ted4leaders

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Greetings,

As leaders we are called to lead people in knowing God and in becoming true testimonies as sons and daughters of God in all things. We cannot teach people to know God, but we can lead them in their process of connection with Him and in their process of responding to Him in all things. I believe that the voice of God is a very personal thing. It is the internal voice of Holy Spirit speaking to each one’s heart. The Holy Spirit is the voice, but we are responsible to discern His voice above the voice of self and other voices that seek to influence us in our world. The Scripture is a wonderful gift. It is a witness to the internal voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It is not our teacher, but it is a true witness to the character, nature, way, power, and authority of our Teacher. As leaders we must lead others in reading the Scriptures well in conjunction with connecting intimately to the Holy Spirit in their hearts. When reading the Scriptures, we must look at Scripture in the context of all of truth. Truth is the person God, but Scripture is an informational truth of the Truth of God expressed. The New Testament Scriptures are filled with quotations of Old Testament Scriptures. The Old Testament is a shadow of truths found in the New Testament and the context of their quotations set a foundation for understanding their context for application in our own lives. Those Scripture quotes are usually written in oblique text in our Bible. When reading our Scriptures, we must pay attention to the oblique text! Without paying attention to the oblique text, we have no reference for what Holy Spirit is trying to reveal to us. Several examples of this are found in Romans chapter 10.

Romans 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

These verses are often used to inspire someone to confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Although there is a certain measure of truth in that application of this Scripture, these verses are talking about something much more. In order to understand these verses written by Paul, we must also read the verses written by Moses. Paul was quoting the words of Moses that pertained to the ability of God’s people to walk and live in the Promised Land given to them by God. These verses are not about a confession that grants us entrance to heaven when we die. They are verses that pertain to a heavenly testimony within our lives in this world.

Deuteronomy 30:11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

God’s promise was that He would be with His people on a daily basis and that He would make it possible to walk in the life He had promised. This pertains to confessing from our hearts that God is our God. It pertains to conclusive evidence that reveals an outward testimony that we are God’s people. It also pertains to a daily reality of living together with God in all things. It is not some testimony that is yet to come from heaven. It is not the result of a further sacrifice of the flesh. It is the testimony of Christ within the believer. The testimony of Christ in us in our daily lives is a witness to those around us in our world, even as Christ in the former converted gentiles of Rome were a witness to the Jews of their day.

Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace,

Who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

The feet of the believers in Paul’s day were the voice that announced the salvation of God to the Jews and the Gentiles of their day. The feet of the believers were not just the word that they preached, but the testimony of the word that they were becoming because of Christ in them. This is the true message of Christ to our world as well.

Romans 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

The good news of Jesus was good news for the completion of the Old Covenant, and that good news was Christ in the church because of the sacrifice of Jesus for us all. That news had been prophesied by the prophet Isaiah concerning the one who would be the atonement for us all.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

Psalms 19:4 Their line (sound) has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The context of Psalms 19 is that creation was the word of God to people in the Old Covenant, but they would not hear. The context of Romans chapter 10 is that our lives are a testimony to those of the Old Covenant by our changed lives in Christ. The internal voice of God changes us that our lives might be a testimony to those around us and inspire them to receive Christ.

As you can see, it is important that we pay attention to the quoted words of Scripture to understand the context of God’s word to our hearts today. As leaders we must inspire those we lead to read God’s word well.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As leaders we must set an example to those we lead through a life that exhibits faith towards God in all things. This is not just at times when everything appears to be going well. It is especially true when we are enduring challenges and even when we are suffering in life. The peaceable fruit of righteousness comes to those who endure difficulty as an opportunity for manifesting as a son or daughter of God. Chastening is not about right and wrong, it is about staying in the path of life even in the midst of difficulty. This is the chastening that was endured by Jesus to be a manifested son of God in His full state of being a son of man. That chastening was not a matter of correcting Jesus, it was a matter of empowering Him to be revealed for who He really was. He set an example for us to follow as sons and daughters of God in Christ. We must never allow the testing times of our lives to manifest bitterness as was in the life of Esau who exchanged his birthright for food that merely fed his flesh. He failed to see the greatness of the purpose of his life, so he selfishly traded it away for his personal desires. We could do the same if we forget that the reason we go through the testing times of life is to bring greater life to our world and to bring those in our world to greater life. For this reason, the writer of Hebrews instructs us to have strong hands, strong knees, and to make straight paths for our feet.

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

How do we keep strong hands, strong knees, and straight paths before our feet? We can find these answers when we consider God in the entirety of His word. There are some key words written in the book of Job in regard to the character of the righteous man Job.

Job 4:3 Surely you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands. 4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees…

If the instructions of a righteous man can strengthen weak hands, the instructions of God’s Spirit can do even more. Our hands are a testimony to what we give to our world. The blessings of being life-givers comes from our ability to bless our world with life. When we trust the instruction of the Holy Spirit in our lives and when we respond to His instructions we will be givers of life to all that we touch. If a righteous man can strengthen the knees of others by his words, how much more can God’s word strengthen our knees? When we stand on God’s word we can overcome all things that seek to cause us to bow our knees to things that are less than truth. I believe God’s instructions are the testimony of His Spirit and God’s words are a testimony of His truth. When the Word and the Spirit come together in our lives we can surely be who we are meant to be for the sake of our sphere of influence in this world.

What about finding the straight path for our feet? I believe the key to our straight path is the manifest presence of God in our lives. It is not about knowing what to do. It is about knowing God in all things. His presence will give us the path of life in all things.

Psalms 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Isaiah 42:16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.

As leaders we must face everything in life for the sake of others. This is not just a testimony of leaders; it is a testimony for us all. Leaders lead to inspire this truth in others. If we follow the instructions of God’s Spirit in every situation of our lives we will be givers of life to our world. If we stand fast on all that God’s has said and is saying in His word we will not bow our knees to compromise to the ways of the world. We will be overcoming sons and daughters of God in all circumstances. If we hold fast God’s manifest presence in our lives we will find the path of life and light before us in every step of our journey in life. These things are attributes of sons and daughters of God in 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings;

What is our goal as leaders? I believe that our goal in everything is to lead others into encounters with God as their Father, Jesus the Son, and Holy Spirit as the One who reveals the mystery of the fellowship in all things. I don’t believe that God our Father sent Jesus to merely show us what to believe. I believe He came to demonstrate to us a life of a Son of man in relationship with God the Father in a testimony of love, life, intimacy, and power. He didn’t just model this truth; He made a way for us to daily experience this reality in our lives. I don’t believe that Christianity is what God had in mind for us. I believe it is Christ in humanity, the true reconciliation of the human race to God as their Father. As leader, we seek to lead others into this truth in growing moments to the fullness of their lives.

We don’t lead because we are trying to create something that is different than what we don’t believe worked before. We lead to point to the One who empowers faith in the human heart. That faith is a supernatural response to the internal voice of God’s Spirit in our hearts. We are not “anti” anything in life. We commit the focus of our lives on Christ. We know that Christ in us is the hope of glory and Christ in each one we lead is their hope of glory in all things. I believe that glory is the life of God in and through them in this life and into the eternal realities of heaven beyond this life. In this life we see increasing measures of heaven invading our world. We see the eternal life of God filling the circumstances of our lives until in the ultimate destiny death is swallowed up by life. This is our great hope in Christ.

If we live to fix the things of the past our focus is on the past. If we live to embrace God in the present, our focus is on greater things. Our focus is on heavenly things in this life and into eternity. This was the cry of the heart of the apostle Paul for those in the world of his day.

Philippians 3:7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Paul wasn’t talking about him being at risk in not going to heaven when he died. He was talking about attaining to the resurrection life of Christ in increasing measures in this life. If we live to change the world, our focus is on the world. We can even find ourselves bound to some bitter root of the past with this mentality. We don’t live to change the world; we live to embrace the life of heaven in our world. Receiving heavenly things will change our world, but our focus must be upon receiving heavenly things. There is always more to know in God and more to know of God. We must reach forward to know Him in all things. Our upward call in Christ is to know Him and to lead others into knowing Him too. Our focus is Christ Jesus in all things! In the world, people are led by strong opinions of the soul and natural desires of the flesh. In Christ we are led by His strong Spirit and the supernatural desires of our Father’s will.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As leaders we must set an example in hearing God and in responding to what He says. This is not a straight path with logical steps based upon mathematical principals and rules. It is a dance of relationship with the One who loves us. It is the testimony of a trust relationship of sons and daughters of God with God their Father in all things. It is a matter of walking in the will of God in all things and our relationship with God is more important than the tasks we perform in life.

We hear God very well. The problem is, we don’t really understand Him much when He speaks. It is one thing to hear what God says and another to understand Him. Revelation, interpretation, and application of what God is saying are all three different things. As leaders, we must set an example in faith and patience in our journey of hearing and responding to God in our lives. It is ok to say we don’t understand much. It is better to understand little than it is to think we understand but really misunderstand much.

This is the week we celebrate the fact that Jesus gave His life for us and that He rose from the dead for us all. In the history of this event there were a lot of preconceived ideas on the part of people involved. Peter had the revelation that Jesus was the Christ, a revelation given to Him by the Spirit of God. He no doubt had preconceived ideas as to what that meant. His idea of the Messiah and the kingdom of God didn’t include Jesus dying on the cross. He likely knew the words of the prophet Daniel in regard to God establishing the kingdom of God with Jesus as Lord and Christ. For this reason Peter rebuked Jesus for talking of his death. For this reason He rose with a  sword to cut off the ear of Malchus in the garden. His preconceived ideas likely led to his own denial of Jesus at His arrest. The good news was; Jesus’ love for Peter was stronger that Peter’s preconceived ideas.

What about the crowd who shouted Hosanna to the King at the entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem? They were no doubt believing for a revolution in Israel. They were believing for God to deliver them from their state of oppression to Rome. They had preconceived ideas as to what their King would do. When Jesus was arrested and brought before Pilot, He gave no words in His defense. He was like a Lamb being led to the slaughter. Perhaps this is what invoked the crowd to shout, crucify Him! When offered the freedom of Jesus or Barabbas, the crowd shouted, give us Barabbas! They were willing to exchange the life of the supposed king for that of a thief and murderer. Barabbas, a name meaning son of shame, confusion, gave them more hope than the Savior of the world. All of this was because of preconceived ideas as to what God would and must do. Barabbas was a criminal, but he was also a zealot. He was a man who challenged the oppressive government of Rome and the crowd saw him as a more promising hope than Jesus. A week earlier they gave homage and honor to Jesus as the king of revolution in their shouts of praise as He rode into Jerusalem upon the back of a donkey. The crowds saw Him as the hope and the promise of freedom, but upon His arrest a week later He stood as a Lamb to the slaughter and the crowd could no longer see how He could possibly free them from their oppression. Although Barabbas was a criminal and a man of carnal character, they considered him a better option than the silent man of peace.

It was the preconceived ideas of Abram and Sarai that caused them to produce the child Ishmael, a testimony of the flesh. Again, God’s love for Abram and Sarai proved to be greater than their failures. They eventually became Abraham and Sarah and were given the seed of promise in the child Isaac. Their error of Ishmael did come with challenges and consequences to their future, but God’s faithfulness for Isaac also brought God’s blessings.

As leaders we must set an example in trusting God and moving at the pace of our understanding of God in each step of our journey. We can trust God’s love in all things, but we must also be aware of our preconceived ideas in all things. A revelation from God today can lead to an interpretation of that revelation tomorrow. An interpretation of what God has said can also lead to the application of that truth in our footsteps in our unfolding future. We must be willing to lay down our preconceived ideas in all things for the will of God 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

A long reigning king in Judah was Uzziah as a king who reigned for 52 years. He did many good things, but at the end of his reign he became proud and took on the role of both king and priest in Israel. The error of His pride led to a consequence of leprosy in his flesh. His name means “my strength is Jehovah”, but his own desires and taking things into his own hands made him a testimony of the strength of the flesh. The prophet Isaiah experienced a prophetic truth for all of humanity in the year that King Uzziah died. It its symbolism, the death of Uzziah was a testimony for us all in regard to the death of the strength of the flesh. It was when the strength of human flesh died that Isaiah saw the Lord’s presence filling His temple and Isaiah was undone in his sin.

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

As quickly as Isaiah was undone by the manifest presence of God in his state of iniquity and sin, a ‘burning one’ (a seraphim) of God touched his lips with a living coal from the altar of God. It was then that Isaiah was cleansed and he was able to hear God as to his call to be a voice for Him.

Isaiah 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

We are in a season of returning to the Lord. It is a season for the strength of human flesh to die and for us all to find that God is our strength. His love for each of us has lifted all condemnation from us and He is sending us to be His voice to those who will hear Him. This is the call of leadership in Christ. On Sunday I was stirred to make a declaration concerning our focus in this hour. In my prophetic delivery I heard God address the issue of having heavy ears and dull hearts, when God wants our focus to be on His ways that we might hear Him clearly. The following is a clip of that declaration:

I just hear God saying that this is a time to hear Me in your hearts. Don’t let your ears be so heavy and your heart dull that you cannot hear. For there are many sounds in the world, but the sound of heaven is greater than all of the sounds put together. So let your heart be made new in Me for this is a day for the scales to be removed from the inside out. For you to see as I see, to be as I am, to declare what I declare, and to stand as I stand. For this is not a day of heavy ears and dull hearts.  This is a day of open hearts and ears that are clear and not distracted by the ways of men, but rising by the power of My life within, says God.

In this prophetic declaration God inspired be to decree that we would not have heavy ears and dull hearts. These words were in the message of Isaiah in His call to the strength of God.

Isaiah:6:9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”

True hearing of God takes place in our hearts. When we hear with our ears we are swayed by the voices of the world. The outside to inside sound often hinders our hearts from hearing God from the inside out. In the testimony of Stephen to the people of Israel at the point of his martyrdom, he declared what those who resisted the Holy Spirit were testimonies of this carnal reality.

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”

Uncircumcised hearts are dull hearts. They are hearts that are influenced by the flesh. Personal desires and personal agendas harden the heart from hearing God’s voice. Uncircumcised ears are heavy ears. They hear too much! They are ears that listen to the desires and opinions of the flesh. The result of these two things is a stiff neck. A stiff neck is someone who is opinionated and fixed in their ways. They are not easily directed. They are not easily turned from their own ways. As leaders we lead by fully embracing the leading of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our lives. Our hearts cannot be influenced by the opinions of our own flesh. Our ears cannot listen for a sound that appeals to our own flesh. We must seek God’s Spirit in all times. As leaders, it for this that we lead.

Food For Thought,

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As children of God, we must grow in thinking as our Father thinks. There is plenty to think about and the thoughts of God are always thoughts of faith, hope, and love. They are thoughts of life and they are life-giving in their nature. Knowing God as our Father empowers us to know that we are sons and daughters of God. Being a leader is not about leading people into the ways of ministry. It is not about leading people into being successful in life. Our role as leaders is to serve those we lead into knowing who God is and knowing who they are in life. When we know who we are, our thought life will be true to who we are.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

These verses are true to the thought life of sons and daughters of God. These thoughts are true to the character of our Father God. The thought life of a leader must set an example for all to follow. They must think on noble things. Noble thoughts are filled with reasoning, strategy, imagination, emotions, and desires that seek to live for the wellbeing of others. This is the testimony of knowing we were born to live as and to be expressions of God’s kingdom in all things. His kingdom is a kingdom of life and a kingdom of giving life to others in our world.

Sons and daughter of God think on things that are just. Leaders must set an example in this. Just things are not necessarily fair things. It is just in the kingdom of God to forgive the unforgivable. It is just in the kingdom to love the unlovable. The justice system of the kingdom of God is based upon the tree of life, not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a justice system of making decisions for others based upon who we are, not what they deserve.

A leader must think on things that are pure. As sons and daughters of God our true nature is to be authentic with a desire to find good and to be innocent to evil in all things. Pure thoughts are thoughts that are within the sphere of one’s own business. They are thoughts of believing the best for others and not the worst. Pure thoughts are innocent to evil and wise to good.

A leader must maintain thoughts that are lovely. Lovely thoughts are thoughts that are motivated by love. Those thoughts are motivated by a love for God and a love for people, especially those we lead. I believe that lovely thoughts exhibit a kindness of heart. Leaders must be kind and facilitate kindness in those they lead. God is kind in His heart and the attribute of kindness is in the heart of sons and daughters of God.

A leader must think on things that are of a good report. When a bad report comes, a leader must know that love covers a multitude of sins and that looking for the good report is the aim of every child of God. God’s report is always a report of life. Even what the enemy has intended for evil in our lives is turned for good by our Father’s love. In the world it is easy to be distracted by the bad reports of death, dysfunction, debilitation, and the many attributes of darkness. Leaders lead in being sons and daughters of God’s good report. It is an expectation in their hearts and minds.

If there is any virtue a leader must think on that. Virtuous thoughts are thoughts of helping others. It is not a matter of what we can or cannot do in life. Life is a matter of being life for the sake of others. Something of heaven should be coming off of each of us to others in our world. Even as it was when the virtue of God came off of Jesus and healed the woman with the issue of blood as she reached out to touch Him in the crowd, God virtue can only flow from us if our thoughts are to be givers of life to others at all times in our world.

A leader must think on things that are praiseworthy. Praiseworthy things are things of honor and even a willingness to be misunderstood or unpopular in some way for the sake of someone else. I believe that praiseworthy things are things of the excellence of who each and every one is meant to be in Christ. We must live to be praise to God in the excellence of each of our own identities and we must also look to see the excellence found in others for the glory of their Father in all things.

A leader must meditate upon these things in order to lead others to do the same. These things are part of guarding our hearts before God. All believers must embrace these things, but leaders must excel in these attributes. It is part of keeping our hearts with all diligence. These things are the natural fruit of knowing God and knowing who He is. It is the testimony of being known by God and knowing we are sons and daughters of a Father of life and love. There’s plenty to think about. Think on these 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As leaders, what manner of people must we be? We must be sons and daughters of God who can lead others to be the same in their world. Being sons and daughters of God in the world enables us to be givers of life to our world. Paul wrote some wise words to the Philippian church in a day of difficult situations.

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

These words were written by Paul during a time of great glory in Christ, but also great trouble in the circumstances of their world. We can be encouraged by these words today. As leaders, we can lead by these standards. We must choose to always rejoice. It is our choice. To choose to rejoice is to choose to be well in any and every situation. It is not a state of happiness, it is a state of cheerfulness. We can decide what to fill our hearts with. In truth, we decide to let the life of Christ in our hearts outweigh the circumstances of our surroundings. Paul states this twice, perhaps because it is easy to forget or perhaps because we are often faced with circumstances that resist us in being cheerful. We choose to be well, even in a storm. This is also our witness to those we lead. It is our witness to our children and our grandchildren. It is our witness to our family, friends, and our community. We decide to rejoice. As leaders we are called to lead people into the character of Christ, not works of ministry. When we have the character of Christ we will do the works of Christ. We must lead by example and then we must seek to activate, facilitate, and release those we lead into the same reality in their world.

Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

When we choose to rejoice we can be empowered to be gentle. To be gentle is to be equitable, fair, mild, and gentle. I think that true gentleness is an attribute of being concerned about others in our world. I believe that gentleness is an undergirding foundation for being compassionate for others and perhaps being compassionate is the true fuel for being gentle. We are givers and not takers. As leaders we are leading others to be givers of life in their world for a testimony of life and the glory of God – the Father of all.

Paul wrote in this letter that the Lord is at hand. I believe he was not talking about the end of the world, but the availability of the Lord. This church was living at the time of the end of the Torah / Temple age, but Paul’s words were an encouragement as to the availability of the Lord in each and every person’s life. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is true liberty and the Lord is within our reach at every moment of need in our lives. As leaders we must know that the Lord is within our reach in every step of our path in life. We must lead others to know how to connect to the Lord in both easy and difficult times.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We know that God always has more for us in life. God is always leading us into His greater promises in our lives, but we are not to be anxious when things don’t happen as we have anticipated they will. God will even work things out for good in our lives when the enemy seeks to derail our course of destiny. As leaders we must set an example in this and in our example we choose to walk with a face-to-face listening relationship with God, a face-to-face connection with Him making petitions before Him, and we must be consistent with making our requests before Him without losing heart or shifting to some accusatory attitude towards Him. The key is in our thankfulness. All of our prayers, supplications, and requests are to be bathed in an atmosphere of thanksgiving. As leaders we must live with these attributes in our lives and lead others into this same testimony.

When we choose to rejoice, live to be gentle, and embrace a way of life that is filled with prayers, supplications, and requests in an atmosphere of thankfulness and gratitude to God, we find that a supernatural peace of God fills our hearts and minds. I have found that this peace is a faith in God. It is not a faith that comes by hearing Him, but a faith in Him even when we don’t hear His words. We know that God is one with us and we are one with Him in all things. I believe that these things are things we must walk in and lead those in our world to know. These are the foundation for true ministry of life and are therefore prerequisites to being able to live life in a life-giving way in our world. In these things we live and in these things we lead.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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