ted4leaders

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I want to address another attribute that is essential for every leader to appropriate in their lives. That attribute is one of flexibility. What do I mean by flexibility? Life is never a straight line from one place to another. It is filled with beginnings and endings, with a process of adjustments between those two points. That process between those two points is filled with decisions that must be made as adjustments in the course of your path. Some adjustments are small, and some adjustments are big, but adjustments in the journey don’t change the direction of the journey. They simply define the detains of fulfilling the journey.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.

Paul’s words to Timothy were true for his course of destiny and these words are also true for us today. We must be ready to stay the course of life in what we know to be the season of our life and we must stay true to the course of life when we have to adjust to what doesn’t appear to be true to the present season of our lives.

Adjustments in the path don’t change the path. They often define our faith in the path. Do we walk by sight, or do we walk by faith? Faith is a matter of relationship with God. Faith is the result of hearing God in our hearts. When we face adjustments in or path of destiny, we must draw close to the God to hear His voice for the decisions of each day. We don’t just hear His voice to know what to do. We hear His voice to know Him in the midst of our adjusted path. Faith invokes actions on or part, but those actions are not reactions to the things that seem to alter our path. Those actions are simply needed actions to accommodate what God says must be done, or what we discern God to say, in this day.

Some adjustments look like closed doors in the path and other adjustments look like open doors with new pathways to fulfilling the journey. We must keep our eyes on the goal set before us and we must keep our hearts open for the instructions of each day. We don’t always hear God for new instructions when faced with adjustments in our path, but no new instructions are simply a confirmation that the instructions given yesterday are enough for us to maneuver any needed changes for today.

When God commissions us to be and do something, we can expect to experience resistance to our path of destiny. We can expect to adjust in some things simply because we don’t fully understand the purpose and the outcome of each day in our journey. The apostle Paul thought to go to Spain but the path before Him was really a path to minister the life of Christ and path of life concerned Macedonia fulfilling a need in Jerusalem.

Romans 15:22 For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, 24 whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while. 25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.

As leaders we must be flexible in our path of destiny. We must model that flexibility to those we lead and inspire them to remain true to their course in every season of their lives. Faith is the key ingredient to being flexible and faith always works through love. Love does whatever is necessary in the journey between every beginning and end. The process of every journey of destiny is one of a relationship of love for God and others and love can empower us to make any necessary adjustments in our path.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am considering the important things in leadership. I have been a believer for more than fifty years and I have been a fulltime leader for more than thirty-five years. If you ask me today about the important things of leadership, I believe I can give you one word – LOVE. Everything is about the love of God and love can only be experienced in relationships!

The enemy targets relationships. He tries to make ministry more important than relationships. He tries to distract us with the power of ministry but there is nothing more powerful than love and nothing can express love in a stronger way than that of family. The church of Christ is meant to be the family of God.

Not too long ago I was in a meeting ministering on the reality of the body of Christ being the place that was shadowed in the Old Covenant as the holy of holies in the temple of God. The true temple of God is the temple of Holy Spirit. We are a dwelling place of God by His Spirit, but the purpose of that dwelling is to know, reveal, and be the love of God in and to our world. In this particular meeting we were singing that God would pour out His power and love, for He is holy, holy, holy. As we sang those words, I saw the family of God that I was standing among as that place that reveals God as holy, holy, holy. It is the place that reveals the love of God our Father, the love of Jesus the Son, and the love of Holy Spirit. As we sang the words “pour out Your power and love”, I found myself not able to sing those words. I felt to sing, “pour out Your powerful love, for You are holy, holy, holy.” God’s love is powerful! God’s love is supernatural! God’s love ministers in supernaturally gifted ways, but the real testimony is that it is God’s LOVE.

Leaders lead others in knowing the love of God. When the apostle John wrote the letter of First John in his older years, his letter presented that the true testimony of Jesus in our lives is revealed through a love for one another as His family. We are little children, young men and women, and father’s and mothers who know the love of God. We live for that purpose and that testimony. The evidence of Jesus in our flesh is the inspiration of love that overflows from within us towards one another as His family. When we know the love of God, we can be steadfast, creative, and flexible in every circumstance of our lives. We live to love God and to love His family. We don’t merely live for the power of ministry. The power of God is not separate from God’s love, it is how His love is revealed. His love is powerful!

My heart as a leader today is that we will all know His powerful love that we might be the place of His dwelling. It is by this that we can live for His will and His kingdom to come into our lives and into our world. Let love be the motive of our leadership and let love be the motive of membership in the family of God. By this we will overcome all things and reveal the greatness and goodness of God to our world.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Part of our salvation is victory over our enemies. Part of our salvation is to see the kingdom of God affect heaven and earth. Spiritual powers of darkness will be subdued by the power of the life of God working in and through our lives. Our perfection is Christ is the dominion of Christ over the destructive powers of every enemy.

Hebrews 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

The first coming of Jesus put an end to sin. He was the once for all judgment for the sins of us all. His death upon our cross freed us from the life of the flesh and justified us to find our lives empowered by His life-giving Holy Spirit. We are being sanctified in this world by our connection to Jesus our eternal Adam as the bride of Christ, His co-reigning partner in heaven and on earth. This is our victory over every enemy. Leaders lead others in being a part of the body of Christ – the bride of Christ with an increasing internal change in our character, nature, way, power, and authority.

Hebrews 10:15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

The holy of holies is not some private connection with God. It is being joined as members of Christ’s life-giving body in this world. The veil of His flesh was torn so that we could enter into the place of being a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. Leaders lead others in coming together as the body of Christ to be THE BODY of Christ in all things. This is not just a place of physical attendance. It is the place of God’s manifest presence in bodily form.

The longer we live the more we should pursue living for the sake of others. We are to draw near with a true heart. We are to hold fast to our confession. We are to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works in one another. This is not considering one another to see what we can get from them or how they can meet our needs in some way. It is considering one another to give life to them in some way. The life that we seek to give is the resurrection life of Christ. It is not merely the life of human affection. It is the supernatural love of God. We are not to forsake coming together, especially as the Day approaches. Our coming together is not to get what another has, but to give what we have for the sake of who we are together. Our commitment in these things should increase and not decrease even to the Day of the Lord.

What is the Day? Some define it as the second coming of Jesus. I find very little evidence of that being the main point of my relationship with God in Scripture. Chances are, I am going to see the fullness of the Day of the Lord for me before He comes back, if that is what we are talking about. We are not the smart people that He has been waiting for. That is how a segment of every generation has thought. There was a fullness of His presence in the first century church as He came in the fulfillment of Old Covenant Passover on the cross, the fulfillment of Old Covenant Pentecost at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Day of Pentecost, and the fulfillment of Old Covenant Tabernacles in the harvest of the Old Covenant and the end of the Torah/Temple system in A.D. 70. The first fruit presence of the Lord in the first century church demanded the full harvest of the Old Covenant Torah/Temple system that was   only the shadow of the good thing that has finally come (Heb. 10:1).

Surely there was a Day of the Lord for those at the writing of the book of Hebrews. There is a constant returning of His presence in every generation and every person’s lifetime. Our attitude should be that the closer we get to the Day the more we pursue being one together experiencing His indwelling presence. The closer the fullness of His coming is in our Day, the more we should purse the holy of holies. The holy of holies is being part of His body, the place that was formerly behind the veil. It is the place of God’s manifest presence in bodily form. The longer we live the more we should pursue living for the sake of others. We are to draw near with a true heart. We are to hold fast to our confession. We are to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works in one another. Leaders lead believers in being the body of Christ. This is where we find our victory over every enemy of God’s life.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

The salvation of the firstfruit church during the last time of the first century was the salvation for believers in every century. When the apostle Peter wrote to the scattered Jews in the church of the first century, he reminded them that the true hope of life was not in the natural things of this world but in the resurrection power of Christ within them. The last time of the Old Covenant was only the evidence of the loosing of eternal realities of increasing life in Christ. The birth of the New Covenant body of Christ was the testimony that proved to remove the ending testimony of the Old Covenant Torah/Temple system.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The first century church was birthed in great tribulation. Those who embraced the New Covenant in Christ were resisted by the antichrist spirit of the world and the antichrist spirit of Pharisaic legalism. The testimony of Christ in the first century believers would prove to be stronger than the weapons that were formed against them. The salvation of their souls would not just be a salvation of going to heaven but a salvation to their way of living through an eternal hope in Christ.

1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

When Jesus is seen in our lives, we find the testimony of life that reveals the praise, honor, and glory of God. Whenever Jesus is seen in our lives, we receive a further testimony of the salvation of our souls. It is a salvation of intimacy with God in all things. It is a salvation of eternal life in this world and in all that is to come.

Our qualification as leaders is not in the knowledge or skills we have learned. It is not in our methods of ministry. Our qualification is only in our ability to see Jesus manifest in our lives and then to set an example that inspires others to experience a revelation of Jesus in their lives. To know Him as Lord and Christ is to experience Him as Lord and Christ in our lives. When we see Him, we are changed. When we see Him, we become like Him because we see Him as He is.

Food For Thought

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Living in the salvation of Christ is to live as the light of Christ to our world. The world is in darkness. They don’t know the light of Christ. They don’t know the light of life in God. God does not condemn the world but invites all to be made free from the condemnation of the world that is bound to the darkness of death. We are to be light to the darkness of the world. We don’t need to be afraid of the darkness. We need to shine as the light of Christ. To do this, we must be awake in Christ! We must be alert to the presence of God at all times and in every circumstance and situation of our lives. Our hearts are steadfast in faith and love and our minds are continually focused upon the salvation of Christ in all things.  

1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

We are not afraid of the wrath of God or the power of any darkness in this world. We live in the salvation of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He gives us desires that set the boundaries of life for us in all things. We are joined to Jesus in this world and in all that is to come. We exit in this realm in peace because we live in this world in peace with God through Jesus our Lord and Christ. He is the One who gives us life-giving desires and He is the One who empowers us to know His life transforming power in every season of our journey in this world.

Our salvation includes the regeneration that comes to us by Jesus in His first coming and the renewing of our lives by Holy Spirit in us every day of His continual coming in our lives. Holy Spirit has come to us in the name of Jesus, the name that is above all other names. Christ in us is the hope of glory! When we know God, we know Him for who He is. He is kind and He is love. He doesn’t measure us by our failures, He measures us by His love. It is by His mercy that we are invited into His salvation, and that salvation is a new birth in Him and a renewed presence of Him in our live.

Titus 3:4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Living in the salvation of Christ is living in the reality and His kindness and love. Because of this, we can always rejoice. We have a face-to-face relationship with God every day and every minute of every day. Thankfulness is the testimony of our lips. We know the presence and power of Holy Spirit in us, upon us, and with us in our world. God’s word is in us, and God’s words are the declaration of our mouths. We walk a path of peace where perfect peace guides our hearts at all times. By this we can test all things. There will be plenty of bad things that come our way in life. There will be a lot of unfair situations that will occur, but we must hold fast to all that is good even in difficult times. We are sons and daughters of God, and we are light to those in the darkness of our world. Our salvation includes a sanctification of our whole being. We can be assured of God’s salvation for our spirits, souls, and bodies in every situation we find ourselves in life.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

As leaders we must set an example in these things, and we must lead others to embrace this way of life. We know God’s salvation in every situation and circumstance of life!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

What should our focus be as we lead others in being the body of Christ. When things start shaking in our world, we often put our focus on a shaking world. Our focus should never be upon the things that shake in our world. Our focus should be upon heavenly things. It should be upon the kingdom of God that cannot be shaken by the kingdoms of our world. That kingdom is not just a kingdom coming in the future. It is a constantly coming kingdom working in our hearts (Lk. 17:20, 21). God speaks to us internally. He speaks to us from the realm of the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom within us that empowers our natural kingdoms to increasingly become kingdoms of our Lord and Christ.

Hebrews 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

God’s voice in our lives is not a voice of information. It is a voice of transformation! God’s voice reveals a testimony of His refining fire. His fire doesn’t destroy us, it destroys the things that cannot give us life. We are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken. That kingdom is within us and Christ in us empowers us to experience internal and external realities in supernatural ways that cause the natural expressions of our lives to reveal a testimony of God’s glory to our world.

Leaders in the body of Christ lead members of the body of Christ to not be shaken when the world around them shakes. This is only possible by knowing God’s mercy and grace. We must know the power of the cross and the power of Christ in His resurrection. These are two events. They are two comings of the Lord for all men. His first coming was a coming for the judgment of sin. This was His death upon our cross that gave mercy to us all.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

It is appointed for all men to die once for the judgment of the flesh. Jesus died once for us all and has reconciled us to God as our Father, even while we were still sinners. All people are called to live as members of the living body of Christ because Jesus has made a way to free us all from our bodies of sin and death.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Jesus died once for us all and His death justified all people to live. Since we have been justified to live, we must seek His manifest presence in our lives to be empowered to live. We are justified to live by His death, but we can only be saved by the reality of His life in us. His coming to us in our world has enabled us to come to Him in the reality of His eternal kingdom. His first coming enables us to embrace His second coming by the resurrection power and life of His Spirit. He has sent His Spirit into our lives in His name – the name that is above all other names (Jn. 14:26; 15:26).

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Jesus appeared once for the end of every age only to give us eternal life in every age. To save our life, we must be willing to lose our old life. To find our life in Christ, we must lay down our old lives of self. The sacrifice of Jesus upon our cross put away the power of sin for us all. He bore our sins to invite us into His eternal body of life. The body of Christ is a body of increasing glory in every generation of men. The second coming of Jesus is not just an event to come but an increasing glory of God in the lives of all who eagerly call upon His presence each day. Leaders set an example to those they lead in embracing both the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins and His manifest presence that reveals His increasing glory in our lives.

As sons and daughters of God we are called to be expressions of Christ in every aspect of our lives. We find our identity, testimony, and purpose in Christ. While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us to reconcile us to our heavenly Father. He was a last and eternal Adam to make a way for us to enter into His body as new creations in Christ. His mercy has triumphed over the judgment of sin and death. We are now seated with Christ in a place of authority to bring life to our world. This is part of our salvation in Christ. We have a destiny in Christ by the power of His resurrection life.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Reigning in Christ was for the first century church of Christ and it is true for every generation in Him. The beginning and increase of the New Covenant was the end of the Old Covenant in the first century (Mt. 24:3) and is the end of every Old Covenant administration in every season of humankind. We lose our lives only to find them eternally in Christ. Jesus First Coming and Second Coming in the First Century was the end of the Old Covenant generation for Israel first to then go to all nations – First a man of flesh (living soul) – Second a life-giving Spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Matthew 24:34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

To know the salvation of God we must know Jesus in both His first coming and the eternally increasing testimony of His second coming in our lives. We must embrace His sacrifice for us upon our cross so that we can find His presence in our lives that empowers us to reign in life. We must live from the throne room of grace. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3) We are to live as sons of God.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

As members of the body of Christ we are empowered by Christ in us to live in the destiny of a purpose-filled salvation in Christ. We are part of the calling of Christ in Him. We are a testimony of His inheritance in the generations of mankind. The resurrection power of Christ gives us the authority of life to exercise dominion over every power of darkness.

Ephesians 1:18 …the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 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. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Leaders lead others to know and live in the salvation of God in Christ. This includes living in the calling, the testimony, and the purpose of Christ in all things. Life is more powerful than death! Light is more powerful than every form of darkness! Leaders are light that they might lead others to be the light 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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Jesus is our salvation through His death for us upon our cross and His present life for us as we find His presence in our lives through our access to Him in the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). Our salvation is not just a salvation when we physically die. It is a salvation for our lives in every situation of our lives. Jesus came so that we could find our death in Him and therefore find our life in Him. Leaders lead others to know eternal life in Christ.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Eternal life is not just a place we are going, it is the fruit and testimony of knowing the One who gives life in all things. It is through personally knowing God that we have eternal life today, tomorrow, and in all times.

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

Our life in Old Adam was destined to die, but Jesus was the Son of Man in flesh to free us from the life of the flesh. He came to liberate us to live our lives empowered by the life of His Spirit. This is a life of faith – a life of hearing God within our hearts that empowers us to live. Through Jesus we experience the end of our old life to live a new life by His resurrection power.

John 5:25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

Jesus has judged sin that we might live our lives empowered by the life-giving desires of His Holy Spirit. His sacrifice for our sins was merely the entrance for us to know Him in His salvation. Jesus told His disciples that He would come to them again after His resurrection. This was not merely a future event of a second coming of Jesus, but a coming that is increasingly experienced by all who receive His death upon the cross that they might find His presence in the throne of grace.

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

I believe that there is a place in heaven prepared for us all, but I also believe that Jesus was referring to much more in these verses. He was making a way for the disciples to be where He would go and for Him to be with them in the world in which they would still live. He was making it possible for each of them to become a spacious place of God’s presence.

Hebrews 9:24  For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;   25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

The end of the ages is the end of Old Adam and an administration of the knowledge of good and evil for those who receive His gift of love. The end of the Old Covenant at the birth of the New Covenant bride of Christ was only the beginning of His increasing grace for every age of men to come. He has put away sin and He empowers us to live free from the power of sin through a relationship with Him as the body of Christ. Leaders lead others to know this grace.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am challenging us as leaders to set an example in living our lives with the mark of God on the back of our hands and upon our foreheads. What do these two terms imply? Is it an actual mark on the back of our hands? Is it an actual mark on our foreheads? Those who focus on events as being the testimony of the end, or simply those who focus on the end of times, often become concerned with what Revelation chapter thirteen talks about as the mark of the beast. The Scripture only talks about the mark of the beast in one chapter of our bible, but the mark of God is talked about in many places of the Scripture. Wherever the mark of God is revealed it is a testimony of living to know the life that God gives us to give His life to our world. Let me present three key places where the mark of God is mentioned.

The children of Israel were to keep the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles and they were to teach their children to observe these feasts. The keeping of these feasts was to be as a ‘mark on the back of their hands’, and a ‘mark on their foreheads’. To understand these idioms of speech we must understand what God says to anyone who rules in the kingdom of God.

A king in Israel was not to be like the kings of the world. A king in Israel was to be dependent upon God and they were to live for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in and through their lives, even as it is in heaven. God was to be their source, their strength, and their purpose in life.

Deuteronomy 17:14 “When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, you shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

God desires all of us to be kings and priests to our God. As kings we cannot count our treasuries, our horses and chariots, or our means of posterity according to the flesh. He wants us to know that we live, move, and have our being in God. He gives us life, He gives us breath, and He gives us all things.

The mark of God is not some physical mark upon our hands or upon our foreheads. It is a way of thinking and a way of doing things. The mark of God is the testimony of faith, hope, and love. It is a mark of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is knowing that our identity, testimony, and purpose comes from God in heaven, and it causes our kingdom to be a testimony of Jesus as our Lord and Christ. In each description of the feasts they were told to teach it to their children, and it was to be a ‘sign on their hand’ and a ‘memorial between their eyes’.

The feast of Passover signifies a way of life that knows it is in God that we live. He gives us life! We are loved by Him! He is our righteousness in all things. This is to be in our thinking and in our way of doing things (Ex. 13:8, 9).

We are sons and daughters of God and as His children we manifest a testimony of being one with Him. Peace with Him in the Holy Spirit gives us a testimony in our world that reveals that we move in Him. He gives us breath and we are an expression of Him. This is the testimony of His overcoming Spirit working in and through us to reveal His strength within us. This is a way of life that reveals a feast of Pentecost that testifies of God (Deut. 6:4-8).

Our future is in God. We live for His purpose and will in all things. This is a partnership with Him where we know Him abiding in us and us abiding in Him. This is an experience of Tabernacles with God as our Father for the glory of His name as He is the one who gives us all things (Deut. 11:18, 19).

As leaders we lead others to be givers of life to their world. It is in our way of doing things and in our way of thinking. We live, move, and have our beings in God for the glory of His name in all things! By this, we will give life to our world.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I want to address the topic of the Antichrist. What or who is the Antichrist? What is an antichrist spirit? This term is used by the apostle John is addressing the church in the first century. This was the church in it’s firstfruit form for the fruit of harvest to every generation that would follow. Christ had not only manifested in the form of Jesus Christ, the word of God in flesh to put an end to sin; Christ had also manifested in the form of the body of Christ of the first century that proved to be the substance of Christ in the face of all that opposed Christ. Just as Jesus had suffered persecution unto death, the first century Church had to manifest the character, nature, way, power, and authority of Christ in the midst of great tribulation. What was born of God would prove to overcome the world. The fruit and harvest of a first-century New Covenant Church would demand a reaping of the full harvest of the Old Covenant Torah/Temple system. Grace proved to be more powerful than law and law was destroyed by the testimony of grace. The first-century church overcame by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and loving not their own lives – even unto death. John addressed this testimony in writing to the church as little children, young men, and spiritual fathers. This is knowing the love of God, His power to give us an overcoming testimony in our world, and His heart to live for His children and His children’s children in our world.

1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

The anointing within these New Covenant believers was the anointing of Christ within them. John’s word to the church was concerning the hour of their time in the first century. Those of the Old Covenant of Law had refused to embrace the testimony of Christ in them and the empowerment of grace. Their refusal of Christ to them and in them caused them to prove they were not of the faith. The last hour of the Old Covenant was being concluded in the first century so that the last hour of every time outside of Christ could go to the nations. That last hour would progressively go to the nations of the world as the kingdoms of the world, the peoples of the world, would be invited and welcomed into the power of God’s grace and the reality of the internal kingdom of God. For the believer, it was not about the last hour but about the triumphant glory of Christ in them! Christ is always more powerful than anything or anyone who is Antichrist. There were many deceivers in the first century that opposed Jesus Christ while He lived His life in the flesh and in the days of His body being revealed as the dwelling place of His Spirit after His Spirit had been poured out upon His body.

2 John 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The confession of Christ is not just the confession that Jesus was the incarnate word of God in the flesh as the Son of Man who died for the sins of the world. It is also the confession of the Spirit of Christ in us. Christ in our flesh is the true testimony of the resurrection life of Christ in us. Christ in us is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). It is the spirit that confesses that Christ has come in the flesh that is of God. That is the spirit that confesses Christ in each of us. This is the anointing within us that teaches us all things!

1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

It is the anointing of Christ in us that is the proof of Christ in His resurrection. He has come in our flesh, and this is the empowerment of our love for Him and for one another.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

It is the Spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come into your flesh, that is of God. This is the internal witness of life, and this is what separates us from the world. Everyone in the world is welcome to come, but each one must come to God in Christ. Only Christ in you is the greater power. It is the power of the resurrection life of God working within us that gives us the testimony of His eternal life. It is not merely the spirit that says Jesus came in the form of flesh two thousand years ago, but the spirit that acknowledges Christ in humanity. Christ in humanity is the testimony of Jesus, the Lord, coming into our own personal lives. Any voice of God to us will be witnessed by the life-giving Spirit of Christ within us. We must willingly receive Him to be internally empowered to confess our believing Him. The internal motivator is the Holy Spirit who has been sent in Jesus’ name to bear witness to the One whose name is above all other names in every age.

The Antichrist, an antichrist, or anything that opposes Christ is an opposition to who Christ is or a distraction from who He is in our world. There were many false christs that opposed the testimony of Christ in the first century as the true body of Christ was growing in power, testimony, and authority of Christ in them (Mt. 24:24; Mk. 13:22). There are many antichrists today, but He who is in us is greater than anything in this world!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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