Ed Christian's World

Rising In Grace…

In the Lord we often feel the worst thing that can happen to us is that we fall. We should try to do everything possible to avoid falling. But we need to realize something else.

When did redemption begin? Redemption only begins after the fall. That’s when it all counts. We think we can relate to God as together people. We can’t. We can only come to God in need of being saved through grace. We never come because we’ve got it together.

We come through mercy and grace. Salvation and grace only happens after the fall. In light of that, we only stand by grace and mercy. Sometimes we get so far away from grace; we think we are doing great, we are independent and self-sufficient.

That’s actually fallen right there. Sometimes the best thing that can happen is when we trip up on our face. Then we go back to the foot of Jesus at the cross. Because there is no salvation without it, and all salvation is only within it. The grace of God can only be known now, after the fall.

Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13

Be grateful today for the Lord’s grace and mercy. Thank Him for not leaving you where He found you, for picking you up from your fall. And if you fall… Rise up – That’s what it’s all about.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Beginning Of Days…

We think of Sunday as a religious day. Yet, Sunday has one of the most incredible mysteries. The universe was created on Sunday, and that is the mystery of the week. We don’t think of that, but every week is a recreation of the creation.

Sunday is the beginning day, the first day in Hebrew, “Yom Rishon,” the day of the beginning. Jesus rose on Sunday, not because it’s the Christian Sabbath. He rose on Sunday because it’s Yom Rishon, day one, the day of the beginning, the alpha day, the Genesis day.

What does that mean? The resurrection is the new beginning, it’s the new Genesis, the new existence. Live in the power of the first day, the new day, the dawning day. The power of Jesus is to live in day one everyday of your life.

Your guilt or regret doesn’t matter; it’s all gone. It never even happened in Jesus. Live your life in the power of that first day, Yom Rishon, because in Him all things are new, and it will be because He rose on Sunday; the first day of the creation of the universe.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; Lamentations 3:22-23

Let today be a new beginning. Rejoice in the Lord’s faithfulness to revive you! Walk in the newness of His love for you today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

In and Out Of The Garden…

In the creation, God brought man into a garden. When? On the sixth day. In Hebrew, the sixth day begins Thursday night. In the new creation, Jesus suffered and died to redeem us. How did it all begin?

It began in a garden, the Garden of Gethsemane, when the Temple guards came to take him away to be executed. As God, in the creation, God brought man into a garden, so in the redemption, man took God out of a garden.

In Genesis, it all happened on the sixth day – So in redemption, Jesus was removed from the garden Thursday night – the Hebrew sixth day. On the sixth day, God brought man into a garden to bless him and make him rejoice.

And on the sixth day again, man took God out of a garden to curse Him and make Him suffer. And why did God allow it? Because of you. God allowed Himself to be taken out of a garden to die, that you might be brought into a garden of blessing… to live.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Thank God for His unselfishness and generosity as He sent Jesus to suffer on your behalf, bearing all your sin so you could live in heaven with Him for all eternity. And live today in the same spirit.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Lion Hearted

Jesus came the first time as a lamb. But when He comes again, He is coming as a lion – bold, strong, mighty, roaring, and unstoppable. He is coming as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Revelation 5:5 says “Weep not, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the book.”

We are the people of the Lion, here to prepare for the second coming. As end-time believers, we should begin living more like lions. We must stop living weak and compromised walks, and be strong and of good courage.

It’s time to put away our weaknesses and timidity, and put on His strength and power. We must renounce fear and anxiety and start living confidently and unafraid. The time is now to become strong in righteousness, strong in faith, and strong in action.

So put on a lion’s hope, a lion’s faith, lion-hearted love and lion-hearted confidence. Be as bold as a lion and unstoppable in the Spirit. It’s time to begin living the lion-hearted life, because we are preparing for the coming of the Lion.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

Today, don’t be intimidated by this world, your circumstances or the problems. Take your place in God and see yourself as He sees you…empowered by His Spirit to be strong and an overcomer.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Provoked…

There once was an Orthodox Jew, a student, studying the Torah in Yeshiva. He had plans for his life. He was going to become a great rabbi. But life didn’t follow his plans at all. Instead, his life was interrupted by a blinding light.

This Orthodox Jew was Shaul, Saul, Paul the Apostle. He left Jerusalem and spread the Gospel of Jesus throughout the world… to gentiles and kings. He became a light to the nations, wrote most of the New Testament books, touched billions of lives, changed world history, and became known throughout the ages.

Though his plans didn’t work out, God’s plan did! Perhaps you have plans for your life, and things aren’t going as planned. Praise God anyway because He says “I know the plans I have for you…”

Even in your brokenness or failed dreams, God has plans for you too. So rejoice in that. Believe Him. Trust Him. Where He leads; follow. And you will find that His plans are higher and better by far. Just ask Paul.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go: I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8

Give your disappointments to God today. Thank God for the interrupted plans in your life and surrender now to His plan. Be encouraged in the knowledge that God is working all things for your good.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Predator…

When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, God reminded them of their first battle with Amalek. Deuteronomy 25:17 says, “Remember what Amalek did to you by the way when you came out of Egypt. He met you there and struck the back part of you–those who were weak behind you when you were faint and tired. He did not fear God.”

Amalek is a type of the enemy. His strategy is that of a wolf. He attacks from the rear, going after that which is weak and tired, and that which isn’t keeping up. Guard your weak areas, for that is where the enemy attacks.

Be mindful when you’re tired or spiritually weary because the enemy is waiting to strike. Remember, he goes for the weak and weary ones, attacking those who don’t keep up, who become separated from the flock and the Shepherd.

So get spiritually revived in God. It’s a safeguard. Stay close in fellowship and close with the flock. Most of all stay close to the Shepherd, so you’ll be kept safe from Amalek’s attack.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

Press in close to your Shepherd today. Ask the Lord to reveal the enemy’s plans to separate you from His flock. Ask Him to strengthen you where you have been weak.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

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