ted4leaders

Greetings;

As the people of God we must embrace and seek to live in a justice system of life. When grace becomes the administration of our hearts and minds our lives become testimonies of truth. When we live as truth, the truth of who we are crumbles every lie within our sphere of influence. It is only by the power of God’s grace that we can begin to manifest and grow in the testimony of who God intends for each of us to be. Who we are is more important than what we do. When we know who we are, we will do the right things. When we seek to do right things without knowing who we are in Christ, we end up doing right things for the wrong reasons and in the wrong ways. Jesus didn’t just give us the forgiveness of sins through His act of mercy on the cross, He gives us the power of His transforming grace from His presence upon the throne!

Ephesians 1:7-10 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

As sons and daughters of God we are living with an administration of God’s grace. God’s grace empowers and governs our hearts and minds to become who we are meant to be in Christ. As leaders in the body of Christ we must set an example as those who live in such an administration. It is an administration of life!

Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign righteously and princes will rule justly.2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. (NAS)

I have addressed the matters of being a shelter from the storm and a refuge from the wind. What does it meant to be like streams of water in a dry country? Without Christ within our hearts there is no true life. The hope of the fullness of life is only found with Christ in our hearts. The life line is the life blood of God’s presence at one with our own spirits. The life within our hearts is the testimony of the life that flows from our hearts. People in the world are never satisfied, they are thirsty, and they need life. They seek life in all the wrong places and things. They are left dry and dead, and a place of demonic influences – the dry place. They need life! As sons and daughters of God we are to be as an oasis in the dry places of the world. When we find our life in Christ, we become life to the world. It doesn’t make us better than those in the world, it simply empowers us to reveal the way of life to the world.

Psalms 1:3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.

Isaiah 44:3-4 ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water.’

We are in the world for the sake of the world. We have a mandate to give life to the world in which we live. The rivers in the garden of Eden were created to flow from the garden to give life to the world. Water speaks of life, future, inheritance, and posterity. In the midst of King Solomon’s search for wisdom, he discovered that life is a precious gift not to be wasted in the wrong place. We must not let our springs be poured out in the street to no avail (Pr. 5:16).  Jesus said life would come from within us. As princes and princesses, sons and daughters of God, we must always seek to give life to others. We were born for greatness that goes beyond our own personal need and satisfaction. We were born to give life to the world.

John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “ If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

People in the world are never satisfied, they are thirsty – they need life. They seek life in all the wrong places and things. They are left dry and dead and end up living as a place of demonic influences. Their lives become a testimony of dry places. People of God live from a place of being satisfied in God, thus they seek to give life to others. They are a watered garden, a place of God’s presence and habitation. We must activate, facilitate, and release the community of God to be a source of life to the world. Living for the well-being of others is the testimony of those who live their lives administrated by the justice system of God’s kingdom of love.

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

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

The justice system of God’s kingdom is different than the justice systems of the world. The issue is the roots of our beliefs. The roots of a tree determine the life that is in the tree. When man chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they chose an ability to be wise. That ability made them independent from God and thinking that life is about making decisions based upon a knowledge of good and a knowledge of evil. I believe man’s choice of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused them to become as a generational family tree that finds its roots in human decision based upon a knowledge of good and evil. The other option in the garden would have been the tree of life. I believe that that tree of life is eating of a personal relationship with God. Its roots draw life from a relationship with God of intimacy and love. Eating of that tree creates a generational family tree that finds its roots in a personal relationship with God who is love. It is not possible to be dependent upon God and dependent upon the knowledge of good and evil, thus the choice in the garden of choosing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused man to be separated from an access to the tree of life. It is only in Christ that we lose our old family tree of knowledge and we are born again to find our roots in the tree of life. A personal relationship with God and a dependence upon His love is a testimony of eating of the tree of life in a relationship with God. As leaders in the body of Christ we must set an example of finding our roots planted in a relationship with God in Christ. It is only then that we can live with a different justice system than those in the kingdoms of the world.

When our roots are in Christ we become sons and daughters of God. As leaders in the body of Christ we must embrace the justice system of the kingdom of God’s love in order to activate, facilitate, and release God’s people into the same. As I have stated before, we are not called to lead people with mere Biblical principles, demanding that people adhere to the rules of a Christian faith. We are called to lead others into the empowerment of God’s grace, whereby they become sons and daughters of God with the attributes of the family of God among the families of the earth. We must lead people to know who God is, who they are, what their purpose is, and how to rise by the power of God’s grace to subdue the world with life and to manifest truth that crumbles every lie. This cannot be done from the family tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It can only be done from the family tree of life.

Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign righteously and princes will rule justly.2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. (NAS)

What does it mean to be a shelter from the storm? In the Scripture, the storm represents the circumstances and challenges of life that come against us all. Every person is guaranteed a challenge of facing the storms of life. To be a refuge from the storm we must set an example of those who find the secret to standing in the storms of life. If we neglect the counsel of God in our lives, we will not be able to stand in the midst of the storms that come our way.

Luke 6:46-49 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 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. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

In this story of two houses, both houses were built in the same geographical location. Both may have been the same design of house and even the same size of house. Perhaps they both were drawn with the same architectural floor plan. Both houses are likened unto people who God was speaking to and who were hearing what He had to say. The difference is that one responded by acting upon the words he heard while the other did not. Jesus says that the one who heard and responded to the words was like one who digs down to the rock and establishes a foundation for his house. The one who merely heard is like someone who built his house without any foundation at all. The response of acting upon what God was saying is a testimony to the process of setting a foundation for the house. Both houses were faced with the violent storms of life, but only the house with the foundation set upon the rock was able to stand. This is the testimony of true ‘belief’. The most important thing in this story is the rock. I believe that that rock is Christ and our relationship with Him is what will allow us to stand in every storm. Our relationship with God is cultivated by our response to His voice in our lives. As leaders we must set an example for others in how to listen to and respond to God’s voice in our lives.

I believe that the basis for our ability to respond to what God says to us is based upon a revelation of God’s love. When we know how much He loves us we will respond to all that He says. It is a revelation of who He is that empowers us to do all that He says. It is a matter of love!

People in the world don’t seek God’s counsel. They don’t want to do His will; they want to do their own will. The result is dread, calamity, distress and anguish. They don’t have a revelation of God’s love.

Proverbs 1:27 When your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

The justice system of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil produces independent people who base the counsel of their lives upon their own perceptions of good and evil and they fail to desire or trust the counsel of God. Sometimes the counsel of God includes pain in the process of responding, but that pain is only a testimony of God’s love.

When we fail to listen to the counsel of God in our lives, we will fail to stand in the storms of life. As sons of daughters of the king we must set an example in seeking and responding to the counsel of God in our lives.

Zechariah 7:13 “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts; 14 “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.”

Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

Our roots are in God’s love and our family tree is a tree of life. We depend upon God’s presence in our lives and upon responding to His counsel in our lives.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

As leaders in the body of Christ we must embrace the justice system of the kingdom of God’s love in order to activate, facilitate, and release God’s people into the same. We are not called to lead people with mere Biblical principles, demanding that people adhere to the rules of a Christian faith. We are called to lead others into the empowerment of God’s grace, whereby they become sons and daughters of God with the attributes of the family of God among the families of the earth.  We must lead people to know who God is, who they are, what their purpose is, and how to rise by the power of God’s grace to subdue the world with life and to manifest truth that crumbles every lie. This cannot be done from the family tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It can only be done from the family tree of life.

Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign righteously and princes will rule justly.

As leaders, we must set the example of being princes in the community of God’s life. We are sons and daughters of the King and our purpose is that of the kingdom of God. His kingdom must be called for, sought out, and lived for in all that we do. We cannot act like the sons of the world. We must be an example to God’s people and a leader in influencing the world with the life of God’s kingdom. The secret is in the focus of our hearts.

Isaiah 32:2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. (NAS)

What does it mean to be a refuge from the wind? Wind represents change. It can be good or it can be bad. The winds of the world attempt to distract us from things that really matter. There are a lot of changes going on in the world. The wind is blowing strongly and as sons and daughters of God we must not be moved or swayed by the winds of the world. Winds can represent instability or an unknowing of what is next. That unknowing can tempt us to be fearful in our hearts. Surely people in the world are often shaken and swayed by what they cannot control, understand, or clearly see. It is only in the presence of God that we find peace and stability in a world that is tossed two and fro. We can learn a great lesson from Jesus and His disciples as they crossed a lake on a day of great wind.

Luke 8:22-25 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

The confidence in the wind could only be seen in the fact that Jesus was resting in the back of the boat. When we know that God is with us, we can find peace in any wind. Jesus has authority over the wind, but more importantly Jesus doesn’t mind resting in our windy situation. Our faith should not be in the fact that Jesus can calm the wind. Our faith should be in the fact that Jesus is resting in the back of our boat. He is resting in our lives and He trusts the direction He is guiding us.

The presence of God can give us stability in a windy world. Being in the will of God is living with the presence of God in our lives. This can give us peace in any windy day. People in the world don’t know God’s presence, thus they cannot truly know peace in a windy day. They are filled with fear on windy days and the lack of God’s presence in their lives can even invite the winds of change to terrify their hearts. When Jonah was out of the will of God, he found himself in the midst of the wind upon the sea. He was not in oneness with God and His plans; as a result he faced the wind and the storm that made even the mariners afraid. Those who know what they are doing also know the potential of destruction of wind and change. Having seen destruction in the past can make us afraid in the winds of the present day. Knowing God’s presence in our lives is more important than knowing what can or cannot happen.

Jonah 1:4, 5 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

People in the world need God’s presence. We cannot condemn them for not knowing what to do in the midst of change. We cannot condemn them when the winds of the world cause them to be out of control and circumstantially ruled. People in the world are often driven by the wind, but sons and daughters of God live lives that invite those in the world to find God’s presence in the midst of times of change.

The wind and the waves made Peter afraid when he walked on water and he began to sink, but then Jesus extended His hand to Peter and picked him up (Mk. 4:39). We can be afraid at times, but when we know that God’s presence is with us our fears are vanished.

People in the world are tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14). We must not be like the people of the world. We are not here to condemn the world, but to show them where to keep their focus. We must focus on God’s presence in our lives, not the winds that blow around us. When we don’t trust God for the wisdom of our tomorrow we become double minded and we are tossed by the wind (Jam. 1:6). When we disconnect from God’s presence we are shaken by a might wind.

Revelation 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

When God’s presence comes into our lives we receive a wind from heaven that brings the peace of God’s presence that promises change in the world in which we live. That change is brought about by God’s presence in our lives.

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

The people of the world are affected by the wind. They are afraid, they don’t know what is next, and they cannot find a place to settle. They are tossed to and fro by every conflicting way of life, they don’t know what to do and they are out of control – THEY ARE DISCONNECTED FROM GOD. People of God – KNOW A CONNECTION WITH GOD. They are people of love and people of love bring faith, stability, direction, peace, and freedom of heart and soul. This is the testimony of princes who rule justly in the community of God’s life. By this we can lead others to know to keep their focus on God. We are refuge from the wind, because we know God’s presence in the midst of every windy day.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

As leaders in the Body of Christ we must lead people with and into a different justice system than the justice system of the world. The peoples, families, communities, and nations of the world are part of the family tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Their justice systems are based upon a knowledge of good and a knowledge of evil. Although there is good and there is evil, an administration based upon the information of good and the information of evil is bound to repetitious patterns of doing what is perceived to be good and or perceived to be evil. The true fruit of good must be life and the true fruit of evil is death. Many times we do things that we perceive to be good, but the result is death or dysfunction in our own lives or in the lives of another. Our actions lack the ability to bring life to the world. We must embrace the administration of the family tree of life in order to truly see good in this world. God is only one who is truly good and only an administration based upon a transformation of our hearts and minds by the power of His Holy Spirit can change our lives as individuals among the peoples, families, communities, and nations of the world. We must receive a changed character, nature, way, power, and authority in order to receive different results than the old family tree of death. We must embrace an internally motivated administration of love. It is an administration of grace that will empower each of us to become truth for the sake of God’s increasing life in this world. People of grace and truth are people of love. To be people of love we must have a different focus than we did as people of the world. We cannot be self-seekers, but we must live for the wellbeing of others.

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

To be people of love we must know who we are. In order to know who we are, we must first know who God is and who Jesus is in our lives. Jesus is not merely an option, He is the way, the truth, and the life for all mankind.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords to give all men life! He is not like the kings of the world or the lords of mankind. He is not a taker of life, but a giver of life in all things. His righteousness is not based upon what He perceives to be right or wrong. His righteousness is based upon His ability to give life to all men. This is what is right. We cannot understand who we are, unless we first understand who He is.

Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.

As sons and daughters of God we must rule with justice. Our justice system is not based upon a family tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a higher justice system than one that tries to merely make things right in action. Our justice system makes things life in heart and mind. Our covenant with God is a covenant whereby He writes His law upon our hearts and minds.

We live in a time where the kingdoms of the world have become word sensitive, but they are not heart sensitive. The kingdoms of the world are ‘love me’ societies instead of societies that profess “I love you”. Everyone hears what they hear, but not necessarily what is truly said. Language is made up from our own hearts and minds and it is based upon our own perceptions. When we embrace a word sensitive world we define the world around us by the definitions of the words within our own hearts. The world must be measured by God’s heart, not ours. God’s heart is not defined by ours. Our hearts must be defined by His justice system and a work of His grace within us. The people of God need to become the people of God rather than shape God to become the God of the people. He is the righteous King and we cannot rule as princess and princesses unless we first embrace Him. We are to be in His likeness and image and not He in ours. We cannot be the light of the world unless we know the true Light that gives life to all men!

John 1:9-18  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

God wants us to become His family in the earth. When the world looks at our lives we should be recognized as the people of God. People of God are people of love. To be people of love we have to live with a justice system of life. We cannot embrace the justice system of the world and expect to manifest the testimony of being people of God. The justice system of the world is based upon a knowledge of information, while the justice system of the kingdom of God is based upon the power of transformation that comes by the power of God’s love.

In the kingdoms of the world there are conflicts of law and men’s own perceptions of the human conscience. The justice system of the kingdom of God is different than the justice system of the world. We are the community of God and it is the love of God that creates the culture that transforms us to become the people of God. That culture is one of love. The culture of love doesn’t just reveal God’s love to us; it also empowers us to become a testimony of love to others. It is the power of God’s love that transforms the iniquities of our hearts to become an exhibiting force of life to be seen by others in the world. Where we were weak, we become strong by the power of God’s grace at work within us.

The government of the Old Covenant was based upon the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. That Old Covenant government still exists in the kingdoms outside of Christ. The only way out of the Old Covenant government of the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil is to embrace the love of God only found in Christ. This is where one find’s the justice system of the New Covenant. The government of the New Covenant is based upon life. True life is the testimony of true love. When we know the love of God we know the life of God! God’s love creates a different justice system than that of the Old Covenant. I believe that love is the testimony of the Tree of Life. Jesus lived as a human being empowered by love. The administration of His life was the Tree of Life, not the Tree of the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. One is a tree of grace, while the other is a tree that constantly requires mercy. Humankind is stuck in the system of law until they find a way out. In order to be free from the justice system of law, mercy must triumph! Mercy is the end of the law and the invitation to grace. Wherever grace abides, love reigns. The justice system of grace is scandalous. It is not a system of fairness, but one of love.

Isaiah 11:1-2 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Jesus is the Rod the came from the stump of Jesse. He is the New Creation born from the Old Creation. In Christ we are born again to this living hope. Like the virgin birth of Christ, we are new creations through a born again experience in Christ.

2 Corinthians5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

The Rod that came from the stump of Jesse is the testimony of a new human race from a Firstborn Adam that was born of the old human race that was generationally bound to an old Adam of sin. Jesus is the Rod and we are part of His body. He is the Vine and we are the branches. The Branch is Christ and the Rod is Jesus. Jesus was the Body of Christ before we were grafted into Him. The sevenfold Spirit of God rests upon the head of Jesus, runs down His beard, down His robe to His feet. We are one with Him as the body of Christ and the anointing of His Spirit is both in and upon our lives. The same justice system empowers our lives that empowered the life of Jesus. That justice system is one of love. We do not make our decisions based upon what we can see with our eyes or hear with our ears. The equity of who we are becoming in Christ is the power by which we make decisions for others. The substance of who we are becoming is more powerful than the substance of what we used to be. The breath of God is the grace of God at work in our lives. His grace has the power to destroy the roots of wickedness in our lives. His love, the breath of His lips, eradicates the weaknesses of our hearts that transpire to transgression and manifest as sin.

Isaiah 11:3-5 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.

In order to experience God’s justice system, one must first acknowledge the old one. The way to God’s grace is through God’s mercy. Mercy is found in the testimony of the cross of Calvary. Mercy ended the law and without mercy one is still bound to the justice system of the law. We must come boldly to the throne of Christ to receive the end of the law and the beginning of grace.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Mercy is obtained by an acknowledgement of mercy given. God loves us, but we don’t deserve His love. To think we deserve His love is an injustice in the covenant of law and conscience. The justice system of grace is available for all, but one must first receive the end of the justice system of law and conscience. That requires God’s mercy and it can only be obtained through a revelation of the cross.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 3:21-26 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Love is a revelation and it includes God’s mercy and His grace. His mercy justifies us to live and His grace empowers us to live in life. It is a transition in the administration of our lives and it invokes the scandalous justice of God’s love.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

Proper parenting welcomes God to bring about generational changes in the family destiny. Proper parenting invites God to visit the iniquities of the fathers that seek to rest upon the children to the third and fourth generation.

Exodus 34: 5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Iniquities are a flaw, a propensity to transgress, a place in our hearts where we are vulnerable to the temptation to look for life in the wrong place. Iniquities are issues of the heart that need a visitation of God’s presence to transform the root character, nature, way, power, and authority of the family name. When someone in the family line accepts the responsibly of the family issues, God can change the family line. This is accepting the responsibility of headship – the authority that comes by accepting the responsibility today for everything in our lives. When we accept the responsibility of authority in our lives and allow God to write in us a changed character, nature, way, power, and authority it changes our family name. We should not just expect God to bless us in the inherited state of our lives. We should expect God to empower us to become all that we are meant to be in Him. We should expect Him to empower our family inheritance to become what it should be by the power of His grace.

Matthew 13:52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Examples of iniquities can be:

• A negative, pessimistic view on life
• Oppression
• Depression
• Poverty mentalities
• Shame Issues
• Pathologic Disorders such as lying and generational addictions such as alcohol, gambling, or other things displaying user tendencies
• Hoarding
• Various compulsive behaviors
• Masochism
• Eating disorders such as bulimia or obesity
• Pedophilia
• Homosexuality
• Infidelity
• Sexual addictions such as pornography
• Anger issues
• Incubus / Succubus or other demonic relationships
• An inability to keep commitments
• Disruptive behavior disorders
• Various phobias
• Mental health disorders

• Anything that influences the human nature to act upon works of the flesh:

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

People who have issues are not bad people, they just have issues that need a visitation of God’s presence to receive deliverance and healing in order to receive a transformation of character, nature, way, power, and authority. Everyone has iniquities, but some are more obvious than others. Everyone needs a visitation of God’s presence and transformation by God in their hearts and minds. It is foolish to resist God’s transformation in our hearts because of stubbornness and human pride. Admitting that there are things in our lives that are wrong is not saying there is something wrong with us. It is simply a wiliness to allow God to remove the things that are wrong so we can increasing know who we were meant to be. Our identity comes from our Father in heaven, not the natural inheritances of human experience.

Humanity was created in the likeness and image of God, therefore, anything that does not exhibit the likeness and image of God is a problem that needs a visitation of God. God does not condemn us for our iniquities. He does not shame us for our iniquities. He forgives our iniquities, but He doesn’t just ignore them and say everything is ok. He doesn’t just sweep them under a rug to not be seen. He visits us in the places of our iniquities to transform us to become like Him. How we were born naturally is not how we should be. It is how we are and now it is up to us to invite God into our hearts and minds to change the character, nature, way, power, and authority of our family. We are not to ignore our weaknesses nor are we to accept them as things that must be or are even desired to be in our lives. It is not shameful to admit an iniquity. It is foolish to ignore them or to accept them. It is wise to invite our loving Father to give us the identity we were meant to have. It is a miracle and it happens by the power of His grace at work within us. It is not reasonable. It is unreasonable. Everyone has a cup to drink and to accept anything less than the miraculous changes that come by God’s presence in our lives is foolishness. God wants to heal roots. He wants to transform the places of roots so the fruits of our character, nature, way, power, and authority become a testimony of His presence at work in our lives. He doesn’t come to condemn us or to shame us. He has come to deliver us. He has come to save us. He has come to transform us to be what we could not be without Him. There is nothing wrong with us. There is simply something wrong in our lives that needs to be healed by the One who loves us. It is impossible for these things to change without God, but with God all things are possible. It is as miraculous as a virgin conceiving by the power of the Holy Spirit and a Son being born that was the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person in the earth (Heb. 1:3). Life is not fair. Everyone has a cup to drink in life and part of everyone’s cup is leaning to allow God to transform the areas of iniquity in our hearts. His mercy forgives us, but His grace transforms us!

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

Iniquities have been accepted as a normal way of life by those in the kingdoms of the world. We do not condemn people for this. They do not understand and simply need light to shine to show them the way to life. We receive them as they are, but we must never participate in taking any step that leads them further in the bondage of transgression and sin. We must simply set an example of people who allow God to visit the iniquities of our hearts and change us. We do not define the way of God by the cultural ways of the world. We offer transformation to those in the world by the cultural ways of God as His kingdom comes and His will is done in our hearts and minds, even as it is in heaven.

Proverbs 6:20-28 My son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart; tie them around your neck. 22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

This is a special note to all you leaders and pastors. I am excited for this new season of 2017 and I am ready to help you in this season with special training as a source of equipping to you. House of Bread Ministry is offering Training Sessions in:

• Hearing God’s Voice
• Prophetic Training and Activation
• Understanding Authority
• Generational Leadership
• Understanding Grace
• New Covenant Realities
• End Time Realities
• A Culture of Honor
• A Culture of Grace
• Generational Inheritance
• The Kingdom Community

These Training Sessions are based upon books written by Ted J. Hanson and training courses and materials offered through Christ Life Training. Training can be done as a weekend school from Friday night through Sunday night or as a week of training. These courses can be fit to your church or ministry’s personal needs. I will work with you to assure that the best process can be applied for your local situation.

If you are interested in having Ted Hanson come and conduct one of these Training Sessions for your leaders, your congregation, or your ministry, contact us at ted@chrisltlifetraining.com. We will be glad to prayerfully consider your request and contact you as to what form God may direct us to assist you.

Sincerely,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

As leaders, we must embrace God’s presence in the weaknesses of our own lives and we must lead others to do the same. We are called to lead the community of Christ, not to simply entertain segments of contained expressions of the communities of the world. We are to be salt and light, a testimony to those who are bound to the cultures of the world. It is God’s presence in our lives that transforms us to become testimonies of His amazing grace. Our lives are to be a welcome call to all who are in darkness, emptiness, and bound to the confusion of the kingdoms of the world.

In Exodus, Chapter 34 we find an account where God passed before Moses and declared His name. Let’s look at this passage to understand the goodness and the power of our Father’s love in removing the shame of our sin and giving us the goodness of His glory.

Exodus 34:5-7 Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Here we find the introduction to the name of God is “the Lord, the Lord God”. In the Stone’s edition of the Hebrew Torah, the rabbinical commentators address this double “Lord” as implying to the love and goodness of God. They state that when the Lord is put in this double context it implies two things. It means that God is the one who forgives us before we sin knowing the full extent of everything we are ever going to do and He forgives us after we sin knowing the full extent of everything we have ever done. The very first experience, atmosphere, ambiance, and reality received when we experience God’s presence in our lives is one of forgiveness. What a wonderful thing! The verses go on to read that God is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness, and abounding in truth. These are all wonderful experiences that flood our lives when God comes to us. Jesus made a way for us to come near to God and experience these things! We have been reconciled to God in Him. The final verse of this passage reads that God keeps His mercy for thousands. The term “thousands” is an interesting symbolic and prophetic number in Scripture. It implies an aspect of eternity. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10), meaning He owns all the cattle. God is God to a thousand generations (1 Chr. 16:15; Ps. 105:8), meaning He is God forever. A day with the Lord is as a thousand years, meaning His day has no end. Here we see that God wants to show mercy for thousands. He wants to show mercy to everyone and He wants to show mercy forever!

God forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. These three things are often confused, but they are different. They are progressively linked, but it is the testimony of sin that leads to death. Iniquity is the weakness that leads to transgression. Transgression is a rebellion in the human heart that leads to sin. The wage of sin is death. God does not kill sinners; sin kills them. Being disconnected from life results in the consequence of death. Where there is iniquity there will be transgression, where there is transgression there will be sin. God in His amazing character, nature, way, power, and authority comes to forgive us fully. This is even to the root of our sin, the weakness of our hearts.

The next phrase in this verse is not out of context with the preceding descriptions. It says that God does not clear, but rather visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation. The words “the guilty” are not in the original, but are meant to clarify what He does not clear. It is somewhat accurate, but it must be taken into consideration in the context of the previous descriptions. It can only be understood in the context of forgiveness, mercy, grace, longsuffering, abundant goodness, abundant truth, and eternal pardon. It is not a judgment to destroy the person, but a judgment to destroy the root of iniquity that leads to sin. It is simply what happens to the iniquity when God visits it. God’s presence eradicates the flaw and heals the heart and mind.

If your Bible translation uses the word “sin” for “iniquity” here it is in error to the original. It is the Hebrew word “avon” (iniquity) and not the word “chattaah” (sin). It is the flaw within us that causes us to come to sin. It is the weakness, or the propensity to transgress that leads to sin. Think of it as a characteristic that has the potential of becoming your character. You may have inherited a negative characteristic, but it doesn’t have to become your character. God wants to visit the place of weakness and transform it to become a place of His strength and testimony. The weakness is your place of dependency upon God that can lead to greater life when you depend upon Him. It doesn’t have to become your character. You can be a scribe in the kingdom of God that unlocks the door to new things in your family line that have never been seen, heard, or thought before. You can restore things antique and lost before your time in your family destiny.

Matthew 13:52   Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

God doesn’t just offer forgiveness for iniquity, transgression, and sin. He offers the cure to the root of our sin. He promises to “visit” the area of weakness in our hearts that has been inherited from our fathers in the flesh. He promises to be God to the future generations of our family and to ultimately heal the manifestations of sin in our family DNA. This is good news! This is the complete taking away of the sins of the world. This is not an excuse for us to continue to sin, but rather a hope for the complete cure. In Christ, we find that cure. Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

This ought to give you some food for thought. God doesn’t come to judge us. He comes to heal us. If we find ourselves in the consequence of some judgment, it is because we are holding on to things that God has already judged. Jesus made a way for us to have life and that life more abundantly! These things are not just automatic; they must be appropriated in Christ. Jesus offers it to all, but we must choose to receive all that He gives. He truly is good and we must simply receive the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

Saying something is not right in your life is not the same as saying something is not right with you. Proper parenting is meant to help us with the issues of our hearts and to give us proper identity in life. Fathers and mothers give identity. As leaders, we have a responsibility of parents in the community of God.

Proverbs 6:20-28 My son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart; tie them around your neck. 22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?

The seductress can be anything that draws us away from the way and things of God. Iniquity in our hearts will leave us vulnerable to transgression that will lead to sin in our lives. God wants to transform us so that who we are today is who we were meant to be in Him!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

This is a word that I have written in the past, but I feel it is an essential word for such a time as today. I want to challenge all of you as leaders to be leaders of grace. I want to challenge all of you as believers to be people of grace!

Both Jesus and the apostle Paul advocated the acknowledgment of the completion of an era of law and a time to embrace the power of grace. The old Adam was bound to law because of an administration of the knowledge of good and evil. That form of government was an administration of death. When Jesus died, old Adam died. When Jesus rose from the dead there was a testimony of an eternal Adam of life who is a life-giving Spirit with an administration of life through the power of grace. In Christ we died and thus the administration of law died. In Christ we also live by the power of an administration of grace (Eph. 1:7-10).

Jesus told the Pharisees that the death of the law had come and it was time to marry grace. We cannot be married to both law and grace. It is time to enter into God’s covenant of grace. The kingdom of God has come through Christ and it was time to press into it.

Luke 16:16-18 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

The Pharisees could not understand the ways of Jesus as a man of grace. Their paradigms of law could not comprehend the boundaries of grace. The boundaries of grace fall within the expanding liberty of God’s care for people, His value of them, His desire to include them in His purpose and celebration of life, and His desire to be in a relationship of friendship with men and women in life. As long as the Pharisees held on to the standards of law they could not embrace the paradigms of grace. Jesus made a way for the administration of the law to die so that all men can marry the administration of grace. Our old man must die in Christ so that we can embrace the inner life of God’s grace and His expanding paradigms of life.

Jesus was telling the Pharisees that the death of the law had come and it was time to marry grace. It was time to let the old heaven (an administration of law) and the old earth (a system of law) to pass away. They could not be married to both law and grace. It was time to enter into God’s covenant of grace. The kingdom of God had come through Christ and it was time to press into it. In order to receive the kingdom one must die in Christ and come alive again through a personal relationship with Him.

Jesus gave a further illustration of this reality in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. I believe that the rich man clothed in purple and fine linen represented the Pharisees and the system of the law. It was the testimony of the nation of Israel that had now become bound to a Pharisaic system of law. Lazarus represented the peoples and nations of the world that had not known the covenant of God. They had only known temporary comforts of things outside of God’s covenant life (the dogs that licked his sores in life represent un-covenanted pleasures). The name Lazarus means, God has helped – without me knowing it. God had always helped the nations, but they did not know whom He was or that it was Him who could care for them (Acts 17:23-30). The time had come for both Lazarus and the rich man to die. The time had come for all men to die in Christ so that all men could live in Christ!

Lazarus died and found himself in Abraham’s bosom, while the rich man died and found there was a great divide between him and Abraham. Jesus had told the Pharisees that their father was not Abraham, but that their father was the devil (Jn. 8:33-44). The law had not empowered them to change; only grace could change the heart. In the story of seven brothers who had died Jesus told the Sadducees that they were already dead and were not of the living (Mt. 22:23-32). If you die in Christ you will forever live, but if you die in the law you are forever dead. Lazarus’ death found him to be a child of faith, a child of God. The death of the rich man found him to be dead. The rich man died in a covenant of law, but Lazarus had found the covenant of grace.

I believe that Lazarus represents the hungry that are now able to get the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Like the Canaanite woman who begged Jesus for the deliverance of her demon possessed daughter, the crumbs were spilling off of the table of Israel as an invitation to all the nations that deliverance had come through the power of God’s grace (Mt. 22:15-28).

Luke 16:19-23 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs, which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Jesus was revealing that one couldn’t have both law and grace. If we hold on to the system of law we cannot understand the covenant of grace. The rich man begged that Lazarus bring comfort to those bound to the law. Jesus revealed that there was a great divide between them and that law has no access to grace and grace cannot live where law remains. The rich man pleaded that Lazarus be permitted to warn his five brothers. Jesus testified that to have access to grace (the number five) you have to realize that grace is the true substance testified of in and through the law and the prophets. Those who try to come by the way of the law do not pass the test of being the true substance of life and that of living humanity. They are bound to a place of “torment”, the Greek word “basanos”, meaning a “touchstone” or a “basis” of testing. The “touchstone” is a rock used to test precious metals to see their true purity or not. If they do not make the correct mark, they are not the true substance of the precious metal. Those who do not see that grace is the true fulfillment of the law do not pass the test of being the true substance of life

Luke 16:27-31 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

Following the story of Lazarus and the rich man, Jesus addresses the fact that those who hold on to the law will prove to be an offense to those who embrace grace. They would be the ones who would resist and prevent children from entering into the kingdom of God. It would be better that those in the law be called no different than those who were in the world (the sea). The law was no longer the place of grinding. It was no longer the place of purpose and it could not produce children of the kingdom. It must be cast into the sea. If it is cast into the sea (the systems of the world) then it can be grafted in by grace. Grace would now prove to be the power of forgiveness and the entrance of the kingdom for all men.

Luke 17:1-4 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, “I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Following these words Jesus continued to give details in regard to the removal of the Old Covenant system of the Law and the prophetic declarations fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D.

Jesus had instructed His disciples to pray for the old system of the law depicted in the religious mountain of Jerusalem to be cast into the sea (Mt. 21:21). They had caused the “little ones” to be hindered in entering the kingdom (Lk. 17:2; Mt. 18:6; Mk. 9:42; Jer. 51:61-64). The millstones destruction signified the end of the age, a symbol of the foundation of the world in grinding out peace, prosperity and the inheritance of God in the earth. The age that was to end was the age of law, for the eternal reality of grace had now come to all men.

We cannot have grace and law. Law is a tutor that testifies of our need for grace, but it is God’s grace that changes the hearts and minds of men. You cannot take a piece of grace and try to stitch it unto the garment of law. You cannot take the life of grace and try to contain it in a wineskin of law. The mercy, forgiveness, power, redemption, and life found in grace cannot be contained in an understanding of law (Lk. 5:33-39).

We have to choose. Do we want grace or do we want law? Grace cannot work where law abides and law cannot remain where grace reigns (1Cor. 10:23,24). Grace empowers us to live in a righteousness that empowers us to live for the Father and for the wellbeing of others in this world. Let’s be leaders of grace that empower God’s people to be people of grace!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

In the process of overcoming is the testimony of standing. When we stand, we overcome! True standing is found in Christ and standing is for a purpose. God wants us to stand! We don’t just stand to defeat our enemies. Our standing defeats our enemies and dispossess them from the territory of our inheritance. As leaders, we must set an example of standing in Christ and we must equip others to do the same. Fathers in the faith empower young men and young women to overcome in the faith!

To stand is to possess the ground upon which we tread! God told Abraham to arise and walk through the land and God would give it to him as his inheritance (Gen. 13:17). He told Moses that every place the soles of his feet would tread would be his inheritance (Deut. 11:24). He also told Joshua that every place that the sole of his feet would tread would be given to him (Josh. 1:3). Standing is a posture of inheritance. Standing is a posture of possessing the earth.

Jesus came to this world to establish the inheritance of mankind in the glory of Christ. That inheritance is one of knowing the power of God’s peace and grace among men. It is a body of humanity that knows the testimony of living in God’s house and the testimony of God living in theirs. They are one with God and God is one with them and they bring His kingdom and will into all that they possess. The key to the testimonies of Abraham, Moses, and Joshua was found in the fact that God would be with them. There would be a manifested evidence of God loving them and them loving God. God would be with them and they would be with God. This is the power that would dispossess their enemies in the land of their inheritance. It wasn’t merely an act of obedience in entering the land. The testimony of inheritance would be revealed by them being carriers of the testimony of God in the land that they stood upon to possess.

When King David was old he made a simple, yet powerful prophetic act and he declared a profound prophetic statement.

1 Chronicles 28:2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it.”

King David wasn’t looking to establish a place where men could rest. He was looking to the day when God would rest among men in the earth. He was looking for the day when the manifest presence of God would rest in the hearts of men and the enemies of God would be made God’s footstool. He was prophetically professing the love of God among men and the destruction of the enemy because of God’s love made known to men. He was proclaiming the testimony and power of God’s grace in the earth.

Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father in heaven and He is waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. This will be made known by the power of God’s love among men. It is a testimony of God’s peace and grace. Peace is the place where there is no gap between men and God. They have been given access to His house. The blood of Jesus has justified all men to live. Grace is the evidence that God lives among men. It is by the power of God’s grace that men reign in life. Peace is the evidence that men live in God’s house and grace is the evidence that God lives in the house of men. The enemies of God are not subdued because men are strong. The enemies are subdued because God is manifest in man’s house.

Hebrews 10:12,13 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 

The apostle Paul understood the power of being God’s place of habitation upon the earth. He prayed that the hearts of God’s people would see by revelation who they really are. He prayed that the church would know that they have a part in Christ’s calling, each member is an expression of His inheritance in the earth, and they are filled with His power to reveal His will and kingdom in the earth. That power is the power of God’s grace that subdues the enemies of God by the power of Christ’s love and life in all things.

Ephesians 1:20-23 …which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.  And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. 

The body of Christ is the place of the fullness of Christ. We are not the fullness of Christ individually, but corporately we reveal the fullness of His glory. It is by the corporate standing of Christ that the enemies of God are subdued. We are NOT to live our lives beneath the powers of our enemies. We have been given a place of authority and the life that comes from that authority. We are above all principality, power, might, dominion, and all names. The power of our standing is found in being the fullness of Christ. We are carriers of God’s presence in the earth. We are clothed in God’s grace. Grace is the manifest presence of God in our lives! It is not a skill learned by human reasoning, it is an overwhelming testimony of God’s love made known in our lives.

Psalms 60:12 & Psalms 108:13 Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

Zechariah 10:5 They shall be like mighty men, who tread down their enemies…

It was when the feet of the priests stepped into the waters of the Jordan that the waters ceased to flow and a path was made to enter into the promised land to dispossess the enemy and lay hold of their inheritance. The power that caused this to be was not the strength of the priest’s standing, it was in the fact that the ark of God’s presence was upon their shoulders. They were carries of God’s presence. There was a place where God’s presence could rest. It was a type and shadow of the power of grace. Grace is the evidence of God in our lives. It is the power of God that subdues the enemies of our lives. To be clothed in God’s presence is to be clothed in the power of God’s grace.

Joshua 3:13 “And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”

Let us all live in the power of God’s grace. God’s grace is the testimony of His presence in our lives. We are carries of God and where the soles of our feet walk it will be a testimony of God’s inheritance in the earth. We walk in the hope of His calling and that calling is to reconcile men to God and to destroy the works of the devil by the power of God’s grace. It is a testimony of God’s love for man and man’s love for God in all things. Seeing the answers of God in our lives doesn’t empower us to stand, standing in Christ empowers us to see God’s answers revealed.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson