ted4leaders

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As leaders we must commit our lives to being an example in leading others in becoming a testimony of God’s word of life in and to our world. The foundation of the New Testament church was set by men who gave their lives to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). They gave their lives to a face-to-face relationship with God and an understanding of God’s word in the ministry of Christ. They were sent to be givers of life to empower others to be givers of life to their world. This included a lifestyle of meditating upon God’s word.

What does it mean to meditate on God’s word? God told Joshua that the book of the Torah (the Law) was not to depart from his mouth, but he was to meditate in it day and night, that he would be able to observe to do all that was written in it (Josh. 1:8). His meditation upon the words of the Torah would make his way prosperous and give him good success as a leader of God’s people. It was not the words of the Torah that would bring blessing to Joshua. It was knowing the heart of God and walking in the ways of God. The Torah was merely a witness of who God is. Joshua had to make God’s way the vision of his heart and mind.

The writer of the book of Hebrews says that the law was only a shadow of the good things that would come to us in the New Covenant testimony of Christ (Heb. 10:1). The life-giving covenant found in Christ causes our hearts and minds to become the parchment of God’s law. God’s law is not a set of rules and regulations. It is the character, nature, way, power, and authority of our heavenly Father written on our hearts and minds by being a dwelling place of God’s Spirit. Being a temple of Holy Spirit grants us the power of receiving regenerated hearts and renewed minds in Christ. God’s law is the testimony of God’s love infused into our lives that transforms our way of thinking and our way of doing things in life. We become life-givers even as our heavenly Father is a giver of life in all things. Whereas Joshua was to meditate upon the law of the Torah, we are to meditate upon God’s words of life from within our hearts that inspires our minds to be renewed in our thinking.

Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.

We are to meditate upon God’s word day and night. We cannot study the word day and night. We should read our written word, write down our personal words from God, and commit our lives to hearing, seeing, and walking in all that God says to us. This is a way of life. God doesn’t expect us to quit our jobs and study His word all day long but meditating upon His word should be our way of life at all times and in everything we do. We must embrace a way of life that receives God’s word and then practice responding to His word in thought, in attitude, and in the actions of our lives as we do life in our everyday world.

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Joshua needed to meditate upon God’s word so that he could see it and do all that it said. He was to observe to do according to all that was written in it. This was a testimony of an Old Covenant that had a glory that was less than the glory we can now find in the New Covenant made living in our hearts. The principle of seeing God’s word is found in the New Covenant reality of Jesus standing in the midst of our lives.

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

Every revelation from God is an invitation to have an encounter with God, so we will be transformed by God and become something of that revelation. We must first be able to see the word before we can do the word. Meditation causes us to see the word so we can do the word. Th is is not merely seeing the written word. It is seeing Jesus as the living word that makes us a testimony and letter of His word.

God told Joshua to meditate in the word, at the most critical time in his life. Moses had died, and the responsibility of leading Israel over the Jordan and into the promised land was his.He didn’t tell Joshua to read the word. He didn’t tell Joshua to study the word.He told him to meditate upon God’s word so he could see to walk in it.  As leaders we must meditate upon God’s general word and His specific word in our lives so we can lead others to do the same. Our lives will be prosperous in God’s purpose and have good success in His purpose when we commit our hearts and minds to all that He says.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

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

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

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As leaders in the body of Christ, we must give our lives to meditating on God’s word. We are also responsible to teach those we lead to meditate upon God’s word. This is to meditate on God’s written word, but especially upon those words that God speaks to us personally in life. To understand the words that God speaks to us we must know the general word of God as it has been given to us in His written word. God’s general will is the foundation for any specific will that He gives to us in life. The general character, nature, way, power, and authority of God is revealed in His general word and any specific word to us will agree with the principles, patterns, and values that reveal who He is in His written word. God’s words to us cause us to become an expression of His word to our world.

Meditation of God’s word is different in its process than the meditation of Eastern Religions or meditations of the mind. Eastern meditation is to empty our thoughts and receive a spiritual influence to the emptiness of our minds. This can make us vulnerable to any voice. It makes us vulnerable to any author. When we open our minds up to any spirit we can become an expression of any author. This can also be true when we simply allow our own private interpretation or misinterpretation of His written world to speak to our mind. Holy Spirit is our teacher, not Scripture. The Scripture is a witness to His voice but the person of God it the interpreter of that written word. The way of God is to our spirit. It is from the hidden place of His kingdom within us.

God doesn’t speak to our soul; He speaks to our spirit and then our spirit speaks to our soul. God is Spirit and He is the only Spirit that is life-giving to our spirit. When He speaks it is filled with the peace of His presence and it exhibits the fruit of His Spirit from within. Our spirit is our direct connection to the Spirit of God. We were created in His likeness and image when God spoke to Himself. He spoke to His Spirit, and it was from His Spirit that the inner core of humanity was made. The life of God’s Spirit is designed to be connected to our human spirit and then our human spirit floods our soul with God inspired thoughts, reasonings, imaginations, emotions, and desires. For this to happen we must tune our hearts to the frequency of God’s voice. The general word of God will reveal to us the general frequency of His voice. His voice is true to how His voice has been in the past.

The Hebrew word for meditation is the Hebrew SRN1897. הָגָה hâg̱â; a primitive root (compare 1901); to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication, to ponder. This word can be translated as imagine, meditate, mediate, mourn, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, and utter. The negative expression of this word would be the Hebrew SRN1901. הָגִיג hâg̱iyg̱, which means to murmur or complain, as a whisper. This doesn’t denote a quiet emptiness. It implies an expressive response. When we meditate on God’s written word, and God’s specific words to us, we must express what He has said with our whole being – spirit, soul, and body. We are often quick to give expression to our complaints in life, but we must constantly seek to give expression to all that God has said and is saying to us.

We must be tuned to the frequency of God’s heart so when God touches us, our lives are filled with the sound of what He wants to do, not the sound of our own personal desires. The sound of God is one of life for others. It is a sound of living for the wellbeing of one another. His speech is a speech of passion and compassion.

We need to be like an empty box, with touchable strings, that is tuned to the frequency of God’s heart so when He touches us we become filled with the sound of His heart. We cannot use a misunderstanding of God’s grace as an excuse to propagate our own personal desires, ways, or opinions among men. Our hearts must be ready to be filled with the sound of what God wants in the earth and in our lives.  This is a testimony of God’s grace working in us.

Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.

God’s law is the law of a Father’s love. His law is the law of a covenant keeping friend. He is both a giver of life and a helper of life in all things. We are to meditate on all that He says. We are to imagine, meditate, mediate, mourn, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, and utter all that He says. When we do we find our roots in His Spirit, like the roots of tree by rivers of water.

Psalms 1:3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Give expression to the voice of God from within your heart. Give expression to His general will and you will tune your spirit to hear Him in His specific will in your heart. When you hear Him specifically, give yourself to being expressive with what He is saying and when you go quiet, you will hear Him more fully. When we become expressive with what He has said we are tuning the strings our hearts to the frequency of His heart. We can then trust the touch of His fingers upon our hearts as He speaks more to cause us to become all that He says. Meditate on His word and He will give a good path to your way. Live this, give yourself to it, and lead others to know the path that leads to 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,

Today I am going to address another attribute of leadership. As leaders we must know and lead others to know the power of Christ that works in us. The power of Christ within us is the hope of glory. That glory is not just the glory that is beyond this world as our great hope of the ultimate resurrection from the dead. That glory is the power of Christ working in and though our lives that enables us to know God’s love in supernatural ways for the salvation of our lives in every circumstance of our lives. Knowing the power of Christ within us enables us to have an expectancy of His life in every moment of our lives. Knowing the power of Christ within us is knowing His love in a powerful way.

God doesn’t want to merely demonstrate that He is powerful, He demonstrates His love for us in a supernaturally powerful way. The power of His love can work in our lives when we and expectant and willing for His power to be revealed. This is the evidence that He is alive in our lives. We abide in Him and He abides in us. We can expect the power of Jesus’ name to prove to be above every other name in our world. He is life, He gives life, and His life will always prevail in us.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

It is by faith that we are empowered to receive the testimonies that surpass all that we can ask or even think. The opposite of faith is natural sight (2 Cor. 5:7). What we can naturally see, hear, or even think will resist what God can really do in our lives. We need to allow our natural thinking to be surpassed by an understanding that can only come by God. If what we do in life can be done by us without God, we are not living the truth of our lives. Our lives are meant to be dependent upon the supernatural ability of our heavenly Father who loves us. Every aspect of our lives is meant to reveal the glory of God through the power of Jesus’ name.

Our expectancy of God is connected to who He is and His love. Our inner strength, the strength of our spirts to our souls, is connected to a personal connection to God. Our strength is connected to His presence in our lives. His presence is not merely about His power. It is about His love. It’s the dwelling of Christ in us and us in Him that gives us an understanding of His love. That understanding will empower us to expect supernatural testimonies of His love in our lives. It is through His supernatural testimonies that we grow in knowing the width, the length, the depth, and the height of God’s love in our lives! Our connection to Him is revealed through the supernatural things that He does for us and for others through us. We can and must expect supernatural testimonies of His love for us to be a part of our everyday world.

As leaders we lead others into a connection with God and one another by our own connection to God and to others as the body of Christ. That connection will exhibit supernatural testimonies of His love working in our lives in our everyday world. It is the testimony of His power working in us! Our relationship with God is of the most importance but that relationship will also be testified of by His works in our lives. Jesus said that the works that He did were a witness of who He was. This is still true for who He is in our lives today. Holy Spirit has come into our lives in the name of Jesus and the supernatural testimonies of Jesus name are to be expected in our journey 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

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