Ed Christian's World

The Rock House…

The Empire State Building rises one hundred and three stories, nearly a quarter of a mile into the sky. It weighs around 303,000 tons. How can you build something that massive without it crashing down?

The answer is the foundation of the Empire State Building descends thirty three feet below the sidewalk. It rests on stratum granite, the very rock that’s the earth itself.

If not for this thirty-three foot foundation, all its one hundred and three stories, six thousand windows, seventy-five miles of water pipes, and 303,000 tons of steel would come crashing down.

Your entire life is like the Empire State Building. You build it upwards, with career, family, homes, goals, reputation, all sorts of things. If your life is not firmly founded on the rock it has no sure foundation and will ultimately fall apart.

Jesus said to build our house on the rock. The Rock is God – the only sure foundation. That which is built apart from the Rock will ultimately come crashing down. That which is built upon the Rock, firmly grounded on the Lord and His Word, will rise to the heavens and neither fall nor be shaken.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

Schedule a building inspection today. Go over Jesus’s checklist to see if your life, your footings are rooted and grounded in Him. If not, you can always reschedule.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

In The Fullness Of Time…

Do you want to enter the presence of God? Past, present, and future – which one sounds like the presence of God? The present is linked to ‘the presence.’ If you want to enter the ‘presence’ of God, you have to enter the ‘present’ of God.

You won’t find the presence of God if you’re living in the past – what happened, what didn’t happen, the good, the bad. God’s presence is not in the past. At the same time, you won’t find the presence of God if you’re living in the future – what you’re waiting for, what you’re anxious about.

God’s presence is not in the future. The high priest entered the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. To enter the presence, He had to be present, in the present. If you want to live in the presence of God, start living in the present of God. Seek Him, not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today and now.

Forget what happened, forget what’s supposed to happen. Seek Him now. Stop striving, be still, and know that He is God. Now is the time of salvation. The past is past, but present… is the presence.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Wholeheartedly seek to be in the presence of God today; look for Him now.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Ed

His Feet On Your Thoughts…

It is written in Isaiah 66:1: “Heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool.” That means that this whole world is, to God… a footstool. All our lives we’ve been living on a footstool; our thoughts in this world are footstool thoughts.

It means that no matter how high our thoughts, God is still above them. No matter how theological our doctrines, they’re only footstool doctrines. God is still way above them. A footstool is made for feet.

So our thoughts are made for God. Our thoughts, no matter how spiritual, will never be complete, never enough, never be sufficient in themselves. They need the presence of God to rest on them.

It is written that God put everything under Jesus’s feet and so our thoughts. That means, we must put everything, every notion, every idea, under His feet, under His reality, under His rule, under His Lordship.

Footstool regrets, pride, fears, grudges, are footstool thoughts. Put them all under God’s feet. For all our thoughts are footstool thoughts. They exist for one reason only, so you could place them under God’s feet.

For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:27

The world is your footstool and all the problems and challenges therein – today practice putting it all under your feet.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Pleasure Principle…

Thomas More relays the incident when Lord Ellensborough, the presiding judge in a court case sat listening to a boring presentation by a lawyer. The lawyer asked, “Is it the pleasure of the court that I should proceed with my statement?” The judge replied, “Pleasure has been out of the question for a long time, but you may proceed.”

It was a striking remark but profound; an important principle. Many people live on the pleasure principle. If it feels good, do it. But when it comes to doing what’s right, pleasure is out of the question.

Whether you should proceed in a certain direction or action in life has nothing to do with pleasure, but everything to do with is it right? Is it God’s will? You can’t have it both ways. What is pleasurable is not always right and what is right is not always pleasurable.

If you live seeking pleasure, you would live a life that was neither righteous nor pleasurable. For when it comes to goodness, put away pleasure and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness for that is the pleasure of God. And your life will be filled with joy.

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

Today seek not to go on the pleasure principle – but on the righteousness principle – Don’t do what feels good or avoid what feels bad – do what’s right no matter what.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Problem Is Your Plow…

The ancient Hebrews rejoiced in the reaping of their harvests. But before they could reap, they had to sow, and before they could sow, they had to plough. It was the ploughing that readied the ground by turning the soil over and over again.

In your life, there are times when everything gets turned upside down and all seems mixed up. When your life is being turned upside down, getting mixed up, and turned over and over again, it’s a sure sign that your life is being ploughed.

That’s a good thing. You see, ploughing has a purpose. Ploughing loosens up the hard ground, moistens the dry ground, brings oxygen and nutrients into the barren ground, and prepares the soil to receive new life.

When you find your life in a ploughing time, God is breaking up the routine of your life, the hardness and dryness of your walk. He’s opening your life up to receive new life.

So rejoice, and receive the change God wants to bring into your life for blessed are the ploughed, for they shall also be sown. And blessed are the sown, for they shall also bear much fruit.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Whenever something comes your way today that seems to throw things off schedule or plan, see it as the ploughing of God and seek to see the good He wills to bring forth.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Truth Behind Krishna…

In the early seventies, the Hare Krishna movement began attracting multitudes of followers in the west. Others chanted his name in their yoga meditations and spoke of the importance of attaining the “Krishna consciousness,” a consciousness of love, wisdom, and universal peace.

Who or what is this Hare Krishna? He’s an ancient Hindu god. According to the mythology, he was the god Vishnu who would come to earth in various incarnations: a fish, a tortoise, a pig, a dwarf, and then a man named Krishna.

Krishna was mischievious and often violent, who committed acts of sexual immorality, revenge, and murders. This Hare Krishna movement and Krishna consciousness is based on a god who was a fish, a pig, and then a man given to violence, murder, and sexual immorality.

You see Krishna, like the many guises of Satan, always appears first as an angel of light and so all his temptations and enticements. But when you give them room, then they reveal their true nature – immorality and destruction.

Stay far away from that thing that tempts you. For behind the flowery promises… is a dark and godless spirit of destruction.

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14

If “it’s too good to be true”, then it will be too good to be true. So be aware; be on the alert today of false appearances of light.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Show Them…

I have found most Orthodox Jews will not mention the name of God, but call him “Ha Shem,” “the Name.” In a similar way, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12, speaks of being caught up to the third heaven, and hearing inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to utter, and could not be spoken about.

You see, there are two realms: the About and the Inexpressible. The About is where most believers live. We talk about the Lord, sing, teach, learn, serve, and follow about the Lord but it’s not the ultimate place a believer is to live in.

We’re to live in the realm of the “Inexpressible.” The problem with most churches and believers is in going about the Lord’s business, they’ve lost the Lord in the realms of the About and the Inexpressible.

When you first came to the Lord you were filled with inexpressible thoughts, feelings, and realities. Have you lost the precious inexpressible presence of the Lord?

Take time today; get out of the realm of “About,” and come back to the Lord, the Inexpressible, face to face in His glory, to behold that of which one is not permitted to speak.

 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Luke 2:49

Come back to the Lord today. Serve Him like when you first gave your life to Him, but this time, take it a step higher.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Non-commandments…

There are times in our daily ministry where people are carrying out a directive which they were told came from me. One day they tell me about it and I say, “I never said that.” They say, “But I’ve been doing things this way because I was told that’s the way you wanted it.”

It turned out someone misunderstood or assumed something, and then told someone else that this was the directive from me. But it never was. These are miscommunications and misdirectives.

It doesn’t only happen with earthly things. There are heavenly miscommandments. People often make mistakes when it comes to hearing Him and then relaying what He said to others.

When this happens, I’ll tell the person, ‘Don’t assume that something is from me, just because someone said it. Come to me about it. Get it direct.” The same way with the Lord.

You have to go direct and check back with the Word, as the Bereans when they heard Paul. You have to hear direct, from God’s Spirit to your heart.

Don’t waste your walk believing misunderstandings, obeying miscommandments, and carrying out misdirectives. For Jesus died… so you could go direct.

Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge, teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports  to those you serve? Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, Proverbs 22:20-22

Today make it a point to go directly to God about any and everything that comes up.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Strong In Purity – Life…

We have all heard of KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid but I want to rephrase it to Keep It Simple and Straightforward.

I’m a fan of simple and simplicity. When I tackle a project, I don’t think I’m done until I’ve found the simplest way to look at it. I think of simplicity as a process. You can’t always start there, but you can find it or create more of it as you go. I also think of simplicity as a by-product. It happens when I find the elegant path or the simple truth.

Sometimes I see simplicity as a means to an end — where the end is a simpler understanding or a simpler result or a simpler way to share. Sometimes I have to look backward to find simplicity — I can’t always find simple up front, but sometimes when I look back, it was there all along, either hidden among the chaos, or I just didn’t have the right outlook.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:1-2

The most important thing I’ve learned about simplicity is that simplicity wins in the long run. Simple is stickier than complexity, and it survives. I think nature teaches us that, and we learn it time and again in work and in life. Life is simple, it’s our human desire that complicates it.

Jesus was the prefect example of living the simple life. He lived in humility, cared for everyone, and walked a path of sincere love for all mankind. He set the example of how we are to live our life on a daily basis. Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus – look to Him as your example in selfless humility.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:5

There is no secret to living a simple life, it is a choice you make every morning when you wake up. Wake up happy, determined to be happy with every point of your day. Search for the good in things rather than lamenting the negative.

Believe it or not, there is something good in everything we face in our daily walk. Thank God for the blessings He gives you daily and share those blessings with everyone that crosses your path throughout the day.

Love others as you love yourself. This simple statement will open your world to more joy and happiness than any other you will come across. Treating others with the same respect you wish to have makes life so much more easier to live. Lifting others up fills both you and them with unequivocal joy, plus it encourages them to share this joy with others.

Life is as simple as we make it and as hard as we choose. After all, it comes down to choice, but if you keep it straightforward and full of love you will be happy beyond your expectations.

A joy shared is a light in someone’s world that multiplies to everyone it touches. I choose a simple life serving others as I serve God. It keeps a song in my heart and a smile on my face.

What about you, how do you look at life today? Is there anyway I can be of help to you?

Keep it simple and straightforward – that’s what life is supposed to be!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Outside Room…

Why did Josef and Mary go outside to bear their Child? Because there was no room at the inn? Yes. But more than that. Even if there was room at the inn, there would still be no room at the inn.

The Lord’s presence came into this world not in the inn but in the out, the outside…. The only place that could contain Him… Without walls, there’s no containing. God is so big; only a room with no walls can contain Him.

Nothing can contain Him, not the highest heaven, much less our doctrines, our religiousness, our ministries, our thoughts, our music, our services. God’s presence came in the open.

The miracle of God cannot be contained, but only comes in the open. You want a miracle? The miracle of God’s presence to come new and fresh into your life? Then you must find it in the open. For in the open it comes: in an open mind, an open heart, and an open life.

Open up your whole life today. Start breaking down the walls. Enter the room of the open. The uncontainable can only be contained in a room with no walls.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Go outside today – and take some time with God, meditate on His vastness, greatness, the great expanse of His love.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed