Ed Christian's World

The Crown On The Priest…

In the Old Covenant, according to the law, a king could not be priest and a priest could not be king. Then God tells Zechariah in 6:11, “Take silver and gold, make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the high priest.”

Although this seemed to be breaking the law, in reality it was a prophetic act. The Lord said, “this is a sign of the man who will be called the Branch.” That’s Jesus! He is going to be Priest and King at the same time. He is going to build the temple of the Lord forever.

So that means, when Jesus comes, there has to be a New Covenant, because it would be against the law in the Old Covenant. Jesus is of the royal house of Judah and is the High Priest of the New Covenant.

A crown on the head of a high priest. A sign that in God all things are new in Jesus. You are a new creation, not bound by the past. You are free in the power of Jesus, who is both your King and High Priest.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Today, take new steps of action in the power of newness in Jesus. Make newness, new actions, and new steps a part of your everyday life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Talking To Ghosts…

I went to Gettysburg one time with a friend. They had some people dressed up as the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. One was dressed as the Confederate soldier, Jeb Stuart, who was responsible for contributing to the defeat at Gettysburg.

My friend starts arguing with him, saying you messed up everything. Then the actor starts arguing back. My friend is arguing with a guy who doesn’t exist.

Many believers do the same thing. Maybe you. Are you still reacting to things from the past? Doing things that are dead, gone? Are you living your life in the shadow of them? Maybe about your childhood? Things that happened years ago?

Stop arguing with it. God says, don’t commune with the dead. It’s dead. Stop trying to prove it. God is not there, the tomb is empty. Get out of the dead thing. Get out of the tomb, and get on with your life. God has great things ahead for you, but you have to get out of the past; stop arguing with the dead, and start moving on with the living.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

Today give thanks that you are a new creation. Stop dwelling on issues from your past, things long gone. Close the door on it, and move forward with God’s plan for your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Synagogue and The Church…

Acts 18 says “He departed from there and went to the house of a certain man named Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.” Right there, by the synagogue, were the God-fearing gentiles. Those who would begin the church of Corinth. Where did the church start?

Right next to the synagogue. This faith we call Christianity is the Messianic faith, which was started right outside the synagogue. It was clearly a Jewish faith branching out. Paul ministered there, right next to the synagogue. Christianity’s roots have always been inherently Jewish; a daughter of Israel.

In Ephesians it says, “You are now of Jesus, citizens of Israel.” The fact is, you are now a child of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You have been grafted in by His Spirit. Rejoice in the fact that, in Jesus, you are now one of the children of Israel in Spirit. You don’t replace Israel. You are a part of Israel. You are of the house that is right next door to the synagogue.

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized. Acts 18:7-8

Today spend time in prayer for the people of Israel, that they will recognize Jesus. Give thanks that you are a part of the whole house of Israel.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Sleeping Guard…

When I was in college, I was working as a security guard. One of my coworkers was a ministerial student, who every night would go into the president’s office at night and sleep. One day the president came in early and this ministerial student was found sleeping on the job.

That was the end of his job. Jesus gave us a parable in Luke 12. The master goes away, the servants grow complacent, doing whatever they want, beating other servants. He returns, finds them unfaithful and punishes them.

The parable is about Him. He left the world. He is the master and you don’t see Him, so it’s easy to grow complacent. What are you doing with your life? What are you doing with your time that He gave you? Are you doing His will? Are you letting your light shine?

The Master is coming back. There is no time to live a complacent life. Prepare for eternity. You want Him to say, “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your Master.”

It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he . Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Luke 12:37-40

Look for an opportunity today to be a good servant, to do His will. Share the love of God and let your light shine!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Being A Christian…

Over the years I’ve been asked many times what is being Christian really mean? It’s one thing to say you’re a Christian, but its another to live a life that sets an example of what a Christian is.

I’ve always told them to live the life Jesus has blessed them with sharing His blessings along the way. Spread your seeds on the furtile souls leading them the His light.

Then I would tell them a story my Granfather shared with me when I was 10 years old:

In the early twentieth century, people of India were under the rule of the British. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of modern India, was approached by Lord Irwin, the British viceroy. Irwin asked him what he considered to be the solution to the problems of India and his country.

Gandhi took a book and opened it to the Gospel of Matthew, the fifth chapter. He answered, “When your country and mine shall get together on the teachings of Christ in this Sermon on the Mount, we shall have solved the problems not only of our countries but those of the whole world.”

It took a Hindu to remind Christians of the British Empire of the teachings of Jesus and to notice the striking disparity between what many Christians quote on one hand, and how they live their lives on the other.

It took a Hindu to remind Christians that Jesus’s words are to be applied to every area of our lives and say that if one doesn’t do that, one has no business calling oneself by the name of Jesus.

Let’s conform our lives to Jesus’s words, that we may have the honor of being called His disciples.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:1-12

I would like to add here that this is just a starting point to being a good Christian. I would suggest that you don’t stop there and continue reading through chapter 7.

We as Christians tend to get a bit lazy the longer we walk the path. We need to shine our lights daily and show others, by example, how a Christian is to live. That’s 24/7 not just on Sunday morning or Wednesday night.

When you read the Bible today, don’t take God’s words lightly. Take one verse that you’ve read today and apply it to your life. Then continue to do it every day of your life. The Bible is full of life lessons and love.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Filled With The Fullness…

It says in the scripture, “in the fullness of time, God sent His Son into the world..” Now the word fullness in Greek is “pleroma.” The picture is of a glass filling up, the filling up of time. The Jewish understanding of time is that it is something with a purpose set by God.

So your life is like a cup. It’s the cup of God’s purposes, written over your life, waiting to be fulfilled. It’s a cup of holiness; of righteousness; of a victorious life; of peace; of joy and blessing. You can’t fill your life.

He is the one who fills everything, the pleroma who is the fulfillment of us. He came into the world in the fullness, the pleroma, of time. He comes into our lives to also give us fullness.

Jesus is the fullness specifically of your life. In the same way there are a lot of different Messianic prophecies but He fulfills all of them.

So your life is like a Messianic prophecy waiting to be fulfilled. He is the pleroma, not only of the Hebrew Scriptures and of the universe, but of your life.

And to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. Ephesians 3:9

Spend time alone with Him in your secret place. Come into His presence, so He can fill up everything you are, your heart, your soul, your emotions, your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Break The Law…

God’s word tells us that we were once under the law of sin and death. We were bound by it. What does that mean? The law is something that you are supposed to obey, something that rules you. It means our lives were ruled by this.

But a law also can be broken. We are now free to disobey the law of sin and death, the law of the world, the flesh and the devil. So as much as we are to be obedient to God, we have to be disobedient to sin.

It’s holy to be disobedient to sin. When the enemy tempts you, you can say, “No! I am breaking this law. I am not obeying it.” When that law of fear comes up, you can say “No! I don’t have to fear now, because I am not under this law.”

Say no to the devil. No to the world. No to the law of bitterness and selfishness. No to the law of gloom, despair, anger, addiction and bondage. Start being a lawbreaker of the laws of sin and death. You are free to obey God.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

Break the laws of the enemy that have kept you in bondage today. Say no to his false commands. Say yes to your freedom to obey God and walk in His liberty.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Demons of The Modern World…

In the New Testament the Greek word, daimonia, refers to the gods of the world. It’s not surprising that this Greek word for gods in the New Testament is actually the same word translated as “demons.”

There’s a very important revelation here and one to be taken very seriously. The gods of the world are embodiments and representatives of demonic beings. That doesn’t just go for ancient religions; the modern world has its gods, too.

They come in the form of materialism, drugs, alcoholism, sensuality, lust, pornography, love of money, greed. These are all demonic. When you indulge in these things, you are actually worshipping and serving demons.

That’s a horrible thing! You should have nothing to do with it. Any idol is a god, and any god except for the God of the Bible is a demon.

The very thought that you are serving the demonic should be enough to make you get any unclean, unholy thing out of your life once and for all! There is only One True and Living God. Everything else is just demonic.

If you worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Luke 4:7-8

Set your mind and heart today to worship the Lord and nothing else. Ask Him to show you anything that holds too much importance in your life and to remove that dark thing from your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Oil Of Ministry…

Aaron, Moses’ brother, began his ministry with an anointing, with oil poured on his head. How did David’s ministry begin? The prophet Samuel poured oil on David’s head. What is oil a symbol of? Oil is the symbol of the Spirit of God. Ministry must always begin with the Spirit.

Jesus’s ministry began with the Spirit coming upon Him at the Jordan. The Apostles’ ministry began with the Spirit coming down on Pentecost. From the oil on Aaron’s head to the Apostles at Pentecost, ministry began with the Spirit. Every ministry, every calling must begin with God and His power.

You too must be empowered by the Spirit, for without the Spirit there is no real ministry or power. There is an anointing given for your ministry also so that you may have the power, the gifts and whatever else is needed. But you must receive it and be led by the Spirit. So receive the anointing to fulfill your calling, because every ministry begins with the oil of the Spirit.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

Today, ask God to fill you afresh with His Holy Spirit and to empower you to live for Him as you fulfill the calling He has for your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Heaven’s DNA…

In the parable of the sower, Jesus said that the seed is the Word of God. How can a seed be related to the Word of God? The comparison is very striking. A seed has to be sown and received by the earth. It contains DNA, the code of life.

So, with the Word of God. It has to be sown and received to come alive. It contains the nature of Him who gave it. It contains the DNA of God. The Word of God transmits the nature of God to the one who receives it. Each word is designed to transmit the nature of God to anyone who receives it.

Do you want to receive the life and the power of God and be conformed to His image? Receive the Word of God into the soil of your heart and mind. Let it soak into your life and become part of you. Receive it with your whole heart because the Word is seed, and in the seed is the life of God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:1-4

As you read the Bible today, view each word as a seed. Plant these seeds in your heart, your mind, and in your actions, and become more like God as you receive His nature.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed