Ed Christian's World

Eat Your Spinage Before The Fight…

As a child, I watched Popeye, a one-eyed smoking sailor with a speech impediment. If you saw one Popeye, you knew the basic plot for all of them. He gets beaten up until finally he eats his spinach, and then he triumphs.

You have to wonder, doesn’t it make more sense to eat your spinach at the beginning, before the fight? But no, he would always wait until he could just barely get the can of spinach open.

As believers we make the same mistake. We wait until we are in the middle of warfare before deciding to fight. We live defensively. But champion fighters never do that. They don’t wait to be in the middle of the fight to figure out how to fight.

They train for the battle. God didn’t call us to live defensively, but offensively. That’s the way you win. Don’t wait to be tempted or until your back is against the wall to fight the enemy.

Live so your back is never against the wall. Put on the full armor of God and be victorious, and you won’t end up being beaten up like Popeye.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:11

Don’t let the circumstances of the day catch you off guard! Let the Word of God be spiritual nourishment and protection for you today.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Matthias Principle…

The Lord had left, Judas was gone, and the disciples had to choose another to replace him. They chose Matthias, a substitute, yet he was actually better. His name means “Gift of God.”

That says something to our life. God’s gift comes often as a substitute for what we hoped for. Salvation turns out to be a life that we didn’t plan for. It’s something that happens when what we wanted didn’t happen.

Often we view what God does as second best. For example, your marriage might have fallen apart, your spouse left you for another person, or maybe you suffered great loss in your life, or career and you feel like you are living a consolation life. But remember Matthias.

The substitute is actually a gift. God doesn’t give hand-me-downs, He only gives the best. Rejoice in what God has given you, and it will all work for good. Rejoice, because it will become God’s best. In God, there is no substitute for His best. He never gives substitutes, only gifts.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Give thanks today that God is on your side and is working all things together for good in your life!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Insulated Kingdom…

As a child going outside in the wintertime, my mother would dress me up in a sweater, scarf, snowsuit, and wrapped inside layers of insulation. It was great, but there was one problem. I was so insulated, that even though I was outside, I was still inside, hermetically sealed.

So as believers, we tend to have an insulation problem. We insulate ourselves against the outside world. But the Great Commission is outside, beyond the church building. The people outside are the ones who need salvation.

You have to go out for the kingdom to grow. Most new people are brought into a congregation by new members, not by the old members. The old tend to get insulated, inside Christian relationships.

They don’t touch the outside anymore, so comfortable in church culture. We need to get out. That can’t happen by only connecting with other believers. It happens when you take away the insulation.

Out is where the lost are, where the kingdom grows, where the Lord commanded us to go. It’s where you need to go if you’re going to touch this world. Get uninsulated and get out.

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 1 John 3:23

Today ask the Lord for someone to share the love of Yeshua with, pray with or invite to your congregation – and spread the word!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Law Of The Tomb Raiders…

In the first century, Caesar issued a decree: anyone robbing or disturbing any tomb in Nazareth or Judea was to be executed. What’s strange about that? Who on earth were less likely to touch a dead body than the Jewish people who had laws against it?

As for Nazareth, it’s not even mentioned in the rabbinical writings. So why did Caesar issue a decree there? Undoubtedly, a report or rumor came to him about Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth, and an empty tomb.

The accusations in Matthew 28:13 of tomb theft only prove that the tomb was empty. But nobody could have made it empty except God. The only One who disturbed the tomb was God. So the Nazareth Decree is further evidence that the tomb was empty.

So, if you are with God, you have the same power – to disturb tombs. Disturb the tomb of the old self, the old habit, the old situation. You have the power to make things come alive that were dead. Go into that dead situation and make it come alive by the power of God. Go in there and disturb that tomb.

And the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. Matthew 27:52

Apply the power of God to the dead situations in your life today! Speak the word of God over these areas of your life and trust God to bring restoration.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

God’s Masterwork…You

The Mona Lisa, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven’s Fifth and Ninth symphonies are each considered a masterpiece. How do you make a masterpiece unless you are a master? A masterpiece is the work of a master.

So what about your life? Did you ever think that your life can become a masterpiece? Eph. 2:10 says “We are His workmanship.” The Greek word “poiema”, is where we get the word poem from. We are to be God’s poem, God’s piece–that’s a masterpiece.

If you want your life to become a masterpiece, you have to let your life be molded by the hand of the Master. You can’t make yourself by yourself. Only the Maker can make you. Stop focusing on your works.

Start becoming a work of God. Stop getting wrapped up in your good or bad works. Start learning how to become the work of God. By your work, you can only make what is imperfect, but ALL His works are perfect.

When you become His work, then your life becomes a work of the Master, and thus you become a masterpiece.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5:18

Submit your life into the Master’s hands today. Allow Him to create the work of art that He wants you to become.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Gospel II…

As a child, I watched the original Frankenstein movie. It was a success, so they made sequels: The Bride of Frankenstein, the Son of Frankenstein, and I imagine, the ‘Uncle of Frankenstein, and on and on.

The point, when something is a success, there’s a sequel. After the Gospels, comes Acts, a sequel to the Gospel. In other words, the Gospel is so good, it has to keep on going, to spread, to produce life. It has to bring redemption, miracles, victory. That’s the Book of Acts.

So, too is The Gospel in your life – you read it, you hear it, you know it–but that can’t be all. When you read the Bible, it has to carry over, past your time of reading to become part of your life.

Jesus said, “Greater things will you do.” He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations and many signs and wonders will follow.” So get moving, spreading, proclaiming, doing, overcoming, producing miracles by His power.

Go for it, because the Gospel is too good to stop. It must have a sequel, and the sequel to the Gospel is your life.

And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2

How can you carry out your sequel to the Gospel today? Who can you bless, pray for or show the love of God to in your life? Do it.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

The Naked Zeroah..

The lamb bone on the Passover plate is called the “Zeroah,” a mystery most people don’t understand. The word means “arm.” In Isaiah 53 it says, “To whom has the ‘arm’ of the LORD been revealed?” The Hebrew word is “Zeroah.”

Jesus is the Zeroah, the “Arm of the LORD.” And when it says “revealed,” the word is “galah,” which also means to strip, to make naked, to disgrace or to humiliate. So it could be translated, “To whom has the Zeroah been stripped naked and humiliated.”

This is what happened to Jesus. He was humiliated, stripped, He died for our sins, naked, to accomplish our salvation. Don’t ever underestimate the power of God. The Zeroah is the power of God. He gave His life for you, even in weakness and humiliation, the Arm of the LORD moved for your salvation.

That’s how powerful He is. He gave up everything and overcame everything. The Arm of the LORD is stronger than any power on earth. His love is stronger than anything else. That is Jesus, the Redeemer, the Zeroah, who was stripped for your salvation.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Luke 24:44

The arm of the Lord has reached and saved you! Worship God today for His work of Salvation in your life.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Your Big Brother…

Imagine growing up in Nazareth with Jesus as your older brother, and someone wants to fight you. You’d say, “I’ll tell my older brother on you.” They might reply, “Oh yeah, I’ll call my older brother, he’s bigger and stronger.” To which you could reply, “Well my brother is Jesus. He’s going to rule the world with a rod of iron and subdue the nations; it’s all been prophesied.”

The truth is you do have a big brother, and He is Jesus. He’s there to protect you and watch your back. The enemy is a bully, seeking to harass, intimidate and push you around. When dealing with the enemy, a problem, a situation, a temptation, and it seems overwhelming, remember this: you have a big Brother, He’s the Messiah.

Call on Him. You can walk with confidence, live with boldness, face head-on situations that might be much bigger than you and still not fear, because your Big Brother is bigger than the situation.

Don’t despair, don’t get discouraged, have full confidence. Call on His name. Because you have a Big Brother and His name is Jesus, the Messiah.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20

Is there a situation in your life that appears too big for you to handle on your own? Bring it to Yeshua today. Trust Him to defend you.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

You Are Bar Elyon…

Many names in the Bible contain the word “Bar,” meaning “son of”. Simon Bar-Jonah, Bartholomew and Barabbas which means “son of the father.” The word Bar-mitzvah, means “son of the commandments.”

Jesus is called Bar-Elyon, which means, “Son of the Most High.” We’re to be little versions of Him, a little child of the Most High. What does that mean? Your identity isn’t based on yourself any more. It doesn’t come from you, your life, or your past. It comes from your Father in heaven.

You are no longer Bar-bitterness- -a child of bitterness, Bar-failure- -a child of failure, Bar-sin- -a child of sin, or Bar-hurt- -a child of rejection, hurt and wounds. All those things are not you anymore. You are Bar-Elyon, a child of the Most High.

That’s your identity, you are born from above. Your identity comes from Elyon, the Most High. That’s who you are, a beloved, holy child of the Most High.

Start believing it. Start receiving it. Start living like it and acting like it. Because you, too, are a little version of Bar-Elyon, a child of the Most High.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:16

Throughout the day today, encourage yourself that your identity is as a child of the most high God…you are Bar-Elyon!

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

A Profhetic Commentary…

A famous commentary from the 1880s, dealing with the prophecies of Israel becoming a nation again, said this, “It has been for 18 centuries a down-trodden country, it will be hereafter so no more.

Let us not doubt the word of God. If God has said it, He will perform it. Let us not be faithless but believe it will happen.” In the 19th century, the land of Israel was a barren desert and hadn’t been a nation for 2,000 years. Scripture said, “God would cause it to bloom and become a nation again.”

Other commentators said, it wasn’t going to happen, God is finished with the Jewish people; He replaced them with the Church. Well now, Israel is again a nation. Jewish people gathered back from the ends of the earth.

These faithful commentators stand as a testament to God’s prophecy and power, as a lesson to us. Have faith in God’s Word when it looks impossible! Stand strong in faith, because God will do it. If God can bring life to a land that was dead for 2,000 years, then how much more will He do it for you.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3

Today in prayer, surrender the barren, desolate areas of your life to the Lord. Ask Him to bring life to these areas for His glory and to show you His goodness.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed