Ed Christian's World

Past The Barriers…

Peter is in prison and an angel comes to him and takes him out. It is written, “they passed.” In Acts 12:10 it says, they passed the first guard and the second guard, they passed all these checkpoints. Then they passed through the halls.

The path of freedom is not a path without barriers or obstacles, but it is one with barriers and with obstacles. It is about walking through them or past them.

The thing is, you will have obstacles, but walk through them. You will have setbacks, but go ahead, as Peter did. You have the power to not only say I am free, but later on to walk through the obstacles, turn down the temptation, keep going past the discouragement, past the old barriers.

You have been told you are free, but to be free you are to walk in freedom and keep walking through the obstacles, through the barrier, through the discouragement, through that limit, because the power of Jesus is freedom, not to avoid chains, but to break them.

Not to avoid the obstacles, but overcome them and not to avoid the barriers, but to go past them.

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

Today break the chains that bind you to being truly free in God. Push past the barriers and whatever hinders you from God’s will.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

He and You…

We use the word, Jesus is Lord. We tell unbelievers to make Him Lord. But how often do WE really do that? We use the word a lot, but Lord is a radical thing.

Lord in Hebrew is Adon. It comes from the root that means to rule over. It means the one who rules over you. It means also owner, the one who owns you. The One you belong to, knows your dreams, and desires, your burdens, sins and pain.

Only those who call Him Lord are saved, but in Hebrew that is Adon. If you are a believer, you have to call Him Adon, my owner, the one who owns me. A saved life is an owned life.

It means your life belongs to God. Your debts, it all belongs to God. Is He truly your Lord? Is He truly your Adon? The sign of that is that you are living an owned life. Everything you have is His and you live each day with that.

Live as His possession and you will be blessed, and then you can truly call Him Lord. Your Adon, the One who owns me.

Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. Psalm. 145:18-20

Give up ownership of your life today, Everything you have, everything you are, give it to Him. Live as His possession.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Graduation 1

Imagine Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount, “blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. Afterwards, people come up to Him, shake hands, but others talk.

What did you think of that Sermon on the Mount? Well, I liked the part about the lilies of the field, but that part about if you lust, you are committing adultery, I do not agree with that!

That part about plucking out your eyes, he could have been more positive. If he starts doing the eye-plucking thing every week, we are not going to have a congregation.

If someone came in and preached exactly what Jesus preached, we would have problems with it. We act the same with the Word. We may not say it like that, we just ignore it or rationalize it. He really did not mean that.

A true disciple will take what He says seriously. Do not rationalize it or argue with it. Just do it. Read the word of the Lord today as if it were the first time. The Lord did not come into this world, to give us nice sermons. He came to change your life.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

Take to heart the Living Word at full strength, let the Lord’s teachings change you today and do not depart from the Word.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The City Not Taken…

There is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel called Akko (Acre). Akko was an important pagan city, a key port in the hands of Israel’s enemies. Akko could have been a great blessing for Israel.

The tragedy is that this was supposed to be Israel’s land. It was given to Israel by God, bequeathed to the tribe of Asher, but Asher never took it. It remained pagan and was never a part of the Promised Land, even though it was given to them. It was not theirs because they never entered it.

Learn this lesson. God has promised you things, given you things, but if you do not believe it, it will not be yours. God has given you victory, peace, joy, love, freedom from bondage, and the power to triumph over all things, but if you do not ever enter it and fight for it, you will never know it.

It will become for you Akko, the city never taken. Turn that defeat into a victory. Believe the promise, enter the inheritance, fight for the land and take the city. God has given you abundant life my friend, now take it.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

Believe today that God has blessed you abundantly, take that power to triumph through Him to fight the good fight and enter into that victory in your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Heros…

It was the late 1930s. America was still in the grip of the Great Depression and in Europe the rise of Nazism and Fascism were posing an increasing threat to the world order.

It was at that time that two high school students from Cleveland, Ohio came up with the idea of an American superhero to be known as Superman.

Superman soon became the representation and embodiment of America itself. Indeed, Superman’s mission was to fight for truth, justice, and the American way. It’s his role as a symbol and personification of America that interests us here.

In the last few years we have witnessed a growing movement aimed at overturning, nullifying, and warring against what has been known as the American way. It could be seen in the calls for the tearing down of statues of the nation’s founders and heroes – and their outright destruction.

It can be seen in the propagation of the 1619 project and Critical Race Theory which views America as a largely malignant and an oppressive force that must be undone. It can be seen as well in the burning of flags, the spurning of the national anthem, and in countless other ways.

And now, DC comics, has announced that Superman will no longer be fighting for truth, justice, and the American way, but truth, justice, and “a better tomorrow.”

The personification of America is no longer in favor of the American way. In this, Superman still embodies America, but now an America at war against itself. But it goes deeper than the American way. For preeminent among the values long associated with America was that of the Judeo-Christian faith. And that leads to the other recent metamorphosis of the American icon.

And if America is decaying, in spiritual and moral free-fall – then, apparently, so must Superman, the icon that represents it. Let the metamorphosis of Superman serve as a reminder, that we are not home, that our hope is not in a nation, or in a man and his myths.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

But our hope is in the Living God, who changes not and in the One infinitely better than Superman, Jesus, the Light of the world and the only hope America has. And let us all more boldly shine His light into this present darkness. And May God greatly bless you this month as you do.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Gospel Cures Every Kind Of Stupid…

Brains vs. Prejudices / Stupidity / Tolerance

Prejudice: Prejudice is an assumption or an opinion about someone simply based on that person’s membership to a particular group. For example, people can be prejudiced against someone else of a different ethnicity, gender, or religion.

Stupidity: Given to make unintelligent decisions or acts : acting in an unintelligent or careless manner : lacking intelligence or reason : brutish.

Tolerance: Is about accepting the fact that you cannot have your way in all circumstances in life. It also means you accept that others are different and have different abilities. If you can appreciate these differences, you are said to be tolerant.

When do we, as Christians, learn when to focus only on Jesus and not on what is happening in the world? We all know Satan is trying to control us and the world, so why isn’t God the center of our world instead of everything else? 

Jesus first teaches us that the greatest of all commandments is to love God with our whole being because God is the foundation of love. It is only by loving God that we truly learn how to love. Right away, Jesus continues it with loving your neighbor as yourself because once we put God at the center of our love, we learn how it is to genuinely do the same for our neighbors.

Prejudices, everybody has some, even though they don’t like to admit to it. Some work very hard to show theirs, while some work very hard to lock theirs up. I like to think I fall in the latter group.

As a Christian, I try to put God first and think before I engage my mouth. Sometimes, I fail, especially when it comes to someone degrading another over something petty or stupid.

Yet, over the years, I have found that very few people take the trouble to use their brains as long as their prejudices are in working condition. Is it because of the way they were raised or just peer pressure to be one of the gang? Why is it so easy to take the stupid route rather than follow the Bible?

Either way, it is wrong if you are a Christian. It shouldn’t matter if their skin is a different color, their ethnicity is different or if they believe differently than you do, you are God’s representative here on earth and as such should embrace all He stands for in your relationships with all who cross your path. Sometimes, we just must ask ourselves: What would Jesus do?

There are no coincidences in life. God places these people in your path for a reason, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t for you to downgrade them or to turn your back to them. For all of us who lived the Christian faith, we have definitely heard the phrase “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself. Mark 12:31.” But what does it really mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Do we truly understand the way Jesus Christ intended?

Did you ever consider that He just may be testing you to see how you would react? What would you say if that stranger you just placed judgment on, turned around, and said, “Let’s have a cup of coffee because we need to talk”, and that person just happened to be God?

The problem is that too many Christians fail to engage their brains before they open their mouths and, in doing so, makes the whole Christian community look bad. God gave us a brain and the power to use it to meet any of our goals. Yet, we seem to find it easier to put our prejudices in front of our brain like it never exists. As Forest Gump said… Stupid is as stupid does.

In Jesus’ commandment, He taught us that it is not about asking who our neighbor is. Rather, it is about our own willingness to be a neighbor, ready to love. It is obvious in the parable of the Good Samaritan that our neighbor can even be a complete stranger who we can expect nothing from in return. But, following the commandment of Jesus means being a neighbor to everyone, and most importantly, it is about us being that good neighbor. It starts with ourselves.

Let us remember that on the sixth day God said let us create man in our image… and in the third chapter of John it says Jesus came to redeem all men… The time has come for all Christians to live up to their commitment to God and follow His commandments. Love your neighbors as yourself and as I have loved you.

By loving our neighbor as ourselves, Christ has made it impossible for us to fail because we are very good at taking care of ourselves. We want what is best for us, and by making our own selves as the benchmark of how we should love others, Jesus has shown us how to truly love our neighbors.

Another important teaching in loving our neighbor as ourselves is that we realize that we should not wait for when we feel loved before we start to love others. We do not have to wait until we feel that we have a surplus of self-love before we give it away to our neighbors. The commandment made it perfectly clear: love your neighbor exactly as you love yourself. No more and no less.

Grandfather always preached the golden rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Respect others, and they will respect you. Then, he added this statement: “No matter what you do or no matter what you say, love isn’t love until you give it away.”

These lessons, as well as others, are taught in the Gospels. Open your Bible and read it all, and then you will learn how it has an answer for every question in life. It just may offer you some insight on how to avoid being stupid.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Non-miracle Days…

The Bible records many miracles: the judgments of Egypt, the virgin birth, the miracles in Acts. We think, if only I saw those miracles, I would believe without doubting.

We think in those days miracles happened all the time. Not so. You’re reading only of those days where miracles did happen, not the many days they didn’t. The Hebrews saw the Red Sea part, yet soon afterwards, they started doubting God.

Seeing miracles doesn’t mean you can coast without faith. It takes more faith when months and years pass; you have to remind yourself of what God has done. Don’t say, if you lived in those days, and saw the miracles, you would have overcoming faith.

You do live in those days. It’s still the Book of Acts. The Spirit still moves and God is alive and well. You have seen miracles; the greatest is salvation, and many more answered prayers and His grace in your life.

It’s not about seeing miracles, it’s about living the miracle every day. Choose to believe; it won’t matter if you see a miracle or not, because your life will BE the miracle.

Reference: John 20-21

Believe that God works in the everyday miracles in your walk, today look with discerning eyes His miracles working right in front of you and within you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Hollow and The Nail…

Who could hold the oceans in the hollow of His hand? Picture the depth of the oceans being in the hollow of God’s hand. Amazing!

These hands that can hold the oceans in its hollow, that formed galaxies, became the hands of a baby in Bethlehem, and then became the hands through which nails were driven–hands bleeding on the cross, accomplishing our redemption.

These hands that were pierced and impaled on the cross proved more powerful. In the weakness of God came His power and salvation. Remember the hands of God, the power of salvation.

You won’t win the fight by fighting the world’s way or be powerful in the world’s strategies or in your own strength. It’s the power of the pierced hand; the crucified hand. Humble yourself and you will be exalted.

Die to yourself and you will rise in His power. Surrender your will and you will overcome the world. The hands of Calvary didn’t hold the oceans in its hollow, but held nails and blood.

By this power you will win your battle, my friend. There is no greater power than the crucified hands of God.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16

Humble yourself and surrender your will to God today. The battle is won only in the blood and the power of the Lamb.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love.always,

Ed

Lord of Mars Hill…

The Jewish people considered Mars Hill, in the Greek world, as pagan, a place to avoid. But, Paul was grieved when he saw the idols, because the place really belonged to God.

He spoke to the people on Mars Hill as if they were made in the image of God and belonged to God, calling them to be accountable; to repent.

We need to do the same. We concede sinful people to the enemy, and by doing so, we grant the enemy full ownership. We stay away, not trying to win them over.

That devilish person doesn’t belong to the devil. That satanic place doesn’t belong to Satan. That sinful person doesn’t belong to sin, but to the Lord.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. That means you can’t concede or relinquish them or accept them as lost or as enemies. You have every right to intervene, challenge them, call them, lift them out of the pit, confront the enemy’s false ownership; bring them to the Lord alone.

Fight the good fight. Go to Mars Hill, my friend, win them over. For the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.

We know that we are children of God,  and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:19-20

Seek out those in the dark places and reclaim them from the pits of sin. Fight for their souls and be that Spiritual Warrior.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Down The Mountain…

Now Masada is the mountain fortress in the middle of the wilderness in Israel. Many tourists seek to ascend Masada on foot, and buy a T-shirt that proudly says, “I climbed Masada.”

Last time I was there, we didn’t feel like climbing Masada. So I and a few others decided to descend Masada. It is holy to go down mountains.

You see, Moses didn’t just go up the mountain, he also went down. If he just climbed up the mountain it wouldn’t be complete. He had to come down.

See, we go up in the Lord, but we have to go down and bring what we’ve received from God back to the world. Even the great commission that started in Jerusalem is on the mountain.

So the disciples had to go down the mountain to the great commission. So you too; you receive from God; His love; His word; His glory; His truth, and you bring it to those who need it.

It’s only complete when you do it. You need to go up the mountain and receive the blessing, but you have to go down the mountain to give it away.

 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. Acts 11:19-21

Meet with the Lord today and receive the blessings of God on His mountaintop, then take it down the mountain to give it to those who need His Word and His love.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love.always,

Ed