ted4leaders

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As leaders, we set an example to others in love. Leaders are not some elite clergy that love on behalf of believers. Leaders lead others into the testimony of loving others. That love is not a matter of self-gratification. It is a matter of putting the needs of others before our own. Love is not just an emotion. Love is an action. Jesus demonstrated perfect love when He gave His life as a ransom for us all (1 Tim. 2:5). The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in regard to living lives empowered by God’s Spirit in a supernatural way, but that Spirit empowered way of living was to be motivated by love for others.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails…

Love is a giving attribute, not a means of fulfilling our own desires. When we live to love others, we discover a greater fulfillment of being loved. God’s love is poured out upon us and rises up from within us when we follow the example of loving others as Jesus did.

Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

This testimony of love is fully dependent upon a supernatural testimony of God’s Spirit working in and through our lives. The actions of love are only authentic when they are motivated by the fruit of the Spirit. Love is a fruit of the Spirit, and the associated fruits of the Spirit are all connected to love.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

I believe that love is the foundation for joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Without love the other testimonies of God’s Spirit in our hearts lack the substance of authenticity. Love, like the other eight fruits of the Spirit, is supernaturally inspired, grown, and matured though our intimate connection with Holy Spirit in our hearts. The joining of our spirits to Holy Spirit is the secret to the manifestation of life-giving fruit. These nine fruits are not a discipline of the flesh. They are spontaneously revealed in our lives when we embrace and cultivate a living relationship with God in our hearts. The fruit of the Spirit will destroy the works of the flesh in our lives.

Father, we embrace a relationship of love with You in our lives. We were born to be loved by You. It is not because we are deserving of Your love, but because Your nature is one of giving love. As your sons and daughters, we willingly embrace Your Holy Spirit to empower us to love those You have given to us in this world. Help us to be patient and kind towards them. Deliver us from any self-seeking and prideful agenda in our way of life towards those we love. Empower us to be givers of life and not seekers of our own desires, agendas, or opinions. Help us to be peaceable and patient and able to see the good in others and not the evil. Even when we see a weakness in them or in ourselves, help us to be seekers of truth in a life-giving way. Open our eyes to see what You see. Empower us to bear whatever is ours to bear for the sake of those we love. Help us to believe all things according to Your will and way. Enable us to carry whatever we need to carry. Inspire us to believe all things that You say. Empower us to hope even when we cannot see. Give us cheerful endurance that proves Your love and grant us the overcoming testimony that only Your love can reveal. We know that Your love will never fail. It is not a strength of our flesh but an empowerment by Your Spirit in us.

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,

Leadership is about leading others into the testimony of life. That life is from Christ and in Christ in all things. We were born to serve others by a supernatural power of life. For this reason, God has equipped some for the sake of serving others in being equipped to bring life to their world. Every believer should know what it means to be sent by God to bring life to their world. They should know that the expression of their life is meant to bring life to their world. They should know the power of birthing life in others. Believers are called to mentor others in life-giving ways. They are appointed by their heavenly Father to care for others by loving them, even as they love themselves. God as appointed gifts for these attributes to be developed in the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…

As leaders we are called, appointed, and anointed to equip believers for the work of ministry – bringing life to the body of Christ. What is the work of ministry? The body of Christ is a metaphor for the church. The church is the co-reigning partner of Jesus Christ as the body of Christ. This is only possible by Holy Spirit abiding within her. The church receives her life from Jesus and finds her connection to her heavenly Father by the life-giving expressions of Jesus that give her a life-giving testimony in this world. Jesus always seeks to present His church alongside of Him in the rule and reign of grace that teaches spiritual powers the wisdom of God in every measure of God’s redemption story.

Ephesians 3:8  To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

As the church, we are the bride of Christ. We are to daily know fellowship with Jesus by His Spirit that abides within us. It is a deep mystery of relationship. We abide in Him and He abides in us. The process that leads to our future in all things is found in our fellowship with Him by His Holy Spirit. It is through this that powers of darkness are placed in their proper position under the feet of Christ the head (Jesus), and Christ the body (the church).

Ephesians 1:22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

The things that have been placed under Christ’s feet include every principality, power, might, dominion, and name. These are placed in their proper position when the body of Christ lives to bring life to their world. Like Jesus, we are commissioned and anointed by our heavenly Father to do good, and in doing good we destroy every work of the devil.

Acts 10:38 …how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

1 John 3:8  He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

The work of ministry is to bring life to our world. It is enabled by our fellowship with God through His Spirit within us, and it subdues every power of death by the life-giving power of Christ in us. Christ in us is the hope of glory in this world and in all that is to come. Leaders lead others by example and in the process of equipping others to be life-giving members of the body of Christ in their daily lives as men, women, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends, and every aspect of community in life. The work of ministry is to live as people who know God in all things and to touch others in their world with life that they too might know the mystery of the fellowship of Christ.

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,

Some of my blog today was posted a few years ago, but I felt it was important to post it today in the context of leading others to give life to their world. Last week I addressed the motivational giftings given to each of us for the sake of who we are together. The motivations of our being affect how we think and how we express life to our world. Although our actions are inspired by our personal motivations, the purpose of our actions is the same for each and every one of us.

Paul writes in the remaining verses of Romans chapter 12 in regard to how we should act. I call these the actions of Christian beings. These are found in Romans 12:9-21.

We are to love without hypocrisy. We can’t pretend to love. We must love. We are to abhor evil – to detest it, avoid it, and to have nothing in us that desires it. The evidence is seen in our attachment to all that is good. We are to cling to what is good in every situation, at all times. We must never forget who we are. We are family! We are the family of God! We must be kindly affectionate to one another with love that is the love of family. We should practice playing second fiddle. It is with honor that we give preference to another over our own selves. This means to seek the wellbeing of others and to give them opportunity for life even at our own sacrifice. Perhaps this even means being a good listener rather than seeking to be a good teacher to someone else in life. We must never be lagging in diligence. This means we are responsible with all that has been given to us in life. What has been given to us is for the sake of giving life to our world. We should be the first to show up when showing up is needed! We set an example that encourages others to step up to the plate when needed. This includes being fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (not your own agendas). We must have a right attitude and a right focus in life. We rejoice in hope! That hope includes an expectancy of God doing good, even when our expectations fail us. We must be patient in tribulation. Trouble only last for the night. We can expect Jesus to be our salvation in every situation. We will reap a harvest of life in due time. We must be unshakeable in our determination, being steadfast in prayer. Our lifestyles are ones of a face-to-face relationship with God every hour of our day. Our conversations with Him include listening to Him and allowing our confessions to be led by His Spirit in every way. We take care of one another, even in practical ways. We give to the needs of one another. We are hospitable in our attitudes and actions. We make room for others in the space of our living in this world. When we are treated wrongly, we don’t respond by treating those who treat us wrongly in the same way. We bless and we do not curse. We think the best. We practice being innocent to evil and wise to what is good. We choose to look for the good in others. When someone else is blessed, we rejoice in their blessing. When someone is in sorrow, we empathize with their pain. We rejoice with those who rejoice, and we weep with those who weep. We exhibit the attributes of real friends. We must never think that we are better than others in some way. We are no better, nor are we less than, someone else. We must never be wise in our own opinion. We can never think that we know it all. We are responsible for our own attitudes and our own actions in life and must never repay evil with evil. We must mind our own business and deal with our own hearts. We are to have regard for good things in the sight of all men. We look for the good and show ourselves honorable in life. We do everything we can to live in peace with everyone. This doesn’t simply mean we say peace, peace when there is no peace. It simply means we don’t look to provoke a riot in the hearts of others. When treated unfairly, we don’t avenge ourselves. We let God repay. That is God’s business, and we leave God’s stuff alone. If our enemy hungers we feed him; if he is thirsty, we give him a drink. We are not just kind because we think someone deserves it. We are kind people! In our kindness we hope to heap coals of fire on our enemy’s head. This isn’t to destroy them, it is to give them light, heat, and a way to cook their food. If we had their life, we might be an enemy too. Just maybe, our love action might inspire them to “get a life”. We must never be overcome by evil, but we must overcome evil with good. Don’t react to what is bad, make plans for good. Don’t respond to evil, be an influencer of good and evil will flee.

These are attributes of sons and daughters of God in the family of God as an influence of light to our world. As leaders these are values for which we lead.

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,

I have been addressing our role in leading people in being who they each are for the sake of giving God’s life to their world. Our destiny in life is not merely for ourselves. Our destiny in life is for the sake of our world and for those in our world. As leaders we lead others to know who God is and to know who they are for the sake of bringing God’s life to their world.

Each of us makes a great us and a terrible someone else. When we discover who we are, we can find the grace to be who we are for the sake of bringing life to our world.

We have each been given a combination of motivational gifts from our heavenly Father that serve the uniqueness of our ability to bring life to others. Those internal motivations determine our ability to function in various realms of responsibility. Those realms of responsibility are the place of our destined authority. They are not motivations that are bound to church structures or meetings, they are motivations that enable us to be who we are for the sake of others as the church. A change of meetings, forms of meetings, types of gatherings, or other circumstances of life don’t stop us from being the church. We must all love and live for the wellbeing of others at all times, but we each do so in different manners and by different ways of thinking.

Romans 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

These describe our giftings, but no matter what our giftings, our giftings only serve our ability to bring life to others in our world. We must appreciate the way of one another to be life to one another in the way that God has made us. Those who are motivated to perceive are not greater than those who are motivated to serve. Those who teach are not greater than those who are motivated to exhort others. Those that exhort are not better or less than those who are motivated towards mercy. Those who lead are not greater than those who join to their leadership for the purpose of God’s life in this world. We are each motivated to fulfill a measure of authority. That authority will bring life to others. We are not called to measure others by the motivations of our own hearts. We are called to present our bodies for a purpose that is greater than who we are by ourselves. We must each live according to the measure of grace given to us by God for the sake of being the body of Christ in the world for the calling of Christ, the testimony of Christ, and the purpose of Christ in all things. When we measure others by our own motivations, we reject the gift that they are for the sake of our corporate testimony in Christ. When we live for ourselves, we rob the community of the grace given to us for the sake of being who we are meant to be together in Christ. All are called to demonstrate love, but each and everyone loves in the way that they love. Some see the precious in what seems to not be precious, while others have a grace to break open what appears to be a flawed vessel to reveal what is precious so the precious can become useful for the sake of God’s glory. Everyone is called to give, but some have a grace motivation of giving. Those with the grace motivation of giving are not to measure others by their standards. They are to demonstrate giving for the sake all being an expression of Christ together. They are even called to give to the extent that other expressions can receive the necessary supply to accomplish the greater purpose of the being the body of Christ. Those who serve are not called to measure those who teach by their standard of serving, but to serve to fulfill their part in being the body of Christ. No member is to measure the other members but to present their bodies for the corporate purpose of God in Christ. This same principle is true for our marriages, our families, and our role in our spheres of influence in our world. We must not allow any enemy to distract us from who we are meant to be, nor to be taken out from the corporate purpose of life in Christ. We must be true to whom God has made us to be. When we embrace who we are in life, we can bring life to others. We were created to bring life to this 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,

I have been addressing knowing our identity in Christ. Leaders must grow in knowing who God is and in knowing who they are. They must grow in knowing who others are to lead them into the path of life for each one’s own destiny. Leaders lead others to find their identity, testimony, and purpose in Christ. This involves a connection to God as Father but also a connection to others in the body of Christ.

Each of us are part of a body. We are part of a being. That body is seen as an expression Christ centered community. It is expressed in our marriages and our families. It is expressed through the way we live in our everyday world. The things we do in life are connected to who we are in life. We can never fully discover who we are by the things we do, but the things we do can only bring an impact of life to our world through our understanding of who we are. Who we are is life-giving to our world and what we do expresses life to our world in practical and real ways. The more we know who we are, the more we will be able to give life to our world. Leaders lead others in knowing who each one is.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

We have not been given a life to live for ourselves. We have been given life to be life for the sake of our world. We are part of a corporate expression of life. God’s mercy invites us to live our lives as a holy service of God’s will and kingdom life as beings of life for the sake of others. The way of the world is to live for oneself. The way of the world is to take life from others to meet one’s own needs and personal desires. This is not the way of the kingdom of God. They way of the kingdom of God is to live for the wellbeing of others.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God has called us all to receive a metamorphosis in our way of thinking. Our natural state of mind is to live for our personal needs and desires, but Holy Spirit works within each of us to change our focus, aim, and purpose in life. The renewing of our mind is an internal change that comes by Holy Spirit’s influence to our hearts from within. Our spirits empower our souls to become life-giving in our thoughts, reasoning, imagination, emotions, and desires. As our thinking changes, we prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God in our journey of destiny in this world. Each of us has been given a grace by God to be who we are meant to be for the sake of our world.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

To think more highly than we ought to think is to think outside of the boundaries of who we are. What has been given to us in this world? Who are we today? We cannot live our lives in realities that are not our realities today. Whoever we are is who God gives us the grace to be. To think soberly is not to think with limitations or some form of religious piety. It is to know that who we are is serious business for our world. Being true to who we are today will bring life to our world today! Our world is dependent upon us bringing life to it. Our relationships are dependent upon us bringing life to them. Knowing this and becoming this is a matter of faith. It is not a matter of natural sight. It is a matter of hearing God’s voice from within our hearts to be who we are meant to be.

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 lead people to know their part in the calling of Christ, the inheritance of Christ, and the purpose of Christ in all things. These things can also be defined as knowing one’s own identity, testimony, and purpose in this world. It is not about living for ourselves. It is all about being who we are for the testimony of Christ and the greater things that Jesus said we would do in advancing the generations of Christ in the nations.

Jesus came to reconnect us to our heavenly Father so we could live our lives revealing His likeness and image to our world. He came to give us back the true riches of who we are meant to be. He came to give us our freedom, our liberty, our restored inheritance, our redeemed authority, our victory over every enemy, our beauty, our connection to our Helper (Holy Spirit), our comfort, our counsel, our joy, our praise, and all the life-giving attributes that reveal who we are to our world. These attributes are not our goal, they are simply that testimony of our planting as trees of righteousness in Christ.  

Isaiah 61:3 …that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” 4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

As leaders, we lead others in the way of being connected to God, who is LIFE! Only life can rebuild old ruins, raise up former desolations, and repair ruined cities. Our mandate to build is because something has been torn apart. Our mandate to raise things up is because something has been thrown down. Our mandate to repair or ‘make new’ is because something has been ruined in its relational connection to God and others. We cannot approach any situation by assessing how torn apart it is, how thrown down it appears, or how ruined it is it its quality of life. We must approach every situation in life on the basis of our connection with LIFE. God is LIFE and our connection to Him and His family of life is powerful enough to bring His testimony of life to any situation in in our world.

Our part in the corporate identity of Christ is always about being alive in Christ with others. It is always about being an expression of life with and for others. Who we are meant to be is connected to a partnership with God and one another in destroying the works of the devil by being those who release the works of God in Christ. We each fulfill a purpose of bringing life to our world through a relational connection with God and one another.

We are part of a body, and we are not merely individuals of flesh. We are part of a being, not a place of ministry. We are a body that chooses to love other body members and to love those who are yet to find their role in the corporate expression of Christ. We are not called to ministry; we are called to be a part of a body that simply takes action in loving others. The body of Christ is not a vocation or some testimony of God’s power. We are a family that demonstrates love in supernatural and powerful ways. Our doing is connected to our being, our being is not connected to our doing. We find our identity in being, not in what we do. What we do gets its identity from who we are in Christ and from who we are together as the body of Christ. Everything about our journey in this world is joined to life for the purpose of bringing life 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,

Each human being has a destiny in Christ to bring life to their world. The uniqueness of each person is meant to bring life to individuals in this world that are commissioned by God for them to bring life to. Jesus was a firstborn of a new creation of humanity. He came as a last and eternal Adam for the sake of all humanity. He lived His life as a man as we should live our lives as sons and daughters of God. When Jesus had completed His life as a man, He prayed to His Father that in the same way that He had been sent to the world, He was sending His disciples and those who would follow.

John 17:9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

Jesus came for the sake of us all, but He was sent by His heavenly Father to a few to demonstrate the value of each and every one of us to God as our heavenly Father. Jesus came to reconcile us to our Father that we might give our lives to those that God has given to us in this world as Jesus did for those His Father had given Him. Our salvation in Christ is not merely a salvation of going to heaven when we die. It is a salvation that includes fulfilling our heavenly purpose in this world.

God determines who we are. We will never discover who we are by looking to ourselves. We can only discover who we are by looking to God and finding how we give life to others in our world. We are like our Father. We are to be givers of life.

As leaders, we don’t just lead others to know the truth about God. We lead them to be a testimony of the truth of who they are in Christ. We lead to help each one find their connection to God in their hearts and to live in the uniqueness of who they are for the sake of giving life to their world. The enemy uses the environment of our world to tempt us to trade for something less than who we really are. Our true identity can only be found through the internal connection of our spirit to the Holy Spirit of God. It is only from within our spirit that our soul can discover the reality of our true identity in this world. The enemy of our soul comes in the form of outside sources in an attempt to make us trade our true identity for a lie. Spiritual forces inspire our souls to yield to our own fleshly desires to find an identity that is redefined by the external forces of our environment.  

A created being known as the star of the morning (the Latin Vulgate describes as Lucifer), was created to bring light for every new day. His attributes and characteristics were depicted as the root of the testimony of the King of Babylon and the King of Tyre through the prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:12-19). This created being was a covering cherub that revealed expressions magnifying the light, sound, and the rhythm of God. It was a daily process (morning star) and it was connected to his ability to refract or reflect the light of God in various expressions of the frequency of light. He was an excellent creation of God, and he had a great purpose before Him. He failed in his purpose through pride. He saw what he was not (the stars of God) and he desired an identity that was not his. This same enemy seeks to inspire pride in the human soul through jealousy, envy, shame, discontentment, and a rejection of men to tempt them to trade their true identity for a lie. It is only through our true identity given to us by our Father in heaven that we can bring the life that God intends for us to bring to those that He has given for us to influence in this world. Leaders grow in knowing their true identity in Christ and they lead others to find their own unique identity through the internal connection of their spirit to the Holy Spirit 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 grow in knowing who God is, who we are, and who we are sent to in order to give them the life that we have received from our heavenly Father. We lead others into this same understanding. God knows who He is, and He is not defined by who we think He is. He is who He is, and He brings life to us and to our world. He doesn’t need anything from us because He is a sufficient giver of life. He gives us life, breath, and all things. We find our identity in Him, our testimony in Him, and our purpose in Him in life. When we find our true identity, we give life to others.

God determines who you are. We will never discover who we are by looking to ourselves. We can only discover who we are by looking to God and finding how we give life to others in our world. We are like our Father. We are to be givers of life.

The enemy uses the environment of our world to tempt us to trade for something less than who we really are. The environment of our world can wound us and cause harm, dysfunction, and even death. That environment cannot define who we are. It can only challenge us to rise up in our true identity. Who we are will always bring life to our world. Therefore, who we are is not defined by our needs. It is defined by the empowerment of God in our hearts to overcome every wicked thing. Our source of identity is only found in Christ by our connection to Holy Spirit.

Wicked things are things that prevent us from being givers of life to our world. They prevent us from receiving life from our heavenly Father and alter us in our course of life to distract us from the true path of greatness. That path is a path of giving life to others in our world.

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. 17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

There is a race to run! There is a divine commission for us to labor in. Our lives are to be poured out to give life to others. It is a sacrifice and service on our part to empower the faith of others in Christ. When we find our true identity, we find ourselves living for the wellbeing of others. We don’t seek a freedom for ourselves, but a freedom for others because of us. This doesn’t mean that we don’t find freedom. We find the freedom of being a giver of life to our world. This is the likeness of our heavenly Father.

1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

When we discover our true identity, we can become empowered by God’s grace to edify others. How do we bring life to our family? How do we bring life to our friends? How do we bring life to our relational connections in this world? When we give life, we receive life. We receive life that we might give more life to others and in giving more life to others our heavenly Father gives life to us.

We can only give life to others when we acknowledge the truth. Grace comes on truth. That truth is to say to those whom God gives us in life, “Here I am. I am here for you. I am here to give life to you that you might know the greater measure of life that can only come from the One who gives life, breath, and all things. He is our heavenly Father.”

Everything in life has a corporate purpose. Every member of our physical body lives for its joining parts to bring health and life to our whole being. We were born for our friends, for our spouse, our family, our connection in the body of Christ, and our purpose in giving life 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,

I believe that there are five basic classes of people on planet earth. There are the very poor, the poor, the middle class, the rich, and the very rich. The possessions of these people are not what determine who these people are. Each of these classes of people actually determines how much they possess. These classes of people are based upon the beliefs of their hearts. For a large part those who comprise the Church are very poor in their mentality. The very poor think from day to day. What in us thinks only for today? Whatever in us thinks for today will act for today, think for today, and live for today. A very poor mindset will keep us bound to today. It will not bring the blessings of the rich inheritance of God into the earth. What in us doesn’t understand how awesome we are as the family of God? These are the things that keep us bound to a very poor mentality in life.

The second class of people is the poor. Poor people think for some short segment of time. They live for the month, a few months, or maybe even the year. Their strategies and plans look to things that are within their own reach. They live to maintain life in this world, but they don’t live to change the world. They believe in entitlements more than they seek empowerments. Any riches they receive they spend it upon wasted causes and short-term agendas of existence in this world.

The middle-class lives year to year and may even plan for the comfort of many years. Their focus is comfort. Much of the Church lives to be comfortable. It is a middle-class life. Those with a middle-class mindset don’t live for significance but spend any inheritances they receive on the successes of their own lives.

The rich live for longer segments of time. They may even give a segment of inheritance to their children, but they still lack something of the substance of true destiny. The very rich live for decades and even centuries. Very rich people don’t think about what is going to happen in the next year. They think about changing nations. They think about changing generations. Very rich people don’t live to make more money. They live to change the world. God doesn’t just want to give us possessions; He wants us to be people who possess the earth.

We could have a widow’s coin and not have a poor mentality. We are not equal with others. We are not supposed to be equal with others. God doesn’t want us to be equal with others. He wants each of us to be significant in the worlds in which we live. He wants us to influence others by the things we possess. A lady named Tabitha had to be raised from the dead because she had the mentality of a rich person in this earth. She made valuable clothing for forgotten widows and when she died God summoned Peter to raise her from the dead, because her destiny of bringing heaven to the earth for widows was greater than her ultimate destination to a heaven beyond this world (Acts 9:36-41). Tabitha was a woman with a kingdom mindset in this world.

Abraham understood the keys to a kingdom mindset even while he was still called Abram. When he encountered King Melchizedek upon his return from rescuing Lot and the goods of Sodom, he recognized Melchizedek’s gifts of bread and wine as a spillover of the blessings God held for him in heaven. Abram spilled over with a tithe of what he had as a covenant response calling for all that God would give him from heaven for his inheritance in the earth (Gen. 14:17-24). He had a mentality of Abraham even though he was still Abram.

Abram was destined to become Abraham, but he didn’t know it. God knew it, but Abram did not. However, Abram thought like a very rich man. He understood that a kingdom mindset has to do with who you are and not what you do.

Abraham was a rich man, but God was very rich (Gen. 13:2, 3). When God gave His covenant promise to Abraham a very rich God was talking with a rich man. God was presenting a 100-year plan to a rich man. Abraham was 99 years old. There must be a 100-year plan. The church is 99! There must be a very a 100-year plan! To receive a 100-year plan we must know the one with the 100-year plan.

Genesis 13:2, 3 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.  He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai…

Abraham’s foundation was the mindset of a very rich man. Because he thought like a very rich man he could go from Bethel to Ai. The journey of his life supernaturally demonstrated that as the house of God (Bethel), the only direction you can go is to the heaps and the testimonies of God in the earth (Ai). The real issue of inheritance is that God is very rich, and He wants His family to change the world.

Genesis12:7, 8 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.  And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Abram moved, but when he moved the house went with him. Too much of the Church is begging to be the house when they are already the house. Build a tabernacle and move! Don’t stay at the memories of what God has done. Move forward with the grace that God has given you to do all things.

Move from the place of the house of God because they are the house of God and move west. Ai is on the east and Abram went on a journey still!

Abraham was very rich therefore God could make him exceedingly fruitful.  How do you see yourself? Abraham was not a person. He was a house. How you see yourself determines your beliefs, your actions, your imaginations, and your influences. Do you see yourself as a house? Don’t see yourself as a ministry, a giver of blessings, or a healer. See yourself as God’s inheritance in this earth.

God of heaven, possessor of heaven and earth, impregnate us and activate us to be your testimony of inheritance in this world. You are our Father, and we are Your sons. Activate us to be very rich so we will be exceedingly fruitful. Give us an impartation and an activation of a 100-year plan for the sake of those we lead.

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,

God wants us to live in the perpetual testimony of a 100-year plan. He wants us to live as blessings that multiply those blessings to a second generation. Those multiplying the blessing of God empower a third generation to possess the gates of their enemies. Gates are forces of power in the world. Gates are portals the release what is behind the walls they guard to the world. The force behind a gate is seen in the power of the one who advances from behind the gates. To possess the gate is to hold the power that is released from the gate. The power that comes from the gate is seen in life and also by powers of death. When we believe God, we act upon God’s ways and God’s ways create a power within our hearts that is a force of life to our world. The imaginations of our hearts empower us to create a world that is different than the influences of death in times past. This is the testimony of the inheritance of Christ in a third generation and it becomes an authority of influence in a fourth generation. That influence establishes new first things, new principles that carry on to the generations to come.

Our beliets and actions are not connected to the knowledge we know. They are connected to who we believe. Who we believe determines who possesses the gates. Who possesses the place of heaven in the earth? Who possesses the high places in the earth? Whoever possesses the gates, possesses the places of influence. God’s covenant promise to us is that our descendants should possess the gates of their enemies. This is part of God’s inheritance in the earth.

When inheritances are given, they remain in the earth. These are the things that create places for the coming generations to stand. We stand in the inheritances given by those before us and we walk forward to expand those inheritances to the generations beyond us. God’s covenant promise to men is that wherever the soles of their feet walk it will become the possession of their inheritance. Money is not for spending; money is meant to change the world. Wealth isn’t given to merely gratify the pleasures of a generation. Wealth of any kind is meant to influence the world. It is not the destiny of any generation to spend the inheritances given from the previous generations upon themselves. Inheritance is meant to influence the generations of men. The riches of inheritance far exceed the value of mere things and those valuable things are a power of influence in the world.

Jesus came to this world as a man so that through Him all the families of the earth could be blessed. Going to heaven is a fringe benefit of believing in Jesus, but bringing heaven to the world in which we live is a part of our destiny. We are called to advance the kingdom of God in the earth. We are called to bring the kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love. We must receive the inheritances given to us by God to pass them on to the generations that follow our lives in this earth.

God’s promise to Abraham was not a promise to a man. It was a promise to his house. The good news given to Abraham was that he could trust in the Promiser. He could trust in the one who gave a promise, and He could change the world through the house of Abraham. The strength of the world is that they think they are the house, but they are not the house. The weakness of the church is they don’t know they are the house, therefore, they long to go to God’s house in some place in the sky. All God has ever wanted is to tabernacle with men. All He wanted to do was to move into the neighborhood of humanity and satisfy the human heart.

We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing from God in heavenly places, but we must first believe that we have been blessed in order for us to receive the blessing of those blessings here upon the earth. When we receive those blessings, we live to be a testimony of that blessing to our world.

When I have lived my life and run my race, I want it to be said that I believed therefore I acted. I acted therefore I dreamed. I dreamed therefore my children and my children’s children were born with vision. My family was born with vision therefore many families of the earth were blessed. This is a testimony of inheritance and the reality of a 100-year plan. This is the kind of leaders we should be in the Church.

It is only through living as inheritors and givers of inheritance that we can see the hearts of the fathers turn towards the children and the hearts of the children turned toward the fathers. This is the testimony of inheritance and a 100-year plan. By this the curses of futility are broken, and the blessings of heaven invade the earth.

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