ted4leaders

Blog In Auio:

Greetings,

The culture of the community of God must be one that promotes godly edification and faith. Leaders are responsible to command, if necessary, in maintaining the culture of life for the community of God. That command is not a command of control or judgment. It is a command motivated by love and given in a spirit of love to establish safe boundaries for life to flourish in the community of Christ.

Timothy was to charge those who sought to bring disputes into the church to cease their pursuit of dispute. His motive in his commands was one of love and a pure heart. He was to set an example of a good conscience and faith. In the church of the first century some had strayed from true faith in the pursuit of worthless talk and meaningless legalism. These things reveal a principle, pattern, and value that must be embraced by leaders in the church of God today. Members of the community of God must understand that God-given leaders are like shepherds in a flock of sheep, responsible to maintain a safe environment of life for the flock of God.

1 Timothy 1:5-7 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

Timothy was to present that the law is for sinners and the ungodly, not the standard for judgment of one another. He was to teach grace and forgiveness and present himself, like Paul, as an example of God’s goodness and forgiveness to mankind.

As a pastor, I was aware of my role as a son of God before being a leader. To be a good leader one must first be a good son. There were many occasions where I had to embrace the character of Christ in my own life before I could pursue instructing others to embrace that character into their lives. Being a pastoral leader is not a matter of following the rules of discipline. It is embracing the character of Christ and the attributes of God’s love in order to be an example, an inspiration, and even a source of impartation to those in their realm of influence in order to assist the growth of Christ-like maturity in the community of God. This means that every leader must embrace the work of Christ within their own lives before seeking to give instructions to others. It is a matter of attitude, and it is an issue of the heart. It is not merely a discipline of the flesh, but an attribute of life that comes from within.

Leaders cannot shy away from the responsibility of bringing discipline at times. It is part of love. It is a parental responsibility in the family of God. A leader must also know that whatever is in the heart of the one who gives discipline will be imparted into the hearts of those being disciplined. If love is in the heart of the leader, love will be imparted in their discipline. If a legalistic judgment or merely a desire to be right is in the heart of the leader, the fruit imparted will be some measure of death. God’s Spirit is love and only love can give life. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

A leader doesn’t seek to impose law upon those they lead. They seek to inspire faith that enables those who hear to experience the presence of Christ within them that brings about true change to their hearts and minds from within. It is not a matter of imposing right information upon those they lead. It is a matter of inspiring them to seek a relationship with God in their hearts that brings about true change. Those in the world are merely subject to law that they might seek life that is found by grace in Christ. Any discipline given by a leader to those they lead should be led by Holy Spirit so that those who hear will receive the voice of Holy Spirit within them that brings about true change. Discipline is not a matter of rules, methods, or ridged written statements. Discipline is an act of love from the heart of our heavenly Father.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

When we read the books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus, we are reading a unique section of Scripture. These letters are written from a spiritual father to His spiritual sons concerning their responsibilities as leaders in the church of God. These letters were not written to the church, but to the leaders of the church. They are profitable for us all to read, but when we read them we must understand that they were instructions concerning practical and relational responsibilities of specific leaders, in specific churches, dealing with specific situations. The issues of their day set principles, patterns, and values for the issues of our own day. These letters were not written so we can examine leaders to see whether they are fulfilling their responsibilities or not. They were written so we will each understand the kind of responsibilities carried by leaders, the kind of culture they are required to develop and maintain, and the kind of instructions given to leaders as to their position in the church in their responsibility of authority. These things should be understood by church leaders as well as by members of the church community. They were not intended to be a means of applying legalism or law concerning word-by-word rules in the church. They are guidelines for roles of authority in the church. I believe that authority is an attribute of giving. It is not one of control. Authority is a measure of a substance of life given to someone for the sake of those they influence. Authority gives life and leadership has a responsibility of maintaining a kingdom culture of life in the church.

In the first letter to Timothy, Paul instructed that Timothy was to teach people to live godly lifestyles. He was to charge those in his care to not be caught up in pointless things that merely prove to be fables, endless genealogies, or other things that simply cause disputes. As a shepherd to the flock of God, Timothy was to guard the culture of the community. It was to be a culture of life and peace. This principle, pattern, and value applies to church leaders in our day as well.

Members of a congregation will sometimes pursue things that don’t really matter in becoming a testimony of a Christ centered and Christ filled community. They are simply things of personal preference, personal opinion, or some personal revelation that promotes a personal idea in some way. The shepherds in the flock of God must guard against things that merely cause disputes in the community of faith. They must exercise their authority in charging those who promote things that cause disputes to cease their pursuit of such things in the context of the community of God. Leaders are responsible to guard the community of God in order to maintain a safe, life-giving culture of love. It is a parental responsibility given by God to some for the sake of the whole community.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 

I was the senior pastor of a church for twenty years. I had to exercise my authority as a shepherd of the flock on many occasions to silence some from introducing a voice of confusion to those I was responsible to lead. Some wanted me to publically state what products to buy or not to buy. Some wanted me to publically state what movies to watch, what movies not to watch, or whether to even watch movies or not. Some wanted me to introduce some sort of dress code. At times some wanted me to enforce Jewish dances or Jewish customs in the church. I even had some who tried to introduce the need for people to change their names by receiving new names from God. Some proposed that it was important to understand some theory concerning a pre-Adamic race. Others wanted to make debates in regard to an actual seven-day creation or a process of creation. Some sought to introduce legalism concerning men in ministry verses women. I faced those things as a senior pastor and I have faced those things as a leader who now influences leaders in various congregations around the world. A dispute over things that do not contribute to the testimony of intimacy with God and a covenant relationship of love has no place in the community of God. Leaders must accept the responsibility of guarding the garden of God’s community from things that do not contribute to the life of that community. A leader must not fall for distractions over things that simply cause disputes. A leader envisions those they lead to keep their focus on Jesus and make fellowship with Holy Spirit and one another the bond of community.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Leaders are given a responsibility to lead others into a way of life that is inspired by a personal relationship with God. Leaders lead others to live their lives as a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. God’s presence in our lives transforms us to become like our heavenly Father in our character, nature, way, power, and authority. God’s presence in each one, and in many together, will empower each one and everyone to be givers of life to their world. This is the testimony of the likeness and image of our Father in heaven. Leaders have this responsibility; therefore, they have an authority to walk in this purpose. Their gifting will serve this authority. Their anointing will serve their gifting to enable them to walk in the full authority of this responsibility before God.

A leader’s anointing is not the same as their authority, nor is their gifting the measure of their authority. Their authority is measured by their God-given assignment. That assignment is measured by God and not by a comparison to any assignment given to another. This is not necessarily measured in numbers of people or physical riches of ministry. The world measures importance and value by size and number. They measure authority by human desire for success. God measures authority by significance and living to the full measure of bringing eternal things into the lives of those to whom they are sent.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Some things that we create, are not meant to last. They simply serve the greater eternal purposes of God. They support the work of God for a season, but they themselves are not the true work of the Spirit. We cannot measure our success by the things of wood, hay, or straw. The true measurement of our leadership is seen in the personal connections with God found by those we lead. Our leadership is not meant to be bound to those in our immediate care, but it is even seen in the testimonies of God found in the lives of those who have moved beyond our immediate ministries. We will not know the full record until things are summed up in Christ for the glory of our heavenly Father. We must live to see a personal connection with God in the hearts and minds of those we lead. This is the connection to the foundation of Jesus Christ. God’s field, God’s building, is not limited to our ministries. It is bigger than any form of ministry or structure we create. It is meant to fill the earth with a harvest for the glory of God in all things. As leaders we live to lead others in being part of something bigger than any form of wood, hay, or straw that we can create. We lead to assist God’s sons and daughters in making personal connections to God that exhibit eternal inheritances for the glory of God.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of: www.ted4leaders.com www.ted4you.com or www.houseofbreadministry.org. Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to: House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225 To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year. Our Ministry Information Is: House of Bread Ministry 3210 Meridian St. Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As leaders we are given an authority to lead others into the way of life. That way is the way of Christ. Authority is not a matter of control. It is a matter of giving life to others. When we are given an authority, it means we have been given the responsibility of empowering others to step into the blessing of the measure of life that God has given to us for their sake.

The apostle Paul addressed the church of Corinth as being a spiritual letter written by Holy Spirit. That letter was written in his heart first as an apostle to them. An apostle is a ‘sent one’ for a purpose of others also being sent as a testimony of what has been entrusted to them in a greater way. Paul was given the responsibility of leading others into the measure of blessing released in the letter that was being written in his heart. It was not a letter written in ink, but a letter written on the hearts and minds of men and women to become expressions of the New Covenant life found in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

The letter being written in our lives is not one of human will. It is one of human submission. That submission is a willingness to receive what God is writing on our hearts and minds to become what and who God has called us to be. As the body of Christ, we are a testimony of Christ to our world. The sufficiency of leaders is not one of their personal gifting or abilities. It is a sufficiency discovered in Christ. It is supernatural and involves a partnership with Holy Spirit to become a measure of the inheritance of Christ for the purpose of the Father’s will in our world.

1 Corinthians 3:4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Leaders are not to lead by the letter of some law. They are to lead by a submission to Holy Spirit. The testimony of their leadership is not in what they can do, but in what they allow God to do in the lives of those they lead. This involves activating the life of God in each believer. It involves facilitating each believer to personally respond to the presence of God in their own lives. This includes responding to His voice, but responding to His voice is not merely about doing the right things. It is about knowing God and becoming sons and daughters of God for His will and purpose in all things. Each member must find the responsibility of their own partnership with God for His kingdom and will to be done in their lives, even as it is in heaven.

The secret to good leadership is to inspire those we lead to turn to the Lord in their hearts and be transformed from within for the glory of Jesus’ name.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This is the ministry of the Spirit. As leaders we have been given the responsibility of leading others in their turning to the Lord in their hearts. We lead them to see Jesus in their own lives and to be transformed by Him in their lives. This is not just for an individual testimony but for a corporate testimony together as an expression of the body of Christ.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Help us fulfill our Mission:

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Leaders lead others in the path of embracing the good news of God in Christ. What is that good news? The good news is that God has made a way for us to be a dwelling place of His Spirit for His glory in our world. This is not just for His blessing presence, but for His purpose in all things. We have been created in Christ for good works that we should walk in them for God’s glory in our lives. God’s purpose in our lives won’t give us God’s presence, but finding God’s presence will empower us to know His purpose. Gods sees the end from our beginning, and we are predestined in Christ for His good works that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

This good news of being a dwelling place of God by His Spirit is for those who had the covenant of the Law and for those who were destined to be a part of the covenant through the faith of Abraham. This means that the good news is for all people. As leaders we lead others to be a part of God’s eternal plan as being a dwelling place of God in all that we are and do in life.

Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

God’s presence resting in our lives is essential for our blessing and our purpose. When God created Adam, He formed Him from the dust of the earth and then breathed in him His breath of life. We must remember where we were and would be without God in our lives. Our lives without God are lives of barrenness. We end up looking for our needs to be met from a dry and barren despairing place in our hearts. When we first experienced God, He breaths into us the breath of life. His Spirit comes into our spirit.

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

By no means was the earth a paradise in the original creation. This was also true in our beginning place of knowing God, and it is still true in the place outside of our direct connection with God in our hearts. In the beginning, there was a place among the dust of the field where God planted a garden. It was there that He put the man He had formed from the dust. It was in a place called Eden. Eden means desirable place. It is a place of life-giving desire. It is a place of knowing God’s presence in our lives. It is a place of being loved by Him.

In the garden man was to have a relationship with God where he could be sent forth in a life of being fruitful, multiplying, filling, subduing, and having dominion. In the garden man experienced an administration of God’s influence where he could eat of all good things and of the tree of life for eternity, but man chose a tree of information instead of intimacy. He chose the tree of the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. He chose independence, rather than a dependency upon God in all things.

We need life, more than we need knowledge. We need one another more than we need the power to judge one another. We need to be people of mercy and grace for a destiny of giving mercy and reigning by grace in all things. We need to stay close in our relationship with God by His Holy Spirit. Leaders lead others is saying close to God by His Holy Spirit in all things and all times. This empowers our knowing of God’s love and our ability to give His love to our world.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of: www.ted4leaders.com www.ted4you.com or www.houseofbreadministry.org. Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to: House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225 To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year. Our Ministry Information Is: House of Bread Ministry 3210 Meridian St. Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

A culture of grace is dependent upon the manifest presence of Jesus in our lives. How is this possible? Holy Spirit has been sent to us by our Father God and Holy Spirit is an appearing of Jesus in our lives as a life-giving Spirit. Holy Spirit has come in the name of Jesus. Holy Spirit manifests the character, nature, way, power, and authority of Jesus to and in our spirits to empower our souls and our physical lives to be testimonies of Christ. This is the reality of God’s grace.

Grace happens at a revelation of Jesus Christ. When we see Him in our lives, our lives are changed. This isn’t merely seeing that He is, it is seeing Him for who He is. It is an intimate connection with Him in our hearts. Our hearts are the ultimate room of His presence. We are a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. He dwells in us, and we dwell with Him in this world and in all that is to come. Holy Spirit in us empowers our lives to change. We are empowered to respond to Him as the voice that activates our spirits to flood our souls for obedience to all that He says to us. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth who transforms us to become a testimony of God’s truth in and to our world.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Holy Spirit in our lives is Jesus in our lives as a life-giving Spirit. When He walks into the room everything changes! The book the Apocalypse, the Revelation, is not about doom and gloom. It’s about the person Jesus and what happens when He walks into the room. The apocalypse of Jesus Christ is about the person Jesus Christ. Each part of the book is a testimony of what happens when the person Jesus Christ walks into the room. Holy Spirit in our space causes every aspect of our space to become a testimony of Jesus in the power of His grace. The very 1^st chapter of Revelation is enough to stand on its own. Jesus loves us! He has washed us in His blood. He stands in the midst of His Church. When we hear Him, we turn and we see Him and when we see Him something in us becomes like Him, because we see Him as He is.

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Grace comes at a revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the voice behind us. He is the voice that invites us to have an encounter with Him. Every revelation from Him is an invitation to have an encounter with Him so that we can be transformed by Him and become something of that revelation. This is grace!

As leaders in and the body of Christ we must excel in living our lives with a connection to Jesus Christ in our hearts. We must turn to see Him every day. When we hear Him in our hearts, we put our focus upon Him to be transformed by Him and become an expression of His life-giving truth to our world. We lead others in this path of life.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am traveling to Bulgaria. Just a short thought for you all today:

When you respond to the calling of Christ, you find yourself in Christ and Christ in you. God has made a way for you to be a dwelling place of God by His Spirit, not just for His blessing presence but for His purpose in all things. Christ in you empowers you to live to be a blessing to your world. When you live to be a blessing, your life is multiplied in the lives of others. This is the inheritance of God in Christ. By this the gates of hell are stormed, and heaven invades the earth. What is born of God overcomes death in the world and God’s grace prevails with unexpected glory!

May you children and your children’s children invade the earth with God’s New Covenant life and grace.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of: www.ted4leaders.com www.ted4you.com or www.houseofbreadministry.org. Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to: House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225 To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year. Our Ministry Information Is: House of Bread Ministry 3210 Meridian St. Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

If we want the government of God, we must each have a willing heart for the government of God. To embrace God’s government is to let go of our old way of administrating our lives. Our old administration is one of information whereby we seek a knowledge of good and a knowledge of evil to do what we feel is right according to our own understanding. The government of God is made known through the transformation power of Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. God’s government is the life of God’s kingdom empowering our lives from within.

Our own lives without Christ, are merely kingdoms of our own will. We are predestined in Christ for something greater. We are predestined in Christ to be expressions of God’s kingdom in our character, nature, way, power, and authority as sons and daughters of God. To receive the will of God, we must trust God more than we trust our own plans. We must trust His way above our own. Unless we are willing to let go of what is ours, we cannot receive what is His.

Mark 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

How do we know we can trust God with the secret places of our hearts and minds. We can trust God because He is a loving Father. He is not a God who seeks to control our lives. He doesn’t want to restrain us. He wants to give us more than we can know. He is generous in all of His ways because He is a giver of life in all things. He is our Father and He wants us to be as He is. He wants us to be givers of life to our world. This is true love.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

God appoints leaders in the body of Christ to assist us in embracing the government of God. The government of God is not a Christian structure of leadership or administration. It is a personal relationship with God in each heart to know God intimately and powerfully.

God’s abundant ways are expressions of His love working in us, through us, and for us in all things. The kingdom of God within us is an administration of God’s love. New Covenant leaders embrace the working of God’s love in their own hearts and minds and then they lead others to do the same. The work of God’s love is made real by His manifest presence in us. This is to know Holy Spirit as the person of God’s love. Holy Spirit has been sent in Jesus’ name to cause us to be expressions of God’s heart.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

We often look to God as our rescue, but He is much more. He is the source of our being. I believe we are coming into a greater season of knowing who God is. In knowing who He is, we will also see as He sees. I gave a prophecy a few weeks back in Bellingham. I felt to share that word today.

September 1, 2024 – Ted J. Hanson

The Spirit of God says, “I put before you an open door and My voice is calling to you, and I’m saying, Come up! Come up!” And some would say, “Why must I climb? Why is it so high?”

“I’ve not called you to come to a place of escape. I’ve called you to a place of clarity. For the air is clear and the vision is clear where I am.”

And you would say, “The climb is too difficult, the climb is too hard.”

“But I’m strengthening your arm,” says God, “and I’m giving you sure footedness like the deer to be able to go where you didn’t think you could go, and the arm is strong that you can pull yourself to the place you didn’t think you could be. But it’s not just come to the place where I am. It’s to come to the place where you see what I see.” For God says, “I’m sending you forth as My givers of life. I’m causing you to be My sons, My daughters, My living waters. I’m causing you to come and to see Me as I am so that you can see yourselves as you should be.”

“And this difficulty is not a difficulty of the flesh. It’s a challenge to your spirit. For I ’m calling you to the place of clarity. For where you are the atmosphere is cloudy, but where I am the atmosphere is clear. And some of you are calling for Me to change your circumstance, to change your situation, but I’m calling you to come to Me. Because where I am the circumstance is clear, the vision is clear, and the strategy is made clear.”

“And I’m calling you to be My outstretched arm. I’m calling to see as I see, to be as I am – givers of life to your world. This is the Day called NOW. This is the season called TODAY. This is a time for clarity. It’s not that I’m coming to give you clarity. I have already given you clarity. So, come! Come to where I am and see what I see.”

As leaders, we are called to lead others to the place where God is. We lead to inspire others to be dwelling places of God’s presence. Clarity of vision is found when we see as God sees. We can only see as God sees when we find ourselves in Him and He in us. It is in abiding with Him that our vision becomes clear because it is in this hat things become clear.

Leaders lead others by seeking to see as God sees and inspiring those they lead to seek to see as God sees for everything in their lives. We cannot be distracted from God’s presence in the circumstances of our lives. God gives life, breath, and all things. When we see as He sees we become givers of life to our world.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

The secret to leadership is found in the relationship and the following. We cannot lead unless we ourselves choose to be followers first. Who are you in relationship with? Who do you follow? Our ultimate relationship is with God by the power and intimacy of Holy Spirit within us. Leaders don’t decide where to lead based upon their own desires and vision. To lead God’s people we must agree with what Holy Spirit desires to do and is doing in the hearts and minds of those we lead. We don’t lead according to human purpose and strategy. Our gifts and anointing serve the authority of Holy Spirit. Our gifts and anointing don’t define our authority, they serve it. Our authority is a God-given responsibility to live our lives in a life-giving way to our world.

In everything we do as followers of Christ and leaders in the body of Christ, we have to be willing for God to interrupt us. When King David sought to bring the presence of God into Jerusalem, he had to learn a lesson of letting God be the one who determines our process and plan of carrying God’s presence.

When David became the king of Israel, he knew that he needed the presence of God in Jerusalem in order to rule as God’s sent king. He understood that the direction of God’s government is by God and not by men alone. In the history of David’s life the Ark of the Covenant had been missing from the Tabernacle of Witness for twenty years. The Ark of the Covenant was representative of the presence of God, and it was filled with the presence of God. In the beginning days of David’s rule there was a form of godliness in the Tabernacle, but God was not there. David understood that godly ritual is not a substitute for the presence of God. We must know this as well. Doing things designed to fulfill the purposes of God will not give us God’s presence. We must have God’s presence to discover God’s purpose and to lead for His purpose.  A form of godliness is not enough to accomplish God’s purposes in the earth. Only God’s presence can bring about His kingdom will upon the earth. King David, as the governor of the government of God in the earth, recognized that in order to lead God’s house he had to have the presence of God (2 Sam. 6:1-15).

There are many hidden secrets in this story of King David. A profound secret is revealed in the death of a man whose name meant “strength” (Uzzah). He was struck dead for trying to steady the ark while it was being transported to a prepared place known as Nachon’s threshing floor (Nachon means “prepared”). David was attempting to move God’s presence without the instruction of how to carry it. It didn’t matter how spiritual of a procession he orchestrated or how much he had prepared to succeed. His means of transport was a human method and form for moving it, not a relational response to God’s instructions. The stumbling of an ox, and the death of the man who tried to control the presence of God in the task, interrupted David’s means of transport. God expects us to do things His way. Human strength and preparation are not a substitute for the way of God. In all the form that we have of God, we have to be willing for God to interrupt us. When God interrupts us, it’s not a correction to shame us. It’s a correction to keep us in the path of life for the glory of God in and through our lives.

Uzzah’s death was symbolic of the death of strength. We have to be willing to allow God to change our form of operation if our form of operation is absent God’s presence. The blessing of God is found in the presence of God. To get the presence of God we have to desire Him more than any work we may think we are doing for Him.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728