ted4leaders

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Greetings,

The things of God are today! God is speaking and is only in TODAY that we can hear what God is doing. The future of the earth is not determined by what is going on in the earth. It is determined by what is going on in heaven and how the influence of heaven can invade our earth for the will of God and the influence of His kingdom to come. For this reason, we must lead as New Covenant leaders.

Old Covenant leadership leads by giving people information of what God did in the past and making that the rule of their faith. This is not really faith at all, but a belief system that is bound to something that was the result of someone hearing God yesterday. The focus of Old Covenant leadership is largely upon something that can be seen because of what God did yesterday. It is a leadership that takes people by the hand and leads them. It can end up becoming a system where the supposedly smart people lead the less intelligent people though a government of control. It is very informative and informative leadership can gather a crowd because it offers a form of perceived safety to common connection based upon a common project or a common work. That project or work is centered upon building a memorial to the memory of something that God has done. There is a perceived safety in saying you follow something that is not really going to new places but gives the assurance of places that have been known. This type of leadership may give an appearance of going somewhere new, but that new place is only a new rendition of something that has been done before. Metaphorically speaking, this type of leadership pretends to offer new life, but it is an experience of old wine in another version of an old bottle. It is perceived to be more stable and not so volatile, thus it appeals to those who don’t trust what they have not seen, heard, or thought before. It offers a connection to external things, but it doesn’t inspire the heart and mind from within. It connects people to a work of God, but it doesn’t inspire knowing God in your heart and in your mind.

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.”

New Covenant leaders inspire people to go to places that they have not been before. This is not merely for the sake of going to new places. It is for the purpose of destiny in Christ. Like the river of God described by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 47), it is a flow of water that progresses forward for a deeper reality of God in human lives. Because it is a fuller reality of God it is a further commitment and connection to who He is in our lives. This involves letting go of some things to embrace the new things of God in our lives. It is hard to swim in the deeper waters of God if our hands of full of things that were established as monuments along the banks of the river of God in the past. When the memories of what God did become the focus of our attention, they create monuments that hold us to the banks of the river and prevent us from going further in the flow of what God is doing in the generations of humanity. By default, what should be New Covenant subtilty embraces an Old Covenant government that doesn’t hear God now and doesn’t enter the new season of God in the earth that bears the fruit of God’s life for today. To go forward seems risky because going forward is a matter of faith. 

Luke 5:39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.'”

New Covenant leaders are required to lead people into places they don’t immediately desire to go. Old Covenant leadership is in many ways simpler and Old Covenant leadership makes people dependent upon leaders. I believe that much of the church is led in Old Covenant ways. For this reason, many of our church structures and methods are dependent upon strong leaders who become kings and priests for the people. New Covenant leaders must inspire those they lead to hear what they are hearing. They cannot hear God for the people but they themselves must hear God and they must be obedient to faith. They then inspire those they lead to be people of faith. Faith is the supernatural result of a personal relationship with God in our hearts. It comes when we hear God speaking to us from within. New Covenant leaders must lead people to hear what God is saying now. They must lead people into a personal responsibility of embracing God presence of love and God’s presence of purpose in their own lives. This is a daily reality. It is seasonal and requires each one to bear the fruit of the present season of God in their lives and in the earth. The fruit of the present season is a testimony of what God is doing is now, not a memory of yesterday. The best wine is now!

John 2:10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

The best wine is the life of God revealed in our hearts and minds that inspires a testimony of God’s life-giving Spirit today. It inspires a celebration of life as an intimate connection with God by each and everyone. The miracle of Jesus at the wedding of Canna was a miracle that depicts a celebration of intimacy and a foundation for a covenant relationship of life. New Covenant leaders lead others to know God in their hearts.

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 must know the reason for which we lead. Do we lead for Christian works? Do we lead for Christian ministry? I believe that we must lead for love. This is not just humanistic love, but the love of God made known in our hearts and through the works of our lives. That love is manifested as being members of the family of God. We lead in the family so that every member of the family can be inspired and empowered to love someone else, but it is for love that we lead. The family of God is a place of knowing the love of our heavenly Father in all things. His love is manifested both naturally and supernaturally. But even when it is in practical and natural things, it is in a supernatural way that God’s love is revealed. Do we love to minister to others, or do we minister to others because we love them? The testimony of true family is a testimony of love. It is not a testimony of works of ministry. The apostle Paul commended those who led with love as the motivation of their hearts.

1 Corinthians 16:15 I urge you, brethren—you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints— 16 that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us.

The household of Stephanas had committed their lives to loving the believers in Achaia. Paul commended the church of Corinth to submit to those like those who were part of the house of Stephanas. It was not for the love of ministry that they served. It was for the love of others that they ministered. This is the testimony of true leadership. Submission to such as these, inspires and empowers us to love as well. When we love people, we are willing to minister to them in whatever is necessary and in whatever way serves best to show our love.

The woman Phoebe was such a woman in the church of Cenchrea. Paul charged the church to receive her and to help her in whatever business she had need of them. Her business was helping many, including Paul. No doubt, it was because of love that she served. This was her qualification as a leader in the church of Cenchrea. Her serving was not the qualifier of her life. It was her love that empowered her to serve. She was no doubt willing to serve in whatever was necessary. Her business seemed to have many aspects to it, and she needed help of other believers to fulfill the service of what was in her heart.

Romans 16:1 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 2 that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.

Leaders like the patroness Phoebe were people of love. Pricilla and Aquila were a well-known couple to Paul in the early church. They traveled with him on occasions in ministering to churches in Paul’s charge. Their motivation was no doubt love. They even risked their own lives for the sake of loving Paul and the early church.

Romans 16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ.

The qualification of being a minister in the early church was not merely because of gifting and anointing. It was not based upon gender, whether someone was a man or a woman. It was based upon being a part of the family of God with an ability to love others and to inspire love in them to be the family of God. That love was the fruit of an internal intimate relationship with God in Christ. The anointing of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers helps us demonstrate the love of Christ to others and to one another in a supernatural way. It is for love that leaders lead!

Paul’s commendations of those who served in ministry was a testimony of love, not one of mere supernatural gifting. They were loved by him, and they loved him. They demonstrated that love in their service and sacrifice for others. That same spirit was in the very fabric of who they were as those who served the will of the Father and the glory of Jesus name.

Romans 16:6 Greet Mary, who labored much for us. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. 10 Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my countryman. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have labored in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.

The testimony of these leaders and their work in ministry was one of love. The testimony of the early church was one of covenant and love. It was a testimony of being the family of God. Paul’s commendation of each of them carried a tone of affection and gratefulness for who they were as members of the family of God. Their service was a service of love. Those who lived for mere agendas of ministry had a different spirit than what Paul considered a qualification for ministry.

Romans 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

Those who lead for the love of ministry live for their own desires and the appetites of their own flesh. They do not produce the fruit of family love. They may use words that sound like love, but they fail to lay their lives down for the sake of being the family 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,

We cannot teach people to know God. We can only point them to the One they know. It is the Holy Spirit within each of us that is the true teacher of life. All external teachers can only teach by way of information, but Holy Spirit teaches by way of transformation. It is not a matter of taking someone by the hand and leading them. It is a matter of having hearts and minds that are transformed by the character, nature, way, power, and authority of God from within.

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

The kingdom of God is an Internal kingdom that affects the external kingdoms of the world by changing the internal nature of our hearts and minds. As leaders, we point people to the internal kingdom of God in their hearts. When we seek first the kingdom of God in our lives the fruit of the spirit will be evident. The fruit of life will surround us. Our lives will be established through a personal relationship with God in our hearts. The kingdom of God is a constant coming in kingdom within us.

When leading people questions are often better than answers. How is that working for you? What did God say to you? What do you sense? Is that true to the character of God? What is your heart telling you? Do you have peace? Do you have faith and a release in your heart that this is life? When we seek to give people answers externally we take them by the hand to lead them. We must lead in a way that makes people responsible in their own relationship with God in their lives.

The ark of the presence of God rests upon the shoulders of each priest and no human being is a priest on behalf of other human beings. We are all priests into our God we are all priests onto our God. In the old covenant there were priests who served on behalf the people. This was never God’s perfect will. God wanted all His children to be kings and priests before Him. In the new covenant leaders serve to assist others to become priests. In the old covenant there were kings on behalf of the people. In the new covenant we lead others to become kings in their own lives. Each one is responsible for their own world and each one’s world is dependent upon a personal relationship with God in their hearts. We cannot be people of God on behalf of others. We lead others to become people of God. Being people of God is a very personal thing. It is the fruit of a personal relationship with God in our hearts. Leaders lead others to find a personal connection with God in their own hearts. Leaders can demonstrate the principles, patterns, and values of God in their own lives as examples for others to follow, but mere principles, patterns, and values are not teachers that transform hearts and minds. They only inform them. Only God can write what those principles, patterns, and values upon the human heart and mind.  We can point others to use the principles, patterns, and values of God but those things cannot teach them to know Him. They can only inspire them to know Him. Paul told Timothy to be an example that would inspire those who follow.

1 Timothy 4:7 But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, 8 for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. (HCSB)

Leaders have a responsibility to lead, but that is not to take them by the hand and lead them. Anything that we do must only serve to activate the internal kingdom of God in the hearts of those to whom God sends us. As leaders we are an example that others can inspire others to find God in their lives as we find Him in ours. Only God can empower us to be as we should be in Christ. As leaders we lead others to manage their own lives. We don’t manage their lives for them. This is also true for each of us as parents to our children, members of our family, and citizens of our community. Being the people of God is dependent upon each of us being joined to God in our hearts.

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,

The mountain of God is built upon the ways of God, but the ways of God must be taught in the form of transformation, not information. We can inform others of the truth, but only God can write that truth in the hearts and minds of men. As leaders in the body of Christ we are not called to hear God for those we lead. We are called to lead them in a way that inspires them to hear God in their own hearts. This means that we set an example that they can see. It also means that when we are tempted to take them by the hand and lead them, we choose to allow God to lead their hearts and minds from within. It is through this process that each member will become a rock of Christ in the mountain of Christ in the earth. That rock is a rock of hearing God and responding to what He says.

Luke 6:47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

It is only through a personal connection with God in our hearts that we can find the unshakeable strength of a personal relationship with God. As leaders we lead for the sake of personal connections to God by His Spirit. We don’t lead for mere Christian principles. We lead to see sons and daughters of God connected to God in a life transforming way. This is the testimony of the New Covenant of God in Christ.

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

The house of Israel is the house of God’s inheritance. It is not a natural nation, but a spiritual nation born of the faith of Abraham. It is made of sons and daughters of God who come from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation to know God by faith in their hearts. It is by the circumcision of our hearts that we hear God’s voice by His Spirit within us. This is the true mark of a son or daughter of God in Christ. This is what makes us testimonies of God’s praise as the house of Judah is a house of God’s praise. The name Judah means praise and Jesus is of that house. In Christ we find our true selves and we become the inheritance of God in Christ with personal testimonies of God in the uniqueness of our own heats. God’s law is a law of life and peace in Christ. It is a law of love! It is through a personal relationship with God in Christ that we each become children of God in our own uniqueness. This is a covenant of personal relationship with God and not one of being dependent upon others to lead us. As leaders we can inspire, but God is the one who leads the heart and mind.

We lead people to become lights, we don’t lead them as the light on their behalf. We shine to inspire them to shine also. We are not called to take people by the hand and lead them. We are called inspire them to be led by the Spirit of God in all things.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Children of God are like the stars. They are light as God is light. God’s light is the light of life. We are called to know God from within. It is by knowing God within that we can shine with the light of Christ from within. We are not reflections of the light of God in Christ. We are the light of God in Christ. This is the testimony of being sons and daughters of God. Leaders lead as sons and daughters of God so that those they lead may also shine as sons and daughters of God to the darkness of the 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,

As leaders we are called to equip the church for works of ministry. Are those works limited to what we call the church, or are those ministries our means of bringing life to our places of influence in this world? We are not to be of this world, but we are to be in this world. We are called to disciple nations by being the life of Christ in our divinely appointed boundaries of influence. As leaders we must know our God appointed boundaries of influence in this world, and we must lead others to do the same. It is in the appointed boundaries of our influence that we manifest as the church, the growing place of God’s influence in this world.

Isaiah 2:3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

The church is the influencing force of God’s life in the earth. It is the mountain of God filling the mountains of the world. It is in this mountain that we are transformed in our beliefs to become blessings to our world. It is there that we become empowered to walk in the paths of God and our actions bring life to our world. It is in this mountain of life that the love God is birthed in our hearts, and it becomes the Law of Zion. What was formerly a stronghold of destruction and bondage is now becoming a place where love can imagine in creative ways to give life to our world. It is in this growing mountain of Christ that the true expression of God’s community can be found as a force of life to our world. I believe that this mountain should be the mountain that is in every mountain of influence in our world. It is the human stature that manifests beliefs, actions, imaginations, and influence that brings the life of God’s kingdom to the kingdoms of our world.

Many have had a revelation of the mountains of influence in the world in the past years. I too agree with the mountains of influence and our need to be an influence in those mountains. I, however, believe that the church is in all the mountains and that the mountain that is often called the mountain of the church is really a mountain of religion. There is nothing wrong with religion, but religion is not the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God can however influence the mountain of religion. The apostle James wrote that pure religion is to care for widows, orphans and not to act like those in the world.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

James was addressing a category of life, not a legalism of what life is limited to. Good religion is to be a giver of life to those who need life and not to be a taker like those who walk according to the ways of the world. We often take the letter of Scripture and make a legalistic boundary and we miss the concept that the Scripture is presenting.

Perhaps pure religion is the fruit of true life-giving community. Maybe one of the mountains of the world is a mountain of community. It is a place of sociocultural beliefs, actions, and influences that can be described by its expression of religion or society. The church is supposed to be light and salt in our world. It is an organism and not an organization. When Paul said we do certain things in the church, there was no building called the church. The Greek word for “in” can also mean “toward”. Paul was not addressing a physical location as much as a direction of relationship. In other words, we do some things towards God, but we are also aware of the need to be life towards one another.

Often what we call the organization of the church is really an organized expression of our religious community. It expresses our sociocultural beliefs in actions that influence our world in a particular way. I don’t think this is bad, unless we make the kingdom of God subject to our religion and refuse to allow the kingdom of God to shape our expressions of religion in new and creative ways. The point of pure religion is to express who we are as a community of God in life-giving ways to one another and to the world around us. I believe that is valuable, but the church is more than this.

Matthew 16:15 He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Like Peter, in Christ we are given the keys of the kingdom to be the church, the mountain that fills and transforms the mountains of the earth. The church is a many membered body of Christ that exercises the life-giving authority of God to our world. It is the role of being the helpmate of Jesus as His life-giving womb in the nations and generations of humankind. The separation of church and state is not meant to be a separation of God’s influence upon the world, but only a separation of the worlds influence upon the church. In this, we must also know that the kingdom of God is an internal kingdom and not an external one. It is the internal kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit that empowers our kingdoms to become kingdoms that express the values and life of the kingdom of God. We must seek to manifest God’s ways, walk in His paths, live with His love inspiring our hearts to create a world of life, and we must influence our world as a true expression of God’s community of peace. That peace is the fruit of knowing no separation between God and us in all things. This should be seen in the mountains of humanity. Some examples of those mountains can be the mountains of:

• Community – sociocultural beliefs, actions, and influences (religion or society),
• Family,
• Education,
• Business,
• Media–arts and entertainment,
• Health–science and discovery,
• Governments or Administrations of the world

When the kingdom of God influences our hearts and minds from within, we can influence the mountains of the world with the beliefs, actions, imaginations, and influence of the kingdom of God as the church of Christ in all things. What influences our hearts? Is it the external kingdoms of the world or the internal kingdom of God? When the kingdom of God influences our hearts, we can become an influence of the mountain of Christ in the mountains of the 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,

In Jesus, we find the anointing that causes us to become free people, planted in the earth for the generational purposes of God’s kingdom in the nations. Trees of righteousness in Christ are being planted in order to build, raise up, and make things new in the earth. As leaders, we must lead others for the sake of partnerships with God and with one another. This is not just a matter of knowing the blessings of community but living for the purpose and destiny of community.

Isaiah 61:4b – 5 …“That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” 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.

God’s heart and plan is one of restoration. He is a redeemer, a reconciler, a restorer, a rewarder, and a replenisher in His ways. He doesn’t just love those who love Him. He loves all people. He is a multigenerational God. He sees each and every one as His son or daughter. He is the Father of Abraham, the Father of Isaac, the Father of Jacob, and the Father of Israel. He is the Father of Paul, the Father of Timothy, the Father of faithful men, and the Father of others also. He looks for those who will partner with Him in each and every generation. When we partner with God we also partner with the future and with the past. When we partner with God, we also partner with one another for His namesake and His glory.

To be people of God, we must have the Father’s presence in His house. We cannot live for our own needs or our own lives and expect to bring about life-giving change in the world. God’s plan is a plan of purpose. It is a matter of joining the generations in a multigenerational destiny. We must live with a third and a fourth generation in mind. We must live mindful of the generations before us. We must hold on to the principles of the past without allowing the past to bind us in an old method of administering those principles. We must hold on to the patterns of the past, but still reach forward to create new things that we have not seen, heard, or thought before. We must hold on to the values of the past without being bound by the vision of the past. Surly there are eternal principles, patterns, and values in the kingdom that serve to set solid foundations for new expressions of God’s kingdom in the earth, but God is always expressing things new in every generation of humanity. The church is both new and ancient. It is built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles.

The blessing of the church is found in the fact that we have one Father. He is our Father in heaven and His name is holy! He is made known to us by Holy Spirit through the grace given to us through Jesus Christ His Son. Jesus made a way for us to be a community of Christ that is led by our Father who loves us. This is the at the core of the culture of our being.

In order to be a Father led culture in the earth, we must live with a generational dream and vision. Each of us must make it our aim to be life and to live life in a contagious way. This is what happens when we know we are loved by a Heavenly Father who is a life-giver in all things. We are alive, because He gives us life! This is love! We must also take responsibility for life. We were not just born to be loved, we are loved so that we can be empowered to love others. We are not motivated by the natural world around us. We are motivated by the kingdom of God in our hearts. It is by this that we can take responsibility for life and make life-giving sacrifices for the sake of others in our world. We must also join with others and understand that our response to God and to others is what makes us bigger than merely ourselves. We have a heavenly purpose in life and our response to God in heaven gives us a heavenly testimony in this world. We also respond to the testimony of heaven in the lives of others. We are responders to life, therefore we dance the dance of life to exhibit a heavenly testimony of life to our world. We also work with others. True work is not labor. True work is what works! What works? Life works! Authority is about being life for the sake of others being life also. We work with others to be life for others in our world. We also live to influence others. This is not to influence them with our own opinions or personal beliefs. It is to influence them with the clothing of Christ. We were created in Christ for good works that we should walk in those works. It is those works that cause us to be more together than we are apart from one another. We identify with others. This is part of being the community of God. We are not just individuals on a journey to get to heaven when we die. We are part of something greater. We are members of God’s heavenly community destined to see a community that He builds manifest in our midst. We serve others with a generational purpose beyond our lives. We live for our children and our children’s children that the glory of God might increase in the earth because of us. We are in a partnership with God in all things and He empowers us to reign in life in all things.

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 don’t only lead for compassionate love, we also lead for human purpose and destiny. This is the love of a father. The mother nature of God is compassionate for human comfort, healing and need. A father’s nature is to empower, facilitate, and release the destiny of every son or daughter in the family. These attributes are not limited to a man or a woman, but are both part of the nature of God to be manifest in us all as sons or daughters of our heavenly Father. The anointing of Christ brings freedom, but it also proves to plant free people into their restored place of identity, testimony, and purpose. As I presented last week, God frees us in order to plant us. It is with His compassionate love that He redeems us from our strongholds of captivity and it is with His prevailing love that He seeks to see us established in our restored destiny.

Isaiah 61:1… 2… 3…that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

When we are planted in the earth we can fulfill our purpose in the earth. We become empowered to embrace our destiny as sons and daughters of God in our world with a generational focus and we rebuild old ruins, raise up the former desolations, and repair the community destiny of our family names. Things that should have been can now be, things that have been lost in our family name can be restored, and things that have been ruined in our part in being a member of the community of God’s life and purpose can be regained.

Isaiah 61:4 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.

God wants to plant us like evergreen trees as a testimony of life through us to our world. He wants us to live for Him and for one another in the compassion and love of our hearts. As trees of righteousness the testimony of our lives brings healing to our world in a generational way. The fruit of our lives gives life beyond us to multiply life in others and to see the glory of God increase in our world.

Isaiah 41:17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine and the box tree together, 20 that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

God hears the cry of the poor and the needy, but He also holds in His heart the destiny and purpose and each of His sons and daughters. We were not only born to be loved by God, we were also born to be testimonies of God’s love to our world. Life-giving water flows from us and that water activates, facilitates, and releases our ability to fulfill our generational purpose in Christ. We are part of Christ’s calling, Christ’s inheritance, and Christ’s purpose in and through our lives. The seven classes of trees proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah are all evergreen. They are alive to the purpose of God in every season of their lives. Whether they are kings, great men, rich men, commanders, mighty men, servants, or free men; they all fulfill the purpose and destiny of their lives. Not one is better than another and not one is less, but each one fulfills the full destiny of their lives for the sake of their world. Whereas those outside of Christ remove themselves from their true purpose in life, in Christ we each fulfill our purpose for the glory of our heavenly Father in all things.  

Revelation 6:15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!”

Those who don’t know who God is see Him as a demanding and judgmental God, but those who know Him see Him as a Father who cares for them, but also believes for them to overcome all things as givers of life to their world. Those who don’t know Him hide from Him for fear of His wrath. They don’t know Him as a loving Father so they see Him as an unrighteous judge. We know Him as a loving Father and we seek Him that we might be one with Him and that we might be givers of life to our world.

God wants us to embrace being a part of the community of His people not merely for our healing, but also for the fulfillment of our purpose. That purpose is individual and corporate in nature. Leaders embrace the freedom that comes by God’s compassionate love as well as His empowering love that we might be free and fulfill our purpose in our role as being a part of God’s people in this world. We also lead others to know these truths and to embrace them in their own lives.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be m `d4you.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 must grow in the compassion of Christ to lead others to do the same. Who we are and what we do is not about ministry, it is about love for God and love for people.  It is because of love that we minister life to others. That love is not merely to meet the needs of people. It is a love that reconnects people to the One who is love that their lives might also be a testimony of life and love for others.

Proverbs 10:15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty. 16 The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin. 17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray.

The destruction of the poor is their poverty. Poverty is not just lacking things in life. It is a lack of knowing who one is. Unless the beliefs of our hearts are changed, the thinking of our minds cannot be changed. Unless the thinking of our minds is changed, the actions of our lives cannot change. Unless the actions of our lives change the imagination of our hearts cannot be loosed to create a world we have not seen before. Unless the imaginations of hearts are changed, we will not see a change in our influence upon our world. As leaders we love others to heal and transform the beliefs of their hearts that they will not be destroyed by their poverty again.

There are many kinds of riches. There are the riches of things, but merely the riches of things will eventually lead to poverty. True riches of life are to be rich with love. To be a good steward with the things of this world is to be a good steward of love for the sake of others. It is not what we have that makes us rich. It is what we do with what we have that makes us truly rich. True righteousness is not a matter of being right. It is a matter of a right relationship with God who is love. A right relationship with Him will give us a right relationship with others from within us. That right relationship will inspire us to give of who we are for the sake of others.

God’s instruction and correction in our lives is not so we will do right things or walk in right ways. His direction to us in life concerns who we are. As leaders we live to be sons and daughters of God and we lead to see others in our world discover the truth of who God sees them to be from His view from heaven. We lead to help others see God and to see themselves as He sees them. We lead to help them see themselves that they might see others in their world and live to give the life and love of God to them. In this there is a willingness in us all to follow the path of life that God puts before us. We invite His correction to our path when we deviate from the true path of life.

God wants us to be aware of human needs and He wants us to be moved by compassion. That compassion is a love for people, even as God loves them. Jesus, as a man, was moved by the compassion of His heart to bring deliverance, healing, and life to those He encountered in His path in life. He lived with compassion, but He lived for a greater purpose for all who were in need. God heard the cry of the children of Israel when they were enslaved in Egypt. The cry of the people in their bondage moved God’s heart to send Moses to deliver them from their slavery, but He also sent Moses to lead them to a place of discovering who God is and who they were for His purpose in their world. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness with a people who cried to God from their place of need that there might be a new generation of people who lived for the future of the world. Those people would no longer live for their needs in life to be met. They would live for the will of God to be done and His heavenly influence to come to the world that they possessed.

God hears the cry of those who are enslaved in this world, and He desires to set them free from their bondages of death. God doesn’t just hear the cry of their human needs. He hears the cry of their human destiny. As leaders we don’t just lead to meet the needs of others, we lead to help them see their destiny in Christ. It is not merely a matter of knowing what God wants us to do. It is a matter of knowing God. What we do will not reveal to us who we are but knowing who God is and who we are will empower us to know what to do.

Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the   prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

It is with compassion that God comes to give good news to those in poverty. It is with His love that He heals broken hearts and gives freedom to those who were bound in some form of captivity. It is with His love that He opens prison doors, restores inheritances, and defeats all our enemies. His heart is moved with compassion to comfort those who mourn, to restore human beauty, give us back our joy, and clothe us in His work of praise. It is with His compassionate love that He does all these things but is for His purpose of our knowing His love and becoming His love for our world that He does them. God wants to plant us as evergreen trees of righteousness in our world. He wants us to live for Him and for one another in the compassion and love of our hearts. Leaders live to know this, be this, and to lead others into this path of life-giving inheritance. As trees of righteousness our leaves will bring healing to the nations of our world and the fruit of our lives will be ripe to give life to those in our world in every season of our path in His glory.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be m `d4you.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 purpose of leaders in the body of Christ is to help each member of the body know the greater power of the Holy Spirit in, upon, and with them in all things. We often think that the disciples of Jesus were greatly blessed to have Jesus with them in life, and truly they were, but how Jesus came to them after His resurrection was even greater. I am not just talking about Him walking physically into the room where they were hiding, I’m talking about how He came in the presence of His Spirit in them, upon them, and with them in all things. He comes to each of us in the same way today.

John 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Holy Spirit in our lives is the substance of truth in our lives. He guides us daily into greater realities of truth. This is not informational truth. It is the ability to become the substance of life in Christ. It is to become truth. As leaders, we assist those we lead in embracing Holy Spirit who leads them to know and become truth. It is Holy Spirit in our lives that leads us into the true paths of tomorrow. When Jesus declares what is His in our lives, it is a declaration of His character, nature, way, power, and authority. Knowing the increasing glory of Jesus in our lives is becoming a greater testimony of the brightness of the Father’s glory and becoming a greater measure of being an expression of His person. This is who Jesus was as the word made flesh so that our flesh could become a growing testimony of the word of God. This is a restoration of living as the likeness and image of God in this world.

It is Christ in us, upon us, and with us that enables us to know that every sorrow in our lives will turn to joy and every joy in our lives will lead to even greater joy in Him. This is made possible by not only seeing Jesus as the one who freed us from sin though His judgment of mercy, but through seeing Jesus as the one who continually and constantly comes for salvation in our lives. This is not just an event of a second coming of Jesus, but the reality of His continual coming into our lives. Leaders lead others to know the continual coming of Christ in their lives.

John 16:16 “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” 17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” 18 They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.”

Jesus wasn’t talking to His disciples about an event thousands of years in the future or even an event that would come at the end of their physical lives. He was talking about an increasing coming of His presence in their lives in a way that more than just Him being with them. He was talking about and increasing reality of Him in them and with them. That would also be seen with His testimony upon them in life as being the body of Christ.

John 16:19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

The joy that Jesus was talking about was the joy of being the body of Christ with His presence in them, upon them, and with them in all things. The saw the joy of the Lord in is resurrection from the dead, His imparting to them of His Holy Spirit, and His clothing them in the Holy Spirit and the power of Christ. As leaders, we live in this to lead and for this we lead!

Food For thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be m `d4you.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 live our lives to bear witness of Christ in us. We lead others to do the same. Our dependency in all things is a dependency upon the manifest presence of God in, upon, and with us. Our leadership is testified in how those we lead exhibit their connection to God in Christ in all things. Bearing witness of Christ is bearing witness of Him in the face of all that opposes His life in our lives. This was true for the first disciples and the first century church and it is true in our lives today. Jesus told His disciples that this would be their way of life in Christ and Christ in them.

John 16:1 “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. “And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”

Jesus made a way to be more than merely with His disciples. He made a way to be in them, upon them, and with them in every situation and every moment of their days. These disciples, and the first century church, were put out of synagogues, persecuted, and even killed for their personal testimonies of Christ in their lives. They lived, moved, and had their being in God through an intimate and powerful connection to Jesus by His Spirit. This same testimony is true for us today. The witness of Christ in the birthing of the church is true in every new thing that is birthed in and of Christ in this world. There is persecution, resistance, and pressure that resists the life of Christ, but the life of Christ is the life of Christ! Christ is more powerful than anything that is anti-Christ.  As leaders, we lead others in knowing this truth as a daily reality. We have the gift of Christ in us, upon us, and with us in all things.

John 16:5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

When Jesus said these words to his friends, He was physically with them in the room. His greater promise to them was that He would still be with them, but in a greater and more powerful way. When we live with Jesus in this greater way, we become qualified to lead others into that greater way also. It is through this greater way that we bear witness of Christ to the world around us. We are not the witness of Christ for others, but we are examples that others can see so they too can embrace a life fully connected to Christ in them, upon them, and with them in all things.

When we experience Holy Spirit in our lives, we discover freedom from all sin. Sin is a disconnection from God who is our true life. Holy Spirit is our connection to God who is true life. It is through that connection that we find the freedom of being sons and daughters of God. Holy Spirit in our lives also empowers us to know the true righteousness found in Christ. It is a righteousness of personal connection to God in our hearts who gives us a true testimony of life. A visible change in our character, nature, way, power, and authority is made known by the work of Holy Spirit in us.  We also experience the victory of reigning in life. The written judgments of God become manifestly true in our lives as we become the increasing testimony of praise that comes by a partnership with God in all things. Holy Spirit is God and as leaders it is for a knowing of Holy Spirit in each life that we lead.

John 16:8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The focus is not sin, righteousness, or judgment. The focus is a connection to God by His Spirit in us, upon us, and always with us. It is because of the testimony of Holy Spirit in these things that we find ourselves exhibiting the testimony of Christ in us. If we live in this, we can inspire others to embrace the life of Christ also. It is not about right information. It is the testimony of a life of transformation.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be m `d4you.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