Ed Christian's World

Having A Little Talk With Your Mind…

In Psalm 42:11, it says, “Why are you cast down, my soul or my mind? Why are you disquieted within me?”

The word for soul is also mind in the Hebrew. So it says why are you depressed? Why are you down? How many people talk to themselves? Many people enjoy talking to themselves. There is something biblical about it.

It is good if it is done right. We have an idea that our mind is our mind and that’s it. Our thoughts are our thoughts; this is me, this is how I am, and that’s the end of it.

But look at the scripture and understand. There is something much more that is so important. You can talk to your mind. You don’t just accept your thoughts; you can question your mind and your feelings.

How about talking to your mind? Talk to your heart. Don’t just accept it, but talk. You don’t have to be stuck with your mind. That’s the good news. You can change.

The word for repentance means to change your mind. You can change, and it all starts when you learn the secret of talking to your mind.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm. 42:11

Talk to yourself today. And any thought, any feeling, anything that is not of God, talk yourself out of it!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Making Him Pleased…

In Colossians 1:10 it speaks about making our aim to please God. It’s hard to imagine. Can you imagine God being pleased by something you do? It is hard for us to think we can actually do something that pleases Him.

We think we are never good enough and certainly we aren’t on our own. Some of us may have tried to please people and they are not pleased. Or maybe you had a father or mother who could never be pleased.

He is not a father who could never be pleased. It is His will to be pleased by you. It is His will that you please Him, that you walk in such a way that He is pleased, like a father who delights in his children.

You can please Him. God wants you to be blessed by pleasing Him. Make it your aim to make Him smile. Enjoy pleasing Him in everything you do and in all different ways, because it is His will to be pleased by you.

Make it your will in everything you do to please your Heavenly Father.

So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, Colossians 1:10

Today have one goal – to make God smile!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Shoppers and Receivers…

Imagine a week before Bethlehem; Joseph turns to Mary and says, hey, do you realize we only have seven days until Christmas? We had better get our shopping done.

But the real Christmas had no shopping in it. It was not about consumption. It was about receiving a gift, without shopping. You go shopping for what you want. I want this, I don’t want that, etc.

So people go shopping through the Bible and take what they want. I don’t want this, or this is what I like. I don’t like this verse. I don’t like that kind of thing, I don’t like that side of salvation. But when you receive a gift, you don’t shop. You just receive what is given.

The false Christmas is about shopping. The true Christmas is about a gift. They didn’t shop for Messiah, they just received what was given. God doesn’t want us picking and choosing what we like in the faith or in the Bible or in doctrine or what we agree with.

Don’t spend your life shopping. Rather, focus on receiving what God has given you, because God will only give you His best.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Matthew 7:18

Don’t shop for or settle for second best. Receive God’s will for your life, unconditionally. And it will end up the best.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Fighting With Joy…

Maccabees is not a part of the biblical account, but it is part of the history of God’s workings. It says that the Maccabees carried on Israel’s war joyfully. How do you carry on a war joyfully?

Paul said in 2 Timothy 4, “Fight the good fight,” or “I fought the good fight.” You can even hear joy in it. Fight the good fight of faith. When you fight the good fight, it is actually a joy. The good fight is not tiresome.

It is when you are not fighting the good fight that you get tired. But when you fight the good fight, the fight of faith and have victories of faith, it gives you joy and power. Fight with joy and let your joy be a fighting joy.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. In the end times there are a lot of fights going on. That doesn’t nullify the fruit of the Spirit. You are still going to have joy.

Fight with joy. Have fighting joy in your life, and your life will be a joy. You will have finished the course having fought the good fight.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

Fight your good fight today – with the power of joy!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Epiphany Syndrome…

 2 Thessalonians 2:4 it says:”The anti-Christ will proclaim himself to be God.” That is the spirit of the anti-Christ which is already here, proclaiming man as God.

When man seeks to get rid of God, he ends up making himself as God. If you yourself are god, then you lose the power to know God – that’s the problem. Even as believers we can fall into the epiphany syndrome.

When we see ourselves as the center of everything or when our concern is about ourselves above everything else, when we live as if we were the most important thing, we are falling into the epiphany syndrome.

But, if we can break away from that, empty ourselves of self and self-centeredness and live in true humility, then the true God will manifest Himself in our lives.

Those who exalt themselves come to nothing, but those who humble themselves will be filled up with the presence of God. Stop trying to be God and your life will be filled with the manifestation of the Living God!

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

Get rid of the “me” syndrome that may have a hold on you and replace it with the “God” syndrome. It’s all about Him.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Sluggard and The Cold…

In Proverbs 20:4, it says the sluggard will not plow because of the cold; therefore, he shall beg in harvest and have nothing. What does that mean for us?

God called you to reap eternal life. It is good and it is God’s will, but that doesn’t mean it is easy. When you do good, there will always be things against it.

It is going to be cold. But you can’t let the resistance stop you from doing God’s will or doing good or get discouraged or give up. You can’t follow the path of least resistance and serve God at the same time.

There is a path of seeking pleasure and no resistance, and the sluggard takes it, and he gets nothing in the end. But there is a path that if you go against it, you go against the resistance. For God, that leads to life, joy, and a harvest.

Choose righteousness. Do you have resistance? Good. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t throw in the towel. Keep serving God, praising God, keep doing good and you will reap a harvest of blessings; because giving up on righteousness is only an option for sluggards.

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. Proverbs 21:21

Don’t give up and don’t give in to the resistance today. Keep serving, keep praising, and keep on keeping on.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Starting With The Blue…

To build the Temple of God, the Lord gave Israel specific instructions. The cloth was to be woven with three colors–blue, purple, scarlet. Wherever these three colors are mentioned, whether the veils or the high priest clothing, blue is always first.

Why is blue first? The colors are significant. Red is the Hebrew word for Adam, it represents earth and man. Blue is the color of heaven and blue is always first, because the secret of life is that you always have to start with the blue – the heavenly.

Your day – start it with the heavenly. Your plans–start with the heavenly. Your actions – start with the heavenly. Don’t live in the red. If you put earthly things first, you are going to end up with nothing. Blue first.

So stop reacting to everything around you. Start looking up, respond to God; let every motive come from the blue, from heaven. Let every plan and action come from the blue, from heaven.

Love with the love of God, move with the Spirit of God, live by the life of God, live in the blue and your life will never end up in the red.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

Make the switch today to live in and do all things “in the blue”.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Unyoking…

In Acts 15, the counsel of Jerusalem met, and it was a critical moment in church history. They had to decide whether to open the doors wide for the Gentiles to come to faith.

Now in one of the most important moments in church history, you would think that God would have spoken really loudly – a voice, a sign, an angel or prophecy, but there is no record of anything like that happening. Simply, they came to a decision.

It happened through natural talking or deliberation. It went that way because that was the will of God. It shows how God is sovereign over human events. It shows how God works. Sometimes things seem like they are hanging on a thread, like you can go in any direction.

But there is a supernatural thread weaving it together to the right thing. It’s like sewing; you pull fabrics together, but in your life God is doing that, too. He is leading through all things. He is going to lead you as you seek Him, because in God your life is supernaturally natural.

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Acts 15:8-9

No matter what it looks like today, let God lead you in the direction you are to go.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Unconditional Thanks…

We know that God has given us unconditional grace, but do you know what word comes from grace? Gracias! Gracias means thanks. That’s why we call giving thanks before a meal, grace. Grace is linked to thanks.

If God gives us unconditional grace, we should give Him our unconditional gracias; unconditional thanks. It’s not enough to bear with things or endure tough times; we need to mature to the point where we give thanks for them, unconditionally.

Often when things go wrong, people, including Christians, sarcastically say “thanks a lot.” But that’s not right. Instead when you face challenges, learn to say “Thanks Lord for working all this for good. You’ve given me your unconditional grace to deal with this, so I give you my unconditional thanks.”

That’s why the Bible says “in everything give thanks.” Most likely you already give thanks when you get what you want or desire. But when you also give thanks for what you don’t want, then you truly will be thankful in everything.

So practice being thankful to God because unconditional grace deserves unconditional gracias.

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, psalm 92:1-2

Give thanks to God in all things today, no matter what, who, when, how, or why.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Taking Out The Waist…

I noticed something in my life that may be true for you. It takes a while to notice you’re getting fatter. You can fool yourself for a while, but not forever. You know how I noticed I was gaining weight? My pants didn’t fit anymore!

You see, pants are objective standards that force you to face truth. My pants were saying, “Listen, you’re fat!” I had come to a crossroads. So with discipline and courage, I made the change; I had my pants let out! No more problems!

The point is this; the problem wasn’t resolved. We also can become spiritually fat, lazy, cold, dead, misled, or weak. So it’s crucial to have standards. God’s word is a standard that doesn’t change; it’s truth.

What do you do when you find your life isn’t matching up with the Word anymore? Do you, like many people, try to rationalize, dilute or alter the Word like the pants?

Never alter God’s word to fit your life, rather alter your life to fit God’s Word. Because when the pants don’t fit anymore, it’s not the pants that need altering, but the person and the life inside.

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. Psalm 19:7-9

Go over God’s standard, the Word. What parts of your life aren’t measuring up to it? Today, begin making that change.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed