In Jesus, you have the power to call forth that which is dead and doesn’t even seem to exist. Then provoke others. Love the unlovable, bless the unblessed, do good to those who don’t deserve it. Love your enemies as if they weren’t your enemies.

Become a holy provoker. Call forth that which is not as if it were. Just as God said, “Let there be hope or blessing, call it forth. Provoke love where there’s no love and joy where there’s no joy. When you were dead, God called you forth to life. Go and do likewise.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:44

Call forth the love, peace and blessings of God in your life and others today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Thou Centered Blessing…

The Hebrew word for blessing is barucha. Hebrew has a lot of baruchot or blessings; over bread, wine, holy days, and every part of the day. For every part of life, there’s a blessing. Most begin, “Baruch Atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech ha’Olam,” “Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the universe.”

God calls us not only to bless but to be a living blessing. Here’s the secret: blessings are never “me” centered; they’re “thou” centered. If you want your life to become a blessed life and a life of blessings, then get rid of the “I” – let go of the “me” and start being filled with “thou.”

Blessings have no empty spaces. They’re not in lack or worried about their own needs because they’re so filled up with the “thou” of God that they have no space for need. Don’t be a self-centered person.

Lose yourself in Him, and you’ll be filled up. Love God with all yourself and your neighbor as yourself by living a “thou” centered life. You’ll be blessed by being a blessing. And if you want to be a blessing, then become “thou” centered.

I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1

Live a Thou-centered day today. Make it your aim to bless God in all things and all the other thous in your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

What Matters In The End…

I knew a rich, successful businessman who had problems; always fighting with his wife. Then she developed cancer and he started spending all his time at home. I asked if anyone was taking care of his business. He said, “No, and I don’t care anymore. It doesn’t mean anything to me.

I spent my whole life seeking after things that don’t matter a bit in the end, and the things that really matter I neglected. I now realize my wife is the most precious thing I have in this world.” He didn’t realize until it was too late. It can happen to any of us and often does.

We neglect those most important; wife, children, husband, parents, and beyond that, the One more important than anything else; our Savior and God. Putting things that won’t matter a bit in the end, above Him and above those who matter. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Put aside those things that aren’t going to matter in the end and come back to your first love. Life is too short, and eternity is too long to lose the greatest treasure of all.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Revelation 2:4

Today, make the focus of your heart on people and the things that matter.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Feast At The End…

Have you ever noticed that many parables include or end with a feast? When the kingdom comes, it’s about a feast, an event of joy, celebration and blessing.

What’s the significance? Jesus speaks of feasts to say that joy is waiting at the end for God’s people. It all leads to joy. If you’re in God, the end of the story, the end of the road is joy.

At the end of every act of righteousness, repentance, sacrifice, taking up your cross, serving God, ministering, going to the mission field, surrendering, loving your enemy and turning down temptation ends with joy.

There’s a feast waiting for you, a banquet, a wedding celebration. There’s singing and dancing, joy and heaven. Serve the Lord with confidence, with hope, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, because it’s not only right, it’s for your own joy, for your own blessing.

The feast of the parables tells something profound. That the end of every righteous path in God, every righteous act done for Him; God has prepared for His people, He has prepared for you a banquet, a feast, a celebration and joy.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:1-2

Sing, shout, or speak joyfully to the Lord today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

How Do You Measure Love…

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

No this isn’t goig to be about the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning but we are going to take a deeper look at love. We are characterized by love. The question is how do we measure love?

When I first considered the thought of measuring love, I asked several people how they measure it. Love is a feeling, an emotion, it can’t be measured was the most common answer. Yet, as I looked back over my life, I felt something was amiss there. There is more to love than meets the eye.

Then I remembered something Grandfather once told me when I was a toddler. The measure of love is to love without measure. God measures your life on how well you love.

Love is not just an emotion. It’s not simply some uncontrollable feeling you fall in and out of. It doesn’t have to be here today and gone tomorrow. Nor does it ever have to leave you, in any relational context, if you don’t want it to.

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.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8

That’s because love is measured and maintained primarily by what you give, not what you receive. According to scripture, that’s the love metric: what you give to him, what you sacrifice for her, not what you feel.

That tells me love is not just an emotion, it’s also an action. It’s not simply an accidental concoction of feelings that you react to. No, instead, love is measured and maintained primarily by what you give, not what you receive.

Now what’s interesting is that’s not how we typically measure love. When we judge how “in love” we are with a significant other, or when we judge our disposition toward another human being, we don’t say, “Well let’s see… how much did I give or sacrifice for them this week?” No, instead, we measure love by how much we get in return.

Just think about this principle. It doesn’t take us long to come up with a list of “unlovable people.” Let’s just be honest, outside of you and me, there’s plenty of people out there giving us plenty of reasons not to love them.

However, despite the degree of being unlovable that many people in our lives have earned, that does not mean we can’t still love them.

Forgiveness is one of the strongest actions of love that exists in our life. It not only relieves you of carrying all the hurt and stress, it shows your love for others.

So, how do you measure love? It’s the helping hand you give a neighbor, the smile you share with others, the words of encouragement you give to someone. It’s that everyday simple act of kindness you do for someone in need.

Love is an action as well as an emotion, and as Grandfather reminded me of many years ago, your life will be measured by how well you love. You don’t measure love, love measures you.

This is my reflection on the true meaning of love, which is a powerful reminder that love is not just a feeling but an action. It’s a choice we make every day to put others before ourselves, to forgive, and to show kindness.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song, I praise him. Psalm 28:7

Additionally, the verses from 1 Corinthians 13 take on a new meaning when we apply them to God’s love for us. It’s a beautiful reminder of His patience, kindness, and selflessness towards us.

So maybe we should take a real close look at these 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, always perseveres.
God never fails.

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to understand the true meaning of love and to measure it not by how we feel but by what we give. May we love others with kindness, patience, and selflessness, just as You love us. May our actions be guided by Your love, and may we always remember that love is not just an emotion but an action. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, and penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.

Walk daily with God at your side guided by His love and kindness!

Love always,

Ed 🙏🏼